We’re in the third day of the Warriors in the Crossfire blog tour, I was fortunate enough to score an interview with the book’s acquiring editor, Stephen Roxburgh.

I met Mr. Roxburgh several months ago when I was in his Founders Workshop (highly recommended). He’s a fan of electronic publishing (I had to link to that article because I love the sketch of him being blown away by the iPad), and he’s married to Carolyn Coman (see Arthur Levine rave about her coming book–16.20 minutes into the video).

Bio:

In celebration of the freshly toured and newly released Calamity Jack, I am pleased to have the three Hales drop by for an interview.

OK I am a little more than pleased. I’m giddy with excitement that Shannon Hale, one of my favorite writers of all time, has condescended to visit my little blog and that she has brought her two talented sidekicks along with her.

So…On with the interview.

WoD: Shannon, Book of a Thousand Days is my favorite of your stories. After I read it, I was amazed that so much of it took place in a small tower with only two characters present for most of that time. And yet, in that confined space, with that confined cast, it was such a compelling read. I’m wondering, though, did you ever with that book, or with any of your books, hit times when you thought, “This can’t work. It’s ridiculous. I need more characters/scenery/action/humor/angst/whatever to make this work. This book just stinks!”

Shannon Hale: Wow, thanks, Sally. This book is very dear to me. There were definitely times (read: daily) when I thought to myself, This is crazy. You can’t write a book where there are two characters locked up in darkness for the first half! But the challenge of it intrigued me. Most of my books have big, epic landscapes, which I love. But the idea of trying to whittle down the story to the essentials was very inviting. Like writing a one-act play. After reading Maid Maleen (the fairy tale I based the story on) I was determined to start the book already in the tower. I knew it was risky, and maybe that choice has turned off some readers, but I also knew that having that space as the start would allow so much more movement later in the story and get it to where I wanted it to go by the end.

And to be honest, the risks and doubts come with every book, and often. Every time I start a new book, I think, This is impossible. How do you write a novel?

WoD:  Heh heh. That’s heartening to those of us who are struggling with trying to start novels of our own. You succeed in making it all look so easy. Do you have the most trouble with beginnings, middles, or endings on your books? Or once you get your start does the rest of it just flow effortlessly from your fingertips?

Shannon Hale: It’s really amazing, I don’t know what other writers complain about. I just sit down and the story flows through my fingers onto the computer screen as easily as a sigh. (Ah, if only…) They’re all battles, but the trouble spots vary with each book and each draft. First drafts are the hardest for me though. Once I have that, I have clay to mold. Rewriting is a lot more fun.

 WoD: I would have guessed that you like rewriting. Your writing is fun to read, so I could tell you like to polish up the words to make sure the pictures you paint are just right. So, how long does it take you to write a book, on average, from idea to final draft?

Shannon Hale: 1-7 years, depending on the book and the daily time I can devote. I usually have two books going on at once so while my editor has one, I can be working on another. Yeah, I’m a little obsessive.

WoD: And obsessive people are so much fun to work with. Dean, when you and Shannon write together, do you sit together and brainstorm, or do you write one scene and she another?

Dean Hale: We brainstorm a lot, way before we even begin writing. We seem to do our best work when I’m trapped, like on a long car trip, or after something exceptionally heavy has fallen on me.

WoD: Heh heh. Who has final word on a scene if there’s a disagreement?

Dean Hale: Shannon does, mostly. From the beginning we had to decide someone was the boss, so we wouldn’t get mired down in turf wars and inevitable knife fights. Shannon is the boss at home, so that setup came naturally.

 WoD:  And I am thankful for that, because my favorite part of Calamity Jack was the romance. Whose idea was that? I bet you and Nathan thought the giant ants were enough to carry the story.

Dean Hale: Oh, no, the romance was all mine. I wrote this beautiful 12 page scene of Jack and Rapunzel talking about their feelings, but Shannon said that didn’t leave enough room for the giant ants. Giant anything takes up a lot of space. And yes, that was all a lie. Except for giant things taking up a lot of space. That’s true.

