Author Interview with Bernard Cornwell by Kelly P. (KellyP)

Bernard Cornwell is one of only three authors referred to by initials on the PBS Historical Fiction Forum (the other two are Elizabeth Chadwick (EC) and Sharon Kay Penman (SKP).) We also routinely talk about our favorite Historical Hunks – two of whom are Bernard Cornwell characters: Richard Sharpe from the Sharpe adventures and Uhtred, the main character in The Saxon Stories.

Speaking of Uhtred and The Saxon Stories, the 6th one, Death of Kings was released this past Janurary.  The very popular series begins with The Last Kingdom.

Mr. Cornwell has written over 50 books, and for many of us, his books rest lovingly on our “keeper shelves.” He was recently kind enough to answer a few questions from his adoring HF Fans:

Kelly P:  Several of us began our love affair with your books and characters with Richard Sharpe. I understand that you were pleased with BBC’s television portrayal of Richard and the Rifles.  Is there anything that you wish they (the BBC crew, etc.) had done differently?  Anything you were less than pleased with? How difficult is it for an author to turn over his own creation into the hands of someone else?

BC:  I was delighted with what the TV producers did!  There were some things I might have done differently, but there were many things that surprised and delighted me.  Casting Pete Postlethwaite as Hakeswill was a stroke of genius, as indeed was choosing Sean Bean to be Sharpe.  The films were always bound to differ from the books – mainly because the producers had budget restraints which didn’t affect me (it costs me nothing to create a French army), but within those constraints I think they did marvelously.  And was it difficult to turn it over?  Not in the least!  It’s always interesting to see what another creative mind will do with material, and I was just fascinated by the product.

Kelly P:  And, you will not be surprised to learn that current love affairs are with Uhtred! At the point that you started the Uhtred story, did you have the whole Saxon Chronicles already planned or has it evolved as you went along?  When you started the series, did you have a concrete notion of what would happen or just vague ideas as to how things would develop? 

BC: I can never plan a book, let alone a series!  E.L. Doctorow once likened writing a book to driving at night down an unfamiliar country road which winds tortuously, and you can only see as far ahead as the rather feeble headlights allow.  I start a book without knowing how the first chapter will end!  But I do know that Uhtred’s life will parallel the creation of the English state which means he’ll live to see the battle of Brunanburh which achieved Alfred’s dream of uniting all the ‘Angelcynn’ – the folk who spoke English in Britain, and thus created England.  I find it odd that the English are so ignorant of their nation’s birth – maybe because it happened so long ago. France celebrates July 14^th (why?)  and Americans have July 4^th, 1776, but the English are strangely oblivious of the events which made their nation.

Kelly P:  When we aren’t reading, we often amuse ourselves by matching up actors with characters – because, above all else, we want to see our favorite books made into great movies! So, if the Saxon Chronicles were turned into a movie, what current actor do you most envision playing Uhtred?  What about King Alfred or some of the other major players in the series?

BC: Oh dear – I have no idea!  The wonderful thing is that there are splendid casting directors and agencies who know all that stuff, which means I don’t have to think about it!

Kelly P:  Who are your favorite characters? Which of your characters/trilogies/ series are closest to your heart? I read that you had started a 4^th Thomas of Hookton book, but then put it aside. Do you still think about Thomas or is his story complete?

BC:  The next book will be another with Thomas of Hookton (though not the abandoned one).  I’ve started it and am about a fifth of the way in, and just beginning to see the dim outlines of a story.  My favorite characters?  I like them all, I suppose – but have a special fondness for Derfel and Ceinwyn in the Arthurian books.  Uhtred always amuses me, which is good.  Sharpe has been very good to me, and one day I’d like to write him again.  I adored Lady Grace in Sharpe’s Trafalgar and wish she could have been in more books. But my favorite series still remains the Arthurian trilogy: The Winter King, Enemy of God and Excalibur.

