Interview and Giveaway: Jonathan Rosen, middle-grade author

I'm thrilled to have author Jonathan Rosen here today to chat about his fun middle-grade series...

Night of the Living Cuddle Bunnies

Twelve-year-old Devin Dexter has a problem. Well, actually, many of them. His cousin, Tommy, sees conspiracies behind every corner. And Tommy thinks Devin's new neighbor, Herb, is a warlock . . . but nobody believes him. Even Devin's skeptical. But soon strange things start happening. Things like the hot new Christmas toy, the Cuddle Bunny, coming to life. 

That would be great, because, after all, who doesn't love a cute bunny? But these aren't the kind of bunnies you can cuddle with. These bunnies are dangerous. Devin and Tommy set out to prove Herb is a warlock and to stop the mob of bunnies, but will they have enough time before the whole town of Gravesend is overrun by the cutest little monsters ever? This is a very funny "scary" book for kids, in the same vein as the My Teacher books or Goosebumps.  

Amazon / Indiebound / Goodreads 

From Sunset Till Sunrise 

Devin Dexter and his cousin Tommy just saved the city of Gravesend from the menace of magical, malicious Cuddle Bunnies brought to life by the warlock, Herb. But there’s no rest for the wicked, as a new mysterious neighbor moves in across the street. At night. With a coffin. Tommy immediately jumps to conclusions as he thinks this can only mean one thing: Vampires. 

Devin isn’t so quick to believe, as he is struck by the neighbor’s daughter, a girl his age. Even though Tommy points out that they have never seen her during the day. Yet when she invites him to a dance at her school—the Nosfer Academy of Talented Understudies—how can Devin say no? Tommy, though, realizes that this is an opportunity. After tackling a wizard last winter, surely they can protect Gravesend from some measly vampires, right?

Amazon / Indiebound / Goodreads 

Q1.  What three words best describe your book Night of the Living Cuddle Bunnies? 

 Funny, scary, and let’s see . . .  did I mention funny? 

 Q2. Grab a copy of Night of the Living Cuddle Bunnies and answer the following: 

Favorite chapter? It’s tough for me to pick the favorite of anything in the book, since I love all of it, but for this question, I’ll go with Chapter Two: Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner. It’s a funny chapter, where Devin and Tommy discuss all the items needed to defeat a witch.  

Favorite page? I love page 123, where Devin is forced to speak to a therapist, who uses a sock, and refers to him as Dr. Sockmond Freud.  

Favorite setting? My favorite setting in the story is the big showdown at the mall. Huge scene there with Cuddle Bunnies, and more. Don’t want to spoil it for anyone. 😊 

Flip to a random page and give us a 1-2 sentences teaser: 

P 246: I whirled the flashlight around, to come face to face with two black Cuddle Bunny eyes staring right back at me. 

Q3. What inspired Night of the Living Cuddle Bunnies? How did this story and series come to be? 

The inspiration for this story was wanting to do a horror/comedy. As a kid, I loved the scary/funny movies, like Gremlins and Fright Night. Naturally, I was also a huge fan of Goosebumps, and wanted to do something in that vein. For a while, I had thought about a story where that season’s hot new Christmas toy came to life and terrorized a town, so I combined all the things I wanted. I made the town a creepy one, which has a history of paranormal activity. I used a lot of horror tropes and played with them. Twisting them, to make them as funny as could be.  

Q4. Can you tell us a bit about your young characters, Devin and Tommy? What makes them unique? 

I think Devin and Tommy are very funny and are slightly self-aware. They mention the tropes and lore, and give little winks to the reader, as if to say, we’re aware of what you’re thinking, but this is going in a different direction. Devin is more reserved and cautious. The part of the reader who thinks things through and logically wouldn’t want to go charging into danger. Tommy is the part of the reader who they wish they were. Aware of the danger, but doesn’t care. We’ll go charging in, and confronting it head-on. 

Q5.  Living Cuddle Bunnies sound sweet and innocent, but they're actually dangerous....what three survival tips would you give readers to deal with any Living Cuddle Bunnies they encounter? 

1. You can’t go anywhere in Gravesend without Holy Water, and it works wonders on Cuddle Bunnies.  

2. Also, a good, sharp pair of scissors.  

3. And perhaps, the most important, your phone with plenty of music stored on it. Especially, the kind of music the Cuddle Bunnies hate, like the Hugging Hippo song.  
4. 
   

 Q6. What's next for Devin and Tommy in their next adventure, From Sunset till Sunrise? 

In From Sunset Till Sunrise, Devin and Tommy have a new neighbor, who invites them to a dance at a performing arts school. Unfortunately, for them, the school is filled with vampires. It’s both funny and scary, with a touch of gore. But, even the gory stuff comes out as funny.  

 Q7. Fill in the blanks: 

I'm really awesome at ___.humor. 

I'm embarrassed to admit ___.that there are a couple of really famous classics that I’ve never read. Won’t name them, because it’s too embarrassing!  

The last great book I read was ___.I’ve read so many good ones. Tough to pick just one. But, the last one I read, I really enjoyed, Evangeline of the Bayou by Jan Eldredge.  

 Q8. If you were to create and bake a cupcake inspired by Night of the Living Cuddle Bunnies what would it look and taste like, and what would you call it? 

 Hmmm, I like this question. I love anything chocolate, so it would have to include that. But, let’s also include lots of berries inside, and call it the Bunny Berry Cupcake. It would be delicious at first, but then have a vicious aftertaste. 

  This was a lot of fun, and thank you for having me!  

Jonathan Rosen is a transplanted New Yorker, who now lives with his family in sunny, South Florida. He spends his “free” time chauffeuring around his three kids. Some of Jonathan’s fondest childhood memories are of discovering a really good book to dive into, in particular the Choose Your Own Adventure Series, and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Jonathan is proud to be of Mexican-American descent, although neither country has been really willing to accept responsibility. He is the author of Night of the Living Cuddle Bunnies, which is out now, and the sequel, From Sunset Till Sunrise, coming August 21. You can find him on Twitter, Facebook, FromtheMixedUpFiles.Com, The Tuesday Writers and his own website, WWW.HouseofRosen.com  

Win both books in this fun series!

Jonathan has generously offered copies of each book in this series for one winner.

-US only

-ends 8/17/18

-winner will be emailed and must claim prize within 48 hours

-Word Spelunking is not responsible for lost, damaged, or stolen prizes

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