Sisterspooky: Where did the idea for Poltergeeks spring from?
Sean: It wasn't so much an idea for a book as it was just a cool title. I literally woke up on day and thought that POLTERGEEKS would be a cool title for a book - if only I'd had a premise at that time. So I sort of started outlining something with a strong female protagonist and poltergeists - this after having watched the utterly terrifying 1982 Spielberg classic which is quite frankly, the scariest movie ever made in my books. I like writing magic, so I decided the book should be about witches - a teenage girl - a hero's journey - her dorky best friend who has a crush on her and a lot of bad stuff coming out of the past. It all took shape in the first draft and I'm very grateful for that notion of a title that popped into my head. It's the little book that could!
Sisterspooky: What was you favourite bit to write in Poltergeeks?
I really liked writing the scene where Julie takes to the skies using the Volatilis spell. Her glimpse into the past, her mind leaving her body and of course the zombies in the cemetery. That's my fave chapter in the book.
Sisterspooky: How did you go about getting your story picked up by the Strange Chemistry folks?My agent Jenny Savill submitted it in December 2011 - I'm really thankful that she did!
Sisterspooky: I am crazy in love with the cover for Poltergeeks. Can you tell me a bit more about how it came to be?
My editor Amanda Rutter was really the force behind the cover art. She wanted Julie's red hair to be wild and wicked looking like the main character in the movie BRAVE. Together we sort of thought it would be really cool to have Julie on the cover in Mrs. Gilbert's living room with a bunch of floating furniture all over the place. It's just a fantastic cover, Paul Young did a brilliant job of it.
Sisterspooky: Have you always wanted to be a writer? When did you start this career path?
Yeah, kind of. That or being an editorial cartoonist. I've really been writing all my life and I'm blessed that at mid life, I'm finally finding some success at this writing gig.
Sisterspooky: From your twitter it's clear you have a love for things British. Care to share some of your favourite things?
1) Doctor Who
2) Premier League Football
3) The Queen. I think she's just awesome. She's my Queen too, by the way. She's on our money in Canada.
4) David Tennant.
5) I could go on .... tea, biscuits, An American Werewolf in London.
Sisterspooky: You're over in the UK on tour in October. What's the one thing you want to see/try/eat/drink when you come over?
I'm going to see Norwich City FC play Chelsea on October 8th - BIG dream of mine to see that game. I want to go to the Imperial War Museum. I want to drink some good British beer and meet my agent for the first time. I want to meet Amanda Rutter and Kim Curran and everyone from Strange Chemistry and of course, I'm so looking forward to the launch and meeting the people who've read POLTERGEEKS and who've fallen in love with Julie Richardson. See you in October!!
Thanks to Sean for his fab answers and you can find out more about Sean at the Strange Chemistry website and Poltergeeks is out in October 2012
What a great post! It's particularly interesting to hear how that brilliant cover came about. So nice to see a girl on a cover actually doing something!
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