Interview and Giveaway: Annie Rachel Cole

I'm thrilled to have Annie Rachel Cole stopping by to today talk about her middle-grade book How NOT to Train a Zombie. Be sure to check out the full March MG Madness schedule and enter the big box of books giveaways here.

How NOT to Train a Zombie 

by Annie Rachel Cole

2/10/13

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Purchase: Amazon

How does a thirteen-year old become the most popular kid in 8th grade? He trains a zombie to be a pet... And that's exactly what Max Taylor plans to do, even if he had to lie, steal, and lose his best friend in the process.

WS: What three words best describe HOW NOT TO TRAIN A ZOMBIE!!!? 

Don't try at home! (Ooops! That's four words :P )

WS: Can you give us your best one sentence pitch to convince readers (especially reluctant readers) why they should give HOW NOT TO TRAIN A ZOMBIE!!! a try? 

Wanting to be the most popular boy in 8th grade, Max Taylor decides to steal a zombie and train it like a pet dog, but of course everything goes wrong and now he has to save his best friend.

WS: Grab a copy of HOW NOT TO TRAIN A ZOMBIE!!! and answer the following:

Favorite chapter? 

chapter 4

Favorite page? 

149

Favorite character? 

Chad

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

"If none of these work, I'm coming after you Max Taylor." Chad pulled out the stopper and drank the contents of the vial.

WS: Why did you decide to write a middle-grade book? What do you love about writing middle-grade?                                                                                           

 "I'm going to sit down and write a middle grade book about zombies." Actually, nope. Didn't happen that way. Sorry:)The original idea of writing a zombie book actually was the result of several zombie nightmares I had. To deal with them, I started jotting down ideas and playing with them.Once I had the idea for the zombie book, the name Maxwell Taylor immediately popped into my mind (and yes, I tried changing his name--it didn't work! Characters can be so stubborn about little things like a name change.), but I didn't know anything about him.One day I was watching and listening to my students in the few minutes of free time they had before the bell rang, it suddenly dawned on me--this was the perfect age for Max--the awkward, "I rule the campus," want to be part of the in-crowd, "don't hug me mom," junior high kid.

WS: Why do you think middle-grade is such a popular and important category of books?                                                                                                                    

I think the reason middle grade books are so popular now is because of the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Not only did it get children reading, but it got the adults reading too. The adults realized there were some really good middle grade books and they kept reading the books, often with their kids. Middle grade books are important because they deal with a lot of the issues middle grade students are currently dealing with, but they also feed into the fantasy/dystopian themes the kids love. Because of these things, we're getting a group of kids interested in reading which will hopefully make them life-long readers, and it will trickle down to their kids.

WS: What is your all time favorite middle-grade book?  

Harry Potter series, especially The Sorcerer's Stone

WS: Who is your favorite middle-grade hero and heroine?  

Harry Potter and Hermione Granger

WS: When writing HOW NOT TO TRAIN A ZOMBIE!!! were you inspired or influenced by any specific zombie pop culture (books, movies, tv shows)? Did you have a hard time writing a middle-grade appropriate zombie tale, since zombies are usually seen as scary?                                                                                                

I haven't read any zombie books, though I've got Rot and Ruin and Hollowland in my TBR (To Be Read) pile. I havent  had the chance to watch the Walking Dead series. my son has watched the first season and has told me I have to watch it. I want to go see Warm Bodies, but I doubt I'll be able to get hubby to go. He's not really into the horror movies.So what have I watched with zombies? I've watched a couple of the Resident Evil movies, Night of the Living Deadand Return of the Living Dead 1 and 2, but that's been a long time ago.So what inspired me to write a zombie story?Nightmares!!!Several nights of nightmares about zombies. When I have nightmares, I have some really scary ones. It was one of those, if I'm going to dream about them, I might as well write about them. I played around with the various ideas and then the next thing I knew, Max Taylor made himself known to me. Once I realized he was an 8th grader, the rest of the plot fell into place and I wrote the outline of the book.Funny thing, the zombie nightmares quit--haven't had one since I completed the outline. The outline sat for several months in my ideas binder. I found it during Christmas vacation while looking through the binder for some notes about another story idea. I didn't have a lot of problems writing for the middle grade audience. The hardest thing was trying to make it scary, but not too scary.

WS: Fill in the blanks:

My favorite middle-grade curse word or expletive is

oh flipping horsefeathers

I wish I could train a zombie to 

grade papers and do chores like cleaning the toilet and the cat box

If I could jump inside any middle-grade book, I'd choose

 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

The last great book I read was 

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey.

WS: If you were to create and bake a cupcake inspired by HOW NOT TO TRAIN A ZOMBIE!!!, what would it look and taste like, and what would you call it?             

The vanilla cake part would be grayish green with a blood red macroon center--the brains of the cupcake. The icing would also be grayish green. On top I would sprinkle some crushed Oreos to look like the dirt that obviously accumulates on zombies. I would have candy bones sticking out of the icing with splatter drops of red gel across the top to look like blood. Let's just call it the Zombie Exterminator Brain Special, just for the late night hunger attacks will hunting zombies.

Annie Rachel Cole
Website / Goodreads / Twitter 
I live in Texas with my husband, son, and two cats who think they run the place. I read, write, play Texas Hold’em poker, and occasionally compete in BBQ competitions with my husband. Our team name is Outcast Cookers. I also teach in a public school.

Win a signed copy of 

How NOT to Train a Zombie!

