Mundie Moms

Monday, July 11, 2011

Dead Rules Blog Tour: Author Interview

We're kicking off The Teen Scene Book Scene's blog tour for Dead Rules by Randy Russell, and today we have a unique interview with Randy. Not only does he answer our questions, but he also answers our questions with lines from his book.

What inspired you to write Dead Rules?

Kurt Vonnegut and Tim Burton. Catch 22 and Don McLean’s American Pie. Any time Levon Helm picks up the sticks. Bat Out of Hell. John Prine. I’d especially liked to thank God for arranging so many sudden accidental deaths. And, finally, the Beach Boys’ Wouldn’t It Be Nice, because I believe strongly in silly hope and either bubblegum- or chocolate-scented soap.

Episodes from my real life?

A friend of mine committed suicide when she was 17 by shooting herself in the chest with a .22 because her boyfriend broke up with her. Home alone, she lay down on her bed and died. The next thing she remembers was hearing an emergency room surgeon saying “How the *(insert explicit word) am I supposed to go out there and tell those people their daughter is dead?”

I thought about this a long, long time. It just wouldn’t go away. The fact that love can be bad for you was on my mind when I started Dead Rules.


Which character do you feel you relate to the most?

This is going to sound like nines when everybody is wearing tens, but I can’t sort out the cats from the scratches when it comes to my own characters’ effects on me. I mean, they all drew blood. If I read “relate to” to mean most like me, I’m probably the kid on the skateboard in the hallway.

I likely relate more to characters written by other authors than I do to those in my own work. I’m really not an author who writes about me.


What's one YA book you've recently read that you wish you had as a teen?

I wouldn’t wish a book from the future on myself when I was a teen. I was screwed up enough trying to comprehend my current cultural condition. Best to know your now, if at all possible. Later will matter later.


If you could spend the day with any author from the past or present, who would you want to spend the day with and why?

Mary Shelley. She was such a startling genius at a very young age. But truly I’d much rather spend the day with someone who can play music or sing. Writers tend to bore me. What I want to know of a writer is on the page. Otherwise they simply sit and make incredibly redundant noises by clack clack clacking on a keyboard for hours at a time. I think you need ingest a couple good mushrooms to enjoy spending a day with an author.


What advice would you give to teens writers who want to become authors?

I think Robert Frost had it right. “Die early and avoid the fate.”

Or, what the hell, maybe it was Tom McGuane. “Do the little thing.”

Any advice I would have for teens would be along the lines of thinking to design a life that allows for writing. And not to let other people talk you out of it.
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Thank you Randy for being with us today!
Dadd Rules was released on June 21st, 2011 by Harper Teen. You can visit Randy on his site to find out more about his books and follow his latest news.

2 comments:

  1. Absolutely LOVE the interview! I can't wait to read the books!

    ReplyDelete

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