An Inside Look with Patrick Andrus
(Author of "Hopefully an upcoming middle grade novel")
*Season #SIX (Summer 2019)
(Sometime in the Future)
How did you come to know your character?
I have had an idea for a middle-grade novel for quite some time. I have often thought about it, have made some half-attempts at starting, and wondered where the idea for the story could go and where it would end up. My main character would be based on myself and my experiences in elementary school. Of course, the story would be fiction so not completely based on me, but a fictional account.
What do you think is his most admirable quality?
He is going to be kind, sensitive, shy, an outlier. But also the kind of friend everyone wants and needs in their life.
Is there anything you wish he would have changed or done differently in his story?
I know there are things I wish I would have done differently back when I was in elementary school, so I'm hoping when I create the fictional character, I won't regret anything he does or has happen to him in the story.
What do you think the character can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what he went through?
I love stories where the character can teach the reader what is important in life, how to be their true self, and how to overcome obstacles in life. I want readers to see themselves in my character and become better because of it.
How did you research the character and the circumstances he found himself in?
My research so far has been lots of thoughts about my past, the character I want to create, the plot I want to develop, and the lessons I want the reader to learn. Most of the story is in my mind, except for a few failed attempts at starting the story.
Do you and the future character share any similarities?
Being that I'm taking some of my experiences and "fictionalizing" them, I foresee the character and myself having many similarities. I'm hoping the character is able to deal with their situations, better than I did in my own life.
What was the hardest scene to write about him?
There is one part of the story, my story, that I have thought about including in the novel. At this point, I don't know if I will be able to share everything, but I'm hoping through the writing process, I will not only be true to myself, but the character I'm creating. I think this will be difficult to do so.
Who do you think was his biggest supporter and why?
There are going to be two supporting characters in the novel and I have a feeling they are going to be huge supports to the fictional "me".
Why do you think some young people can show such resilience, strength, and courage during difficult life situations, sometimes even more than the adults in their lives?
This has been one of my favorite questions to ask the authors I've interviewed. They have all given such insightful and personal answers. My hope is to show how strong young people can be during difficult parts of their life, and come out stronger and better. I do have great hope with the young people in the world. I know they can turn things around and make this a better place to live.
What do you think the character is doing at the present time?
Not really sure since I haven't started the story, not sure where it will end, or what will happen to the character. But my hope is that he is happier, stronger, and giving all he has back to the world around him.
***Thanks for the journey of 300 author interviews. I hoping to take everything I've learned from them over the last nine years and create one hell of a story for young readers.
*** And when I read a middle-grade novel that I just have to dig into deeper and share with all of you, I will be back with "bonus" or "special" interview. Until then, thank you for joining me and all 300 authors...
What do you think is his most admirable quality?
He is going to be kind, sensitive, shy, an outlier. But also the kind of friend everyone wants and needs in their life.
Is there anything you wish he would have changed or done differently in his story?
I know there are things I wish I would have done differently back when I was in elementary school, so I'm hoping when I create the fictional character, I won't regret anything he does or has happen to him in the story.
What do you think the character can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what he went through?
I love stories where the character can teach the reader what is important in life, how to be their true self, and how to overcome obstacles in life. I want readers to see themselves in my character and become better because of it.
How did you research the character and the circumstances he found himself in?
My research so far has been lots of thoughts about my past, the character I want to create, the plot I want to develop, and the lessons I want the reader to learn. Most of the story is in my mind, except for a few failed attempts at starting the story.
Do you and the future character share any similarities?
Being that I'm taking some of my experiences and "fictionalizing" them, I foresee the character and myself having many similarities. I'm hoping the character is able to deal with their situations, better than I did in my own life.
What was the hardest scene to write about him?
There is one part of the story, my story, that I have thought about including in the novel. At this point, I don't know if I will be able to share everything, but I'm hoping through the writing process, I will not only be true to myself, but the character I'm creating. I think this will be difficult to do so.
Who do you think was his biggest supporter and why?
There are going to be two supporting characters in the novel and I have a feeling they are going to be huge supports to the fictional "me".
