Fanny Fitzpatrick and the Brother Problem
by Dana Hammer
GENRE: Middle Grade Greek Mythology
BLURB:
Dion Isaacs (the reincarnation of Dionysius), Athena’s brother, is wreaking havoc. After to an unfortunate bee-venom poisoning at his wine business, he is down on his luck and crashing at Athena’s place. But the former god of wine, feasting, and excess is a bad influence on Fanny’s best friends, with his partying, wacky business schemes, and general debauchery. Sure, Dion is a fun guy. But there is such a thing as too much fun, and Fanny seems to be the only one who sees it.
Meanwhile, Fanny’s mother is suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, which basically means she pukes all the time, because she’s pregnant. With her mom unable to work, her dad is taking extra shifts to make more money, and things are getting tense at home. Fanny is excited to be a big sister, but all this sickness and stress over money are starting to take their toll on her.
Can Fanny save her friends from Dion’s negative influence, while also solving her family’s money problems? Of course she can. She’s Fanny Fitzpatrick.
Purchase Fanny Fitzpatrick and the Brother Problem on Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Excerpt:
I hope Mom doesn’t have breast cancer. She would have told me about that though, right? You don’t hide cancer from your only daughter. That would be messed up. I get out of bed and pad down the hallway until I get to the bathroom. The puking is louder now, and I can hear Mom gasping between retches. I knock on the door.
“Mom? Are you OK?”
“I’m fine, Sweetie.”
Then she retches again.
“No you’re not Mom! You’re sick! Do you want some Sprite?”
Mom gives me Sprite when I’m nauseated, and it usually helps.
“Mom? I think you need to see a doctor. You’re not getting better.”
“Fanny! Go away!”
I don’t know what to do. My dad has already left for work, so he can’t help. I think about calling an ambulance, but then I remember that 911 is only for emergencies, and I don’t think this counts as an emergency.
“Mom, I’m gonna call an ambulance,” I say.
“NO!”
“But Mom—”
“Fanny, go decorate the tree!”
This stops me for a moment. Decorate the tree? Why?
“Why?”
“I’m not feeling up to it. Go decorate the Christmas tree. It’ll be a big help.”
I stand by the door, not knowing what to do. Is Mom trying to be tough, like the time she hurt her ankle and refused to go get X-rays, and she just limped around the house for a week until it swole up to like twice its size, and Dad finally made her go to the hospital, and it turned out she’d FRACTURED IT? Should I be like Dad and put my foot down and call an ambulance?
Interview with Dana Hammer
Have you read anything that made you think differently about fiction?
Not really, because I’ve never had a lot of rigid ideas about fiction in the first place. I accept each book as an individual work.
How do you select the names of your characters?
I use random name generators for most names. Name generators are plentiful on the internet. There are even really specific generators like “genie name generator” and “demon name generator” if I don’t want my character to be named something human-sounding.
Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
No. I feel like hiding secret messages in things only leads to people accusing you of Satan worship.
What was your hardest scene to write?
Without giving away spoilers, there is a scene when we discover that one of the characters has committed a pretty big betrayal. It was challenging to make this scene as impactful as I wanted it to be, without pushing into PG-13 territory. It was hard to find the right level of cruelty. What is too much for a middle grade audience?
Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
I think with this series, it would be fine to read the sequels without reading the previous books, but you wouldn’t be getting the full experience. I want my readers to find little references and “in-jokes” in the sequels, because that’s something I enjoy as a reader. But I also don’t want to turn off readers who maybe don’t have the time or inclination to read a whole series, so each book is readable as a stand-alone.
What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?
IN
this book, I intended to show Fanny’s continual growth and explore
some new issues. My Best Friend Athena explored friendship,
jealousy, insecurity, and competition. I wanted Fanny Fitzpatrick
and the Brother Problem to explore class issues, excess, frugality,
and work ethic. I guess it’s up to my readers to decide if I
achieved that goal well!
What inspired you to write Fanny Fitzpatrick and the Brother Problem?
My Best Friend Athena was the main inspiration, of course. In it, I establish the fact that Fanny is a working class girl, surrounded by wealthy friends. In Fanny Fitzpatrick and the Brother Problem, I wanted to see how Fanny would deal with problems associated with wealth — excess, impulsive spending, spoiled behavior, etc. Who better to embody these problems than Dionysius, the Greed God of Partying?
Can you tell us a little bit about the next books in Fanny Fitzpatrick and the Brother Problem or what you have planned for the future?
I
have completed a draft of the third book for this series, which is
provisionally titled “Fanny Fitzpatrick and the Sirens.” In it,
Fanny is recruited by Sirens to come train with them on their
private island. Athena forbids it, because, as all gods and
goddesses know, sirens murder sailors. But Fanny wants to go and
learn Siren magic, and besides, wasn’t the sailor stuff like…a
really long time ago?
Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Fanny Fitzpatrick and the Brother Problem?
The
characters are the same as the first book, with the addition of Dion
(Dionysius). Dion is in financial trouble because his wine business
got sued and shut down when wine tainted with bee pollen caused a
bunch of people to have serious allergic reactions. So now he’s
feeling sorry for himself, crashing at Zeus and Athena’s. He is
terribly depressed, until meets Gemma, and together they come up
with a plan — win an ice-cream eating competition, and use the
winnings as seed money to start a cheese-making company.
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
I enjoyed spending time with my characters, most of whom I genuinely love. It’s good for my mental state to be in Fanny’s head. It’s a wonderful place to be.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Dana Hammer is a novelist, screenwriter and playwright. She has won over forty awards and honors for her writing, few of which generated income, all of which were deeply appreciated. She is not a cannibal, but she is the author of A Cannibals Guide to Fasting. Dana is also the author of middle grade fantasy My Best Friend Athena which was inspired by a desire to write something her 9 year old daughter could read.
Connect with Dana Hammer
4 comments:
Thanks for hosting!
I like the blurb and excerpt. Sounds great.
Do you have any Valentine's Day plans?
I liked the excerpt.
Post a Comment