Happy Release Day to
Dead Jed 3: Return of the Jed
by Scott Craven!!
Join us in celebrating this release from Month9Books!
Enter the giveaway found at the end of the post.
Happy Book Birthday, Scott!
With seventh grade behind him, Jed jumps at the opportunity to spend the summer in Mexico with his dad. But there’s just one catch: Luke and Tread get to tag along.In Mexico, fitting inmight be easier than Jed imagined, with Holidays such as Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). Here, a rising 8th grade zombie boy and his zombie dog won’t draw that much attention.But then Tread unwittingly sets off Mexico’s Chupacabra Defense Network and Jed accidentally collides with a bus. So much for blending in. The unusual pair catch the eye of a professional wrestler, who challenges Jed to a fight!Their antics manage to capture the attention of a doctor whose knowledge of the undead causes Jed to question his very existence. Is this the answer Jed’s been hoping for since his parents sat him down for the “you’re a zombie” talk? Jed may have finally found a way to be normal, but at what cost?Dead Jed: Return of the Jed is book 3 in Scott Craven’s humorous and heartwarming series about surviving middle school, fitting in, and embracing one’s differences – even if you are a zombie.
Dead Jed 3: Return of the Jed
by Scott Craven
Publication Date: December 15, 2015
Publisher: Month9Books
Add the series to your TBR list!
Proud graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, have one son who will turn 18 in March 2013, now a features writer for The Arizona Republic.
Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter
1.
When did you first
realize you wanted to be a writer?
When
I was a sophomore or junior in high school (that was so long ago, the years run
together), I took a creative writing class because friends told me the teacher
often let students out early. Early on, he walked into the center of the room,
dropped a raw egg on the floor, and told the class to write one hundred words
about what we just saw. I wrote three times that. And if there were more time,
I would have gone into the egg’s family history with dozens of egg puns. For,
you know, eggstra credit.
2.
How long does it take
you to write a book?
Due
to my day job as a journalist, I wrote the Dead Jed trilogy on weekends. Each
took roughly eight months. On the most recent book, however, I also dedicated a
week of vacation to finish it on time. The problem was that I was visiting my
dad at the time, and he wasn’t real happy about delaying dinner at Applebee’s
to as late as 4:30 p.m.
3.
What is your work
schedule like when you're writing?
Since
I am a natural procrastinator, I, uh. Hang on, I’ll get back to this.
4.
What would you say is
your interesting writing quirk?
I
don’t always follow the rules. Writing is more interesting when you don’t
follow rules. When I go off the rails, I try to stay somewhere between grammar
felonies and what a beauty pageant contestant might say during the interview
portion.
5.
How do books get
published?
I
honestly have no idea. I know that somebody has to like your book, and they
hire someone who tells you why your book isn’t nearly as good as you think, and
so you rewrite a bunch of stuff and discover, dang, they were right. You turn
it in all proud and stuff, and then that someone tells you more things to
change. Then it goes through the spelling and grammar police, and you change it
some more to avoid fines or up to three years in writing prison. After weeks
and months, you get a box of books. And look, your name is on the cover. It’s a
literary miracle!
6.
Where do you get your
information or ideas for your books?
Over
more than five decades, I dedicated myself to researching the undead. It took
me from movies to TV shows to books, an exhausting process fueled largely by
popcorn and Milk Duds (yes, even the books part, leading to many complaints
from sullen librarians). One day it hit me – what if there was a zombie who
just wanted to get along? Now I know your question mentioned “ideas,” but so
far the zombie idea is the only one that’s led to a book.
7.
When did you write your
first book and how old were you?
I
attended a book festival last year and shared a table with a 13-year-old who
had just self-published a book about time-traveling mermaids protecting the
world from a lost civilization of werewolves. She was even selling slick
bookmarks attached to polished stones that represented some sort of magical
charm represented in the book. When I was 13, I could barely finish a 50-word
essay on the history of the universe. I now wish I could ride a time-traveling
mermaid back to my 20s and get cracking on a book. Unless there was a chance of
encountering a werewolf bent on world destruction.
8.
What do you like to do
when you're not writing?
I
love the things every technologically enabled American likes to do –
binge-watch TV.
9.
What does your family
think of your writing?
They’re
fine with it, as long as it doesn’t interfere with vacation. Although my son is
a bit more impressed I’m able to put together seventy thousand words in a way
that other people may want to read them. He was 15 when I finished the first
Dead Jed, and he wouldn’t read it until months after it was published.
10.
What was one of the most
surprising things you learned in creating your books?
We’d
all love to be that author who hits the bestseller lists and makes a ton of
money. But since that is not part of my experience, I’ve enjoyed meeting those
truly excited by reading. I love sharing an enthusiasm for reading and writing.
Should they go so far as buying a book and asking me to sign it, I envision
them curled up in a quiet corner enjoying the world I created. Nothing beats
that feeling.
11.
How many books have you
written? Which is your favorite?
I’ve
written three: “Dead Jed: Adventures of a Middle School Zombie,” “Dead Jed 2:
Dawn of the Jed,” and the latest, “Dead Jed 3: Return of the Jed.” I can
honestly say I like the last one most, thanks to all I’ve learned over the
process (and a shout-out to Courtney, my incredibly amazing editor).
12.
Do you have any
suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so, what are they?
I
realize you can get advice anywhere, from teachers to friends to books. And all
of it is helpful. I’d add only this – find your voice. You’ll know it when you
do.
13.
Do you hear from your
readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
I
don’t hear from readers much, for a variety of reasons. But when I do, it’s
memorable. My favorite is a handwritten letter from Jack, which I will keep and
remember always. It was lovely and sincere. Thanks, Jack.
14.
Do you like to create
books for adults?
I
have no idea since I’ve yet to do so. Perhaps one day, yet I tend to
procrastinate. That reminds me, my writing work schedule was on weekends.
15.
What do you think makes
a good story?
A
seventh-grade zombie and his adventures in middle school, including his wacky
best friend and evil bully. That’s not just a good story, but an amazing one.
Yet there is only one way to discover that yourself. Order yours today!
16.
As a child, what did you
want to do when you grew up?
It
depended on what impressionable TV show or book I’d just finished. Mostly
action-filled occupations, including policeman, doctor, astronaut and dinosaur
hunter. Being a writer wouldn’t occur to me for years. Now if someone had
produced a movie called “Amazing Adventures of Allen Ackerby, Action Author,”
it may have been different.
17.
What Would you like my
readers to know?
Complete the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!
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