Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Interview with A.J. Paquette, Author of RULES FOR GHOSTING

I’m thrilled to interview Ammi-Joan (A.J.) Paquette today. Not only is she an awesome author with a brand new middle-grade book out, but she’s also my wonderful agent. Can you say multi-tasking superwoman?

Joan’s latest book, Rules for Ghosting, is out this week! Here’s a summary from her website:

The ghostly adventures of twelve-year-old Dahlia, along with her new living friends Oliver and Poppy, as they dodge a creepy Ghosterminator, a town official with devious plans, and set out about solving the mystery of Dahlia’s death—before it’s too late.

RULES FOR GHOSTING

It’s great to have you at the Inkpot, Joan. Can you tell us a little about the inspiration for this book? How did it become a “ghostly caper”?

Thanks so much for having me here! Well, I actually began writing RULES FOR GHOSTING about 10 years ago, and Dahlia the ghost was a part of the story from the very beginning. I have always loved ghost stories, and “Casper the Friendly Ghost” was an early favorite of mine. So all of that played into the development of Dahlia and her friends. And those were solid components of the story in its original form. What took more shape in recent years was the characters of Oliver and his siblings, and the other antagonists that shape the story and add so much action, octane, and hijinks to the story. I guess what I’m trying to say is the “ghostly” aspects were with the story from the get-go, but the “caper” was the result of more care and development.

At your launch party for Paradox last week (sci-fi thriller, anyone?) you mentioned that Rules for Ghosting was one of your earliest projects and that it’s gone through many iterations over the years. How has the book developed?

As mentioned above, this book has been taken quite a while to evolve into its current form: It was, in fact, the first novel I began writing after deciding that I wanted to seriously pursue writing for children with an eye toward publication. It began life as a 9,000 word story that was rich on character but very (very) thin on plot. It would take 9 years and more than half-a-dozen substantial revisions to get it to the eventual 60,000 word finished product that’s published today. A labor of love, but one that I’ve never gotten tired of through all of that. As you might imagine, it’s incredibly rewarding to look up today and see the finished product on my shelf!

Do you believe in real-life ghosts? If so, do you think they’d approve of your depiction of them in your book?

Ohhh, interesting question! I am not closed to the possibility of there being other beings out there lurking in the void, though I’m not wild about the thought of any spirits hanging around my messy house (particularly Mrs. Tibbs, who I’m sure would have quite a bit to say on the matter!). As to the matter of their depiction, well, I really see ghosts as being people very much like you or me: full of personality, quirks, and all, so in that respect, I have to think that Dahlia and her friends would probably get a kick out of seeing their portrayal. I hope I have done them justice J

How did you go about developing the ghost world in the story?

I had a lot of fun building up the ghost world in RULES FOR GHOSTING. It’s a world that’s full of red tape, bureaucracy, with just a few otherworldly conveniences thrown in for comfort. The world itself grew gradually around the characters and the situations they found themselves in. I think it makes a great foil to the active kid characters in the book, contrasting their take-charge approach with its own ponderous bulk.

The topic of death obviously comes up when your main character is dead! How did you go about tackling that subject for a young audience?

I think death is an inevitable part of any book that has ghosts as a subject, but it’s my hope that showing a very active, vibrant afterlife will counteract any negative side of the story’s focus on death. If anything, the ghost world is clearly shown as a bustling, entertaining place with plenty of challenges and opportunities for the enterprising ghost. Also, I really think that young readers are stronger than we sometimes give them credit for. A few chills and a judicious look at the dark side—tempered with heart and humor, of course—seems just right for the target age group.

What are some of your favorite ghostly books?

Oh boy, there are some great ghost books out there! A few which come right to mind that I’ve enjoyed in the past few years are: LILY’S GHOSTS, by Laura Ruby; GIVE UP THE GHOST, by Megan Crewe; and NOTHING BUT GHOSTS, by Beth Kephart.

You write in a variety of genres and formats (fantastical picture books, YA sci-fi thrillers, realistic middle grade, etc.). How does fantasy weave into your body of work?

I’m a huge fantasy and science fiction reader, so when it comes to writing, that tends to often be the type of story I am drawn into as well. It’s just such a rich and wide field of options for stories and plotlines—I guess I love fantasy so much because, quite literally, anything could happen. For a writer of fiction, what could be better?

Thanks again for stopping the Inkpot!

Thank YOU for having me! I hope you enjoy RULES FOR GHOSTING. 


