Sammy's had a tough life. His father is abusive. His mother is an alcoholic. He developed pulmonary fibrosis from asbestos and needs an oxygen tank to breath. His family is poor and getting poorer. One day his mother's had enough and steals him away to a life on the run. She'd rather be a fugitive than subject Sammy to his father's rage. It doesn't take long for life on the run with a sick child to catch up to her. In order to keep Sammy alive she has no choice but to move in with her emotionally abusive grandfather. Sammy just wants a normal life. He just wants to get along, but when he meets a homeless alien that all changes. Now, he has to help her fix her ship and get off the planet. This is a book about families, broken homes, and the power of friendship. Whether you enjoy whimsy, dark humor, or coming of age stories, there is something for you inside these pages. Sci-fi. It’s a YA book, but for very mature kids. Warning: There is some strong language and the book deals with abuse. Buy your copy here http://www.spaceshipbrokenbook.com
Russell Nohelty is a writer, publisher, and speaker. He runs Wannabe Press, which publishes weird books for weird people, and hosts The Business of Art podcast, which helps creatives build better businesses. Russell is the author of Gumshoes: The Case of Madison’s Father and My Father Didn’t Kill Himself, along with the creator of the Ichabod Jones: Monster Hunter, Gherkin Boy, and Katrina Hates the Dead graphic novels. He makes books that are as entertaining and weird as they are thought provoking. Social Media Links: @russellnohelty on Twitter and Instagram. /russellnohelty on Facebook
Author Interview Questions:
1. I write because…
I have a sickness to write. I have a compulsion. It’s well beyond loving it. If I don’t write, I get jittery and weird. Well, weirder.
2. If I were your favorite cookie, what would I be?
Macadamia nut. There’s something about savory and sweet that cookie nails for me. Delish!
3. Plotter or pantster?
I used to be 100% pantster, but when you’re trying to write longer form stories it’s really hard not to be a plotter. So, I plot as best I can, but usually I get bored of the plot and veer off into my own universe. My best books are the ones I didn’t plot.
4. What is your favorite type of character to write about and why?
Deeply flawed ones. Good things don’t generally happen to people in my books, and that’s because I am always pushing my characters to change for the better. In order to do that, they need to start out miserable and keep having horrible things happen to them because that’s where character growth comes from. For me, a good novel is all about the change over time.
5. Hamburgers or sushi?
It depends whether I want comfort food or special food. I love them both, but usually I defer to hamburgers because it’s comfort food. It’s home.
6. Name three things on your desk.
There are about 100 toys, three monitors, and a Yeti microphone I use to record my podcast The Business of Art (www.thebusinessofart.us).
7. What books have influenced your writing style?
1984 by George Orwell, Old Man in the Sea by Hemmingway, Catch 22 by Joseph Heller, Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, and many more. I could probably keep naming people for another twenty minutes, but I won’t. I love anybody that has a weird, quirky sensibility and whose books make you think.
8. Tell us a little about your book.
Spaceship Broken, Needs Repairs is about a boy who escapes his abusive father, moves in with his grandfather, and helps a homeless alien rebuild her ship so she can get off the planet.
Mostly though, it’s about a boy’s complicated relationship with his grandfather, and it’s mostly an exploration of my own complicated relationship with my own grandfather. He was a hard man, and a hard man to love for everybody around him, except for me. To me he was a teddy bear, and it was important to me to explore how I could see somebody different than everybody else, and dive deep into the flaws of humanity. Don’t worry, though, there’s still plenty of Goonies level antics throughout. If you love 80s movies, this is very much in that tone.
8. What advice do you have for new and aspiring authors?
Writing is only part of a writing career. If you want to build a career, you have to get really good at all the parts of having a career, not just writing a great book.
10. What is next on your writerly horizon?
I have my first non-fiction book coming out soon called Sell Your Soul: How to Build Your Creative Career. For any artists out there, make sure to check out my podcast The Business of Art (www.thebusinessofart.us) because we’ll be dropping some excerpts from the book soon.
I also have a new novel coming out this year called The Vessel which is like Under the Dome meets Logan’s Run set a million years in the future. It’s got tons of intrigue and religious machinations just like the rest of my work. We’ll be teasing that one at www.wannabepress.com soon, too.
Finally, I have an anthology set to launch on Kickstarter on Valentine’s Day called Monsters and Other Scary Shit (www.monsteranthologycomic.com). It’s a 224-page anthology love letter to monsters from 30 different creative teams with credits from Marvel and Vertigo to Transformers, IDW, Boom, Oni, and more. If you love monsters and comics, this is a great hardcover book.
Those are the three main projects set to release this year from me. I’m also working on my next book in the back of my mind, but nothing’s really hit me yet this year.
Top 5 favorite (pick one) desserts, movies, things to eat, ice cream flavors, books.
Butter Pecan
White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle
Salted Caramel
Fudge Ripple
Rocky Road
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