Sunday, December 14, 2008

Welcome, Greg Logsted!



I’d like to welcome debut author Greg Logsted whose YA novel, SOMETHING HAPPENED, was recently published under the Simon Pulse imprint. Looks to me like this book would make a great holiday gift for any teens on your list.

Greg and I (and his wife and daughter) all share the same literary agent. So, even though we've never met in person, it's like we're automatic friends. :-)

Welcome Greg. Have you always wanted to be a writer?

Yes, I’ve always wanted to be a writer. I remember my third grade teacher telling my parents she thought I’d grow up to be a writer. I loved that idea and unlike me, it never grew old.

Tell me a bit about SOMETHING HAPPENED.

SOMETHING HAPPENED is my first novel (Simon & Schuster, Nov 2008). Five months after his dad's unexpected death, Billy Romero is still struggling with the loss. Billy's mom spends more time talking to her Bluetooth than to him, and his best friend, Ziggy, just doesn't get it. There's no one who understands how alone Billy feels...except his new English teacher, the young and beautiful Miss Gate.

Miss Gate offers support and friendship, even giving Billy extra help with his writing outside of school. Billy isn't really sure how he feels about spending so much time with his teacher. It's a little weird, but it's also kind of exciting that someone like Miss Gate wants to hang out with him. But the closer they get, the more Billy wonders what kind of friendship this really is....

How hard was it to get into the head of a 13-year-old boy?

SOMETHING HAPPENED is a YA set in a middle-grade environment. I found it really easy to get into the head of a thirteen-year-old. Maybe because I loved being thirteen – it was just a fun and magical time in my life. Also as a writer you get the opportunity to look at the old as new again. You get a second chance to say all those things you wished you had said when you really were thirteen.

Yes, there are sure a few events in my 13-year-old life I wouldn’t mind revisiting with adult wisdom. What’s next for you?

I just finished my second novel ALIBI JUNIOR HIGH! It was a whole lot of fun to write. This one has a bit more action than my last. ALIBI JUNIOR HIGH, is about a thirteen-year-old boy, Cody Saron, accustomed to living a globetrotting James Bond lifestyle with his mysterious dad. Cody must suddenly learn to cope with regular school life for the first time after he's forced into hiding when a secret mission turns bad. He thinks after everything he’s done that going to a small Connecticut junior high school will be easy, a piece of cake…boy, is he ever wrong.

That sounds great. Nothing’s ever a piece of cake at that age, is it? What’s your #1 piece of advice for aspiring authors?

My best piece of writing advice is to find what works for you and stick with it. Everybody’s different. What works for one person might not work for the next. I like to read poetry before I write; it helps me focus on the importance of choosing and using the right words. I’m not sure that would work for everyone. What I do think would work for everyone is practice; it might not make you perfect but it definitely will make you better. Write every day. Write hard; live free.

Thanks so much Greg! And good luck with the book.

8 comments:

Shannon McKelden said...

Great post, Greg and Maureen! The book sounds really good, and I especially like the sounds of Alibi Junior High, which my almost 13 yo would probably love!

Best of luck! Another TKA client!

Shannon

L.A. Mitchell said...

Great advice, Greg. I love that he's writing for such a hard demographic to get to read. Yeah for him.

Louisa Edwards said...

Those books sound great! It seems like there are a lot of girly YA books out there right now; some boy protagonists are probably greatly appreciated.

J Hugh Thomas said...

Thanks for the post. With two YA kids, I'm always looking for more good material for them to consume.

Marilyn Brant said...

Greg, my son will be ready for your books in a couple of years, and I'm sure he'll enjoy them! Thanks to you and Maureen for the great Q&A :).

Kwana said...

Great interview Maureen and Greg. Thanks for sharing. I need to pick this up for my son.

Barrie said...

Great interview! The book looks great. And I love the colors (of the type on the blog!)

Eileen said...

This book looks great! I'm adding it to my to-be-read pile.

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