Interview With Vanessa Barger Author of Super Freak

Hello, hello, hello! Thanks for stopping by. Today, we are joined by Vanessa Barger, author of Super Freak, a Middle Grade fantasy novel that has recently released. Here's a little tidbit about the book...

Super Freak by Vanessa Barger
Publication Date:  October 13, 2015
Publisher:  Tantrum Books
Genre:  MG, Fantasy

Thirteen-year-old Caroline is a freak. Her parents have uprooted her to a town full of Supernaturals.
You’d think she’d be thrilled. But, with someone without a magical bone in her body, this daughter of tree sprites feels like even more of an outcast than she has ever before.
To make matters worse, her new home is cursed. But when Caroline takes to investigating the mysterious and strange happenings of Harridan House, her BFF goes missing. Seems someone doesn’t want Caroline sticking her non-magical nose where it most certainly does not belong. Determined to prove herself, Caroline uncovers a plot to destroy her new hometown.

Undeterred, Caroline can’t give up. But what’s a human without magical powers to do? Caroline better figure it out fast, before she loses everything she has ever loved and the whispers she’s heard all her life prove true: Caroline is a useless superfreak.

           

               

Hi, Vanessa! Welcome to We Do Write. Tell us a bit about yourself.

Hello! Thanks for interviewing me! I guess first thing, I’m an MG and YA writer, and I also teach high school students. I love to travel, to bake (it’s a problem), and do crafty things. I’m married to a fabulous man, and we live with our Overlord, a cat named Molly, in Newport News, Virginia.

Tell our readers a bit about SUPER FREAK.

SUPER FREAK is about Caroline Bennings, who is the only person in the world who doesn’t have any type of supernatural ability. Her parents are dryads, but she is just normal. She loves puzzles and mysteries, and when they move to a new town, she gets a whopper of a mystery placed right in her lap. Her house is supposed to be cursed, which just seems silly at first. But then she finds letters hidden in the house, and when they get too deep into the story, her new best friend disappears. It’s up to Caroline to figure out what’s happened, or live with the fact that she really is normal and a total useless super freak.

Sounds amazing! How did the idea of the story come to you?

I was in a bookstore, looking for a new book and I had the thought that so many of them are a person with supernatural powers in the normal world. And then I thought, what about a story where the main character is normal, in a world where everyone is supernatural. What would be her “special Ability” then? And then I came up with the fact that she loved puzzles and mysteries, and it snowballed from there.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Sadly, I have to give my punster badge back now. I used to say I was a little of both, but this novel marked the end of my pantser ways. Writing a mystery required me to outline to make sure certain things happened in certain places. I am now a plotter. Mostly. I still get sidetracked, though.

What’s the hardest part of writing for you?

The hardest part is a tie between the ending and making the time to write. I always end the book and mess with those last few pages and lines FOREVER. The only book I have liked the last lines of is one I have never finished yet (but I wrote the last three lines when I got about halfway through)!

What do you absolutely have to have nearby when writing?

Tea. A lot of tea. And some kind of snack is always good too. Usually cookies or something else I shouldn’t be eating.

If you could have any super power, what would it be?

Psychic. Definitely.

What's the weirdest thing you've googled?

Weirdest thing? Probably how to start a fire with just a battery and some wire. At least, recently that’s the weirdest!

Finish this sentence: If I'm not writing, I'm probably ... Baking.

Here’s the part where you thank the people who are supporting you. Let's hear your shout outs.

First, to all the readers, because without you, I wouldn’t be able to be published at all. THANK YOU for reading and loving my books! To my husband, Randy, who is amazing and puts up with so much from me. To my BFF, Sammi, who is fabulous and my self-appointed PR consultant. My parents and grandmother, who are always willing to be my cheering section and help me out. My publisher and publicist there at Tantrum Books. I’m sure I’m forgetting people, but I think that covers it.
And, of course, thank you to lovely bloggers such as yourself!!!!

