| Interview with Jonathan Pearce |
First off, thanks so much for joining us for an up-close and personal interview for TeensReadToo.com!
My name is Jen, and I’ll be your server toda…oh, wait, wrong job! Anyway, thanks so much for taking time
out of your writing schedule—which I’m sure is busy!—and answering a few questions for your readers
and fans.
Let’s get some of the typical interview questions out of the way first. When did you first know that you
wanted to be a writer?
I won a county-wide essay contest in the fourth grade, writing about how good milk and cheese are for
your bones. I believed it at the time and knew that milk could be whipped up into ice cream, which in
excess makes you fat and gives pimples, but I was overly fond of it and still am. The contest prize was a
pencil box (a box containing pencils, erasers, a little sharpener, and a ruler). Pretty good deal to get
rewarded for writing about something easy to write about, I thought, and decided to keep writing in mind
as a possible job for grown-up times, as it seemed a lot easier than lawn mowing.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
I’ve been a teacher most of my grown-up life, and teachers get to write a lot. I did a whole lot of non-fiction
writing. Then, a while back, I wrote a story I thought might cheer up some kids who had lost their mother to
cancer. That story was John-Browne’s Body & Sole, and it was accepted by a traditional publisher. I
expected the book to come out quickly, but the publisher said it would be “about two or three years.”
Fooey on that, I said, and took the story to a subsidy publisher. You can find that original on Amazon.com
today. There is also our own more recent version, a BalonaBook, available through our wholesalers and
our Web site. I found writing to be fun, so I wrote more stories and had them published by subsidy
publishers, folks who will print up your book quickly for a price. After a while, I found it more satisfying
(and a whole lot more profitable) to found my own company, hire my own editors, cover artists, book
designers, and arrange for the printing and marketing myself.
Tell us a little bit about either your latest or upcoming release. If you could only tell your readers one
thing about the story that had to convince us to buy the book, what would it be?
Our latest (September 2006) is Verga’s Blessing, a cozy vampire story. It’s “cozy,” because it doesn’t have
the juicy, gooey, bloody parts spelled out as in Anne Rice’s vampire stuff, it doesn’t have any sex to
speak of, and it’s funny. (Is that one thing?)
Our upcoming (January 2006) is another cozy, this one is Serving Humanity, which happens to be a story
about a suave, handsome Englishman who is lost in the fog and turns up in our home town, Balona,
California. Everybody in town finds him to be attractive and friendly. But there’s a secret: he’s a cannibal.
More fun.
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
I have taught every grade from primary through university graduate school. Most of the inspiration for my
characters comes from the behaviors and attitudes of some of my middle school and high school
students. I use their slang and clothing and shoe and car and music preferences shamelessly, although
such cadging does make some BalonaBook stories sort of “retro” in tone.
Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
Great supportive wife who never nags, two fine kids (one of each) who provide feedback on the
authenticity of my dialog, etc., a finicky Siamese cat who demands a jar of baby food and a massage
every day.
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
Ice cream, of course, (strawberry) although pizza is a close second.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
Yawn, scratch, stretch. Then, of course, I get up and do my ablutions, etc., and work out every day on a
Nordic Track. (Trak?)
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise
me the most?
Probably you’d find my cello, which I should, but don’t always, practice every day. My undergraduate
major (University of the Pacific) was music. You’d also find martial arts dress and equipment, as I’ve
studied judo, karate, tai chi, and aikido for a very long time.
Everyone asks the question about “if you could be a tree, which tree would you be?” so I want to know: If
you could be a color, which color would it be, and why?
Medium blue, not aqua, not navy. It’s a modifiable, comfortable, cool color that can accompany all sorts of
moods.
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?
My all-time favorite is Grimm, the little dog in “Mother Goose and Grimm.” He’s mischievous, determined,
greedy, sneaky. When nobody’s looking, I’m a lot like Grimm, I think.