Shannon Hale: I remember in Rapunzel’s Revenge, you wrote the first draft of the last scene, that big romantic climax, and you scripted a very affectionate hug. I was like, nuh-uh. Step aside and let the lady handle the romance.

WoD:  Jack is such a sweet, clueless fellow who always seems to mess things up, but that’s what makes him attractive. He’s far from arrogant—he’s not sure of himself at all. He knows he’s screwed up and he is afraid that the smart and capable Rapunzel won’t be able to love him. When you write these graphic novels, or any of your books, do you have theme in mind? Are you trying to teach a lesson?

Shannon Hale: Themes are essential, and they come naturally with each draft. There are certain themes that just work with a story, enrich it. But I never try to teach a lesson. Didactic fiction doesn’t work. I hope that readers get what they need and teach themselves their own lessons.

Dena Hale: No, no lessons or themes, at least not in the moral sense. We have an idea of the journey we want a character to take, but mostly just try to find the characters, and if that’s working, the human-condition stuff comes with it. Also, I wanted to say “didactic,” too, but since Shannon beat me to it, I’ll have to shoehorn in a different nine-dollar word in the next question.

 WoD: I was amazed that you could get across such deep characterization (nine-dollar characterization, I guess you could call it, Dean) with so few words. How many words are in the novel? And does this mean a picture really is worth a thousand words?

Shannon Hale: The illustrations really take the place of a prose novel’s narrator. Nate is a storyteller, which is why we love him. His pictures and expressions are so wonderful. I’m not sure how many words it is, because our scripts have the dialog as well as the action descriptions. The final Calamity Jack script is 23,000 words, but most of that is description for Nate that the reader will never see.

Dean Hale: What she said. We also wrote character and world briefs, talking about the nature of Jack’s world and his internal journey. Then, magically, Nate took all that and infused the art with story-appropriate gravitas. There. There it is. “Gravitas.” Way cooler than “didactic.”

 WoD: Umm. I’m not so sure. Gravitas is cool, but didactic is pretty doggone tough to beat. But, moving on before we get into a fight about this…speaking of dear Nate, I have some questions for him, too.

Nathan, I’ve never read a graphic novel before. I really enjoyed Calamity Jack. I am so curious about how a collaborative book like this comes together. Shannon has just told that she and Dean do give you action descriptions. What does that look like? For instance, the text for The Great Sandwich Caper on page six, doesn’t tell anything about the caper itself. That story is told entirely through the pictures. Do you make up the story there, or do Shannon and Dean?

Nathan: It changes from panel to panel. That scene you mentioned was written out by the authors. Other times, they’ll just say “They Fight.” And leave the action to me. There are authors who go into detail on every panel and what should be in it, Shannon and Dean were pretty easy going and let me have free reign on many scenes.

 WoD:  How long did it take you to illustrate this novel?

Nathan: Just under a year.

 WoD: Yikes, that’s a long time. But I can believe it when I look at the details in those pictures. Which do you like best: drawing giant ants or drawing people kissing?

Nathan: Ant people are easy, I can draw one of those without even sketching it out. People kissing is a little trickier—you really have to plan it out. For the kisses in CALAMITY JACK, I looked at a lot of old movie posters from the 30s and 40s trying to find good poses for “Adventure Kisses” for lack of a better phrase.

WoD: Mmmhmm. Adventure Kisses. heh heh. That must be a guy thing. OK  This has nothing to do with Calamity Jack, but I just want to tell you I loved your twelve days of Christmas song on your blog. In fact, your entire blog is totally cool. How many hours a week do you spend on it?

Nathan: Oh thanks! My blog is a new thing. I actually started posting on a daily basis after JACK was finished. I now do a cartoon every weekday. Really it depends on how busy I am at the time. I put a lot of hours into THE 12 DAYS OF ROBO-CHRISTMAS. Most days I try to spend about 65 minutes or less on each post.