Why do you think some young people can show such resilience, strength, and courage during difficult life situations, sometimes even more than the adults in their lives?
This has been one of my favorite questions to ask the authors I've interviewed. They have all given such insightful and personal answers. My hope is to show how strong young people can be during difficult parts of their life, and come out stronger and better. I do have great hope with the young people in the world. I know they can turn things around and make this a better place to live.
What do you think the character is doing at the present time?
Not really sure since I haven't started the story, not sure where it will end, or what will happen to the character. But my hope is that he is happier, stronger, and giving all he has back to the world around him.
SEASON #ONE (2016-2017)
SEASON #SIX (Summer 2019)
Interview #122 with Tamara Bundy (Author of Pixie Pushes On)
Interview #123 with Lindsay Lackey (Author of All the Impossible Things)
Interview #124 with Tae Keller (Author of When You Trap a Tiger)
Interview #125 with Jamie Sumner (Author of Roll With It)
Interview #126 with Hena Khan (Author of More to the Story)
Interview #127 with Phil Bildner (Author of A High-Five for Glenn Burke)
Interview #128 with Leslie Connor (Author of A Home for Goddesses and Dogs)
Interview#129 with Gillian McDunn (Author of Queen Bee and Me)
Interview #130 with Jody J. Little (Author of Worse Than Weird)
Interview #131 with Jenn Bishop (Author of Things You Can't Say)
Interview #132 with Kaela Noel (Author of Coo)
Interview #133 with Rebecca Stead (Author of The List of Things That Will Not Change)
Interview #134 with Gae Polisner (Author of Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me)
Interview #135 with Emily Blejwas (Author of Like Nothing Amazing Ever Happened)
Interview #136 with Joy McCullough (Author of A Field Guide to Getting Lost)
Interview #137 with Kim Baker (Author of the Water Bears)
Interview #138 with Erin Entrada Kelly (Author of We Dream of Space)
Interview #139 with Jess Redman (Author of Quintessence)
Interview #140 with Melanie Conklin (Author of Every Missing Piece)
Interview #141 with Lindsey Stoddard (Author of Brave Like That)
Interview #158 with Rebecca Ansari (Author of The In-Between)
Interview #159 with John David Anderson (Author of One Last Shot)
Interview #160 with Tracy Holczer (Author of Brave in the Woods)
Interview #161 with James Bird (Author of The Brave)
Interview #162 with Marcella Pixley (Author of Trowbridge Road)
Interview #163 with Barbara O'Connor (Author of Halfway to Harmony)
Interview #164 with Alan Gratz (Author of Ground Zero)
Interview #165 with Lisa Fipps (Author of Starfish)
Interview #166 with Ann Braden (Author of Flight of the Puffin)
Interview #167 with Kimberly Willis Holt (Author of The Ambassador of NoWhere Texas)
Interview #168 with Elana K. Arnold (Author of The House That Wasn't There)
Interview #169 with Erin Soderberg (Author of The Great Peach Experiment)
Interview #170 with Donna Gephart (Author of Abby, Tried, and True)
Interview #171 with M. Evan Wolkenstein (Author of Turtle Boy)
Interview #172 with Lindsey Stoddard (Author of Bea is for Blended)
Interview #173 with Jess Redman (Author of The Adventure is Now)
Interview #174 with David Levithan (Author of The Mysterious Disappearance of Aiden)
Interview #175 with Chris Grabenstein (Author of The Smartest Kid in the Universe)
Interview #176 with Ali Standish (Author of The Mending Summer)
Interview #177 with Holly Goldberg Sloan (Author of The Elephant in the Room)
Interview #178 with Jeff Zentner (Author of In the Wild Light)
SEASON #ELEVEN (Fall/Winter 2021)
Interview #179 with Katherine Applegate (Author of Willow)
