Meet Mark McKenna, author of The Word Gang, and enter to win a copy of the book!

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I recently met Mark McKenna on Goodreads when he approached me for a review of his book The Word Gang. The thing I love about reviewing is that sometimes I get to read books that I wouldn't have otherwise chosen to read, and then I absolutely love them. That's what happened with The Word Gang. It's a Young Adult book, that can be enjoyed by young and old alike. It's one of the best debut novels I have ever read.

I had to invite Mark here to introduce him and his wonderful book to you.

As well as agreeing to answer my interview questions, Mark is also giving away a copy of the book to one lucky reader of my blog. All you have to do is leave a comment here to enter! A winner will be picked at random on 20th May 2011. It's an international competition.

Here are Mark's answers to my interview questions:


The Word Gang is your debut novel.  I was fascinated to read on your website how the story evolved over a period of 17 years.  The idea came to you in a dream, and you were hesitant about writing it as you felt you were not a writer.  What have you learnt about what it means to be a writer over your 17 year journey?


The first thing was how difficult it is to write. My first version was 122,000 words long, containing every amateur mistake a beginner could make. I loved it. My next version was 96,000 words; it actually had more details than the earlier one. I loved it, too. The came 86k, then 76k, then 73k and the final book was 71,000 words. Each version came after professional editing, after more experience writing, writing other novels in between, etc. Each version came at the expense of my ego and with a certain amount of pain, or at least "getting used to" whatever shortcoming had been revealed. And I'm still not sure about what I've written, although reviewers so far have been kind.




At the end of your book, you call it ‘an imperfect labor of love’.  I was surprised to read that as I could see nothing ‘imperfect’ in it.  Can you explain why you feel it is imperfect?

Every time I open the book I find something I want to change. One good thing about finally publishing a book — it puts an end to all that. 



The Word Gang is the story of three kids in school who start using big words to be disruptive.  How did you go about choosing the obscure words that the characters use in the novel?

I had fun. I own all the dictionaries mentioned in the book (including the moldy one) and I love looking through them. I searched for words hardly anyone would know. I felt it would add to readers' enjoyment to be a bit mystified. The Word Gang was partly written to explore words, big and small, as well as the intention behind their use.

I also like to revive obsolete words — it’s like finding a valuable antique in a junk shop, taking it home, and putting it out for people to enjoy. “Covenable,” for example, means “agreeable,” “appropriate,” or “suitable.” It comes from "coven" originally an assembly, meeting, or company. Only later (1600s) was it used for a gathering of thirteen witches. It's related to the word "convent" as well.

I think the book is a very realistic portrayal of how teenagers might behave.  Did you base the teenage characters on any real teens?

No, I really don’t know where my characters came from. It’s a mystery. I’m thinking of calling my short story collection Who Are These People? because that’s the way I feel about them. Of course, I was a teen myself a while ago, as Mr. Spinoza says, “back when God was a boy.” 




Mr. Spinoza is a loveable eccentric character who speaks many languages.  Do you speak more than one language?

I studied Spanish and German in high school and college. At one point I wrote papers in both languages, now I'd need a dictionary to read them.



Aside from the big words, there are a few historical references and words spoken in other languages in the book.  How much research did you have to do, and how did you go about it?

I love the Internet. All the things I needed (the specs on BD's 1968 Camaro Z-28, for example) were there and waiting. Some knowledge I'd just picked up along the way. I've worked on my own cars and held a lot of jobs we would call "grunt work" in the US. 

In the first paragraph of The Word Gang the lines -- The lark’s on the wing. The snail’s on the thorn -- are part of a long poem called Pippa Passes by Robert Browning. The last lines of that section of Browning’s poem -- God's in His Heaven, All's right with the world -- are spoken by Mr. Ralston near the end of my book. I used that allusion because I felt there was some connection between Kalisha and Pippa, a certain innocence that protected them from, and changed, their worlds.

 I've always liked the poem Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird by Wallace Stevens so I included it, too. I admire the French photographer Robert Doisneau. The book of his photographs that Mr. Spinoza shows Kalisha (Three Seconds from Eternity: Photographs) is a real book that I own. (I mention “real” works of art, because I also made some up!) It was fun, throwing in things I knew and liked, including a very tasty recipe for lasagna. 




Which of the characters in the book can you most relate to and why?

I relate to them all. I like Mr. Spinoza's secret studying -- it's sort of like the writer's life. I always felt out of place at school so Kalisha, BD and Sahmbaht all act out parts of my rebellious nature. Of course, they're bolder than I was, and somewhat quicker off the mark. I always think of the perfect comeback a day too late. 




I saw from the back cover of your book that the Chief Editor of the Oxford English Dictionary read and enjoyed the book.  That’s quite an endorsement.  How did he come to read it?

Kalisha’s life is transformed after she is given the Compact Oxford as a gift. Because of the connection to the OED I wrote to John Simpson and asked if he would read it. I think that was the 86,000 word version. He did and offered suggestions, which I followed. He was, I would say, ‘cautiously supportive’. (My characters use words improperly at times, and not always with the noblest of intentions.) Then I asked John if he would look at my final version. He said yes again. Having him read my book was one of the main reasons I was able to persevere over the years. I can’t tell you what it meant to have someone with his status in the world of words offer comment and support. It was HUGE. I feel very fortunate and grateful.



Your book is being promoted as a young adult book (although I think that adults will enjoy it just as much as teens), what in your mind is the target age group for your book?