Kelly P: Also your battle scenes are always remarked upon. As one HF Forum fan wrote: “you really understand what happened … you smell it, taste it, feel it.” The question, then, is this: How does that happen? Along the same lines as character development, how do you take a battle scene and get it transcribed onto paper in such a way that even the most squeamish reader is caught up in the moment, completely and inextricably, cheering on their favorite hero? Do you draw out the battle scene, set it up with props or does it all come right out of your head and onto the computer screen or typewriter page?

BC:  Straight out of my head!   But battles are, by their nature, extremely complicated (the Duke of Wellington snarled at one writer that ‘he might as well write the story of a ball’ (a dance) as write about a battle, so the trick is to simplify it, or at least give the reader a bird’s eye view so they understand what’s happening, then focus in tight on one person’s experience of the chaos. The battle scenes tend to be written very, very fast, almost passionately, and then they need days and days of rewriting to make sure that the reader doesn’t get lost in the complications.

Kelly P:  Similarly, your dialog is just wonderful and something we all point to as just one more element that makes your books so enjoyable and memorable. The wit and slight irreverence that is part and parcel of your main characters must come from within, yes? Is there a Derfel and Uhtred residing in you … or vice versa?

BC:  Hmmm – maybe?  I do hear the dialog in my head.  When I’m writing a book I’ll often ‘hear’ conversations between my characters – most of which never make it into the book, but they’re fascinating (at least to me).  I’m intrigued by the relationship of authors to acting, and every summer I act in a summer-stock theater . . . and to say a line you have to understand it, and give it an intonation that explicates the meaning, and when writing you have to do the same.  And dialog should never be ‘bland’.  However inconsequential it might seem it should always serve the plot in some way!

Kelly P:  We have such an enormous respect for you and for your craft. We’ve all read enough bad books to recognize the good ones. How a book gets from the idea-stage and actually published and into our hands is a topic of great fascination to us. Please indulge us a little and let us into your day-to-day life.  What is your normal work day? Do you set aside a certain time of day to write … or a certain number of hours? Is it via computer or pen and ink? Do you work from an outline and proceed from start to finish? Is it easy to focus on the book at hand, or do you find yourself distracted and jotting notes for other books and other characters? Are subsequent rewrites and editing tasks enjoyable for you or is that the worst part of being an author?

BC:  I mostly write in the winter (because the theater takes up my summer), and I work a fairly normal five day week.  I start early – maybe around 7 am, and finish about 5 pm.  A lot of that time is spent staring vacantly into space (‘thinking’), some of it is spent reading (‘research’), but a lot of it is spent writing.  I wish I could work from an outline and I know some authors who do, lucky people, but I have to write to find out what happens.  That means a lot of wrong turnings, and junking stuff and starting again.  I liken writing a book to climbing an unfamiliar mountain – you get a quarter of the way up, look back and see a better route, so you go back, start again, and that takes you halfway up, when you look back, see a better route . . .  and so on.  I really do wish I could write an outline, but when I’ve tried it has never worked!  Rewriting is the best bit!  It’s quick and it’s enjoyable.  Working out the story is the hard bit!

Kelly P:  Are there any current and concrete plans for any of your books to be made into movies? If yes, what, when & who are the stars?

BC: There are plans – but will they happen?  I have no idea.  Agincourt looks the closest, but as far as I know they haven’t got close to thinking about casting.

Kelly P:  From King Arthur to the American Civil War – obviously, you are drawn to many different time periods. Do you have a favorite time period? What has been the most difficult? Were there any surprises that only revealed themselves after you started your research & writing?

BC:  The most difficult was undoubtedly Stonehenge – I was surprised by how much we knew from the archaeological record, but it still seemed like swimming through treacle.  My favorite period is usually whichever one I’m writing about, but I confess to a sneaking love of one period I’ve never described – the reign of Elizabeth I who, to my mind, was the greatest monarch ever to reign in England.