Interview #180 with Padma Venkatraman (Author of Born Behind Bars)
Interview #181 with R.J. Palacio (Author of Pony)
Interview #182 with Kyle Lukoff (Author of Too Bright to See)
Interview #183 with Barbara Dee (Author of Violets are Blue)
Interview #184 with Anne Ursu (Author of The Troubled Girls of Dragonmir Academy)
Interview #185 with Margaret Finnegan (Author of We Could Be Heroes)
Interview #186 with Jasmine Warga (Author of Shape of Thunder)
Interview #187 with Joseph Bruchac (Author of Rez Dogs)
Interview #188 with Kathryn Erskine (Author of Lily's Promise)
Interview #189 with Elly Swartz (Author of Dear Student)
Interview #190 with Heather Clark (Author of Lemon Drop Falls)
Interview #191 with Veera Hiranandani (Author of How to Find What You're Not Looking For)
Interview #192 with Elizabeth Eulberg (Author of The Best Worst Summer)
Interview #193 with Cathy Carr (Author of 365 Days to Alaska)
Interview #194 with Carol Cujec and Peyton Goddard (Authors of REAL)
Interview #195 with Gillian McDunn (Author of These Lucky Stars)
Interview #196 with Alyssa Colman (Author of The Gilded Girl)
Interview #197 with E.L. Chen (Author of The Comeback)
Interview #198 with J.M.M. Nuanez (Author of Birdie and Me)
SEASON #TWELVE (Winter/Spring 2022)
Interview #199 with Jamie Sumner (Author of One Kid's Trash)
Interview #200 with Chad Lucas (Author of Thanks a Lot, Universe)
Interview #201 with Jenn Bishop (Author of Where We Used to Roam)
Interview #202 with Rebecca Caprara (Author of Worst-Case Collin)
Interview #203 with Leslie Connor (Author of Anybody Here Seen Frenchie?)
Interview #204 with Caroline Gertler (Author of Many Points of Me)
Interview #205 with Margaret Finnegan (Author of Susie B. Won't Back Down)
Interview #206 with Shawn Peters (Author of The Unforgettable Logan Foster)
Interview #207 with Aisha Saeed (Author of Omar Rising)
Interview #208 with Adrianna Cuevas (Author of Cuba in my Pocket)
Interview #209 with Jennifer Swender (Author of Stuck)
Interview #210 with Brenda Woods (Author of When Winter Robeson Came)
Interview #211 with Danya Lorentz (Author of the Book Of a Feather)
Interview #212 with Saadia Faruqi (Author of Yusuf Azeem is Not a Hero)
Interview #213 with Ellen Hopkins (Author of What About Will)
SEASON #THIRTEEN (Summer 2022)
Interview #214 with Nora Raleigh Baskin and Gae Polisner (Authors of What About the Octopus)
Interview #215 with Lauren Wolk (Author of My Own Lightning)
Interview #216 with Rebekah Lowell (Author of the Road to After)
Interview #217 with Gillian McDunn (Author of Honestly Elliott)
Interview #218 with Dan Gemeinhart (Author of The Midnight Children)
Interview #219 with Melanie Conklin (Author of A Perfect Mistake)
Interview #220 with Kyle Lukoff (Author of Different Kinds of Fruit)
Interview #221 with Tracy Edward Wymer (Author of The Great and Mighty Benjamin Teller)
Interview #222 with Louise Hawes (Author of Big Rig)
Interview #223 with Paul Acampora (Author of In Honor of Broken Things)
Interview #224 with Shannon Doleski (Author of Gabe in the After)
Interview #225 with Jennifer Ziegler (Author of Worser)
Interview #226 with Natalie Lloyd (Author of Hummingbird)
SEASON #FOURTEEN (Fall 2022)
Interview #227 with Celia C. Perez (Author of Tumble
Interview #228 with Greg Howard (Author of The Visitors)
Interview #229 with Rob Buyea (Author of The Daredevils)
Interview #230 with Sashi Kaufman (Author of Sardines)
Interview #231 with Lindsey Stoddard (Author of The Real Deal)
Interview #232 with Margaret Finnegan (Author of New Kids and Underdogs)
Interterview #233 with Amanda Rawson Hill (Author of The Hope of Elephants)
Interview #234 with Jasmine Warga (Author of A Rover's Story)
SEASON #FIFTEEN (Winter/Spring 2023)
