We’ve got another great interview on the blog today! The students at Spring Creek Community School in Whistler interviewed Zomboy author Richard Scrimger.
Teacher-Librarian Sara Leach says, “due to a technical glitch the recording of the interview didn’t work, so it is our best collective memory of his answers, rather than a direct transcript. He sounded much more eloquent live than we make him sound!”
1. What inspired you to write Zomboy?
My son liked zombies and I wanted to write one about friendly zombies.
2. What’s your process? How long does it take you?
It starts with an idea and I write them down. Then I write a draft. It takes about one to two months to write a draft of a book, and a year to get it out in published form. Writing is all about rewriting until you get the best draft possible. I’ve written 20 books in 20 years, so it works out to about a book a year.
3. What are you working on now?
I have three books coming out this year. One of them is a book call Lucky Jonah about a magic camera. When you take a picture you switch places with the person in the picture. It’s about a boy who is being bullied by his brother. He lives twelve lives in a day.
I’m also working on another book that’s a cross between Through the Looking Glass and Old Yeller. This guy falls through the world because he’s sad about his dad dying.
4. What are your hobbies?
Squash, running, playing with my kids, going to the coffee shop and the bar. I don’t watch many sports except baseball. We have a good baseball team in Toronto but our hockey team has been really bad for a very long time.
5. What books do you like to read?
I like to read fiction. I don’t like non-fiction. I like Gordon Korman. It doesn’t matter too much what kind of book, it just has to have a good story.
6. What will happen after Zomboy?
If I write a sequel the characters would go to Toronto and problems would happen to them. [spoiler deleted]
7. If we liked Zomboy what else might we like to read?
Arthur Slade, Martha Jocelyn, Kenneth Oppel.
A big thank you to Teacher-Librarian Sara Leach, the students at Spring Creek Community School, and Richard Scrimger for this great interview!