Happy
Monday Everyone! Today I’m excited to have debut author Chris Negron here to
share about his MG contemporary Dan Unmasked. It’s gotten great reviews and
sounds so interesting with a focus on friendship, superheroes and baseball. I’m
not a fan of baseball but I’m looking forward to reading this one.
Here’s
a blurb from Goodreads:
Whether they’re on the baseball field or in Nate’s basement, devouring the newest issue of their favorite comic book, Dan and Nate are always talking. Until they’re not.
After an accident at baseball practice—an accident that Dan is certain he caused—Nate’s stuck in a coma. Usually, Dan can rely on his and Nate’s superpower—the secret language that only they know, a language of raised eyebrows and subtle nose taps.
Now, if Dan ever wants to see Nate tap his nose again, he’s got to figure out a way to wake him up. But for all the time he’s spent reading about the adventures of Captain Nexus, Dan knows he’s no superhero. Heroes have powers—and without Nate, all Dan has is a closet stuffed with comics and a best-friend shaped hole in his heart. There’s no way a regular kid can save the day all on his own. Right?
Hi
Chris! Thanks so much for joining us.
1.
Tell us about yourself and how you became a writer.
I’ve
wanted to be a writer since I was probably about Dan Summers’s age in Dan
Unmasked – thirteen years old. In fact, I can even remember playing
basketball in a friend’s driveway after a Dungeon & Dragons session, and stating
unequivocally that I was going to turn our adventures into a book one day. At
the time I was obsessed with fantasy – it was as much what I was reading as
what I was doing hobby-wise with those marathon D&D sessions. I think that
driveway declaration was me giving myself permission to have this long-term
dream to become a writer.
Ah,
but long term was indeed what it turned out to be. From that day until
now, I traveled a winding path that included studying Computer Science at Yale
University, followed by entering the business world as an Information
Technology (IT) consultant. In fact, IT is still my day job. Eventually,
though, I stepped back into the version of me from that driveway. The one with
the dream to become a writer as well.
It
wasn’t until I started writing certain short stories that I realized I had a
natural voice for the middle grade genre. After that, I started seeing how so
much of the media I enjoyed could be considered “middle grade” too. I get
really excited by stories like Super Eight or E.T., where bands
of kids team up to solve a problem. Dan Unmasked was my first manuscript
for kids, though it too traveled a long, twisting road to become the book it is
today.
2. Glad you were able to follow that dream you had as a child. Where did you get the idea for Dan Unmasked?
That same year when I
was thirteen was a very special one in my memory - 1984. When I look back on it,
it seems like so many of my favorite things come from then, whether they be
music or movies or – maybe especially so – comics. That year was also when the
San Diego Padres – always and forever my favorite baseball team – made their
first World Series appearance.
With all those
favorites coming from that one year, it struck me that to be thirteen was – at
least for me – to be at an age where you’re open to all sorts of good stuff,
new stuff that seems to have been made just for you and becomes your immediate
and lifelong favorite. On the flip side, though, I think that age can also be a
time for a particularly strong vulnerability to the bad stuff, too.
I had a friend who was injured at a
baseball practice, and I remember having a desperate urge to fix it, even
though I wasn’t involved in the incident. Still, I remembered that emotion
really well. And of course when I started working on Dan Unmasked, one
of the things you do as a writer is ask yourself a ton of those “What If?”
questions that lead to transforming something personal into something that
perhaps takes on a more story-sized shape.
What
if my friend’s injury had been more severe? What if I had thought the accident
that caused it was somehow my fault? How much more desperate would I have been
to find a way to fix what I thought I had broken?
So
that’s the story I gave to Dan Summers, and it’s a big part of the inspiration
for Dan Unmasked. I think I wanted to write a book for kids that spoke
to the healing power of friendships – both old ones and new ones, to depending
on teams, to being careful about blaming yourself too hard when accidents
happen, and the rest of the story arose from merging Dan’s emotions about his
best friend’s accident with those underlying themes. I hope, in the end, that the
book delivers a tale that is equal parts action-packed and heartfelt, and most
importantly, that it finds readers who connect with it the way I do with my own
memories and emotions.
3.
I’ve read that you do a good job of making Dan’s hobbies—superheroes and
baseball—an integral part of the plot rather than just sides hobbies of your
main character. Share a bit about your plotting process.
