Background — Have you always wanted to write? Why?
Yes, ever since I was seven years old I remember being the “writer” of my class. I looked forward to all the creative writing time and always wrote the longest stories because I never wanted to stop. I was also the weird kid who, during ‘free reading’ time, would actually sit there and read the dictionary. That continued through school. I was always very shy, so writing was my outlet to connect with my classmates. I could always make them laugh with my silly stories.
I began seriously writing children’s books and thinking it would probably be my career when I was 15 years old and took a creative writing class in high school. The teacher was a bit flabbergasted when I was the only one writing Dr. Seuss-style books for assignments. The Harry Potter series, which I started reading in college, was what really kicked me in the butt to start writing novels because I so loved the unique world she created and wanted to that myself.
Why write for middle readers?
I think the most important year of my writing life was when I was 11 years old. I had an amazing teacher named Ms. Russell who was incredibly encouraging and gave us tons of freedom to work on our own projects outside of class for extra credit. So my friends and I basically formed our own comedy troop and would write and perform skits just about every single day (we got a lot of extra credit). I incorporate a lot of these ideas in a new middle-grade book I just finished called PRINCIPAL MIKEY. But back to the point, ever since that year in sixth grade, I’ve always felt like that same 11-year-old kid when I write, just trying my hardest to make my class laugh. I can still put myself in that mindset and really connect with the mentality and humor of that age group. Besides humor, I think my other strength is my vivid imagination (whether it’s new monsters, fantasy, magic, sci-fi), which happens to work very well for the genres that middle grade readers like.
Do you have any rituals? Do you write all day?
I do write every day, though I wouldn’t say I write all day. Aside from the books, I’m also a screenwriter and a songwriter, so I’m usually focusing on one or the other each day. Writing is the thing I enjoy most in the world, so when I’m writing it’s like my leisure time. It’s hard to think of it as work. I also love to cook, so I’ll usually spend some time making myself a really good lunch, and then I’ll write in the afternoon if it’s open, otherwise, I’ll do my writing after dinner. I do still have a day job (though it’s a flexible day job), so I have to schedule my writing time around my unpredictable work schedule. Hopefully soon I’ll be able to fully dedicate myself to writing and my output will soar! I don’t like any distractions when I’m writing, so I usually sit alone in my room with no music or anything else going on so I can be completely focused. Then I can usually get a lot done in a short amount of time.
Where did the idea for “Scary School” come from?
Well, the first middle grade novel I wrote is currently titled – RUDY AND THE BEAST – BOOK 1: MY HOMEWORK ATE MY DOG. But, the original title was SCARY SCHOOL – BOOK 1: MY HOMEWORK ATE MY DOG. The ‘Scary School’ wasn’t actually a big part of the book, but I thought of the title and quickly realized it was a miracle that nobody had used it yet, so I thought I better use it before someone else does (same thing with My Homework Ate My Dog). Anyway, my agent sent that book to HarperCollins. They really liked it and my writing, but ultimately passed. However, the editor did tell me she saw a market for a book called Scary School, and if I could write a book called Scary School, but make it more school-centric and lighter, that I could really have something. So, I took her advice on that. I wrote a new book called Scary School, which when you think about it, kind of writes itself. If there were an actual ‘scary’ School that existed where kids went to school with horrible monsters, what kind of place would it be? It would be ridiculous. And that’s where all the humor comes from.
Tell me a little about it.
My one-line pitch is that it’s about a school where just surviving until lunch is considered a good day. Some joke and say: ‘Oh, so you mean an LAUSD school?’ Yes, that joke is there because it is in many ways a satire of our current education system, but kids don’t care about that. Kids should really like it because throughout the series, we follow a class of kids who manage to find a way to not only survive, but thrive at Scary School facing increasingly improbably dangers and catastrophic events. It’s not only the kids’ ingenius ideas, but also their friendships and support of one another that makes them able to get through and overcome the daily horrors.
The funny thing is that every parent wants to send their kid to Scary School (despite the mortality rate), because kids do so well there. After all, what better motivation for a child to study hard and get straight A’s than if their dragon teacher will bite their arm off if they get an answer wrong?