WoD: 65? Not 60 or 63? You’re an author as well as an illustrator. Which is easier; illustrating books you’ve written or ones written by others?

Nathan: Illustrating my own stories is a lot easier—I know exactly what I want to do and where I want to go. Collaborating is more challenging, I have to illustrate to the author as well as the audience. But collaboration leads to some cool things that I never would have come to on my own.

WoD: And you have certainly all three come up with some very cool things in Calamity Jack, the graphic novel. Well done! And thanks to all three of you for dropping by.

If you’d like to learn more about the three creative Hales, please visit them on the web. Here they are at home:

• Shannon
• Dean
• Nathan

OK Tour Fans, I’m as pleased as peacock in a pigsty to bring you an interview with that talented teller of tales, that wonderful weaver of words, that amazing maker of myth, Mmmmmmiiiiiiizzzzzzzzzzzzzzz….. Ingrid Law. (Put your hands together everybody!)

Ingrid loves small-town quirkiness. That love comes through in Savvy, her debut novel, which won both a Newbery Honor Award and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor. It also spent three weeks on the New York Times Bestsellers List, was voted one of Publisher’s Weekly’s Best Books of the Year (2008), and was chosen by Booklist as one of the Top 10 First Novels for Youth (2008). Ingrid, thanks for taking the time for this interview. I absolutely loved your prose in Savvy—you kind of pile up words, proving the adage, “less is more,” is not always true. More can be more when all the words add to the narrative and roll off the tongue in an interesting way (muddled and muzzy, and hollering hoo-ha, to pick two bits of fun from a random page). My question is: Where did you pick up this voice for Mibs? Have you ever known anyone who spoke the way she does?

Ingrid Law: Mibs’s voice is all her own. I had been reading a lot of tall tales at the time, so the tone definitely springs from that. But she uses a lot of alliteration and repeated words, or reduplicatives like “willy-nilly” and “shilly-shally.” I love words and love fitting them together into pleasant or fun-to-say combinations. Sometimes I’ll have to restructure a sentence just because it has one too many syllables–I get funny about my writing that way. Adages should be ignored and rules should be broken… at least every now and then.

Well you ignore the adages well. Yes, I can tell you love words. Scumble! What a great word. I was unfamiliar with it before I read this book. Do you read the dictionary for fun? Are you a painter? How did you decide on scumble? Or is a common word and I’ve just been living under a rock?

Ingrid Law:  So many people think that I made the word up. There aren’t actually too many words in the book that aren’t real. I don’t read the dictionary, but I do collect words. I have 4-5 “word of the day” sites I love. And if I’m reading and come across a new word I like, I’ll always write it down. “Scumble” just seemed like the perfect word for the “art” of learning to control a larger-than-life talent. If I understand it right, in painting, scumbling is a technique that ultimately helps balance all the hues in a painting, placing a thin layer of transparent paint over a tone that stands out too much so that it blends better with the rest of the image. If you think of that like a whole person, scumbling is like balancing all the elements of yourself so that no one thing (like the ability to make storms or hear other people’s thoughts, in the case of the characters in Savvy) takes over completely.

And yet, in your descriptions, you often paint in vibrant colors (and your fans are thankful because your characters are so much fun). Where did you learn how to describe people so quirkily? You have a sense of humor, obviously. You give us a thin man with thin hair, but he’s not just a thin man–he’s so thin he’d have to stand up twice to cast a shadow and his thin hair is combed over his head like a blanket (unless, of course, it’s flapping like a flag in one of Fish’s mighty winds). I can see the man hunched over, protecting himself, covering his bald head, holding his clipboard like a shield. He’s about to be blown over by the wrath of the preacher. And yet, he has that pink tie and that carnation on his overall strap and so I think there must be a something more to Lester—some bit of self-confidence. I mean, he’s wearing a pink tie. Come on. I guess my question here is: Did you plan all this out or did the people just plop onto the page with their pink ties and their combovers?

