Today it my pleasure to introduce
an intriguing YA book titled,
"Save the Lemmings"
Nothing "fishy" about this story - promise!
Written by that talented and well published author of books for children,
Kai Strand
Kai Strand writes fiction for middle grade and
young adult readers. Her debut novel, The Weaver, was a finalist in the
2012 EPIC eBook Awards. The Wishing Well: Another Weaver Tale is set in
the same storytelling village as The Weaver. She is a (very lucky) wife,
and the mother of four amazing kids. The most common sound in her household is
laughter. The second most common is, "Do your dishes!" She and her
family hike, geocache, and canoe in beautiful Central Oregon, where they call
home.
I can appreciate her love of Oregon, because apart from loving Kai's books and the way she writes them, I also live in Oregon and love it.
About SAVE THE LEMMINGS:
8th grade inventor, Natalie
Isabelle Cailean Edwards is the N.I.C.E. girl who
finishes last with the kids in school. Sappy inspirational phrases and
monochromatic outfits have all but her best friends wrinkling their nose at
her. When Natalie’s invention, the Texty-Talky, goes nationwide, she becomes an
overnight sensation. Suddenly her days consist of photo shoots and interviews
with little time left for her friends. A local reporter shatters her good-girl
image by reporting a graffiti incident, and the media launches into a smear
campaign. It is so bad, even her friends start to believe the stories. Will
Natalie be able to overcome the lies being printed about her? And will she SAVE
THE LEMMINGS?
*Did you ever feel like a
Lemming when you were a teen?
I think if you had asked me
then, I would have answered no. But when I look back on my middle and high
school years I think I spent way too much time worrying about blending in,
fitting in - NOT standing out in a crowd. If I had to do it over again (God
forbid!) that is what I'd want to do differently. I wouldn't want to worry so
much what other kids thought. I'd spend more time doing what I enjoy - even if
it wasn't considered cool.
*What tempted you to write a YA
WITH Lemmings in the title?
Two ideas melded together to
make this book. 1) I wanted a main character who did something extraordinary and
who was first revered by the media as a whiz kid, an example, a hero, but then
they twisted that into something ugly in their never ending quest for a bigger
and better headline. Frankly, I think this happens WAY too much in today's
society and I feel that we (as the media consumers) fuel it by eating these
gossipy stories and ridiculous 'reality' t.v. shows up. 2) I wanted the popular
saying of 'being a lemming' to play a part. As I was drafting the book, I did a
little research on lemmings and learned that the common assumption that
lemmings blindly follow each other off cliffs in hordes was false, and that a
huge company facilitated the lie back in the 50's with a documentary they
produced. CRAZY! That fed into my theme even better than I'd ever expected. It
is amazing the things we will just blindly believe!
*Did you need to do a lot of
research about 8th graders
+ the media?
The 8th grader part was pretty
easy. I have four kids. My youngest is just now entering 8th grade, but over
the last six years I can safely say I've known an 8th grader or two. I did read
a lot of articles and watch a lot of news and tabloid shows to see how the
media would report a story. I took particular interest in ongoing stories so
that I could see how they treated the subject of the story as it
unfolded.
*Do you ever plan to write for
an adult audience?
I do have a couple of story
lines that are adult focused, but I don't have any immediate plans to write
them. I really enjoy writing for children, and consider myself so lucky that I
am writing shorts for younger kids (www.knowonder.com), novels and the
occasional short in middle grade and young adult. Each audience has it's
specific needs in an appropriate story, which keeps my brain busy enough
sorting it out.
*Are your family supportive of
your writing – or mainly uninterested?
My family is AWESOME! My husband
is my go to guy for when I have a plot issue I can't quite figure out. My kids
will sit (and have!) for hours while I read my stories aloud to them. They
answer questions I pose, they ask questions or offer input that is helpful. But
the single most important thing they do is ask for more! "Have you finished
the second book in the series yet?" or "Have you worked on that
friendship story lately?" Recently my son asked if I could reread one of
my longer novels. My first thought was that I didn't have the time, but then I
realized that too soon he'll be grown and gone, and I won't have him to read to.
So I worked it in. Each evening, the family sat down in the living room and I
read several chapters. Really, a writer can't ask for a more supportive family
than I have!
*Are you in a critique group,
and if so, did their feedback prove helpful?
I've been a long time member of
an online critique group. I love them. They offer great input to the
development of my story and they provide me a safe place to whine. Seriously,
they are so good for my mental health!
*Are you planning to write more
books with this Lemming theme – a series maybe?
I've always intended SAVE THE
LEMMINGS to be a stand alone. The tween novels I have published with
Guardian Angel Publishing, The Weaver and The Wishing Well: Another
Weaver Tale, are stand alone stories set in the same storytelling village.
My upcoming young adult novel, King of Bad, is the first in a series.
*What do you think a book's plot
and characters must have to GRAB the red hot interest of this teckie minded
younger generation.
That is a great question. Good
pacing is critical for keeping their attention. No saggy middles or else
they'll switch their reader over to a game of hangman! Also, relate-ability. The
kids must be able to relate with the issue the characters are dealing with. You
can wrap it in a science fiction setting on Venus, but those aliens better be
having a personality conflict with the head cheerleader or have an alcoholic
parent or maybe the younger alien ripped his pants at school. But something has
to be recognizable to your reader.
*Do you plan to publish a paper
version later, or are you a die-hard ebook fan?
The print version is available
now!
All the digital versions (Nook,
Kindle, pdf) are also available through the publisher's website: http://www.featherweightpublishing.co/ShowBook.php?YA=KS_SAVE_LEMMINGS
*Tell my readers something about
yourself that you have never shared before. Funny or shocking, they lap
it all up, mate.
I guess this is a good time to
admit that I can relate to Natalie, the main character in Save the Lemmings, a
little too well. I was such a prim and proper priss growing up, and my sister
always teased me about it. She could - and did - belch the alphabet just to see
me collapse into a pool of quivers. I couldn't handle anything that wasn't
proper or that was outside the rules. I've loosened up a bit since, thank
goodness.
Thanks for letting me visit,
Margot!
It is absolutely my pleasure, Kai. And I so envy you the interest your kids have in your writing.
To find out more about Kai’s books, download
companion documents, find links to her published short stories and discover all
the places to find Kai both virtually and in person, visit her website: www.kaistrand.com. She loves to hear from
readers, so feel free to send her an email or visit her facebook page, Kai
Strand, Author.
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