Thanks for stopping by the blog!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Vanessa Barger was born in West Virginia, and through several moves ended up spending the majority of her life in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She is a graduate of George Mason University and Old Dominion University, and has degrees in Graphic Design, a minor in Medieval and Renaissance Literature, and a Masters in Technology Education. She has had articles published in Altered Arts Magazine, has had some artwork displayed in galleries in Ohio and online, and currently teaches engineering, practical physics, drafting and other technological things to high school students in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. She is a member of the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators), the Virginia Writer’s Club, and the Hampton Roads Writers. When not writing or teaching, she’s a bookaholic, movie fanatic, and loves to travel. She is married to a fabulous man, and has one cat, who believes Vanessa lives only to open cat food cans, and can often be found baking when she should be editing.

                 

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5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Was Published, by Charles Curtis

We are so excited to have Charles Curtis here with us today discussing five things he wished he knew before he was published! Charles is the author of the Middle Grade Paranormal novel, Strange Country Day. But first, a tidbit about the book!

Strange Country Day
Publication date: August 18, 2015
Publisher: Tantrum Books/Month9Books, LLC.
Author: Charles Curtis



Alexander Graham Ptuiac, the son of an inventor, wants to play for the school’s football team. During tryouts, and under the watchful eye of the team’s coach, he suddenly manifests mysterious superhuman powers. Alexander makes the team, but not before the some ill-intended adults take notice, putting his life in danger.

Alex struggles to suppress and control his strange new abilities, worried about exposing his secret and being kicked off the football team. Then he befriends Dex, a diminutive classmate who can somehow jump as high as ten feet in the air. Seems Alex isn’t the only one at school with a secret.
As the school year unfolds, Alex will find himself the target of bullies, holding hands with his first crush and discovering the shocking truth about himself and his parents.

          

                  

5 Things I Wish I Knew About Publishing Before I was Published

By: Charles Curtis

 1) Releasing your book to the public is like sending your kid to kindergarten the first time. I wrote a little bit about this on Father’s Day. Book Con was my first-ever signing and the first time I got to physically hold my book, the result of years of work and multiple rounds of editing. And when I sold a few copies, I felt a ball of icy nervousness in my stomach. I thought, “I’m sending my ‘child’ into the world.” I never thought about that until the moment the doors opened up at Book Con.

2) I’m not just an author. I’m now a marketing manager and a member of the sales force. Another thing that hit me at Book Con: Authors are no longer just the writers of their works. The pressure is on me to get the word out to the public through things like Twitter (@charlescurtis82, come say hi!) and to convince readers why they should sift through the thousands of titles available and pick mine. I have an awesome team behind me doing just that, but I have to be more active than I originally expected. Here’s my elevator pitch I’ve been honing: X-Men meets football when a couple of seventh graders suddenly find out they’ve got special powers they use on the field. Why do they have abilities? And who’s chasing them to answer that question? 

3) Writing the second novel in a series is much harder than producing the first. I’m experiencing this literally as you read it. I wrote the first “Strange Country Day” on spec over quite a few years with no deadline, no expectations and no pressure. All of that, of course, has changed. Added to that are the expectations of your readers and the complexity of a story filled with twists, increased drama and new characters.  

4) The “young adult” books I used to read are no longer what’s known as “young adult.” YA is now for an older crowd.  In its place is “middle grade.” I’m more familiar with the 21st century definition of YA (I’m a big fan of series like “The Fifth Wave”) and the more adult themes that come along with it, so I had to find the right voice and vocabulary for a younger audience, all while making sure I didn’t cross certain lines when it came to violence and the romantic lives of my characters. The other challenge? Not talking down to my audience at the same time. It’s a tricky balance. 