Ingrid Law:   Ha! Yes, often they do just pop into my head. I love quirky characters. But I think that everyone has something a little quirky about them. Most people just try to hide their quirks. That same character, Lester, also has a shoulder twitch when he gets nervous. So do I! I was kind of hoping that if I gave it to him, it wouldn’t bother me anymore. In a way it worked–I still do it, but now I share my quirk… and my sense of humor about it. I think our quirks make us interesting. And, because we all have them, even if we won’t admit to it, they help us relate to or bond with characters who have quirks of their own. Our quirks can tell stories about us, and we should always be proud of our stories–or be able to laugh at them!

Three characters I never laughed at were Mibs’ brothers. I loved those boys–especially the two I saw most. But because I loved Fish and Sampson so much, I felt a little cheated that I didn’t get to know Rocket better. I would have loved to see a little romance there for Rocket and Bobbi. Any plans for bringing all these characters back in future books? And what, pray tell, is Sundance?

Ingrid Law:  Sundance, Wyoming, is where Uncle Autry’s ranch is located… remember the end of the book? Rocket? Is going… where? Sundance is also where much of the next book takes place. And, as a fan of Rocket, I hope you will be pleased, because he’s in it much, much more… though, he will be older. There may be romance, but I’m still working on the story, so I don’t like to promise anything. I love this family tree of wild characters, so yes, there will be more. But the next book is told from the perspective of an all new character–one you’ve not met before in Savvy. Still, there will be familiar faces along the way: Samson, Gypsy… but for now, Mibs’s story has been told.

OK I had forgotten where Rocket was going. Yes! I’m so glad he will be in the next book.  And speaking of glad…. I’m sure you were crazy with gladness when you saw the cover to Mibs’ story–Yikes! It’s so good!–and even crazier with gladness when the Newbery people called, but can you pick one moment in this wild ride you’ve been on and say it was the most satisfactory?

Ingrid Law:  I cannot pick one moment, no. It’s been such a series of amazing moments! I love the cover too! Brandon Dorman is a genius. He’s working on the next cover as well, and, so far, the sketches are amazing, I hope the book lives up to its cover! Aside from the Newbery call (ASTOUNDING), seeing the book in the store for the first time was pretty amazing. The call about making the New York Times Bestsellers List was cool, too… I was cleaning out the very last items from the mobile home I’d lived in for the last fourteen years when my agent called with the news. I couldn’t have moved if it hadn’t been for the book.

(Wow. Living in a trailer. Dear Reader, do you know who else was living in a trailer as he was writing his first bestseller? Stephen King. He wrote Carrie on a board stretched between the washer and dryer in his mobile home. And…guess who else is writing great novels in her trailer? That’s right. Me.  I’m just saying. )

Writers are often shy and in the FAQ on your website you say, “Like Sampson, I prefer solitude.” Do you enjoy school visits, then? How is your new “stardom” sitting with you? 

Ingrid Law:  I never knew I had it in me to stand up in front of 350 kids and speak, but the kids always make my visits great! It’s hard not to have fun when they are such a great audience and ask so many wonderful questions. It’s true that I am a person who needs a lot of time hidden away in my own little world, but visiting schools has been fun. Now that I write full-time, school visits also help get me out of the house! Though, I do limit the number that I do. It uses a very different part of my brain and my personality than writing–one is so public, the other so private. My life has become one of social extremes. “Stardom,” however, is not a word that I warm to quickly, because it’s not one that I’ve ever longed to strive for. One of the comments I received after a recent school visit was “you’re just like a normal person who wrote a book.” I wasn’t sure if they were disappointed or surprised, but I was pleased to be able to show people that authors ARE just regular people too.

That’s very encouraging and I’m glad you’re giving that to the kids.  This is your debut novel. I saw in a wonderful interview that you wrote this book in 2007. But what is your writing history? Had you been writing long before you got the idea for Savvy? Do you have manuscripts filed on some old hard drive or stored on floppy disks in the bottom drawer of your desk? (I’m kidding. I’ve seen your pictures. You’re hardly old enough to remember floppy disks.) Can you tell us a little about your road to publication, or give a link to blog posts on it, or something.

