Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Author Chat with james crawford on Gladiator's Pen


 Gladiator's Pen welcomes james crawford to the ludis! No, the lowercase lettering in his name isn't a typo it's his trademark. james is here today to talk about his latest book release Caleo: Leech Book 1. Get comfortable, refill your cuppa and let's chat. 

Who is james crawford?
I am a writer of young adult fiction. My first book is called Caleo. It is part one of a three book series that follows a teenage outcast as he learns of his heritage and is forced to fight for the fate of the world.

Did you choose to be an author or did it choose you?
I think that I would have to say being an author chose me. My first book series is based off of a series of recurring dreams. After a while it felt like it was only logical to write the dreams into a story. Since then the dreams are still coming.

What are three things you MUST have when you are writing?
Diet coke, enough space to stretch out on, and complete silence.


You have a book out called Caleo: Leech Book 1. Can you tell us about it?  
Caleo is about a teen with pale skin, white hair and piercing blue eyes. In school, his features have made him a social outcast with no friends but his foster siblings Jack and Jillian.  One day out of thin air a man appears and changes Caleo’s life by telling him that a civil war is being waged by a hidden race of people known as leeches. Both sides of the war are desperately searching for this lost weapon that will bring an end to the war in favor of the side that possesses it. Caleo is that weapon and must pick a side as he runs for his life while learning to control his newly found power.
**Caleo is a gay teenager. So if that bothers anyone, I would suggest avoiding this book.

What inspired you to write in this genre?
I have always loved Young adult science fiction books. When I read Perry Moore’s Hero, I knew I had found the genre for me. There are too few books out there for young adults with LGBT characters for them to relate or even look up to and I am hoping that my book will help change that.

Did writing this story teach you anything about yourself?
Writing this story actually taught me a lot about myself. When I first started writing I didn’t think I had a snow ball’s chance in… Cancun at getting my story to a point that others would want to read it. I suck at grammar and thought that I was too stupid to be able to write a story someone would like to read. I have learned that what I lack in education, I make up for in imagination and stubbornness. I have a story to tell and even though people let me know how impossible it is that I can write a book I pushed forward and kept writing my stubbornness pushing me forward. I have even run off a few editors I kept searching and found one that polished my book into a pearl. I have learned that my Stubbornness is one of my best attributes.

If you could spend a day in your book would you? What would you do, where would you go, who would you see?
This is a tough question. My book is kind of chaotic a lot of fighting and war going on. I think I would like to live in the world of my book before all heck broke loose. I would love to actually meet Caleo, Jack and Nolan and to actually see their amazing powers would be awesome, but I don’t think I would want to be thrown into their world of fighting for their lives.

What can fans expect from book 2?
Book two is going to be great. It’s called Jack told fromwait for it… Jack’s point. It will start out a few months after book 1 ends. Jillian is now a gun slinging bada** now. Plus there will be the introduction of a few new characters as well as the return of a few old ones that got left behind. I am hoping it will be out in late February or March.

Do you have any news or advice you would like to pass on to fellow writers or readers?
If you have a story you feel is worth telling, don’t let anyone stop you from telling it. Push forward, make it your goal to prove them all wrong. You will always have people who tell you what you can’t do. Make it your personal goal to prove them all wrong.

Where can we find James Crawford and Caleo?
B&N


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