5) You’re writing and marketing as much for parents, teachers and librarians are you are for kids.  I hear what you’re thinking: “Hi there, Captain Obvious!” But when you write a middle grade novel, you think about what the kids want to read.  However, who buys books and vets them to make sure their kids will enjoy them? The answer is now more obvious to me and helped focus on my target audience going forward. I would love to see this book featured in a school book club – I can see students debating the morality of using special powers to win a football game in a sports world where performance enhancing drugs are a hot topic.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Charles Curtis is a writer and journalist based in New York City. He has reported and written for publications including NJ.com (where he is currently the site’s sports buzz reporter), The Daily, ESPN.com, ESPN the Magazine, Bleacher Report, TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly. Charles has covered the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, golf, tennis and NASCAR. He has also written about television, film and pop culture.

In addition, Curtis has also written, produced and was featured in videos for ESPN.com and The Daily. He has made radio appearances on stations including 92.9 The Ticket in Bangor, Maine, WLIE 540 AM in Long Island and on morning shows across Canada via the CBC.

He can be reached on Twitter: @charlescurtis82.

            

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Interview with Michael Gibney, author of The Three Thorns

We are pleased to be joined by Michael Gibney, author of The Three Thorns: The Brotherhood and the Sheild! Here's a little bit about this new MG fantasy!

THE THREE THORNS (THE BROTHERHOOD AND THE SHIELD #1)

Publication date: February 24, 2015

Publisher: Tantrum Books/Month9Books, LLC.

Author: Michael Gibney

Three brothers born to a once powerful King were abandoned at birth and cast out into the old world as orphans - alone and unaware of the other's existence or their royal heritage.

In the new world, by order of the false King, three of the most lethal assassins are sent to kill the children before they come of age and avenge their father’s throne.

But when the brothers find one another, Benjamin, Tommy and Sebastian must resist the temptation of magic and power if they are to defeat the unspeakable evil that has threatened them since birth.

The Three Thorns is book one in an exciting children’s fantasy series called The Brotherhood and the Shield from debut author Michael Gibney.

         

               

Hi, Michael! Welcome to We Do Write. Tell our readers a bit about THE BROTHERHOOD AND THE SHEILD: THE THREE THORNS.

Three princes born to a powerful fallen King have been abandoned at birth and cast out into the old world known as “Earth.” By order of the current false King, three of the new world’s most lethal assassins have been unleashed to kill the orphans before they come of age to avenge their Father’s throne. Following the search, a lone protector is sent to retrieve the Brotherhood back to the new world. No one knows where the children are, and they have no knowledge of one another. But all is set to change when Benjamin, Tommy and Sebastian join together to face an unspeakable evil and the temptations of magical powers. The Three Thorns is book one in this exciting children’s fantasy series.

The Brotherhood and the Shield series is in the same category of such beloved children’s books as C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials. Without giving too much away, The Brotherhood and the Shield tells the story of a group of orphans growing up in a borstal home in London at the turn of the 20th Century. The series centers around three main characters - Benjamin Brannon, Sebastian Cain and Tommy Joel and their progression from childhood to adulthood.

In The Three Thorns, the orphans struggle to survive in tough upbringings before terrestrial forces call upon them for help from a world beyond their own, which offers answers to their past. They discover this new world called Abasin that has been overrun by a false king who has ruined most of what was good and magical about it and are landed with the burden to put things right due to a birthright each share.

The characters form a Brotherhood together and are helped by many of Abasin's last survivors, most of them magical creatures. Through their journey to rid the new world from evil, the Brotherhood meets friends and foes. Some set out to protect and train them into warriors, while others are on a mission to hunt them down and kill them.

Not all things are what they appear to be in the story of The Brotherhood and the Shield.

How did the idea of the story come to you?

The whole subject of abandonment narrowed this particular book for a younger audience, but as I got to book 3, The Lost Prince, it progressed into something else. It became both a children’s series of struggle and victory and an adult book of reflection and loss. Some of my main characters have been based on real people I have met. 