Ingrid Law:  I DO remember floppy disks! And yes, the first book I ever wrote (a mystery–and a bad one) was stored on one. I’d have no way of accessing it now, so I’m glad I printed it… though, nobody will ever, ever read it unless I’m dead. I began writing off and on over fifteen years ago, but I never took my writing too seriously until recently. So, yes, I have manuscripts in drawers and boxes–which is where they will stay! I’m all about moving forward. Savvy was the second manuscript I tried seriously to peddle. The one before it found 45 rejections from agents–including one from the agent who took me on as a client with Savvy. But I’m glad it got rejected now, or I might never have written Savvy.

Oh, I also have novels collecting dust and I also have collected some rejections I’m thankful for. The similarities between us are eerie. (OK what writer hasn’t collected rejections? But there is still that trailer thing. Many wannabe authors don’t live in trailers. Hm. I better shut up about it before they all get the idea to move.) So, were you a reader when you were young? What were your three favorite books?

Ingrid Law:  I didn’t become a big reader until the fifth grade. After that, I loved the Anne of Green Gables books, the Lord of the Rings, and anything by Diana Wynne Jones. I didn’t give you three books, did I. I gave you three groups of books. I’m bad at favorites.

Eerie, I tell you. Anne and The Lord of the Rings are two of my favorites, also. And I adore Diana Wynne Jones’ story worlds. I was reading The Spellcoats when I had a huge breakthrough in how to craft a story world that felt real. There were several things that I adored about Savvy, though. Quirky details but also theme.  One thing Mibs learns is that we can all be happy with how God made us and what mean people say about us is not who we really are. But we have to silence the critical voices and listen to the encouraging voices. I loved the way Lester inflated under Lill’s praise and encouragement. She breathed life into him. You obviously want to encourage kids to find their own savvies and to know that no matter what people say about them, they have worth. Can you tell us a little about why this message is important to you? Did you start with the message or did it grow out of who the characters were?

Ingrid Law:   Actually, I think this all came out of the fact that when I began working on Savvy I promised myself that every time I had a self-critical thought about what I was writing, or thought “no one will like that” or “people will think that’s too weird,” I would ignore it. So writing Savvy became a practice in trusting my own voice as an author. That, then, got into Mibs’s character and helped shape her as well.

Well, it sure worked. You gave us a wonderful story with fun language, fabulous characters, and fathoms of depth. Thanks so much for the interview! And if any of you readers want more, Natasha has a really good interview up over at Maws Book Blog.

Today I am pleased to offer you an interview with J. Scott Savage, the author of Farworld: Water Keep.

J. Scott Savage has been creating stories for as long as he can remember. He lives at the mouth of a canyon where morning and evening winds keep the air clear and blue—along with blowing over patio tables, trees, basketball stands, and the occasional small child. He has a wonderful wife who has stuck with him for more than twenty years, four great children, a spastic border collie, and possibly three or four fish. (The pond is still frozen, so he isn’t quite sure.)

Scott has held too many jobs to count, including: a mall Santa, French chef, CEO of a dot com, plumber, radio station talk show host, and the guy who sits in the little photo developing booth. He has completed one marathon and hopes to complete another when the memories finally fade away. He loves reading, writing, camping, playing games with his family, and especially hearing from and meeting his readers. E-mail him or schedule a visit at scott@jscottsavage.com, come to his website www.readfarworld.com.

SAA~ First of all, I’d like to thank you for agreeing to meet me here at the Georgia Aquarium. I figured since the first Far World book is called Water Keep, it might be appropriate to hang out here with the beluga whales while we chat. Besides, I’m on a diet and the food here costs a fortune, and that’s great for curbing my appetite.

JSS~ I have been to Georgia a ton of times. I can’t believe I haven’t been to the aquarium. I have sure been to a lot of Waffle Houses. So would it be rude to ask if the whales eat grits?