Ammi-Joan PaquetteA.J. Paquette has been writing stories since early childhood. She and her sister would spend hours creating masterpieces of stapled paper and handwritten words, complete with pen-and-ink covers and boxed illustrations. The road to publication was long and winding, peppered with many small successes including: a variety of national magazine publications, being a 2005 PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award honoree, and receiving the 2008 SCBWI’s Susan Landers Glass Scholarship Award, for the book that would later become Nowhere Girl. Her first picture book, The Tiptoe Guide to Tracking Fairies, was published in 2009. She now lives with her husband and two daughters in the Boston area, where she continues to write books for children and young adults. She is also an agent with the Erin Murphy Literary Agency. You can visit her at ajpaquette.com.



16 comments:

  1. This book looks great! I am giving Joan's two picture books to my niece for her birthday tomorrow. I can't wait to check this out out!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm sure your niece will love the pbs. Just think, Joan has so many books for different ages that your nieces can grow up with them. :-)

      Delete
  2. Joan is certainly taking the writing world by storm this month--congrats!! I can't wait to pick up some of these books. On the subject of great ghostly tales, I really enjoyed Maureen Johnson's The Name of the Star (a ghost story for a MUCH older audience, for sure).

    I love hearing the writing stories behind the books. Glad you could be so patient, and work on these books over such a long span of time, Joan. It's wonderful when a writer sticks with it and sees this kind of success! CONGRATS again. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I recently read THE NAME OF THE STAR and loved it. There's something that never gets old about ghost stories.

      Delete
  3. I love middle grade, and I especially love it when it can handle challenging topics with humor.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Agreed! Death is never an easy topic, but ghost stories can help make it less (though sometimes MORE) scary.

      Delete
  4. Wow! I had no idea Joan was so multi-talented!! It sounds like just the type of book I would have reached for at that age. Best of luck!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lisa, just yesterday I did a blog post on how I'm convinced Joan is a Cylon. :-)

      Delete
  5. Oh, I also loved CASPAR, THE FRIENDLY GHOST! And wouldn't TOM'S MIDNIGHT GARDEN also be a kind of ghost story? That one really shaped my childhood.

    Lovely interview, thank you both! I'll look for RULES FOR GHOSTING!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a fun-sounding story, and a great interview!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Congrats to Joan! I loved learning about how this book came to life and seeing that I'm not the only one taking a long time to complete a story. This sounds like an awesome book. Looking forward to reading it.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thank you for a great interview! Wow -- 2 books out in 2 weeks! I'm adding both to my TBR list.

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a wonderful story about the book's evolution! And I love the notion of a ghost collaborating with live kids to figure out her death --it all sounds so exciting and yet jolly!

    I just put PARADOX on my kindle--really looking forward to it.

    ReplyDelete
  10. My Name is Kelly Williams from Canada, i turn to a vampire any time i want to, I become a real vampire because of how people treat me, This world is a wicked world and not fair to any body. At the snack of my finger things are made happened. Am now a powerful vampire and no one step on me without an apology goes free. I turn to human being also at any time i want to. And am one of the most dreaded and respected person in my country. i am now also very famous and rich with the help of the VAMPIRES EMPIRE. i get what ever a want. i become a vampire through the help of my friend who introduce me into a vampire Kingdom by given me their email: templeofsuccessandlove1@gmail.com, if you want to become a powerful and a real vampire kindly contact the vampire kingdom on their email: templeofsuccessandlove1@gmail.com for help. it is real. Contact them today. templeofsuccessandlove1@gmail.com.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Are you tired of being human, having talented brain turning to a vampire in a good posture in ten minutes, Do you want to have power and influence over others, To be charming and desirable, To have wealth, health, without delaying in a good human posture and becoming an immortal? If yes, these your chance. It's a world of vampire where life get easier,We have made so many persons vampires and have turned them rich, You will assured long life and prosperity, You shall be made to be very sensitive to mental alertness, Stronger and also very fast, You will not be restricted to walking at night only even at the very middle of broad day light you will be made to walk, This is an opportunity to have the human vampire virus to perform in a good posture. If you are interested contact us on Vampirelord7878@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm giving a testimony on how me and my fiance became a vampire. This was how i and my fiance became Vampire, I was browsing the internet searching on how i could be transformed. When i came across the email of a man named Lord Mark. who was a VAMPIRE so I told him that I and my fiance has always dreamed of becoming a VAMPIRES so he asked me my name, country, State, address, photo, etc. and asked me to contact the market of spells for the Hindu materials required for our transformation. So I did and he said that a vampire will be assigned to guide us and direct us on how the items are to be used. After five days I and my fiance was totally a vampire. if you are interested in becoming a vampire, contact him for more information on how you could also be transformed. Email: jamessuccessfultemple45@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete

Have your say...