Kelly P:  We understand that you became a writer because after moving to the US, writing didn’t require a green card. How thrilling was it when you got your first book deal? Was there a single point in time when you said something along the lines of, “This is what I am. I am a novelist.” ?

BC:  I think it took some years before I thought of myself as a novelist.  There was a thrill in having the first book accepted (and an even greater thrill in having a contract for four more), but that thrill was tempered by the knowledge that the books had to work!  At least, they had to work if I wanted to stay in the US without a Green card and the American government, in its great wisdom, really didn’t want to give me a work permit.  I’m a citizen now, so phew.  But the whole thing seemed desperate – I’d fallen in love, had to come to the States if that love was to be pursued, had little choice but to do some job ‘under the radar’, and it worked.  33 years later we’re still married (hurrah!).

Kelly P:  How much time to do you have for personal reading? What kinds of books do you enjoy?

BC:  I read a great deal of history (surprise) . . . a lot of non-fiction; I just finished Michael Burleigh’s Moral Combat.  If I read a novel it’s MOST unlikely to be an historical novel (I spend my days writing them, why would I want to spend my evenings with them?), but I do love a police procedural; I adore John Sandford’s books!

Kelly P: Our hobby is reading; your career is writing – and we are grateful! What are your hobbies?

BC:  My hobbies?  The theatre (obviously), both acting in the summer and going to the theater whenever possible . . . and sailing!

Kelly P:  ”Education is the World’s strongest currency.” Very true words. Please share with us a little about the Sharpe’s Children Foundation.

BC:  The SCF was started by Daragh O’Malley, who played Sergeant Harper so splendidly in the TV series, and it really is his baby.  I am not involved, except to donate and cheerlead.  Daragh is working on opening a school in a deprived part of India, but as I said, it’s his project and I should take no credit.  Judy and I have our own charitable foundation, and that concentrates mainly on local charities on Cape Cod and helping with a splendid Aids project in Kenya.

NOTE:  Since doing this interview Mr. Cornwell’s publishers have announced the release of his 4^th book in The Grail Quest series, 1356 which will be in stores in the US in January 2013.

From Harper Collins web site:  Go with God and Fight like the Devil. A fascinating hero and the pursuit of a sword with mythical power – this is the remarkable new novel by Britain’s master storyteller, which culminates at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356.

The Hundred Years War rages on and the bloodiest battles are yet to be fought. Across France, towns are closing their gates, the crops are burning and the country stands alert to danger. The English army, victorious at the Battle of Crécy and led by the Black Prince, is invading again and the French are hunting them down.

Thomas of Hookton, an English archer known as Le Bâtard, is under orders to seek out the lost sword of St Peter, a weapon said to grant certain victory to whoever possesses her. As the outnumbered English army becomes trapped near the town of Poitiers, Thomas, his men and his sworn enemies meet in an extraordinary confrontation that ignites one of the greatest battles of all time.

We want to thank Mr. Cornwell for taking the time out of a very busy schedule to visit with us. 

If you want to read more you can visit Bernard Cornwell’s website, http://www.bernardcornwell.net/ 

To join in an ongoing discussion, visit the PaperBackSwap Historical Fiction Discussion Forum http://www.paperbackswap.com/Somebody-Stop-Bernard-Cornwell-Rampage/topic/148541/ 

An Interview with Author Chris Everheart

The League of Delphi

Ten years after his father’s mysterious death, 17-year-old Zach secretly returns to his wealthy hometown in search of answers. Why did his mother—who recently died—move him away and change his name, forbidding him to ever reveal his true identity or return home? Desperate to reconnect with this seemingly ideal place, Zach is troubled when a grade school friend commits suicide and no one seems to care. Ashley, a local teenager on the fringe, piques his interest with whispers of a secret committee that runs the town and pressures kids into dangerous overachievement. Finding a hidden passage into the committee’s impenetrable headquarters Zach and Ashley discover a dark connection to Ancient Greece and the Oracle at Delphi. Their suspicions are confirmed, but the conspiracy is more terrifying and dangerous than they imagined, sending them running for their lives and praying to get out alive.