SAA~ I don’t know if whales eat grits (I don’t think they’d mind if you asked them) but they do use stilts. And speaking of children’s books, what were your three favorite books when you were a kid?

JSS~ Wow, stilts. I had no idea. But now that you mention it I can totally see how they look so much bigger because of the stilts. Without them they’d only be slightly large dolphins. Good to know.

As far as my favorites as a kid, it depends on how old we’re talking about. I mean The Cat in the Hat was pretty big at one time. Actually, I’ll admit, I still like it a lot.

Let’s go with:

• A Wrinkle in Time. Isn’t that on everybody’s list?
• The Outsiders. I still can’t believe that book was written by a teenager.
• And I really liked the Great Brain series, although it may have been to learn how to con other kids.

SAA~ When did you decide you wanted to write children’s novels?

JSS~ It sounds like a made up answer, but I didn’t. The idea just wouldn’t go away, and when I started writing it, it was to prove to myself I couldn’t do it. Guess I lost that bet. It’s been fun to have a book my little guys can enjoy though.

Look at the sharks! They look hungry. I’m sure glad they can’t get out.

SAA~ Whoa. Can anyone say A-D-D?

JSS~ You’re first clue wasn’t when you found out I’ve written five different genres of novels?

SAA~ Ummmm … Scott?

JSS~ Huh? Oh yeah. Right here.

SAA~ Are the sharks sitting with napkins tucked into their collars and banging their forks on the table, or what? How can you tell a hungry shark from a satiated shark?

JSS~ It’s the little bottles of Tabasco sauce they have tucked under their fins. Surprised you didn’t know that after revealing the whole stilts secret.

SAA~
Uh, the Tabasco. Yeah. I can’t see any Tabasco, but if you can. . .

OK, then.
Since we’re talking about being craz–er, I mean hungry…what a great segue into my next question.

Just how hungry were you by the time you submitted to Shadow Mountain? Had you pitched to many houses before you landed, beaten and battered, on their doorstep?

JSS~ No, just them. I loved what they had done with the Leven Thumps and Fablehaven series, and I also liked how they believe in great stories that also have strong messages, without letting the message get in the way of the story.

SAA~ That just stinks. You only submitted to one house? Can you not make up a story or something to give hope to the rest of us who have been writing and submitting and being rejected for years? Can you not even give us the tired old line about how if we persevere we will eventually get published? Have a heart.

JSS~ Oh, wait you meant total publishers? Seventy-two, not including asking my Mom if she’s print out copies long hand. So, see, persistence really does pay off.

(Was that better?)

SAA~ Barely. But I think you might have backpedaled quickly enough.

JSS~
Actually, I’ve plenty of rejections, just not on this book.

By the way, did you happen to notice what happened to the poor woman’s poodle over there? She seems to have lost it. One minute it was staring at the sharks, and the next . . . ohhhh . . . I wondered why that shark was smiling.

Maybe we should move on to something a little more pleasant?

SAA~ Oh, the smiling shark is the satiated shark. Thanks for clearing up that mystery for us. And I’m assuming he’s stowed the bottle of Tabasco sauce back in his fridge, too?

Anyway, speaking of sharks, that reminds me of editors. Can you tell me about the editing process you went through with the book? Your own editing process and then the process it went through once it got to the publisher. I read on Shannon Hale’s site that she goes back and forth with her editor three or four times over a period of six months or more. How does working with Shadow Mountain editors compare to that?

JSS~ Let’s count: 1 first draft. 2. Changes requested by Lisa, pre-acceptance. 3. Changes requested by Chris Schoebinger. 4. Changes based on edits of my writing group. 5. Changes from beta group of kids via publisher. 6. Edits from other authors. 7. Edits from outsourced Shadow Mountain editor. 8. Final clean-up. Okay, eight.

SAA~ You sent the first draft? :eyebrow:

JSS~ Well the first draft before I had anyone outside edit it. I do a lot of self-editing as I go, but once I’m done, I don’t want to see it anymore. That definitely is not the best way for a lot of people, but it has always worked best for me.

