penguinteen:Today we welcome Walter Jury (and bonus! Later we have his co-author S.E. Fine as well

penguinteen: Today we welcome Walter Jury (and bonus! Later we have his co-author S.E. Fine as well!) to the Penguin Teen Author Spotlight. Walter and Sarah have crafted a riveting, fast-paced adventure about a kid caught in the middle of a centuries-old conflict between humans and aliens…who look just like them. If you’ve been looking for that fast-paced thriller to get your heart racing and keep you busy while you wait for the school year to wind down (don’t lie, we know the feeling), look no further. This is it. And today, stick around to chat with not one but TWO authors of SCAN. Name: Walter Jury Novel: Scan Available: Now Who’s your favorite author, living or dead? John Steinbeck.  What a perspective and I love the simplicity of his writing and storytelling. What’s your favorite thing about your book? The final action sequence is hands down my favorite part of SCAN.  It serves as the culmination of Tate’s journey through a tumultuous time in his life, following the tragic events that serve as the catalyst for our story.  It also was a very fun sequence to write as we use a grand canvas that hopefully will be an explosively fun experience for our readers to enjoy.  If you could spend one year on a deserted island with one character from literature, who would you choose? Strumhond from Leigh Bardugo’s amazing SIEGE & STORM.  Manipulative and wily enough to wiggle us out of a jam if necessary, but also clever and quick enough to keep everyone on the island entertained.   Where do you write? I can write anywhere—it isn’t a where, but a how.  And the answer is simple—I need to shut off the wifi and Internet connections to write.  Because my job is a deep passion and I am hungry to discover, read, find new literary material for films at every turn, if I don’t cordon myself off into an offline world, my desire to source film & TV material is hard to quell! Who is your favorite hero or heroine of history? Abe Lincoln.  I admire Lincoln’s fortitude.  The fortitude to stand up for what is right was built over years and years of heavy adversity—the kinds of adversity that could have broken many men.  It was that adversity that gave him the ability to create lasting change in this country.   Do you tweet? What’s the funniest thing you’ve ever tweeted? I Tweet at times, but I am a daily lurker, following the news on my interests, rather than act as an active Tweeter.  I don’t know if I can name something funny that I tweeted—but the last funny thing I Tweeted was a conversation between other folks—it’s on my Tumblr. What is your favorite season? Summer.  Hands down.  I love going on trips in the summer to exotic fun locales.  Living in New York City, I don’t so much mind the cold and the snow as long as it’s a reasonable winter, but summer makes me feel alive.  If you could teleport anywhere in the known universe right now, where would you go? Kepler-186f.  That is the new planet that scientists discovered, per news reports on April 17, 2014.  It supposedly can support human life. How incredible would it be the first person to walk and discover a new planet.  Although I’m curious if they have dinosaurs or the like there.  Maybe I don’t want to be first.  I’ll be second and follow that old joke about outrunning a bear: Two campers come upon an angry bear. The first says, “I’m glad I wore my running shoes.” The second says, “You can’t outrun the bear.” The first says, “I don’t have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you.”   Do you have any writing rituals? Writing for me can happen at any time.  As long as I have a fit of inspiration on what I want to write, I can just write.  I don’t like to snack or eat (I associate eating with reading—I like to read when I’m eating), and I don’t like to listen to music (that can be distracting if a song comes on that gives me too much adrenaline).  But I like quiet time with no distractions. What is your idea of earthly happiness? The health and happiness of myself and my loved ones—especially my close family: my wife and two little boys.  Financial security.  Growth of my mind and my mental problem solving.   What is the best concert you’ve ever been to? I will go with the first concert I ever attended. The Bad tour by Michael Jackson at Madison Square Garden in March of 1988 when I was 10.  I remember it well—it was a very memorable first concert.  What are you currently working on? Sarah Fine and I are at work on book two in the series.  We are also kicking around other ideas for the future, but we have a task at hand so those new ideas will have to wait!   …………. Thanks, Walter! We’re on the edge of our seats as we wait to find out what happens next in the SCAN series! Find Walter on Twitter and his Tumblr. Add SCAN to your “to-read” shelf on Goodreads! Purchase SCAN from your favorite retailer. -- source link

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