Cheryl: Thank you Chris for agreeing to this interview for our Blog here at PaperBackSwap, we are very excited to have you!

Chris: It’s a pleasure. Thanks for welcoming me to the PaperBackSwap family. I know how active and dedicated your community is and I’m really happy to be included.

 
Cheryl: You have led what seems to me, a very interesting life so far. Working as an archaeological illustrator, managing an art gallery, acting, film-making and now writing. Tell us a bit about your career journey and why you choose to become an author.

Chris: Well, first, thanks for saying “so far.” I’m getting a few gray hairs at my temples lately but I feel like I’m nowhere near finished with this journey. There are still so many things I intend to do.

Career-wise, it might be a feature of my artist’s temperament, but I’ve gone from one industry to another, working, watching, and learning. I’m just fascinated with the way the world works and how people behave – and why. I’ve followed my interests and have been exposed to a lot of different fields, which is cool. The mistake I made was believing that I was supposed to completely fit in at one of those places and stay in that company/job/career for the rest of my life. But I just have never been able to do that. 

I studied art for ten years from high school through college and I managed an art gallery right after I got my degree. Long before then, when I was in my first year of college at the University of New Mexico, the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology and the US Forest Service hired me to illustrate an exhibit of an a Pueblo Indian archaeological site in the mountains. I got to spend a lot of time talking to archaeologists and researchers, digging around in their massive collections room, imagining and recreating what life was like so many centuries ago – that was a great experience! Later, when attending the University of Minnesota, I worked in the labs, doing illustrations of artifacts excavated from Mayan ruins in Central America.

I also studied anthropology/archaeology and have a lifelong fascination with old things and ancient times, which shows up in my books. Soon we’ll be releasing the first book in an action/adventure series about a 14-year-old archaeologist – basically who I wish I had been when I was a teenager.

Filmmaking is a field I have really loved because I enjoy movies and TV so much. I love writing scripts, working with actors, and helping other people make movies. I’m a fish in water on a film set. Acting is a part of that. You know the saying, “If you keep going into a barber shop, eventually you’ll get a haircut?” Well, if you keep hanging around independent film sets, eventually someone will say, “Hey, we need more bodies in this shot. Change your shirt and get in there.” But the schedules for movie production are brutal and I found that I couldn’t do it as a job long-term. So, instead, I make a short film now and again for fun. I’ve gotten a couple of awards for filmmaking, which is nice. 

 I decided to write books because I was working in an ad agency and not getting creative satisfaction, but didn’t have the money or time for film school. I found that I really enjoyed writing fiction. And my wife (who was terrified about reading my first manuscript) said it was pretty good, which was huge encouragement.

Once I started writing, I began to understand that my short attention span makes long-term career building impossible, but qualifies me perfectly as an author. I can jump into a subject, learn all about it for a short time, write about it, and move on to another subject and story.

God bless my darling wife, Patsy. She’s been so generous and patient with me over the years. And now that writing is really starting to pay off, she gets to see a return on her “investment” in me.

Cheryl: You have written a series, The Recon Academy. Can you tell us a bit about them?

Chris: I developed the Recon Academy graphic novel series for Stone Arch Books, an imprint of Capstone Publishing. I really believe in Stone Arch’s mission to publish books for young, struggling and reluctant readers – because I was one of those (and although I’m no longer very young, I still struggle a bit with reading).

They asked me to create a series that a middle-grade boy could relate to that has a high-concept theme with a lower reading level. I pitched them several ideas and we Frankensteined a couple together to make Recon Academy. One of them won a Moonbeam Award, which I am proud of. A cool thing is that I wrote those books when I lived in Minneapolis and when I moved to East Tennessee I went to library and found them on the middle-graders’ shelf here.

Cheryl: And about Superman Toys of Terror?