Oh yes, these penguins are much more friendly looking than the sharks. And the sea lions are great. How can you not like an animal that rolls around and claps for itself?

SAA~ heh heh sounds like a lot of authors I know. No, not you. Quit being paranoid. I’m thinking about a joke I heard years ago:

Q: How many new novelists does it take to screw in a light bulb?

A: Enough about that. Let’s talk about my book.

My wife thought this joke was pretty funny when I told it to her. In fact, I’d say she laughed a little bit harder than she really needed to.

Now, about my book…

SAA~ (That was TL Hines on his blog just before his first book, Waking Lazarus, came out.)

OK enough of that, let’s talk about your book. Why is Farworld called Farworld? I mean, I can see why Marcus thinks of it as Farworld, but why do the people who live there call it Farworld? And why is it one word in the text and two words on the cover? Just curious.

JSS~ Good question. I’ll bet it will come up sometime before book 5.

Think we should move along? Maybe we otter. Heh, heh.

SAA~ For that lame pun, it’s only fitting that I hit you over the head with the dead fish before I throw it to the otter.

JSS~ (Ouch!!)

SAA~ Quit whining. You deserved it. And go ahead and be mysterious about Farworld. I don’t care. I’m just doing an interview is all. It’s not like I’m being nosy. I’m supposed to ask questions.

So, what made you decide to write a middle grade novel?

JSS~ I really didn’t. I didn’t think I could. But I’m so glad I was wrong.

SAA~ What made you choose a disabled protagonist?

JSS~ I know this is going to sound crazy too. But I didn’t . The story came into my head with Marcus disabled. That being said, it’s funny how people notice Marcus is disabled because it is physical. But in Kyja’s world, she is every bit as disabled. Magic is a huge part of every aspect of Farworld life.

SAA~ Oh no. Nothing you’ve said sounds crazy. (Where’s the finger-crossing smiley when you need him?)

JSS~ Oh look a touch pool. I’ll just roll up my sleeves and— Wait, this pool has stingrays and horse shoe crabs in it. What kind of touch pool is that?

That is just wrong.

What? Are the marine biologists sitting up in there offices waiting to get a good laugh? Next thing you know they’ll invite me to go swim with the great whites. I thought you Georgians were supposed to be friendly.

SAA~ Bless your heart, you’re talking about our southern hospitality. There’s nothing like it in the world.

We not only give y’all stingrays and crabs, we also give y’all sweet little ‘ol sharks in that there pool.

JSS~ Awww.

SAA~ Yep. We do it just for special people like you, who get their first drafts accepted on their first try.

Go ahead. The most you’re going to lose is a finger or two. And what with the speech recognition software they have out now you don’t need your fingers to type anymore.
But back to the interview. Are you writing (typing or using Dragon NaturallySpeaking, it doesn’t matter to me) to entertain or to teach?

JSS~ Definitely to entertain. I firmly believe that if you strive to write a good story it will come up with messages on its own. Whereas if you try to teach a lesson, your story will suffer dramatically.

Holy cow, would you like at the size of that fish? It is huge! Hmm, whale shark, huh? Seems a little confusing. Which is it? Whale or shark? It’s like calling a farm animal a cow-pig.

Wonder how many fish sticks you could get out of that?

SAA~ Or would they be mammal sticks? Is it a whale or shark?

JSS~ I guess we could stick our hands in there and find out, huh? I’ll just let you go first.

SAA~ :eyebrow:

Sorry, I’m not tall enough to reach into the tank.

I guess I could borrow the whale’s stilts. . .nah, I don’t really care if it’s a whale or a shark. Besides, can’t a whale bite off your hand as easily as a shark? So would sticking my hand in the water prove what the creature was one-way or the other? It doesn’t matter. I’m content to leave it undecided and just live with the mystery.

Speaking of mystery, why didn’t you write mysteries, or romances, or some other genre? What made you decide on fantasy?