I’ve
learned a lot about plotting since I moved into the middle grade genre. Probably
the most
important tool that I employ now more than I did before is to start
first with the main character of my books, understand what he or she loves or
doesn’t love so much, and what their goals are. Then of course you have that
inciting incident that may or may not connect directly to that character. It’s
actually okay if it doesn’t, but probably best if it does, because it sort of
becomes their origin story if you build it right.
After
that, as the character is launched into the story by that first incident and we
learn more about who they are and what they want, I really work hard to connect
the rest of the plot points directly to the main character. Unlike the inciting
incident, which as I said can be an either-or, the remaining plot points, in my
opinion anyway, must come directly from the character’s internal goals. The
interiority, in other words, drives the external events, and vice versa.
What
I find is, when I follow that approach, there’s almost always this sort of
magical moment when you’re stuck, and thinking about who the character is and
what they would do solves whatever plot problem you’re facing in this really
astonishing way. After that, things start snapping into place and feeling very
connected, and that’s what you want in a cohesive plot that doesn’t have holes.
The events have this sort of inevitability and yet are still surprising. I
think that’s when I know I have something that could be special – when it seems
like nothing else could’ve happened but the reader is still shocked or thrilled
by it when it does.
For
me, I absolutely need to understand the underpinnings of a story before I start
writing it. That includes what I’m writing about – call it theme if you want,
but it’s really the question of the book in my mind, and I also need to know
the ending I’m writing towards, as well as all those plot points that progress
the story in that direction I mentioned earlier.
It
doesn’t mean they can’t change as I’m drafting, and sometimes things do change
significantly enough that I have to stop and go back into planning (more like
re-planning) mode. I also wholeheartedly agree with the “writing is re-writing”
concept. I can’t tell you how many revisions my books tend to go through.
However,
while it’s true I’m not big on the dreaded word “outline” that gives so many other
writers the shivers, I’m also not a big proponent of the “pantsing” method I
see so many writers attacking book-length works with. I’m really an advocate of
having as much of a plan as possible (I like to call them “blueprints”) – even
if it has to change later. My opinion is that it’s critical to understand those
underpinnings of your project before starting to put actual words on the page.
4.
Dan sounds like a compelling character that will pull at readers’ hearts. I
think that’s harder to capture when a boy is the story’s main character. Did
you struggle with his character development at all or did he come to you fairly
well developed?
Because
I was one myself and I’m therefore able to be very authentic about it, writing
a boy character of a certain age – notably middle school – comes really
naturally to me. I think it’s where I finally found my voice, so I didn’t
struggle much with Dan’s voice, character, or inner feelings at all. Quite the
opposite, actually, this novel flowed very easily for me from a voice
perspective, though I did have a lot of work in revisions for sure to get the
plot points just right.
On a
more technical level, I think any character can be “easy” (or, easier,
anyway) to write if you understand what they’re obsessed with – that’s where
the comics and baseball aspects really helped with Dan, for example. I knew who
he was because I knew what he loved, and they were things I also love. Also
characters become much easier as well if their goals are clear. If either of
those elements are muddled at all in the writer’s brain, problems in
both voice and plot can quickly arise.
From
the “writing boys” perspective, and in particular a book that at times is a
“sports” book, I’m really proud that people I trust – my editor and agent among
them – have said that the heartfelt aspects of this book pulled them in and,
for example, made them care about what happens in Dan’s tournament even though
they aren’t necessarily baseball or sports people at all. I remember when my
agent signed me, she said one of the things she loved about the book was that
it was “sporty but emotional.” A fellow 2020 debut author even described Dan
Unmasked as “the opposite of toxic masculinity in every way”, feedback I’m
really proud of.
5. Those are great tips on plotting. I read that you also write short stories and had 10 published in 2015. Has
writing short stories helped you in writing a longer middle grade story? How?
It
all started when one of my critique partners – the wonderful Emily Carpenter, a
gothic suspense novelist everyone should definitely check out – and I sort of
challenged each other back then to writing a bunch of flash fiction, kind of an
accountability thing.
Working
on lots of stories that typically had to begin and end in less than a thousand words
helped my writing a tremendous amount. It taught my normally long-winded self
how to be more succinct and to the point, and it really gave me a lot of prose-level
lessons in trimming and cutting, because you have to be sort of ruthless about
that sometimes to meet the word count requirements of the flash fiction
publications we were submitting to.