Chris: Stone Arch Books partnered with DC Comics to create a series of partially illustrated chapter books for young readers. While I’ve never been a huge comic book reader, I have deep admiration for the genre. I’m very aware that not many people can say they’ve officially written Superman so it was quite an experience getting that call.

Cheryl: Your newest book, The League of Delphi, is a Young Adult Thriller that left me shouting for more!

Chris: Yes, I loved your mildly profane message to me when you finished The League of Delphi! It put a smile on my face.

I get bored easily so if I start reading a book, watching a movie or TV show but the concept, plot, or characters are weakly developed or poorly expressed, I’ll abandon the book, turn of/walk out of a movie, or quit a TV series. When I’m writing, I have an internal drive to make the plot interesting, the situations exciting, and keep the story moving or it won’t be worth reading and I simply won’t want to write it.

With The League of Delphi, the main character, Zach, is 17 years old, alone, confused, and uncovering a deep, dark mystery in his own hometown – where he thought he would be safe and welcomed back! Instead what he finds are secrets, deaths, deception, and mortal danger to himself and the other kids in the town. It’s out of his control and the writing and plot have to take advantage of that mood.

There will be at least three books in the Delphi series because Zach’s story can’t be told in one volume. He’ll encounter more danger and secrets on his journey to what he thought was home. So, you asked for more and you will definitely get more!

Cheryl: My favorite sentence from the book: Wrinkled and grooved buildings stand rooted low to the ground as if someone planted a single brick on each plot three hundred years ago and they’ve been growing slowly ever since, twisting upward each night toward the light of the moon.

Chris: That was a real Ray Bradbury moment. The 300-year-old college campus in The League of Delphi is a character unto itself – especially the library that no one is allowed to use. It’s the headquarters of evil and the only place Zach will find answers.

One thing I love about libraries and college campuses is how open they are. Everyone is there to learn and grow, to meet and talk and share an experience. I thought it would be interesting to flip that and make this town’s college foreboding and unfriendly. So, every moment Zach is on this campus, instead of feeling inspired he feels scrutinized and suffocated. The look and description of the campus reflects what’s going on inside him.

The description in that passage is based on a couple of very old buildings on the University of Minnesota campus, where I finished college. These ancient brick buildings stand on narrow, winding streets and their windows are big and vacant and stare down at you as you walk past. They seem alive, like huge old trees that were on that spot long before you came along and will be there long after you’re gone.

Cheryl: Is young Zach, the protagonist in your book based on someone you know?

Chris: Zach is not based on a specific person I know. Like most of my characters, he emerges from the circumstances in the story. My stories are very plot-driven and I usually don’t get to know the characters until I put them in these dreadful circumstances and they start to act and react.

In that sense, it’s very much like meeting someone for the first time. You have impressions of who they are based on how they look and talk. But as you live in the same world together and things happen, you see aspects of them emerge – sometimes admirable, sometimes repugnant – and they become more and different than you imagined them to be. If you stick around long enough or if the things that happen are strenuous enough, you’ll get to see a broader spectrum of their character and see major changes.

This is what writing a book is like. I don’t entirely know who the characters are, but as the story develops the readers and I get to know them. This is one reason big concept thrillers are so gripping and exciting – the compacted circumstances force the characters to do something and you get to know them and identify with them quickly.

Cheryl: In his adventures in this book, Zach is searching for his truth, his background and for answers about his life that he could never get from his family. This search surely will resonate with your readers, young and adult. Is there a similar search you have been on?

Chris: Zach is a teenager fighting the forces and circumstances around him that are blocking him from finding his true identity. So, in that sense, he is inspired by practically every teenager (and many adults) I’ve known – and also by myself. For me, the pain of growing up is still very fresh. I did not have an especially happy childhood and being a teenager was … well, let’s just say that, if you invented a time machine that could transport people back to 1983, I wouldn’t get in that damned thing!