The less central characters I created myself. But I got the initial idea from a friend who lost his parents at a very young age and I felt like writing a book for people like him and using this sense of loss and abandonment but giving such characters superpowers to compensate for that loss, that maybe it would give some comfort to such readers. 

A lot of the second book deals with one particular character that I believe most readers will relate to. His initial character in The Three Thorns is that of a loveable heroic underdog but his character changes later in the story.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

A bit of both. I don’t believe in making a story up as it comes to me because my nature is always to pre-plan and be cautious of decisions I make, both in writing and in life. I have a great deal of foresight, which I use my story and its structure and continuity, however when a great idea comes to me out of left field, I utilize it and incorporate into the story where best suited. I also do not believe in ignoring a potentially amazing concept just because it wasn’t planned. Sometimes the most genius ideas don’t come from us planning anything. I believe they’re given as a gift we sort of download from a higher source or frequency beyond ourselves.

What’s the hardest part of writing for you?

Having the motivation as all writers but mostly when I’m writing, it flows naturally for me. I’m lucky. My biggest challenge is having the mental energy. Using so much brainpower and exercising a muscle like the brain can take its toll on the human body’s energy levels. So having no coffee is the hardest part of writing for me, personally.

What do you absolutely have to have nearby when writing?

Coffee or a strong cup of British tea and a selection of favorite classical film scores playing in the background to get me in the zone.

What are you reading right now?

Stephen King’s Carrie and Philip Pullman’s The Subtle Knife.

If you could have any super power, what would it be?

The gift of flight. I feel this superpower was best executed in the movie Chronicle. This is taken for granted with most comic book characters, but if you think about it, if one could fly in reality, it would be pretty incredible. I’ve always wanted to be able to fly. I think nothing would compare to such an experience, hence why I included it in The Brotherhood and the Shield sequels.  

What's the weirdest thing you've googled?

The Paranormal. Both stories and testimonies.

  

Finish this sentence: If I'm not writing, I'm probably ... writing in my head. 

Here’s the part where you thank the people who are supporting you. Let's hear your shout outs.

The God of Jacob for giving me the opportunities and talents to create such a daring series as this. My Grandfather for passing down the gift of literature and the ability to write it. My parents who have supported me the most with my career in writing. My agents Liza Fleissig and Ginger Harris of Liza Royce Agency, for believing in this book and pushing it all the way. Tina Sims for being the first person in the Literary industry who saw my potential as a writer and saw the vision in The Three Thorns novel. My editor Jennifer Rees for taking a chance on my debut novel and for doing an amazing job at editing it. My Publisher and everyone at Tantrum Books who have been working hard to promote and get The Three Thorns into the hands of every child and adult fan of the fantasy genre. And to my loyal friend, supporter and advocate, Film Composer, Music Producer and Songwriter, Van Dyke Parks.

ABOUT MICHAEL GIBNEY:

Michael Gibney began working in restaurants at the age of sixteen and assumed his first sous chef position at twenty-two. He ascended to executive sous chef at Tavern on the Green, where he managed an eighty-person staff. He has worked in the kitchens of Morgans Hotel Group, 10 Downing in Manhattan, and Governor in Brooklyn’s DUMBO, among many others. Over the course of his career, he has had the opportunity to work alongside cooks and chefs from many of the nation’s best restaurants, including Alinea, Per Se, Eleven Madison Park, Daniel, Jean Georges, Le Bernardin, Bouley, Ducasse, Corton, wd~50, and Momofuku.

In addition to his experience in the food service industry, Gibney also holds a BFA in painting from Pratt Institute and an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

        

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Interview With Scott Craven, Author of Dead Jed 2: Dawn of the Jed

Today we are happy to have Scott Craven here to answer a few questions about himself and his newest release, Dead Jed 2: Dawn of the Jed, which I cannot wait to get my hands on! But before we delve into the questions, here's a bit about the book!

