My first YA novel, Thirteen Days to Midnight, releases in one week! Check out the beginning stages of the ARG at www.13dtm.com, join the Facebook fan site and spread the word if you can. I really appreciate it! You can also see my touring calendar here – I hope to see you on the long April road.

Below are my answers to thirteen questions about the story – please feel free to repost!

I’ll be Tweeting from the road as usual – Patrick

1. What made you decide to write a YA novel after all your success as a writer for younger readers?
I have two teenage girls, so there are a lot of high-schoolers hanging around the house and I’m spending more time at high-school sporting events. Great place to people watch – the adults are the only ones watching the game. It got me thinking about my own experience in high-school. Those two worlds started to collide and before I knew it I was writing a superhero novel set in my old high-school.

2. How much of your experiences as a teen influenced the story?
I’ve written fifteen books, but Thirteen Days to Midnight was the first time I ever drew on my own experience. So the high school, the key characters, the town, the sort of dreary rain that sets the mood – all that stuff is from my own memory of high-school. And the biggest thing is the narrator, Jacob Fielding – he’s based on how I remember myself, which is a little scary to write. We want to remember ourselves as super nice, super popular, and amazingly handsome. Well, I was none of those things, so it was some work being honest about the guy I was back then.

3. What is your writing process like? Do you listen to music?
I write most mornings for about three hours, and I either listen to movie soundtracks or super loud modern rock – the modern rock, if it’s loud enough, turns into a feeling, not a sound – I don’t even hear the words, I just feel the energy. That kind of thing is great for action scenes, things like Green Day, Linkin Park – but it’s really just for writing and snowboarding, not for kicking around the house.
4. What’s the plot, the basics?
TDTM is about Jacob Fielding, a 15 year old who wakes up one day and finds that he’s indestructible. Nothing can harm him. The mystery behind how he acquired the power is part of the story, but Jacob quickly learns he can also pass the power to others and protect whoever he wants to – but only one person at a time. Who he chooses to protect, and more importantly, not protect, becomes a pivotal theme in the story. And all that death is piling up somewhere, it’s not just disappearing. That becomes a real problem.

5. There’s a real superhero element here, can you talk about what makes your take on a superpower unique?
I loved comic books when I was a kid, but it was all very old school – Fantastic Four, The Hulk, Captain America – those were the biggies. Comics have come a long way, but they’ve also gone a lot darker. With Thirteen Days to Midnight, I wanted to explore the consequences of being super human. I mean, it sounds cool to be indestructible, until you start playing around with it. You start to run into problems pretty fast, especially if you’re loaning the power to your best friend and your girlfriend, because they might have different ideas about how it should be used. It’s a recipe for disaster.

6. What is your favorite superhero story?
The Fantastic Four, although I think the movies were aimed at too young an audience – I’m hoping they’ll remake them with older teens in mind. And Bruce Willis in Unbreakable – that was a great exploration of having a power you didn’t ask for.

7. Pop culture influences that teens might relate to?
Frankenstein was a huge influence on me, and that’s a timeless story, so that’s in there, some of the iconic imagery. So is Houdini, who I was obsessed with as a kid. Also Zippo lighters. As far as modern stuff, I’m a big Tim Burton fan, so Jack Skeletington makes an appearance – also longboarding – which we didn’t have when I was in high-school, we just had skateboards – jacob’s girlfriend Oh rides one. She falls down a lot, which makes indestructibility sort of handy.

8. There’s a clear moral/ethical component that comes along with the power Jacob has. How did you get the idea for this? What do you hope it makes teens consider – thoughts on the dilemma?
The moral dilemma in TDTM has to do with having to choose. I mean, think about it – if you could make anyone indestructible, but only one person at a time, who would you choose? It sounds awesome at first, but pretty soon you realize it’s no fun having that kind of power. Your best friend is about to get beat up, but your already protecting someone else who needs it more – what do you do?

9. There’s also a love story at play here, how does that raise the stakes for Jacob?
Well all great superhero stories include a timeless love story. But in TDTM love and death get closer to one another as the story goes on until Jacob has to make the hardest choice of his life: is Jacob willing to kill the one he loves in order to save her?

10. Tell us about Coffin books and what’s in there.
I visited a store in San Francisco that was totally Coffin Books by another name. Nothing but scary, weird books, a lot of shadows, spooky dudes working behind the counter – you can put a lot of interesting things into a store like that, and I filled Coffin Books with old weapons and gothic artifacts. Cool place.

11. What do you do when you’re not writing?
I’m really into being outside: mountain biking, hiking, flyfishing. Also racquet sports. Tennis, squash, racquetball. If there’s a ball involved and it gets hit really hard, I’m in. And I love technology – iphones, computers, videos games, Wired magazine – I’m pretty much a tech geek.

12. Favorite books?
When I was little there was Dr. Seuss and then there was everyone else. In high school SE Hinton – the Outsiders, That was then this is now, Rumblefish. Lately: old gothic novels and stories so Poe, Henry James, Mary Shelley. I just read The Help, which I loved.

13. Favorite bands?
New: Switchfoot, the Decembrists, Wilco. Classic rock: the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd. I grew up in the NW, so Grunge hit me pretty hard: Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden. Jazz: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Chet Baker.

14. If Thirteen Days to Midnight were made into a movie, who would play Jacob, Oh, Milo, and Father Tim?
Father Tim: John Locke from Lost. Oh: Youngest sister in Dan and Real Life Milo: Jesse Eisenberg (Zombieland) Jacob: Me when I was 16. So imagine a tall skinny kid with a feathered haircut.

Explore 13dtm.com an ARG for Thirteen Days to Midnight

7 Comments

Name (required)

Email (will not be published) (required)

Website

1. Ekat99 says:

   November 1, 2011 at 1:19 pm

   When is part 2 of the arg coming out

   Reply
2. Rodrigo A. says:

   August 17, 2011 at 8:44 pm

   First of all i thought TDTM was amazing i had bought it at a book store here in salem after seeing your presentation SSHS i really think this is the greatest book ive ever read hope you write a sequel or maybe even a movie i know thousands of people enjoyed this book just like i did great work on the book!

   Reply
3. Jack T. says:

   April 10, 2011 at 7:27 pm

   I read this book in a week, which for a 15 year old with ADD is actually really difficult. This book was really intense and every sentence twisted the story in a completely new direction. I think if you do make a sequel Jacob should become a caped crusader that fights crime. This time he would be masked and he would be the only one to use the power!

   Reply
4. carmenLD says:

   February 28, 2011 at 5:04 pm

   You should seriously write a sequel. This is possibly one of the most well written novels i have ever read! Good work!

   Reply
5. Charlee M. says:

   July 18, 2010 at 8:21 pm

   Hey. Im a really big book reader and i must say im really picky but i loved this book! I REALLY hope you write a sequel! It totally deserves another addition! Jacob and Oh need an romantic and happy ending! PLEASE!?!?!?!

   Reply
6. Trey M. says:

   April 27, 2010 at 4:03 pm

   I saw this book in the store and thought “Oh here we go with another one of those stupid books that bend traditional thoughts about supernatural crap” and never have i been so happy to be proven wrong! I loved this book and read it cover to cover three times in one day. I felt as though i was able to see myself in this story, in that situation. I really hope you could write a sequel!

   Reply
7. Kylie G. says:

   April 9, 2010 at 1:09 pm

   This was such an amazing book.I loved it so much.I read it in one night because i couldn’t put it down!I came across it randomly in Barnes and Noble. The first pages were just so interesting, i had to have. You are a remarkable writer.I can’t wait to read more of your YA books if you write more. I really hope you decide to write more.-Kylie

   Reply