Blog Tour + #Giveaway: Meet Me in the Strange by Leander Watts @XpressoTours

Meet Me in the Strange
Leander Watts
Publication date: March 27th 2018
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult

From the author of Beautiful City of the Dead and Stonecutter comes a dreamy, atmospheric coming of age story that will appeal to readers of all ages.

Davi tries to help a new friend, Anna Z, escape a cruel and controlling brother, and the teens end up running away to follow the tour of their rock idol, the otherworldly Django Conn. The story is set in a weird and wonderful retro-futuristic city of glam-girls and glister-boys and a strange phenomenon that Anna Z calls the “Alien Drift.”

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Interview with Leander Watts

Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Meet Me in the Strange?

Meet me in the Strange is a YA novel. Main character, Davi, tries to help a new friend, Anna Z, escape a cruel and controlling brother, and the teens end up running away to follow the tour of their rock idol, the otherworldly Django Conn. The story is set in a weird and wonderful retro-futuristic city of glam-girls and glister-boys and a strange phenomenon that Anna Z calls the “Alien Drift.”

Can you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have planned for the future?

I just finished a new YA novel which I'm calling Dynamite Sleeper. It's about punk rock (circa 1979), Buddhism, King Fu, epilepsy, breaking and entering, visions and (gulp) love.

How long would you say it takes you to write a book?

I do a thousand words a day. Then I let the book rest for a few weeks. Then I do revision and polishing. My agent sees the first version, makes suggestions, I make changes and it's off. Six months max.

What is your favorite childhood book?

"Watch Out For Pirates!" This might've been the start of my fascination for sabres, buried treasure and eye patches.

If you could spend the day with one of the characters from Meet Me in the Strange, who would it be? Please tell us why you chose this particular character, where you would go and what you would do.

I'd hang out with Davi - wander around the Angelus Hotel, go to record shops to buy albums and music mags, visit the cathedral, walk along the canals in the moonlight. I'd soak up the mysterious atmosphere of the city where Davi lives and maybe get a glimpse of the Alien Drift.

What was the hardest scene from Meet Me in the Strange to write?

I write every day. Some scenes are harder than others.I keep writing.

What made you want to become a writer?

I loved the music of David Bowie when I was a teenager (and still do). The first concert I ever attended was the first date of Bowie's Diamond Dogs tour. Glam was a huge influence on me, and still is. The first story I ever wrote was about a guy named Seth Lice who was an "intergalactic saxophone player". He was based on the picture of Bowie on the back of the Pin-Ups album. The story, "Sea of Milk," was never published, but the image of him stayed with me.

Just for fun

a)   Fave song: "Satellite of Love" by Lou Reed. (produced by David Bowie)

b)  Fave book: I go back again and again to reread Lawrence Durrell's Alexandria Quartet: smart, mysterious, sexy, exotic, and beautifully written. An amazing lost-and-found world.

c)   Fave movie: I recently saw again "Shanghai Express." Nobody was more beautiful than Marlene Dietrich and nobody captured the gorgeous look of fur and smoke like cameraman Lee Garmes.

d)   Fave TV show: 30 Rock (Tina Fey - Ach ja!)

e)   Fave food: Pork. According to cannibals, it's the meat that tastes most like human flesh. They call us "long pig."

f)    Fave drink: Chinotto, imported bittersweet orange soda I had first in NYC's Little Italy. Try it with a slice of lime.

Thanks so much for visiting with us today!

Author Bio:

An avid musician, Leander Watts has played and sung for decades in a wide variety of bands. His interests range from garage rock to skronky jazz, from baroque organ to Appalachian gospel. The first rock concert he attended was David Bowie on the Diamond Dogs tour in 1974. He teaches writing and literature at the State University of New York at Geneseo (his alma mater). Leander Watts is the author of Stonecutter, Wild Ride to Heaven, Ten Thousand Charms, and Beautiful City of the Dead.

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