JSS~ Same answer as middle grade. For years I have been telling my brother that I can’t write fantasy. But this story wouldn’t get out of my head. Having said that, I suspect fantasy will end up being a big, big part of what I write in the future.

SAA~ So do you have little fantasy-lovers at home? How many kids do you have and what are their ages?

JSS~ Four. 20,18, 10, and 8. I hope I got that right. Maybe I better call my wife to check.

Speaking of which, maybe we should drop by the gift shop. When I come home from a trip it’s like, “Dad. You’re home! I love you. What did you bring me?” Well at least they get the “I love you” part in before asking for presents.

SAA~ Or you could take home a couple of those bloody fingers you have on ice and let them make them into necklaces. Those would be neato Georgia Aquarium souvenirs. (Maybe this is too gross. I’m kidding kids. The shark didn’t really bite his fingers off.)

JSS~ Nope, they just nibbled a little. Very polite for sharks.

SAA~ And I’m kidding about JSS being crazy, too. He’s really quite sane and bright.
So, now that we’ve cleared that up…let’s move on to a lighter topic while you browse. Are you happy to have a map in your book ?

JSS~ I squealed like a third-grade girl when I saw it, and danced around the room. So, I guess that would be a yes.

SAA~ For some reason, I just can’t picture you squealing like a third-grade girl.

JSS~ Wow, who knew squeaky Belugas were that expensive? It should be filled with caviar for that price.

SAA~ Or maybe I can picture you squealing, after all.

You’re not going to buy it for your kids? You travel all over the world on this tour and you’re too tight to buy a fifty-three dollar plush toy for your eight year old just because it’s overpriced by forty-eight dollars?

JSS~ Great. Now I have guilt!

SAA~ Let’s get back to your book –the guy on the cover is a water elemental, right? And the green-haired girl and the man in the back are too? So is the other girl Kyja and where is Marcus and what is the pendant around the guy’s neck all about? Were you happy with the cover? I think it looks cool, just kind of missed Marcus. The inside illustrations you’re showing on your blog are all really, really cool.

JSS~ Actually all of the characters on the cover are water elementals. The one that could be Kyja is actually Mist. If this were only one book, I expect Marcus and Kyja would be on the cover. But we decided that for the sake of consistency and for general coolness factor we would put elementals on the first four books covers. I hope Marcus and Kyja will make the cover of book 5. I love the cover! It feels so powerful, and I think it will catch people’s eyes in the bookstores. The pendant was added by the artist to give a sense of movement. Sometimes people think the artwork has to exactly match the story. But I like to let the author interpret the story in his own way.

Ohh, let’s go see the whales one more time.

SAA~ What book (or other writing) are you working on now?

JSS~ Well, I’m finishing the third book in a regional mystery series—Shandra Covington.

I’m also working on book 2, Land Keep. And I’m planning an urban fantasy novel about a guy who gets sent to Hell and has a chance to work his way out. Lots of fun dark fantasy.

Speaking of dark. Where are we when did the lights go out? And why does everything smell like fish. Uh, oh, I’m getting a serious Pinocchio feeling here. Maybe we better head back that way.

SAA~It’s OK we’re just in the underwater tunnel. Look up and you can see the fish swimming above us.

What’s your favorite piece of writing you’ve ever written.

JSS~ Almost always whatever I’m working on is my favorite, because it’s so real while I am working on it.

That was close. I guess it’s time to go.

SAA~ What was close?

JSS~ You know the whole tunnel thing. Haven’t you noticed that hundreds of people are going in but only a dozen or so are coming out? I’ve got the feeling that’s no ordinary tunnel. Especially with the strong anchovy smell.

SAA~ Well, we’d better wrap up, then. Any last words? Anything you want to tell me that I haven’t asked?

JSS~ Keep an eye out for my new website http://www.readfarworld.com/. It looks like it is going to be really cool.

SAA~ It’s already really cool. I love it.

Thanks, Scott, for flying in to give me this interview. Come on, I’ll spring for lunch. Fish sticks and human fingers–er, I mean–chicken fingers. It’s the least I can do.