Ask me
The same book can change depending on the mood you happen to be in while reading it or how carefully you take in the words. I am a slow reader but I absorb everything. I love Dickens for the richness of description he gives every scene and the detail of his characters' every movement. I love the complexitiy of George Orwell and the vivid imaginations of the worlds he created. I only wish I could talk to these authors and ask them a plethora of questions.
It can be frustrating when others don't see how or why you wrote a scene or character the way you did, but it's also very gratifying when someone else does get it. Wouldn't it be amazing to talk to every author and be able to ask a pressing question?
So... if you have any questions for me, I'd be happy to have a conversation with you :)
Thanks for reading!
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Thanks for responding :) One Boy's Shadow, being my first novel, was written with the hope that it would indeed feel somewhat nostalgic along the lines of the Hardy Boys. I was so pleased when I read the review you wrote as you were the first person to comment on this. Author Gregory Allen also mentioned the nostalgia aspect in his review. I don't see myself ever really focusing on a certain style for future works. The story just unravels itself on the screen before me. I am currently working on a book with a YA protagonist but, to me at least, does not have the same feel at all as OBS.
As for the ghost story/mystery in OBS, the original idea came from a terrible dream involving certain tragic events in a wooded area and a boy who learned the truth. My goal was to create a somewhat dreamlike reality for the reader.
Writing One Boy's Shadow in the first person, from Caleb's 15/16 year old perspective, also made me change the way I presented things. I have read some people's reviews not liking the older brother, Blake, as he is "idealized". Um... yep, that's precisely the point. Caleb idolizes his brother - he never sees anything bad about him because it is all from Caleb's point of view. We have no idea of what Blake may or may not be doing outside Caleb's realm. Again, people may choose to see or not see what they want in a story - I'm just the person who put this one to print. I wrote it for the kid I was, the kid I wish I could have been, and all the other kids who might feel the same way.
I'm with you about the books that make time stand still. Stephen King/Peter Straub's The Talisman is one that kept me up for hours reading page after page and absorbing me into their world just like the kid in The Neverending Story. I love when that happens!
Thanks for the opportunity to respond and the great questions :)
Ross wrote: "I wrote it for the kid I was, the kid I wish I could have been, and all the other kids who might feel the same way."You're the best Ross. I love this :)
LisaT - We Are Qhuay! wrote: "Ross wrote: "I wrote it for the kid I was, the kid I wish I could have been, and all the other kids who might feel the same way."You're the best Ross. I love this :)"
Me too. Ross...heart you! :)
deirdre wrote: "ross . . . i loved OBS for the YA novel that it is. teenagers . . . i was one (ha!), am the parent to a couple of them, and spend my work day surrounded by them. your characterization of teenagers ..."Deirdre, thanks for the lovely comments. It's encouraging when people really "get" what you are hoping to convey. :)
You're statement "your characterization of teenagers was spot on" made my day. There are people who suggest Shane's dialogue is unrealistic - using larger words etc. Here's a kid who is crushing hard on the new boy and wants to impress him. Also, he is nervous, so he rambles, barely coming up for air. Who hasn't felt like that??? Plus, Caleb would be telling us the whole thing from his own dreamy interpretation of the events as he is crushing on Shane just as much - even though he isn't 100% sure that's what it's all about at the time.
Sure, I don't expect everyone to like or get my work, just like any other writer out there. But having the positive feedback from yourself and so many others...that's what keeps me going. And when I get word from a young person about how much they liked the story and I get this wonderful internal sigh... ahh... there... that's exactly what I strived
for :)
Cheers and hugs!
Susan wrote: "LisaT - We Are Qhuay! wrote: "Ross wrote: "I wrote it for the kid I was, the kid I wish I could have been, and all the other kids who might feel the same way."You're the best Ross. I love this :)..."
Thanks so much Susan :)
LisaT - We Are Qhuay! wrote: "Ross wrote: "I wrote it for the kid I was, the kid I wish I could have been, and all the other kids who might feel the same way."You're the best Ross. I love this :)"
:) I now need to find a Douglas Adams book. So enjoy discovering a new author based on a friend's recommendation
Ross, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy or Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, both great reads. Well, if you love smart sarcasm and satire as much as me.
:D
Deirdre,I was just telling Ross that my daughter was asked to use smaller words in a group psychology project in COLLEGE! She's 16, the others in her group are adults and they wanted her to simplify for them. I didn't know whether to be proud or mortified.
Please Ross, do kids a favor and do not dumb down for them. I've know way too many really intelligent kids who lost interest because they weren't challenged. They're not dumb or lazy, they just need to be kept interested.
I spent a lot of time growing up with my extended family who have two boys close to my own age. Dinner table conversations were always about the news, politics, and social issues which led to many an in-depth discussion - and we were teenagers. We all read the paper and analyzed details - which was encouraged! So grateful that I had that environment growing up :) I remember finding a copy of George Orwell's 1984 in grade 6 and reading that, absorbing it, understanding it, while other people were reading (if anything at all) the latest Choose Your Own Adventure - which is great, reading is important, but I never felt connected to what was easy or everyone else was doing.
Thanks Lisa and Deirdre, for the helpful insights and positive comments. Really. You can't know how much that has helped re-invigorate me.
deirdre wrote: "It is a shame that adults give so little credit to the next generation . . . ^^^That!
I grew up surrounded by school teachers, university professors, and historians so reading and discussing things was a big part of every day life. Also, I was constantly corrected for any misuse of grammar and spelling (which I really appreciated). I dislike immensely the "modern" thinking that as long as someone is getting his/her point across it doesn't matter if they spell words correctly or phrase things well. We should strive for better than that.
Not that you asked, but if I could talk to a past author it would Douglas Adams, 'cus I think he'd be a hoot.
Now, my question for you is about your writing style for One Boy's Shadow, it's somewhat nostalgic (Hardy Boy's), do you see yourself continuing on in that way or doing something different? Plus, was it your intention to write a ghost story/mystery or did it just come together that way?