Title: Dead Jed 2: Dawn of the Jed
Publication date: December 9, 2014
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
Author: Scott Craven

The first part of seventh grade was rough on Jed, but things are looking up now that Christmas is
almost here. As with past Christmases, Jed asks for the one thing he’s always wanted–a dog–and again, his parents tell him they’re not ready. But fate has a different plan when Jed sees a dog get run over by a car. Then, it happens. Jed suddenly has a pet, Tread, a zombie dog bearing his namesake–a tire tread down his back. Jed may have gained a dog, but he loses his best friend Luke, who fears the way Jed created his undead pet.

When Jed returns to school, he finds a mysterious group called the No Zombies Now Network spreading rumors of the dangers the undead pose to normal people. Forced to disprove Hollywood stereotypes, Jed has his work cut out for him as stories of a zombie dog begin to circulate. Jed could be expelled if he can’t expose the NZN Network as a fraud. Jed needs help from his kind of girlfriend Anna, especially after he discovers Luke has joined the shadowy group.

Once again navigating the treacherous waters of middle school, Jed does his best to stay in one piece. Only this time he’ll need even more duct tape and staples than usual.

         

             

Welcome to We Do Write, Scott! Wow! Congrats on the release of Dead Jed 2: Dawn of the Jed! How did the idea of the story come to you?

As Jed finished seventh grade on a high note, you knew the good times couldn’t last, not when the bully Robbie was primed for payback. This time I wanted to throw something new into the mix I’m a huge dog lover, having grown up with a canine or two in the house. It was time for Jed to get his own pet. But is a zombie going to have a normal canine? Not a chance. I knew what had to be done. 

I love the idea of Tread! Can't wait to read your take on a zombie canine. Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Plotting is for the organized. While “Dawn of the Jed” took me to unexpected places, my favorite zombie absolutely threw me off the trail as I took on the third book.  

What’s the hardest part of writing for you?

Starting. That’s why my previous day’s finish is so important. I try to leave off in a place where I know what’s going to happen next. It makes it so much easier to sit in front of the keyboard when I can say, “OK, Jed’s in big trouble, but with the help of his magical zombie powers, he stops, shoots, and swish.” Or something like that.

Starting is HARD! I will have to try your approach. What do you absolutely have to have nearby when writing?

I start very early in the morning, so I need coffee. I have the benefit of a fulltime writing job that keeps me busy Monday through Friday, so I need to walk the dog, read the newspaper and surf the Net a bit before I’m ready to tackle Jed’s further adventures. Did I mention coffee?  

What are you reading right now?

I just finished “The Bone Clocks” by David Mitchell. I wish I had one percent of his talent. I’m in the middle of “The Troop” by Nick Cutter. If you love spine-tingling thrillers, give this one a shot. It’s not for the weak of stomach. You’ve been warned.

If you could have any super power, what would it be?

It was flying, but now I want the power of DNA manipulation. I’d twist my personal strand to resemble a genetic collision of David Mitchell, Stephen King and Charles Dickens. It may result in a time-traveling French Revolution ghost story in which a vampire dog teams with an underground group of immortals to avert the end of the world by convincing a truly cruel individual to mend his ways, but it would be really interesting.  

I'd read that! What's the weirdest thing you've googled?

“Genetic manipulation: Author style.”

Finish this sentence: If I'm not writing, I'm probably ... 

Watching all the crap I record on my DVR. Truly, I am not proud of my TV tastes, but I’m having too much fun to stop now. 

Here’s the part where you thank the people who are supporting you. Let's hear your shout outs.

So many thanks to the three people who gave me so much before vanishing from this earth: My mom, my mentor, my best friend. And shout-outs to my loved ones who keep me grounded, always reminding me what’s truly important. And it’s not money, fame or power. Or even fantasy football. Thank you Dad, Bryson and Melissa.  

ABOUT SCOTT CRAVEN:

Proud graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, have one son who will turn 18 in March 2013, now a features writer for The Arizona Republic.

         

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