Interview #235 with Varsha Bajaj (Author of Thirst)
Interview #236 with Torrey Maldonado (Author of Hands)
Interview #237 with C.C. Harrington (Author of Wildoak)
Interview #238 with Margi Preus (Author of Windswept)
Interview #239 with Dayna Lorentz (Author of Wayward Creatures)
Interview #240 with Katrina Nannestad (Author of We are Wolves)
Interview #241 with Anika Fajardo (Author of Meet Me Halfway)
Interview #250 with Sally J. Pla (Author of The Fire, The Water, and Maudie McGinn)
Interview #251 with Chris Baron (Author of The Gray)
Interview #252 with Dusti Bowling (Author of DUST)
SEASON #SIXTEEN (Fall 2023)
Interview #253 with Sarah Everett (Author of The Probability of Everything)
Interview #254 with Andrea Beatriz Arango (Author of Something Like Home)
Interview #255 with H.M. Bouwman (Author of Gossamer Summer)
Interview #256 with Kaija Langley (Author of The Order of Things)
Interview #257 with Elaine Vickers (Author of Half Moon Summer)
Interview #258 with John Gaspard (Author of The Curious Mysteries of Eli Marks)
Interview #259 with Dana Kramaroff (Author of The Do More Club)
Interview #260 with Jessica Vitalis (Author of Coyote Queen)
Interview #261 with Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko (Authors of Dog Town)
SEASON #SEVENTEEN (Winter/Spring 2024)
Interview #262 with Chad Morris and Shelly Brown (Authors of The Wild Journey of Juniper Berry)
Interview #263 with Anne Ursu (Author of Not Quite a Ghost)
Interview #264 with Erin Soderberg Downing (Author of Just Keep Walking)
Interview #265 With Kate Albus (Author of Nothing Else But Miracles)
Interview #266 with Robin Gow (Author of Dear Mothman)
Interview #267 with Toni Buzzeo (Author of Light Comes to Shadow Mountain)
Interview #268 with John Schu (Author of Louder Than Hunger)
Interview #269 with Allie Millington (Author of Olivetti)
Interview #270 with Amanda Rawson Hill (Author of Once Upon a Family)
Interview #271 with Lynne Kelly (Author of The Secret Language of Birds)
Interview #272 with Lisa Yee (Author of The Misfits)
Interview #273 with Lisa Fipps (Author of And Then, Boom)
SEASON #EIGHTEEN (Fall 2024)
Interview #274 with Jasmine Warga (Author of A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall)
Interview #275 with Lois Lowry (Author of Tree.Table.Book)
Interview #276 with Rob Buyea (Author of Carter Avery's Tricky Fourth Grade Year)
Interview #277 with Gayle Forman (Author of Not Nothing)
Interview #278 with Kate O'Shaughnessy (Author of The Wrong Way Home)
Interview #279 with Shifa Saltagi Safadi (Author of Kareem Between)
Interview #280 with Jamie Sumner (Author of Deep Water)
Interview #281 with Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic (Author of Hummingbird Season)
Interview #284 with Kimberly Newton Fusco (Author of The Secret of Honeycake)
Interview #285 with Alison McGhee (Author of Telephone of the Tree)
Interview #286 with Anica Mrose Rissi (Author of Wishing Season)
Interview #287 with Natalie Lloyd (Author of The Witching Wind)
Interview #289 with Maria Scivan (Author of Nat a Chance)
Interview #290 with Padma Venkatraman (Author of Safe Harbor)
Interview #291 with Lauren Wolk (Author of Candle Island)
Interview #292 with Allie Millington (Author of Once for Yes)
SEASON #TWENTY (Fall 2025)
Interview #293 with Heather Bouwman (Author of Scattergood)
Interview #294 with Lauren Magaziner (Author of The Incorruptibles)
Interview #295 with Margaret Finnegan (Author of Spelling It Out)
Interview #296 with Dan Gemeinhart (Author of Busted)
Interview #297 with Katherine Applegate (Author of Pocket Bear)
Interview #298 with John Claude Bemis (Author of Rodeo Hawkins and the Daughters of Mayhem)
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