Not
to mention one of those ten 2015 stories was about a group of young baseball
players reminiscing about their friendship in the outfield during a practice,
and when she read that one, Emily told me I had a voice for characters that age
– particularly boys – and that was the seed I needed to start working on the
middle grade novel that eventually became Dan Unmasked. So I guess you
could say we’re here today talking about this book because of those short
stories, and that one in particular.
6.
Your agent is Alyssa Jennette. Share how she became your agent
and what your road to publication was like.
Yes, and she’s fantastic! Alyssa really pushed me during the query
process. I think she had me do three revise-and-resubmits before signing me as
a client. That extra work she encouraged me to do on the story really brought
this book home, and Dan Unmasked definitely wouldn’t exist without her
guidance.
When we started to submit to publishers, I discovered an equally
valuable side to Alyssa – a relentless tenacity. Long past the time when I
might’ve gotten discouraged and started looking toward smaller publishers,
Alyssa continued to be confident my book would find a match with some editor at
the Big Five, and it ended up she was right. It didn’t happen immediately,
though, and neither did my signing with an agent. I went through tons of
rejections in both processes first.
For writers on the submission trail now, I would just advise you to
really establish the proper distance with your work to be able to be receptive
to the feedback you receive in these “almost” encounters with agents and
editors, because you will have them, and what you do with the
information hidden away in each of those responses goes a long way in determining
if you will eventually find a match, in my opinion.
I can honestly say that I used a ton of the recommendations from
agents and editors who ultimately said “No” to make this book what it became. I
really think that’s a crucial part of the process.
7. I saw on your website that you have partnered with FoxTale Book
Shoppe for an online virtual party. Tell us a little bit about what you have
planned for it and how you set it up.
Sure, yes, Atlanta has so many fantastic local bookstores. FoxTale
is one I’ve been visiting for years now, especially for various events they’ve
held with other local author friends. Originally, I had planned on having an
event at an arts center in my specific town, and Gary Parkes at FoxTale – a
sweetheart of a guy – had agreed to come and man the door with books for sale
on site. However, as COVID-19 advanced and it became clear that in-person events
were going to be impossible, we switched to an online, virtual format. Of
course I stuck with FoxTale as we already had arrangements and also because
they’ve been doing a fantastic job with their virtual events throughout the
quarantine period.
My sister Lisa McClendon is a fifth-grade teacher in Naples,
Florida, and, along with Gary, she’s going to moderate/interview! The plan so
far is for her to ask me a couple of questions straight out of the Common
Core-aligned Curriculum Guide we have for Dan Unmasked (more details on that below)
and then we’ll do some giveaways.
The tiny quizzes to win the giveaways will be comic- and
baseball-related, so readers should arrive to the launch wearing those particular
thinking caps. After the giveaways, I hope we’ll have plenty of time for a
Q&A session, also.
8. That's a great idea to be interviewed at a virtual party celebrating your book release. How else are you planning to promote your book in light of
COVID-19?
First and foremost, I’m doing a lot of virtual events beyond the
book launch. I have a workshop for kids I’ve developed, the “Build-A-Superhero”
workshop, which is a fun way to engage young people in filling out a
questionnaire on creating their own superhero, while also sneakily teaching
them a little about how to create characters in novels, too. At the end of each
of these workshops, it’s always my hope kids will understand a little better how
important especially the main character is, and how much the character you end
up creating serves as a driving force for the kinds of stories you tell about
them. Even before Dan Unmasked was released, I had already given this
workshop at a number of schools and during a public event hosted by my local
library. I’m planning to do more of these virtual events in the coming months.
I’ll be appearing at the first ever MiddleGround Book Fest on
August 1st as well, talking villains on a panel stacked with other
great middle grade authors at 4 pm EST.
I’ve worked with an expert in the field to have a Common
Core-aligned Curriculum Guide developed for Dan Unmasked. Just like the other
details for my workshops and school visits, it will be available on my website.
The guide has a series of penetrating post-read questions that teachers can use
to align a reading of Dan Unmasked with the CCSS ELA Literarcy
guidelines for grades as low as third and as high as seventh, though fourth
through sixth is probably the sweet spot for this particular book. The guide
also has lots of fun activities that reference the book’s content as well.
Finally I have some folded cards that have pre-defined panels on
the inside that can be used to draw your own comic. I send these cards out to
groups whenever I can, for example to schools who tell me they’ll be reading
the book. I even have some super powered sticker packs (POW! and ZAP!) I
include when I mail these cards, to give the students a chance to add a little
zing to their comics.