Story is universally important to us because it can express what we don’t fully acknowledge and understand. Telling Zach’s story – as he discovers what the League of Delphi is doing to his town and is compelled to do something about it – is a way of dealing with vital teen issues like identity, rebellion, isolation, abandonment, pressure, romance, and risk.

Having helped raise a child, I can see these stages and themes more clearly, but I wasn’t aware or the least bit analytical of them when I was going through them myself. I also didn’t sense at that time that teenagers have likely gone through these phases and changes since the dawn of time. The plot, stakes, and circumstances in The League of Delphi are all amplified into a thriller story, but the themes are timeless and universal.

Zach’s not entirely sure why he’s doing what he’s doing. He’s afraid that he might be clinically insane. His mother stole him away from everything familiar when he was seven years old. He has returned to his hometown under a false name. Emerging from hiding, he is becoming a different version of himself. His parents are gone and he never really knew them. He wants his home to be ideal, but it’s deeply dysfunctional – even dangerous. He feels unable to love but connects with this damaged girl who reflects his suspicions about life and this place.

So inspiration for the character of Zach is in each of us and I hope readers will identify with him and connect with the subtle themes he’s encountering in addition to his terrifying and exciting story.

Cheryl: Tell us a bit about the Oracle at Delphi, and why you chose this theme for your book.

Chris: Ah, Delphi is such a fascinating place! For more than a thousand years, this mountainside site in Greece was the most important religious and cultural spot in the Western World. Starting in 1400BCE, royalty, aristocrats, politicians, military leaders, and commoners from all over went there to consult the Pythia – a woman who sat deep in a temple, breathing noxious fumes from a crack in the earth, babbling answers to questions. Decisions about romance, finance, and empire were made based on her famously – sometimes cruelly – cryptic prophecies. One emperor, for example, asked the oracle if he should invade a neighboring country. The oracle’s response was, “If you go to war, a great empire will be destroyed.” So he went to war and was unpleasantly surprised when he lost and it was his empire that was destroyed! (See more on Delphi at my Brain Burgers Blog at ChrisEverheart.com)

I had a story concept about a town where everyone somehow knew what was going to happen ahead of time. The conflict was they weren’t like other people because of their special knowledge and they fought amongst themselves about how to handle it. Because I love old-time radio, I was contemplating producing it as a web radio show – a sort of drama/soap opera.

That project never came to be, but I read about Delphi somewhere and realized that the mysterious knowledge could be coming from this mystical place – and the magic “What if …” questions emerged. “What if the Oracle at Delphi was the source of secret knowledge? And what if one of their own had a reason to tear the lid off it all?” By this time, I had started writing for young readers and asked the final important question: “What if that insider with something to prove was a teenager?” And Zach was suddenly thrust into this dark mystery – the poor kid never saw it coming.

Cheryl: Zach and his new friend Ashley discover some frightening secrets and encounter a dangerous truth in your book. Both cope with these truths very differently, yet compliment each other very well. Will there be another book with Zach and Ashley?  Will this story continue?

Chris: Zach and Ashley are at the center of The League of Delphi. It was originally only Zach’s story, but I was surprised by how important Ashley became while I was writing it. She is on the inside of this cloistered town culture, but she’s also on the fringe. Ashley is Zach’s bridge into the mystery. She’s broken – in and out of the psych ward her whole life – but she’s the only person courageous enough to acknowledge the truth of what’s going on in this town. Zach can’t help but notice this because he’s looking for the ideal place that his mother stole him away from and instead finds a bunch of mind-numbed robots who can’t even acknowledge the suicide of a local high school kid.

They complement each other in several ways: Zach believes he is inwardly insane; Ashley is known to be outwardly insane. Zach is on his own and lonely; Ashley is surrounded by people but totally unable to connect with any of them. Zach is living under a false identity; everyone knows exactly who Ashley is. Zach is secretly trying to figure out the weirdness going on in this town; Ashley has gotten locked in the psych ward for talking about it. Zach doesn’t know who he is and feels he needs to get inside the mystery of the League of Delphi to figure it out; Ashley knows who she is and wants out so she can be herself.

