Welcome to my tour stop for Billy Bobble Makes a Magic Wand by R.S. Mellette. This is an upper middle grade, lower young adult sci-fi adventure novel that's perfect for the whole family. This tour runs Feb. 9-20th with reviews and interviews. Check out the tour page for more information.
About the Book:
"E = mc2 is no longer the most powerful force in the universe. Your wand is."
Twelve-year-old Billy and his best friend Suzy Quinofski didn't mean to change the universe. Billy, a quantum physics prodigy, just wanted to find a way to help his hoarding, schizophrenic mother – and maybe impress a coven of older girls in high school. Suzy, his intellectual equal, wanted to help her friend and cling to her last remnant of childhood, a belief in magic. Together they made Billy a real, working, magic wand, and opened a door to the Quantum World where thoughts create reality, and all things – good and bad – are possible.
Amazon | Goodreads
About the Author:
R.S. Mellette has written, directed, designed and acted in theatre, film, television, and publishing for over 30 years. His credits in various jobs include XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS, NUTTY PROFESSOR II: THE KLUMPS, BLUE CRUSH, and his own JACKS OR BETTER, which won Dances With Films Best Screenplay award in 2000. He has been working with the festival ever since.
His novel, Billy Bobble Makes a Magic Wand, released in December 2014 from Elephant’s Bookshelf Press. For novelists, Mellette blogs for From The Write Angle. For filmmakers, he writes for Dances With Films.
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***Author Interview***
Hi
Erika! Thanks for having me. I hope your readers like Billy Bobble
Makes A Magic Wand as much as youth eye cream or a Reacher Grabber
Picker Upper. I’m only half-kidding. Entertainment is a product like
any other. Sure, books have the potential to change a person’s life,
but at their core they need to give the customer their money’s worth in
entertainment.
What inspired you to write your first book?
My
first book, which is “in the trunk” as they say, is based on a space
opera screenplay I wrote back in the mid-90s. Everyone loved the
script, but said it was too big to sell. After numerous professionals
suggested I find a way to build an audience for it, I adapted it as a
novel. That’s a very tricky way to get into publishing. There is
nothing worse than an artist from one discipline thinking they can just
hop into another because it will be “easier.” Trust me, I know this
first hand from doing theatre in Hollywood.
Crafting
a novel on a professional level is just as hard as making a film. Each
present their own challenges, and each need to be respected as the art
form that they are.
Do you have a specific writing style?
Coming
from Theatre, and then Film & Television, I find my strength is
dialogue. That doesn’t mean my characters sit around talking about what
we should see them doing, but that while they are doing exciting stuff,
their dialogue puts images in the reader’s mind.
I
like to think of writing dialogue like painting with watercolors. The
way the canvas absorbs the colors, or lets them run… The way the colors
mix after the painter applies them… All of this relates to the voice of
each character. How it changes in different situations. How their
speech reveals their character and the characters they are talking to.
The art is in the imperfections.
Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Absolutely. I have a group of writers that I’ve virtually met on Agent Query Connect and blog with on From The Write Angle that everyone should keep an eye on. These include Mindy McGinnis (Not A Drop To Drink, In A Handful of Dust), and R.C. Lewis (Stitching Snow). Both are YA Science-Fiction authors and both helped out on Billy Bobble Makes A Magic Wand.
For adult noir fans, check out Robert K. Lewis and his Mark Mallen detective series. Good stuff. For historical fiction fans, try Sophie Perinot.
I could go on and on. Good books and good people.
Who designed the cover?
Kirbi Fagan.
We found her through the Society of Children’s Book Writers and
Illustrators (SCBWI). She is fantastic! I often go to her website just
to check out her work.
Do you have any advice for other writers?
Yes. Agent Query Connect. You can find just about any answer to your questions there, and build your own team of supportive writers.
And, of course, keep writing.
I want to thank R.S. for answering some questions for me! Good luck with your book and I am thrilled to be a part of the tour :)
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Giveaway:
1st Prize- *signed* copy of Billy Bobble Makes a Magic Wand
2nd Prize- Season two of Xena: Warrior Princess
Open to US only
Ends 2/25/15
Ends 2/25/15
Wonderful interview! I always have fun reading his answers. Thank you so much for hosting a tour stop!
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