-Does the wit and humour of Julie's voice come naturally to you?
I'm told that I'm a funny guy but I honestly don't see myself that way. When I'm writing Julie, I'm trying to write her as I see the story evolving and I use things that I say on a regular basis - these usually wind up in her speech patterns, so if she's funny then I'm happy. I like to think of her as a realist in her world view.
-What kind of research regarding witches did you do, and what did you add to it for Poltergeeks?
The normal, check out a couple of books at the library and read a ton of Wiccan information from websites. I actually did read the Malleus Maleifacarum - the 16h century treatise on the persecution of witches. That it exists today as an historical document available freely via the Interweb is a source of wonder.
-Would any, if so which, of your characters would be your best friend if they were real?
Hmmm. I'm pretty reclusive actually so if I were to have a friend from the two books, it would probably be Betty. :)
-How important is family in YA fiction?
I think its massively important to have an accurate reflection of family life in YA fiction. There are a lot of books out there where the family are just a bunch of dolts who are in the way of the protagonist for one reason or another. But the fact is family is all you've got at the end of the day. Your friends can desert you but your family are part of what makes all of us who we are - for better or worse. I wanted to further explore the mother-daughter relationship which I think comes out as very genuine in both books - more so in STUDENT BODIES as Julie and her mom have to work together and fight together despite the tension that exists between the two.
-What´s your favourite thing the Poltergeeks series has been compared to or described as?
I really liked author Sara Grant's blurb where she says POLTERGEEKS is GHOSTBUSTERS meets SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH with a dash of X-FILES
-What´s next for Julie and Marcus?
A great deal of very bad stuff. Assuming there's a book III. I have a two-book deal with Strange Chemistry. The third and final book is plotted and outlined but I haven't started writing it yet.
-Do you prefer...
---Planning or pantsing? Planning - I'm a control freak
---Your witches or your ghosts? - Ghosts. I saw one during my visit to London last year.
---Twitter, facebook, blog, or other way or reaching readers? I'm a big Twitter nut. Facebook ... the jury is still out.
-Random question: If Poltergeeks and Student Bodies became a musical, what kind of sound would it have? Definitely not Rogers and Hammerstein. Probably it would have a bit of Andrew Llloyd Webber mixed with Iron Maiden and a large amount of Rush.
-Anything else you want to say? Nope - thanks for the interview. I really hope readers get a kick out of STUDENT BODIES. It's a very very dark book when compared to the first one -- and a heck of an adventure.
Sean can be found on twitter, and at his website. Student Bodies can be bought on amazon. Thanks to YA Book Bound Tours for organising this :)
Ok, not only the books sound funny and like they'd be an interesting read, but you sold me when you said Iron Maiden songs would be there if it was a musical! Must check them now!
ReplyDeleteThe Poltergeeks series looks brilliant! Have heard so much great stuff about them; must look out for copies in bookshops and then bend the rules of my book buying ban :)
ReplyDeleteGreat interview! :)
-Georgia