So while there have certainly been many challenges to everything
being virtual, the lack of in-person school visits and bookstore events, most
or all of the book festivals being canceled or very limited, I’ve still been
having a lot of fun putting together these sort of “care packages” to connect Dan
Unmasked with kids and other readers from afar.
9. What are you working on now?
My second book, tentatively scheduled for July 2021, is The Last
Super Chef. It’s in copy edits now, so we’re nearly to the finish line!
It’s about an eleven-year-old named Curtis who’s not only a mega fan of the
most popular cooking show on TV, “The Super Chef”, but is quite an accomplished
junior chef himself. He also has a secret: the Super Chef is his long-absent
father. When an opportunity opens for kids to compete in the last televised
contest the Super Chef will ever host, Curtis decides he must make the
list. But when he gets to New York, Curtis learns the Super Chef has some
secrets of his own. He also finds even stiffer competition to win than he
expected. He’ll have to cook his heart out if he wants to go home with the big cash
prize – and maybe even more importantly, the truth.
Thanks for sharing all your advice, Chris. You can find Chris at:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/negron.ca/?hl=en
Giveaway Details
Chris has generously offered a hardback of Dan Unmasked for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower of my blog and leave a comment by August 22nd. If your e-mail is not on your Google Profile, you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address.
If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog and/or follow me on Twitter, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. This giveaway is U.S.
Marvelous Middle Grade Monday is hosted by Greg Pattridge. You can find the participating blogs on his blog.
Upcoming Interviews and Giveaways
Here's what's coming up:
Monday, August 17th I have an interview with debut author KayLynn Flanders and a giveaway of her YA fantasy Shielded
Monday, August 24th I have an agent spotlight interview with Veronica Park and a query critique giveaway
Monday, August 24th I have an agent spotlight interview with Veronica Park and a query critique giveaway
Tuesday, September 1st I'm participating in the September to Remember Giveaway Hop
Wednesday, September 2nd I have an interview with debut author Andrea Contos and a giveaway of her YA thriller Throwaway Girls
Monday, September 7th I have an agent spotlight interview with Carlisle Weber and a query critique giveaway
Monday, September 14th I have an interview with debut author Rebecca Coffindaffer and a giveaway of her YA space opera Crownchasers
Wednesday, September 16th I have an agent spotlight interview with Erin Casey and a query critique giveaway
Wednesday, September 2nd I have an interview with debut author Andrea Contos and a giveaway of her YA thriller Throwaway Girls
Monday, September 7th I have an agent spotlight interview with Carlisle Weber and a query critique giveaway
Monday, September 14th I have an interview with debut author Rebecca Coffindaffer and a giveaway of her YA space opera Crownchasers
Wednesday, September 16th I have an agent spotlight interview with Erin Casey and a query critique giveaway
Hope to see you on Monday!
I've heard a lot of authors say that Dungeon & Dragons really sparked an interest in writing for them (and also helped with character development!)
ReplyDeleteSounds like a cool online event. Everyone's doing such an amazing job thinking outside the box these days.
Good review with Chris, enjoyed the read Natalie. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your week.
Yvonne.
D&D and Super 8? You rock, Chris.
ReplyDeleteGlad you were able to do a virtual release party.
What a great interview. I enjoyed reading Dan Unmasked and now I'm looking forward to reading The Last Super Chef. If you don't mind, I'd like to add a link to this interview on my review of Dan Unmasked.
ReplyDeleteI would love if you'd link to this interview. Thanks so much!
DeleteSounds like a fun read no matter if you like baseball or not. Like the sound of the second book too. Wishing Dan much success.
ReplyDeleteA great in-depth interview and I enjoyed Chris's take on plotting and character development. It's a fantastic book that I have reviewed so let someone else enjoy the giveaway opportunity. Thanks for featuring on MMGM.
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds excellent! It was interesting hearing about how Negron's experience writing short stories helped him write Dan Unmasked. I'll pass on the giveaway, but thanks for the great interview!
ReplyDeleteWow, that was a fascinating interview. I loved playing hardball catch with my dad and was good for a girl - so a a result didn't like softball and never played. I am glad that you included Nate's traumatic brain injury, because you rarely see it in books and brain injuries are common in youth sports -- especially soccer. I suffered a serious brain injury 16 years ago and was in a coma for days. So I'm interested in how this story ends. Good luck with your writing.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this interview, especially the plotting section, which holds excellent reminders and advice for prewriting brainstorming. I enjoy sports stories and am excited to read this book. I shared on tumblr: https://yesreaderwriterpoetmusician.tumblr.com/post/626081350552813568/debut-author-interview-chris-negron-and-dan
ReplyDeleteGreat interview. I so agree that the plot and the characters' interiority are inextricably linked. The book sounds great - although I'm a Jays' fan, not the Padres :P
ReplyDeleteFantastic interview, Natalie! You know just how to display the human element of the writer releasing the latest piece of his/her heart on the world for approval. Chris should have no worries, Dan is a charm! The Virtual Party idea is brilliant.
