An Interview With a Boy Who Reads AND Writes!

Hey, all you guys out in the land of blogs and books! This is Iron Guy Carl with a post that I put up yesterday on the Boys Rule Boys Read blog. I'm reprinting a lot of it and I hope you don't mind, but the interview this boy gives is so cool all that I had to reproduce it word-for-word. Let me give you a little background first. One of that blog's faithful followers is Susan Kaye Quinn, a writer who also runs a book blog called Ink Spells. (it's pretty cool--go check it out!) It turns out that she has a 12-year-old son who not only reads but is writing his own sci-fi book! Pretty good, huh? I also found that he goes by the uber-cool name of Dark Omen. Then, one day, I saw this conversation on Ms. Quinn's blog:

A 12 year old View of the World My son Dark Omen (age 12) is writing a novel. He's been diligently working on it for some time now (since the summer). We discussed it over dinner.

Me: What genre is your story?

Dark Omen: Well, it's science fiction and adventure. And mystery, too. But no romance.

Me: No romance?

Dark Omen: No! Why would I write a scene about that, when I can be writing about the Carillions attacking the base?

Me: Are there any girls in your story?

Dark Omen: *makes face* Of course! It wouldn't be even if there weren't any girls.

Me: So, there are girl characters and boy characters in your story. They just don't fall in love.

Dark Omen: Well, somewhere in the universe of my story there are probably girls and boys falling in love. I just don't waste words writing about it.

Well said, Dark Omen!! Why waste words on romance and all that stuff when there are space battles!! It was obvious that I had to know this guy better!! So I emailed his mom and got permission to quote from her post and also to ask him some questions. Then I emailed him some interview questions (most of them are the same questions I ask grownup writers) and, being a truly great guy, he answered all of them and sent them back. Here's what he said.

What made you decide to write a book?

My class was making “Exquisite Corpse” books (books where everyone takes a turn writing in them). I started my book and left it out for people to write in. When nobody did, I decided to take it home and write the whole thing myself.

Tell us a little about your book. (no spoilers!)

The book starts out with a bang when Exibluar is rescued from an underground tunnel complex in which evil ewoks were chasing him. Aidan Dawn is a Cavalieri with great skill with both mind powers and computers. Steve Irwin is a slightly less powerful Cavalieri with a knack for adventure. Nathaniel Lil is a highly disciplined Galactic Government soldier. Exibluar Hazahat is a quirky Rosarian who’s future may be invaluable to the galaxy at large…

Tell us about some of your favorite books.

I like Harry Potter (all of them), Artemis Fowl (all of them as well), Star Wars (yes, all of them), Ranger’s Apprentice (same as the last three times), Percy Jackson (…make that the last four times), the Leviathan trilogy (I don’t know why I’m still making these), the Hitchhiker’s Guide series (I hope you get the point by now), and many more.

Why is it cool for boys to read?

I don’t know why it’s “cool” per say, but I do know that for me it is enjoyable as well as educational.

Why is it cool for them to write?

I hate to say so, but most of the people in my class (and even my school) groan when a teacher tells them to write something (or even take out their writing/Language Arts notebooks)

Why are grownups so obsessed with romance and kissing and all that mushy stuff?

In a nutshell, I have no idea. Personally, I fast-forward through love scenes, never write them, and have my heart set on buying lots of cats instead of getting married.

What's it like having a mom who's a writer?

The only differences are that

a)S She has a blog about writing

b) She has written several novels and published one

Sh She'salways on the computer

d S She sometimes come into the school to give talks about writing.

Which do you like better--cheeseburgers or pizza? What do you like on them?

I like pizza better, with either pepperoni or cheese.

Thanks, Dark Omen! Yeah, reading is enjoyable and educational--and most guys don't think the two can ever go together!! That's one reason I run this blog--to prove that those two words CAN go right next to each other. And it thrills me to no end to hear from reader guys like you who believe it too. And there really such things as evil ewoks?? Interesting!!

Well, Dark Omen was also good enough to send us a excerpt from his book-in-progress. Here you go:

“It fired missles!” Steve yelled, “They’re 200 yards behind us!”

“Jump coordinates set!”

“150 yards!”

“Navigations computer calibrating.”

“100 yards!”

“Initiating acceleration to Ultra-lightspeed!”

“50 yards!”

Vvvvvviip! CRRRRACK! CRRACK! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

“What in the galaxy is happening?” exclaimed Steve.

“I TOLD YOU to fix those stress points, Exibluar!” Aidan slammed his fist on a large flashing red button. Vviiissssss!

“I’ve dropped us out of Ultra-lightspeed, we’re still in the Erian system, except now we’re by Erian VII instead of Erian IV,” Aidan announced. “If we had continued any longer, we would have exploded.”

“It’s amazing how many ships we go through in one day,” observed Steve. “Isn’t it, Exibluar?”

“Don’t blame me!” Exibluar retaliated.

“Why not?” Steve shot back.

“Because…uh…I…” Exibluar struggled to find an excuse.

“Let’s just go down to Erian VII,” Nathaniel suggested.

Wow! Very good, Dark Omen!! Makes me want to read more--which is what a good book is supposed to do! Would you mind sending us more excerpts as you go along? And send us some reviews of your favorite books. (I'd especially like to hear what you thought of Behemoth) Thanks again and here's hoping we hear from you again!