Annie has generously offered two signed copies of her book for two winners.

DETAILS

-INT

-there will be 2 winners who will each win one book

-will run from 3/7 - 3/31

-must be 13+, one main entry per person

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

-I am NOT responsible for lost, damaged, or stolen prizes

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Author Interview and Giveaway: Annie Rachel Cole

Annie Rachel Cole, author of the YA book Guardian of Atlantis, is stopping by today with an interview and giveaway!

WS: What three words best describe your book, Guardian of Atlantis?

A: twisted Greek mythology

WS: In just one sentence convince readers why they MUST read your books?

A: Reading the Children of Atlantis series is the only way for you to find out the real stories behind the myths you’ve read.

WS: Where did the idea or inspiration for this book and the series as a whole come from?

A: My school took the 8^th graders to watch The Lightning Thief. The Medusa character in the movie got me to thinking. What if Medusa had a daughter? What if she had to hide the child? What would the daughter be like? Who’s her father? A few days later I happened to watch a show about Atlantis and the theory of ancient aliens. My imagination went crazy. What if Atlantis was really an alien outpost? The ideas slowly merged and grew. Before I knew it, Raven Weir, the daughter of Medusa and Poseidon, was born.

WS: Who is your favorite Guardian of Atlantis character to write? Who was the most challenging to write?

A: The answer to both questions is Raven Weir. She has a lot of issues she’s dealing with as she discovers who she really is. I wanted to capture the mentality of what would a 16 year old girl do in this situation, but yet try to keep her as “real” as possible—the girl sitting next to you in history class.

WS: Grab a copy of Guardian of Atlantis and answer the following:

·         Favorite chapter? Chapter 5 (Raven kicks a little Hellhound booty.)

·         Favorite page? Page 94

·         Flip to a random page and chose any one random sentence from that page and give us a little teaser:  “But I am Poseidon, god of the sea. And I am your father. I forbid you to leave.” (Oops, that’s three sentences, but can’t you just hear Poseidon telling Raven this? Bet you can’t guess what her reaction is. Lol)

WS: Who or what is your favorite mythological being or God/Goddess? What do you love about them?

A: Difficult question. I actually have several I like: Persephone, Hercules, Medusa.

Medusa would have to be my favorite. I was always curious about her. What kind of woman was she before Athena turned her hair into snakes? Was she really self-centered or was that just part of the lore surrounding her? So, I guess you could say, I love the mystery surrounding her as a person.

WS: If you could switch places with any literary character, just for one day, who would it be? What would you do as them?

A: Another difficult question, because there are just so many to choose from. Okay, I’ve got one. I would want to switch places with Minerva McGonagall. I would spend the day perform all sorts of magic, just because I could.

WS: Who is your favorite villain of all time…who do you just love to hate or hate to love?

A: It would have to be Severus Snape. You just have to hate him in the beginning of the series, but in the end, you finally see the real man hidden from the world, and understand why he did what he did.

WS:: Fill in the blanks:

 I’m really awesome at coming up with story ideas. I’ll never be without a story to write.

 I’m really embarrassed to admit that I’m deathly afraid of the old iron and wood bridges that can still be found over rivers on gravel roads here in Texas. Some of the fear is from the fact I never learned to swim.

In 100 years I hope people remember me as a good story teller.

WS: If you were to create/bake a Guardian of Atlantis cupcake, what would it look and taste like, and what would you call it?

A: It would definitely be a vanilla, chocolate, red velvet cake swirl with midnight blue cream cheese icing. Starfish and snowy sprinkles decorate the top. I would call it the Cupcake of Souls.

Thank you SO much Annie for answering my questions!

Annie Rachel Cole: 

Site / Blog / Goodreads / Twitter 

Books by Annie

Guardian of Atlantis (The Children of Atlantis #1)

Sixteen-year-old Raven Weir has a somewhat normal life until she receives a mysterious necklace…a necklace others are willing to kill her to get because it contains the key codes to Atlantis. Now she finds she’s the only one standing between Atlantis and those who want to use the power hidden there to take over the world.
And Zeus is at the head of that line.
On top of worrying about social acceptance at school, Raven has to get control of her growing powers before she harms someone. And it doesn’t help that the alpha Hellhound at school is attracted to her while members of his pack are trying to kill her. And then there’s the whole biological parent issue. Finding out you’re adopted is huge, but discovering you’re actually the daughter of Medusa and Poseidon will definitely cause problems.
Will Raven find the inner strength she needs to survive? 
Will she be able to protect Atlantis?

Purchase: Amazon / Barnes & Noble

No Rest For the Spirit and Other Ghostly Tales

Beware of Ghosts!
They may be lurking where you lest expect them...
Open the book and read if you dare…In this collection of twelve chilling tales, ghosts rule. From ghosts haunting a school, to a phantom trucker who gives hitchhikers rides, and windows which refuse to stay closed, to a vengeful spirit who plans to get her husband back, no one is safe.

Purchase: Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Win a signed copy of both Guardian of Atlantis and No Rest For the Spirit and Other Ghostly Tales from Annie!

Annie has generously offered one signed paperback copy of each of her books to one winner.

Details

-US/CAN only

-Will run from 9/20 - 9/28

-There will be one (1) winner who will win a signed paperback copy of each book

-Must be 13+ to enter

-One main entry per person

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

-I am NOT responsible for lost, damaged or stolen prizes

Fill out Rafflecopter form to enter

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