When I began writing the book I didn’t even know there was such a thing as “Young Adult”— that’s how naive I was. At one point a literary agent said to me, “This book falls squarely into the Young Adult category.” I said, “Fine.” I thought the book would be suitable for ages 14 and up, but a 12 year old was one of my first readers and wrote a great review. Young readers are very sophisticated nowadays.



Are there plans for a sequel to The Word Gang?

I’m about three chapters into a sequel called The Word Gang Rides Again. It’s a murder mystery that’s solved, in part, by good vocabulary. None of my main characters are “the victim,” but someone in The Word Gang is... *suspenseful organ music*



Do you have an tips for someone who is considering self-publishing their own book?

The advice I would give is the advice I ignored: Learn something about marketing your book. For example, many review sites will only take a book BEFORE it’s published, three to six months before. I didn’t know that. I was so wrapped up in producing the book I let all that go. 



Who are your favourite authors and what is it about their writing that you like?

I like Isaac Bashevis Singer. I like the easy way he tells a story; his voice is beautiful. My character, Mr. Spinoza, is named after a character in one of his short stories, The Spinoza of Market Street. I like Sigrid Undset, who wrote Kristin Lavransdatter. That book felt so realistic I thought Undset was somehow mystically channeling 13th century Norway. Later I found out her parents were archeologists or anthropologists, and they specialized in that era. Her childhood home was filled with artifacts.

I like science fiction and mysteries.
P.G. Wodehouse is a favorite. His similes are delightful; Jeeves and Bertie Wooster are immortal gods to me. 






Mark Twain...

When I visit the library I always get some brand new books and then wander through the older fiction. Rumer Godden, is a lovely writer for example. Nathaniel Hawthorne. I recently read The Blithedale Romance. What I like about Hawthorne is the fact that I always feel a modern sensibility peeking from behind the archaic language. And Charles Dickens— I just re-read Great Expectationson my phone! I read it in high school but I found it much more enjoyable as an adult. I likeScarlett Thomas. The End of Mr. Y and PopCo. She’s a quirky writer and I like quirkiness in all forms. The more I think about your question, the more writers I could name. There was a book called The Theory of Everything I liked, by Lisa Grunwald. Leo Tolstoy. My father gave me his collected short stories when I was a teen and it made a big impression. Independent People by Halldór Laxness.



Is there a book you own that you’ve read more than once?

Kristin Lavransdatter, two or three times. The hobbit books, three or more times. There’s a wonderful book called Alaska Man's Luckby Hjalmar Rutzebeck. I read that several times. Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson, twice. Roughing It by Mark Twain, two or three times. I like books that transport me to a different world, or a different time. You read a book from the 1700s and think, “Ah, a man, just like me.” Many modern books are like modern movies: consumed. I consume them myself, but they leave no lasting impression. Tasty, but like lunch four days ago. 




What was the last book you read?

I just finished 

Judas Unchained, a sprawling “space opera” by Peter F. Hamilton. Quiet Days in Clichy by Henry Miller. The ITCH : A Novel by Benilde Little and Rembrandt's Hat, stories by Bernard Malamud.



Are you reading a book at the moment?

I’m reading two: Oblivious by Neil Schiller and Green by Ted Krever. I met both of these authors on the Goodreads website and we exchanged books via email. Very different books, but they’re both as good as anything being offered by traditional publishing. They are real finds.


What do you think of ebooks?

I’m ambivalent. When I read Great Expectations on my phone I thought it was hurting my eyes. It was fun though, to be able to take out the phone every time I had a few free minutes. It opened to the right page every time, smart little phone that it was. The process gave me a sense of freedom similar to the freedom I felt as phones evolved. First it was long cords (always tangled) then you could talk in your backyard, then with modern cells, almost anywhere. With ebooks I can read in more places, and with more ease.

I don’t own a Kindle or a Nook, but I have nothing against them. I do like paper books and I love libraries -- but if the times have to change it’ll be good for the trees.

How important are reviews for you as a writer?

I’ve had only three reviews so far. I have about five or six more coming out. I do enjoy seeing what others take away from my writing, especially people who don’t personally know me.



How did you go about choosing a cover for your book?



I wanted the title to be in a funky font that would contrast with the neat type of a dictionary entry. I chose the word “otiosity” because “otiose” is the first word Kalisha learns and uses.

I first learned the word “otiose” before I started writing The Word Gang. I was making tofu sandwiches for Wildwood Natural Foods in Fairfax, CA in the early 80s. Great sandwiches; we overdosed the entire San Francisco Bay Area on soy. We had a mock tuna salad called “Tofunofish.” We also made rows of seitan submarine sandwiches we called “The Wheat Meat Fleet.” For the tempeh sandwiches we cut out a center portion of a tempeh burger so a special sauce could be added. This left us with “otiose wads of tempeh,” a phrase we all used and enjoyed. So the word was a “natural” for the cover of my book. (Ouch, sorry.)



What are you working on now?

I have a completed science fiction novel called The Borzoi Suite. I’d like to put it online as a collaborative project -- invite other artists to add text or pictures -- a sort of wiki book. I have a number of short stories I’m thinking of publishing. One is a series featuring the same character, Frankie P. that could stand alone as a book. Then there’s the sequel to The Word Gang.



Where can people buy your book?

The book’s website has all the links to buy, more information, and a link to read a few chapters.

The Word Gang



Do you have your own website or blog where people can read more about your work?

On Facebook: The Word Gang Fan Page

On Goodreads: Author Page


Thanks, Mark :)


Remember, you can enter to win a copy of The Word Gang by leaving a comment below. Good luck!