The Catalogues of Epicness, Book 1
Young Adult Humor
Date Published: 12/14/2019
Publisher: INtense Publications LLC
Xavier Crenshaw discovers his life’s calling when he devises an elaborate prank that goes badly wrong. Enlightened by this experience, Xavier creates “snardling,” which is subtly but crucially different from ordinary pranks. For starters, snardlers never get caught. Crisis comes when Xavier and his two partners snardle the whole school, and the wrong person gets blamed. The team falls apart in the aftermath, until a despondent Xavier receives a secret note requesting a snardle of extraordinary proportions to occur at the unveiling of long-dead poet’s secret diary. Despite his careful planning, Xavier wasn’t ready for the terrifying surprise awaiting him, and no one in Penceleton is prepared for what comes next.
Interview with James B. Caruthers
As a writer, what would you choose as your
mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
A very plucky snail.
How many hours a day do you put into your writing?
The temptation to stretch the truth with this answer is
very, very strong… Fridays and weekends it’s about 2-3 hours per day. Monday
through Thursday it’s usually hit-or-miss, but I try to never let a day pass
without getting something down.
Do you read your book reviews?
Of course!
Do you leave hidden messages in your books that only a few
people will find?
There’s one or two, mainly
related to artists I admire.
In the first drafts of Snardler, all of the
teachers were given last names that were also the names of mythical monsters. I
had to use pretty obscure legendary creatures, because “Mr. Dracula” would be a
little too obvious. So, Mrs. Gruber was formerly Mrs. Krampus (later, the
legend of the Krampus was made into a movie, so that was out), Coach Clemmons
was Coach Enfield (after the Illinois Enfield monster), and so on. I eventually
cut this because the names were too distracting, but it was fun doing the
research.
Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Snardler?
What I like most about the main
character, Xavier, is his passion and drive, even if it’s aimed in directions
some might find antisocial. Snardling is his higher calling, his truth, and so
a lot of the things that a kid like him might really stress over, like his
weight, grades and popularity, aren’t really on his radar. His only concern is the
next snardle.
Russ is an interesting guy.
Super-smart, really into STEM, and a straight-A student. But, he’s got an unexpected
adventurous streak (along with a heaping helping of anxiety), making him the
ideal partner for Xavier.
Frannie’s story kind of developed
as the novel progressed. I wanted a female character who was tough, smart and
mercenary, but it turns out her prickly persona serves at least in part as a
shield. She’s been abandoned to her increasingly senile grandmother, which puts
12 year old Frannie in the caretaker role. That’s a lot to handle, no matter
how tough a kid is. I didn’t fully
realized how hard I’d made things for Frannie until I started hearing from
readers who felt deeply sorry for her.
Can you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have
planned for the future?
I’m working on the sequel to Snardler. There’s a pretty strong hint at the end of
the first book that the Fort Epic, the remote hideout where Russ and Xavier
plan their snardles and keep their gear, is in danger of being sold. Worse, the
buyer of the property is the school district! To build a football stadium!
Xavier no doubt feels both persecuted and paranoid as his two arch-nemesis (the
educational system and organized sports) attempt to wrest away his precious
sanctuary. An onslaught of snardles is the only logical response.
Do you allow yourself a certain number of hours to write or do you
write as long as the words come?
I usually set a minimum number of
hours, and sometimes I’ll exceed it. But when the words stop coming, I’m done
for that session and if my minimum hasn’t been met I’ll edit or do research.
The research part is tricky, though, because it’s all too easy for it to morph
into aimless internet browsing.
Do you have a certain number of words or pages you write per day?
Only during certain phases of a
book. I’ll set a number of pages during re-writes.
What inspires you to write?
Probably
my unshakeable thirst for self-aggrandizement.
Would you rather
Read fiction or
non-fiction?
Ooh, this is hard because I read both. When I was younger,
the answer was easy—fiction. Now, I’ll say…fiction.
Read series or
stand-alone?
Series. I like the anticipation that comes with knowing
there’s more.
Read Science fiction
or horror?
Sci-fi. I’m not a horror buff. I’m not a huge sci-fi fan,
either but prefer it over horror. With literary genres, I tend towards fantasy
and also detective fiction.
Read Stephen King or
Dean Koontz
Stephen King. He’s an amazing writer. And he also wrote what
is arguably the best book ever on the craft of writing. I’ve seen some of his interviews,
and he’s surprisingly self-deprecating. I think he refers to his work as
“salami.” But if the The Shining isn’t real literature, I’ll eat my
giant, demonically-possessed topiary animals.
Read the book or
watch the movie?
ALWAYS the book. The movie on the screen never equals the
one in my mind, and movies are uniformly terrible at capturing a given book’s
charm. There’s a few instances where I think the movie exceeded the book (Wild
at Heart) or at least came close to equaling it (Wizard of Oz). But with very,
very few exceptions the movies made from children’s books (all the Harry
Potters, Harriet the Spy, The House with the Clock in its Walls, ad infinitum) border
on blasphemy.
Read an ebook or
paperback?
I need to hold the book! But, thanks to my unethical
pre-holiday snooping, I know I’m getting a Kindle for Christmas so maybe my
position on this will change.
Be trapped alone for
one month in a library with no computer or a room with a computer and Wi-Fi
only?
The library. The second option is too much like real life.
Do a cross-country
book store tour or blog tour online?
Cross-country tour. Travelling’s
not my favorite thing, but I really enjoy meeting readers.
About the Author
Bearded, sluggish, treacherous, delightfully aromatic-- these are but a few of the adjectives that employers, friends, fans, and law enforcement have used when struggling to describe Houston-based novelist James B. Caruthers. He is a dad, a public-interest attorney, and proud author of his frankly dangerous debut novel Snardler.
James has dreamed of being a writer since the second grade. Now that this has been accomplished, he’s pretty darn full of himself. He loves his kids, loved being a kid, and is crazy about writing for kids. His writing philosophy is simple: never patronize. His snardling philosophy is equally as simple: never get caught.
Contact Links
Facebook: @snardler
Purchase Link
0 comments:
Post a Comment