Why write from the point of view of a ghost? Where did Derek’s “voice” come from?
Derek the Ghost is the author. I’m technically just his ghost whisperer (dead Dereks can only speak to living Dereks). Derek the Ghost was an 11-year-old student at Scary School who died when an experiment in science class went terribly wrong. However, he came back as a ghost, and that means he still had something left to accomplish. He realized that it was his destiny to write about Scary School and all the terrible, wonderful things that go on there, so he haunts the hallways of Scary School writing down everything he sees.
Remember when I said earlier that I still feel like that 11-year-old kid when I’m writing? That’s Derek the Ghost.
How long did you work on it?
After the editor at HarperCollins gave me the idea to write a new version of Scary School, I knew I had to act quickly while they were still excited about me. So I got straight to work and wrote the first draft of Scary School in a little less than a month. I then spent another couple months editing and revising, but they were very impressed at the quick turnaround, which I think is a reason I got the multi-book deal.
Who is your favorite character in the book? Why?
I would have to say it’s Petunia. She’s a young girl who’s completely purple from head to foot, like a petunia. Her hair also makes its own pollen, so she’s constantly surrounded by bees and wasps that like to collect it. The way she feels about her herself is similar to how I felt about myself at her age. She feels like an outsider and is very lonely. The bugs that fly around her head are her best friends. Because of her loneliness, she loves to read more than anything else, so she becomes Derek the Ghost’s biggest fan, because she loves to read his writing. I get more into this in Scary School Book 2.
Was your elementary school anything like Scary School?
Haha. Not really. I think what it comes from was when I transferred schools going into the seventh grade. K through 6th grade I had spent my entire time with the same group of kids and we were like family. Then I went to a new school where I didn’t know anybody and it was very traumatic. I was scared to death every day, and so I really think I try to convey those feelings about being scared in school, which any kid, especially those who have to go to a new school, can relate to. Scary School amplifies those feelings and hopefully puts things in perspective for the young reader – Hey, at least my teacher a isn’t hungry vampire. Things could be worse.
What were the challenges working on it? And conversely, the highlights?
I guess the biggest challenge (which I imposed on myself) was to finish it in less than a month. The highlights were coming up with all the crazy characters and putting them in the most ridiculous situations as I could think of. If I could make myself laugh out loud, I knew I was on to something.
“Scary School” is going to b
e a series. Was it always planned as a series? Have you started on the other books? How has that process differed than writing the first book?
Yes, when writing for children and middle grade and teens, you pretty much always have to be thinking series to make it marketable. One-offs are kind of few and far between these days. I have already finished Book 2, which is currently in copyediting at HarperCollins. Book 2 takes everything to a whole new level. While I had to focus on character introductions in Book 1, in Book 2, I was really able to take the favorite characters and put them into an absolutely crazy storyline that could only happen at Scary School. But you have to make sure to read the SECRET CHAPTER found only at the website – ScarySchool.com – to pick up where it leaves off.
I have to be done with Book 3 in a few months actually. Which reminds me, I need to start working on it! Aghghgh!
What do you hope kids will get out of “Scary School”?
First and foremost, I want them to get a lot of laughter. After that, I hope kids will be able to feel better about their own school situation when they compare it to the insanity that Scary School students have to go through. There are also many valuable life lessons to be learned in each chapter, which, when you read the book, is big inside joke.
Looking back, how has your writing evolved from when you first started until now?
From my own perspective, I seem to be improving with each new thing I write. I think it’s because I get so much critical feedback from friends, editors, critics, etc, that I’m just absorbing everything and putting it to use in the next thing I write. But for the most part, I’m just writing the same silly jokes as I was when I was 11.
Did you have a favorite book or book that really resonated with you as a young reader?
Readers will probably notice similarities between Scary School and Sideways Stories from Wayside School, which was a big inspiration – that was the first book that I remember my whole class being so excited about and everyone read it because it was soooo funny and really just made fun of the whole school experience. I also remember loving Dr. Dolittle, Swiss Family Robinson, and Two-Minute Mysteries. I was also crazy into comic books, which maybe is what sparked my wild imagination. Oddly enough, in high school I became obsessed with Dr. Seuss and then Harry Potter in college.