If you could beam yourself to anywhere in the world (“Beam me up, Scotty!”), during any time in history,
where and when would it be—and why?
Eighteenth century Vienna, a terrible time for lots of reasons, but it was the time of Mozart. I would like to
have been part of his audience.
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while you’
re writing?
Classical (but I very much like bossa nova), and especially the cello of YoYo Mah and the voices of
Renee Fleming, Samuel Ramey, and Placido Domingo. I listen to music while writing, but never vocal
music, because the words stimulate the other side of the brain and interfere with the writing process. This
attitude makes me sound like a real fogey, but think about it: Could you solve a problem in logic or
organize rhymes for an original poem while listening to hip-hop?
Do you have any favorite T.V. shows? Movies you watch over and over again? What was the last movie
you saw at the theater?
When I taught full-time, I never had time for TV, never got into the habit, still don’t. Occasionally enjoy
PBS programs and will get trapped into watching if I happen to come across The Simpsons or The Daily
Show. Most TV commercials irritate me because they assume you are a complete idiot and are going to
believe everything they tell you. I liked “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World,” “Lawrence of Arabia,” and “The
Lion in Winter.” Most movie theaters today seem to turn up the volume so it hurts the ears, and the
audience all talk and use their cell phones during the performance. Don’t like movie theaters at all.
Besides, the popcorn is too expensive.
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Every day, read something besides schoolwork. Some eye doctors agree that you can improve your
reading ability (and therefore improve your reading enjoyment) the more you read. Why? It’s a physical
thing, for in order to read, you need your eyeball-control muscles to hold focus. Weak eye muscles can’t
hold the focus for long and cause the weariness and “boredom” so often experienced among people who
seldom exercise those muscles. More advice? Read a BalonaBook to improve your eyesight!
<http://www.balona.com>
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
A Perched-in Soul (November 2006) is a story about a terribly wounded Marine trying to make sense of
the world. It’s not a kid’s book, but some older, more mature teens may find it useful.
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
My pleasure. Thank you.
My name is Jen, and I’ll be your server toda…oh, wait, wrong job! Anyway, thanks so much for taking time
out of your writing schedule—which I’m sure is busy!—and answering a few questions for your readers
and fans.
Let’s get some of the typical interview questions out of the way first. When did you first know that you
wanted to be a writer?
I won a county-wide essay contest in the fourth grade, writing about how good milk and cheese are for
your bones. I believed it at the time and knew that milk could be whipped up into ice cream, which in
excess makes you fat and gives pimples, but I was overly fond of it and still am. The contest prize was a
pencil box (a box containing pencils, erasers, a little sharpener, and a ruler). Pretty good deal to get
rewarded for writing about something easy to write about, I thought, and decided to keep writing in mind
as a possible job for grown-up times, as it seemed a lot easier than lawn mowing.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
I’ve been a teacher most of my grown-up life, and teachers get to write a lot. I did a whole lot of non-fiction
writing. Then, a while back, I wrote a story I thought might cheer up some kids who had lost their mother to
cancer. That story was John-Browne’s Body & Sole, and it was accepted by a traditional publisher. I
expected the book to come out quickly, but the publisher said it would be “about two or three years.”
Fooey on that, I said, and took the story to a subsidy publisher. You can find that original on Amazon.com
today. There is also our own more recent version, a BalonaBook, available through our wholesalers and
our Web site. I found writing to be fun, so I wrote more stories and had them published by subsidy
publishers, folks who will print up your book quickly for a price. After a while, I found it more satisfying
(and a whole lot more profitable) to found my own company, hire my own editors, cover artists, book
designers, and arrange for the printing and marketing myself.
Tell us a little bit about either your latest or upcoming release. If you could only tell your readers one
thing about the story that had to convince us to buy the book, what would it be?