ReplyDeleteI really love that this book was inspired by the summer of 1984. I was a budding middle grade reader that year myself. This sounds like such an amazing story--and it's been getting a lot of great buzz! I also enjoyed the tidbit about his short stories.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a great interview, Natalie! Congrats to Chris!
That is great that you have an agent that pushed you to make it better.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great book for boys of that age.
ReplyDeleteCongrats, Chris. We need more middle grade book for boys, especially ones that capture the voice of a child.
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ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, I loved this interview for so many reasons! First, I love how Chris applied logic throughout his writing process, but completely connected to the heart of the story too. I can't wait to read this, and also his next book with the superchef. They both sound great. In 8th grade PE, I let go of the bat after getting a hit in softball and knocked the kid playing catcher unconscious! They had to take him away in an ambulance, and to make it worse, I had a huge crush on him. I relate to the MC already. I definitely caused that accident! Thanks for the great interview. :)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the great interview. The book sounds like a good MG read for boys which we need. Shared on twitter (https://twitter.com/BraniganDebra/status/1293147199631765504?s=20).
ReplyDeleteChris, thanks for sharing so much of your process. I'm looking forward to reading both of your books.
ReplyDeleteInspiring interview! Thank you Chris and Natalie!!
ReplyDeleteSounds like this is a fascinating, well-written read. I'm very impressed that your agent was interested enough to push you until she felt you had it right. Kudos to both of you.
ReplyDelete'Lo, Natalie:)
Thanks everyone for the kind comments! I hope you enjoy the book!
ReplyDelete(that was from Chris Negron, btw :)
DeleteGood interview! I like his comment on outlining vs. pantsing. I with him on that. I like that he calls them "blueprints". I've also heard it called "signposts".
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds quite brilliant. It reminds me very clearly of some of my childhood friends and our relationships. Thanks for the chance to win a copy.
ReplyDeleteI've tweeted a link to this post: https://twitter.com/carlrscott/status/1293260293640880129, and pinned an image on Pinterest with a link for good measure: https://www.pinterest.com.mx/pin/336573772156148248/.
I also follow on Twitter: @carlrscott.
Thanks again, have a safe and happy day everyone!!
Chris - what you said about making the most of those "almost" encounters is exactly what I needed to read right now. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteSo happy it resonated with you!
DeleteHaving twin teens who just finished middle school and one about to enter this genre is truly difficult to find. All three of them would enjoy reading this.
ReplyDeleteGreat interview, hope to see more of him.
bonita7878 (at) yahoo.com
It's hard to find good books about friendships like this between boys, and this one does sound interesting. Enjoyed the interview!
ReplyDeleteAnother great interview. And a book about baseball is always going to be high on my list. Thanks for the post and a chance to win.
ReplyDeleteI thought of you when I decided to interview Chris because I know you're a baseball lover.
DeleteI love stories with boy main characters. Maybe it's because I raisedthree boys of my own. Dan Unmasked sounds ideal for middle grade readers, and I think I'm going to read it too because I am a baseball fan. Perfect. Congratulations, Chris.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the post and interview today! I grew up a big Detroit Tiger fan. I remember 1984 when they won the world series against the Padres (so sorry). Would love to get a copy of your book, I think I would enjoy it Remember the Tigers roared in 84'! tWarner419(at)aol(dot)com
ReplyDeleteGreat interview! Lots of good writing/revising meat in this post. Thanks for helping all of us! Best wishes and congratulations!
ReplyDeleteI will tweet this post, Natalie. :)
This sounds like a really interesting book. The interview made me really curious about it. I like that Chris used an experience from his childhood as the springboard for what happened in this book. Sports accidents can be very scary! Thanks for the chance to win a copy. Wishing Chris all the best!
ReplyDelete~Jess
A very enjoyable interview, Natalie and Chris!
ReplyDeleteThis looks really good for MG readers. Congratulations on your book, Chris!
ReplyDelete