Mike & Me, part Two!
Okay, so the blog title is misleading – I have nothing to do with this post. I just liked the alliteration. But here’s part two of my interview with Mike Spradlin, the author of the upcoming BLOOD RIDERS, which is a sort of Old West/Vampire mash-up — and certainly something I haven’t seen before. Remember, comment at the end of this post, or yesterday’s, to possibly win one of five Kindle editions of BLOOD RIDERS on release day, September 25th!
You’ve Written A Number Of Children’s Books. What Is Different About Writing For Adults?
Your characters get to cuss more. And they can partake in certain activities you can’t really show in a kid’s book. In reality though, its not that much different. You still have to write an entertaining story. The elements that make up a good book don’t really change based on the age of the reader. And what’s really gratifying is that I’ve had a lot of adults read and enjoy my Youngest Templar series for example. Young people who were 14 or 15 when Youngest Templar: Keeper Of The Grail came out in 2008 are old enough to read Blood Riders now. Writing for both audiences also gives you a chance to reach more readers. Which is all any writer wants, for people to read and enjoy their book. And then recommend it to 10,000 of their closest friends.
Blood Riders, As Well As Most Of Your Children’s Books, Are Action-Adventure Stories Where The Action Is Unrelenting. Is This Intentional On Your Part?
I think most writers try to write the kind of book we like to read ourselves. I like action and explosions and narrow escapes and all of those things. My characters don’t spend a lot of time standing around talking about their feelings. Not that they never do, it’s just I tend to focus on moving the story forward by my characters doing things. Usually they are a small band of spunky misfits who must come together to solve a problem much bigger than they could ever solve alone.
What Are You Working On Next
I have two children’s series under contract. I’m co-writing Book 4 in the I,Q series with author Roland Smith. It’s an action adventure novel about a stepbrother and sister who unintentionally get involved in some international intrigue. It’s called I,Q: The Alamo and will be out in spring 2013. The other is a series from Scholastic called Killer Species. It’s about mutant animals. The first book Killer Species: Menace From The Deep will be out in summer 2013.
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Will There Be Another Blood Riders Novel?
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I hope so. I love the characters and have a ton of ideas. But it will depend on the readers. It’s readers buying, reading and recommending the book that makes authors successful. There is nothing like word of mouth to get more people to read a book. When more people read the book, the publisher signs up more books. It’s a win-win. I’m not above begging and groveling in asking everyone to give it a try. Seriously, email me and I will come to your house with a small bag of potting soil and grovel in the dirt at your feet if you will buy and read Blood Riders. I think it will be a fun ride!
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Okay, Mike has generously offered to give away 5 Amazon Kindle e-books to my readers. To win an kindle download of BLOOD RIDERS, all you have to do is comment on today’s post – or yesterday’s – and let us know what your favorite genre mash-up has been thus far. Or you can also let us know what you’d like to see that hasn’t been done yet. What’s your dream mashup? What would you love to read?
I will personally send all winners their downloads of BLOOD RIDERS on September 25th, the day of release. Good luck and happy reading!