Our latest (September 2006) is Verga’s Blessing, a cozy vampire story. It’s “cozy,” because it doesn’t have
the juicy, gooey, bloody parts spelled out as in Anne Rice’s vampire stuff, it doesn’t have any sex to
speak of, and it’s funny. (Is that one thing?)
Our upcoming (January 2006) is another cozy, this one is Serving Humanity, which happens to be a story
about a suave, handsome Englishman who is lost in the fog and turns up in our home town, Balona,
California. Everybody in town finds him to be attractive and friendly. But there’s a secret: he’s a cannibal.
More fun.
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
I have taught every grade from primary through university graduate school. Most of the inspiration for my
characters comes from the behaviors and attitudes of some of my middle school and high school
students. I use their slang and clothing and shoe and car and music preferences shamelessly, although
such cadging does make some BalonaBook stories sort of “retro” in tone.
Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
Great supportive wife who never nags, two fine kids (one of each) who provide feedback on the
authenticity of my dialog, etc., a finicky Siamese cat who demands a jar of baby food and a massage
every day.
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
Ice cream, of course, (strawberry) although pizza is a close second.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
Yawn, scratch, stretch. Then, of course, I get up and do my ablutions, etc., and work out every day on a
Nordic Track. (Trak?)
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise
me the most?
Probably you’d find my cello, which I should, but don’t always, practice every day. My undergraduate
major (University of the Pacific) was music. You’d also find martial arts dress and equipment, as I’ve
studied judo, karate, tai chi, and aikido for a very long time.
Everyone asks the question about “if you could be a tree, which tree would you be?” so I want to know: If
you could be a color, which color would it be, and why?
Medium blue, not aqua, not navy. It’s a modifiable, comfortable, cool color that can accompany all sorts of
moods.
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?
My all-time favorite is Grimm, the little dog in “Mother Goose and Grimm.” He’s mischievous, determined,
greedy, sneaky. When nobody’s looking, I’m a lot like Grimm, I think.
If you could beam yourself to anywhere in the world (“Beam me up, Scotty!”), during any time in history,
where and when would it be—and why?
Eighteenth century Vienna, a terrible time for lots of reasons, but it was the time of Mozart. I would like to
have been part of his audience.
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while you’
re writing?
Classical (but I very much like bossa nova), and especially the cello of YoYo Mah and the voices of
Renee Fleming, Samuel Ramey, and Placido Domingo. I listen to music while writing, but never vocal
music, because the words stimulate the other side of the brain and interfere with the writing process. This
attitude makes me sound like a real fogey, but think about it: Could you solve a problem in logic or
organize rhymes for an original poem while listening to hip-hop?
Do you have any favorite T.V. shows? Movies you watch over and over again? What was the last movie
you saw at the theater?
When I taught full-time, I never had time for TV, never got into the habit, still don’t. Occasionally enjoy
PBS programs and will get trapped into watching if I happen to come across The Simpsons or The Daily
Show. Most TV commercials irritate me because they assume you are a complete idiot and are going to
believe everything they tell you. I liked “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World,” “Lawrence of Arabia,” and “The
Lion in Winter.” Most movie theaters today seem to turn up the volume so it hurts the ears, and the
audience all talk and use their cell phones during the performance. Don’t like movie theaters at all.
Besides, the popcorn is too expensive.
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Every day, read something besides schoolwork. Some eye doctors agree that you can improve your
reading ability (and therefore improve your reading enjoyment) the more you read. Why? It’s a physical
thing, for in order to read, you need your eyeball-control muscles to hold focus. Weak eye muscles can’t
hold the focus for long and cause the weariness and “boredom” so often experienced among people who
seldom exercise those muscles. More advice? Read a BalonaBook to improve your eyesight!
<http://www.balona.com>
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
A Perched-in Soul (November 2006) is a story about a terribly wounded Marine trying to make sense of
the world. It’s not a kid’s book, but some older, more mature teens may find it useful.
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
My pleasure. Thank you.
| Visit Mr. Pearce's Website |