The Supervillain and Me
Danielle Banas
(Morriston Superheroes #1)
Published by: Swoon Reads
Publication date: July 10th 2018
Genres: Romance, Science Fiction, Superheroes, Young Adult
As witty as it is heartpounding, this fresh take on the beloved superhero genre is all about finding your own way to shine even when it seems everyone else around you is, well… super.
Never trust a guy in spandex.
In Abby Hamilton’s world, superheroes do more than just stop crime and save cats stuck in trees―they also drink milk straight from the carton and hog the television remote. Abby’s older brother moonlights as the famous Red Comet, but without powers of her own, following in his footsteps has never crossed her mind.
That is, until the city’s newest vigilante comes bursting into her life.
After saving Abby from an attempted mugging, Morriston’s fledgling supervillain Iron Phantom convinces her that he’s not as evil as everyone says, and that their city is under a vicious new threat. As Abby follows him deeper into their city’s darkest secrets, she comes to learn that heroes can’t always be trusted, and sometimes it’s the good guys who wear black.
Chosen by readers like you for Macmillan’s young adult imprint Swoon Reads, The Supervillain and Me is a hilarious, sweet, and action-packed novel by debut author Danielle Banas that proves no one is perfect, not even superheroes.
Interview with Danielle Banas
Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in The Supervillain and Me?
My characters all are pretty dorky
– but like in the best way possible. My main character, Abby, is a huge theatre
nerd. She really couldn’t care less about all the superheroes in her city;
she’s just trying to get a good role in her school musical. And then her
brother, Connor, is a famous superhero, but he’s also the typical teenage guy.
He’s almost always eating something, and he’s very protective of his little
sister, which is understandable considering the city they live in is a hot
mess. The fictional town of Morriston that I created for this book would be a
cool place to live in theory, what with the superheroes and all, but really
it’s just smarter to run the other way. The crime rate in that place is out of
control. And lastly, as for the “villain” in The Supervillain and Me…I don’t want to say too much about him
because of spoilers, but I do refer to him in my head as the Sass Master, so I
think that says everything it needs to.
Can you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have planned
for the future?
I don’t think I’m allowed to say
much about it yet, but I am drafting my next book at the moment. All I can tell
you is that it will definitely have quirky characters and a healthy dose of
sarcasm. I love making people laugh, so I always try to pack in as many jokes
as possible whenever I’m writing.
How
long would you say it takes you to write a book?
It really depends. I’ve made it through
first drafts in three or four months before, but that’s basically a miracle for
me because I’m a pretty slow writer. For Supervillain,
I started writing it during the summer after my junior year of college and finished
during the fall semester of my senior year. So it took a little less than six
months. Then it went through six or seven rounds of edits between the first
draft and the final book, so start to finish, it’s been about a four year
process.
What
is your favorite childhood book?
Harry Potter for the win. Deathly Hallows is my favorite, followed
by Order of the Phoenix. When I was
in elementary school, I would spend a good chunk of my summer vacation reading
and rereading all the books because I didn’t want to read one of them more than
the others. No lie, I’ve read each one ten times. I still remember my mom
yelling at me because I wouldn’t go outside and play; I’d just sit on the couch
and read Harry Potter.
If
you could spend the day with one of the characters from The Supervillain and Me who would it be? Please tell us why you
chose this particular character, where you would go and what you would do.
So I feel like Connor (aka Red Comet) would
be the most fun to hang out with for a day. He was actually my favorite character
to write, mostly because so much of what he says and does is just really out
there. He’s a lovable doofus for sure, and he has such a huge heart. I’m an
only child, but if I had a brother, I wouldn’t mind having one like him. As for
what we would do… Connor has two loves in his life – Disney and Mexican food.
Coincidentally, I also love Disney and Mexican food. So first we would get some
lunch (he favors the burrito, but I’m more of a quesadilla person). Then we
would go to Disney World and ride the Jungle Cruise at Magic Kingdom over and
over and recite all of the amazingly lame dad jokes. After that, I could
totally see him dragging me on Space Mountain, which is one of my least
favorite rides because it always gives me a major headache.
What
was the hardest scene from The
Supervillain and Me to write?
Honestly, the entire second half of the
book was pretty tough. When I wrote the first draft, I was mainly doing it for
my own enjoyment while I was on summer break; I never imagined that the story
would eventually be published. I barely did any outlining. (Oops.) I had a
decent idea of what I wanted to do for the first half, but then I hit the
second half and was like, “Oh crap. Now what?” Thankfully, I think it turned
out really well.
What
made you want to become a writer?
Well, if I’m being technical, then I’ve
wanted to tell stories since I was two years old and decided that my goal in
life was to be exactly like the kids on Barney.
But realistically, I didn’t want to become a writer until my junior year of
college. I took a creative writing class as an elective, and all the students
in it were such talented writers that I really felt like I needed to push
myself to do well. I gained so much confidence in my writing during that class,
and after it was over I really missed it. (And I wasn’t a big fan of school at
all, so for me to actually be sad that a class was over was a HUGE deal.) That
was when I wrote the first draft of Supervillain.
At first I was only doing it for fun, but after a while I started to think to
myself, “This is kind of good. Maybe you can get this published one day.” Deep
down inside I knew that even if it wasn’t that story, then somehow, someday I
would get something else published instead. When I set a goal, I’m too stubborn
and too obsessed with succeeding to let it go.
Just
for fun
(a
Favorite song: "Bohemian Rhapsody"
(b
Favorite book: The entire Harry Potter series
(c
Favorite movie: Forrest Gump
(d
Favorite TV show: Riverdale and Property Brothers are my favorite shows
that are on currently, but I love love love Seinfeld
reruns.
(e
Favorite Food: Key lime pie
(f
Favorite drink: Lemonade (unless we’re talking adult beverages, then I’m a
margarita fan
(g
Favorite website: I’m a sucker for a good Buzzfeed article.
Thanks
so much for visiting with us today!
Author Bio:
Danielle Banas, a Pittsburgh native, earned a degree in communication from Robert Morris University. After years spent dreaming up characters instead of paying attention in class, Danielle joined the storytelling platform Wattpad, where her work has received millions of views online. When she isn’t writing, she can be found loudly singing show tunes, spouting off Walt Disney World trivia, and snuggling with her puppy. THE SUPERVILLAIN AND ME is her debut novel.
Follow her on Twitter or Instagram @daniellebanas
1 comments:
Thanks for being on the tour!
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