They are soul mates on this journey to break the grip of Delphi and express who they really are. Of course, Delphi is not onboard with that and the battle that ensues tears them apart – inside and out. It’s pretty grim for these two teenagers.

And yes, this is only the first of at least three books in this series. I originally conceived it as a trilogy and I can see opportunities for more sequels as well as any number of prequels and historical fiction series based on the theme. The history of Delphi goes back over THREE THOUSAND YEARS – that’s a lot of stories to tell!

Cheryl: What books and authors do you read for fun?

Chris: I read a wide variety of subjects and authors – nonfiction, history, archaeology, true-life adventures, self-development, philosophy, scripture of many traditions, thrillers, some mysteries, and YA. I know a lot of writers, so I read their books.

I love to read Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson books and Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider series. When I really just want some brain candy, I read Clive Cussler. His books have a good blend of action, thrills, history, and archaeology – they’re pure entertainment. Lately I’ve been reading zombie books – by Jonathan Maberry and Max Brooks. I’ll start the Hunger Games series soon because I love what Suzanne Collins has done with teen stories – can the concept get any sharper than “Kill them before they kill you!”?

One frustration for me is that I still read very slowly so I know I will never get to everything that I would like to read.

Cheryl: Is there a book or books that influenced you as a young person?

Chris: A Louis L’Amour dime-store Western from my dad’s shelf stands out in my mind. I can’t remember the title now, but it was about a teenager who started out on a cattle drive with his father. Dad broke his leg and died from gangrene – gruesome! – and the kid had to fight some rustlers and finish the adventure by himself. It was a stock story, but it left an impression on me that this young man could rely on himself when he most needed to.

I also had an excellent Humanities teacher in high school who showed me Shakespeare, Dante, Plato, and Homer and got me out into a big, fascinating world beyond network television. I’m very grateful for that education.

Cheryl: What is next for you?

Chris: I have a number of books coming out in e-book and paperback in the next few months: ZomProm: a high school zombie romance (yes, it’s what it sounds like); Seti’s Charm: A Max Carter Adventure (the first in my action/adventure series about a 14-year-old archaeologist); Hub’s Adventures (a series of futuristic techno-mysteries about sixth-grader Hub and his robot best friend, Crank); a possible short film project; and writing the next book in The League of Delphi series. Is that enough? Because sometimes I feel lazy.

Cheryl: And now for some fun questions:

Coke or Pepsi?

Chris: I failed the Pepsi Challenge – COKE!

Cheryl: Mountains or beach?

Chris: Mountains. It took me 15 years to get to East Tennessee and I’m not leaving!

Cheryl: Cake or pie?

Chris: Cake – because I’m pretty sure brownies are in that category.

Cheryl: Television or movies?

Chris: Ugh! I seriously can’t choose – I’m one of the rare people who openly admits to loving television. I wouldn’t want to live in a world where I had to choose between Smoky and the Bandit and Dukes of Hazard.

Cheryl: Cats or Dogs?

Chris: Used to be exclusively a cat person until Molly came along. Now I’m a dog person – but it’s gotta be the right dog!

Chris Everheart is an award-winning author of books and short stories for middle-graders, young adults, and adults and an occasional filmmaker. A lifelong reluctant reader, TV junkie, and movie lover, Chris infuses the pacing and thrills of visual storytelling into all his stories. When not writing he can be found hiking in the mountains near home, watching television, or learning about history, science, and archaeology. He’s a Minnesota native living in East Tennessee with his family.

Connect with Chris at:

Facebook: facebook.com/chriseverheart.writes

Twitter: @ChrisEverheart

ChrisEverheart.com

Chris Everheart has generously offered an autographed numbered paperback copy of his new book, The League of Delphi to a member who comments here on the Blog. A winner will be chosen at random. Good Luck!