Sunday, January 6, 2013

GIVEAWAY & INTERVIEW w/ S.A.M. POSEY, author of THE LAST STATION MASTER

Welcome to Marvelous Middle Grade Monday (MMGM), a weekly event hosted by author Shannon Messenger. For a list of other MMGM posts, click HERE.

______________________________________________________

THE LAST STATION MASTER
S.A.M. Posey
Key Publishing House
200 pp.
Ages 10 and up


On his grandparents' remote North Carolina farm for the summer, Nate discovers  there’s more happening on the rambling property than anyone realizes. To stop a terrorist’s plot and prevent a national disaster, Nate must unravel the mystery surrounding the old house, solve clues from a ghost, and become The Last Station Master.

The Last Station Master mixes contemporary and historical events to tell this coming-of-age story that borrows heavily from African-American history. There are a number of African-American historical fictions on the market and some impressive contemporary works too. The Last Station Master blends the two genres in this suspenseful juvenile fiction that all will enjoy.

THE LAST STATION MASTER will be released on February 1st. I am thrilled that it is the first book spotlight on A THOUSAND WRONGS in 2013.  Please enjoy the interview with author S.A.M. Posey below. Be sure to check out the giveaway at the end!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!



INTERVIEW:

1.  Describe The Last Station Master in one sentence.
A boy, a secret, a terrorist, and trouble. This is the book’s subtitle, but it just about says it all.
 
2.  What inspired you to write this book?
This story was inspired by our country’s fears of another attack from terrorists. I wanted to create a scenario where a terrorist threat played off a historical plot. Weaving these two elements together gave me an intriguing way to tell this coming-of-age story.
 
3.  What books did you enjoy reading when you were younger and how did they influence you?
I’ve been an avid reader for nearly my whole life. Growing up, I think I read everything by Agatha Christy plus most of the Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys Mysteries. So yeah, I love mysteries. There’s an element of mystery in everything I write.
 
4.  Share a little about your road to publication.
When my son was about eight or nine, we had the hardest time finding middle-grade books with diverse characters. None of them looked like him. So with all the ignorance of an uninformed layman, I promised to write a book to fix that. I had no idea what challenges writing held. Seven years later, with the help of generous and talented critique partners and the occasional encouraging word from an editor or two, I’m keeping that promise. What I’ve discovered along the way is that I really love to write. So even though my son will soon outgrow the audience I write for, I absolutely love writing in this genre and for this group of readers.
  
5.  What can we expect from you in the future?
I’m in the final draft stage of a middle-grade novel, Josephus Maxwell and the Battle Drummers. It’s the story of twelve-year-old Josephus who gets sucked into past and becomes embedded with an infantry unit during the Civil War. It’s a fun story to write because Joe is so different from the 1800s drummer boys. The story provides them with lots of opportunities to clash.



GIVEAWAY TIME!!!

To be eligible to win a copy of THE LAST STATION MASTER, just complete the rafflecopter form below. 
This giveaway will end on January 28th.
 

5 comments:

  1. Oh, my goodness, there were so many. I want to read The Rock of Ivanore for one.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the interview and the contest. Definitely one I'd like to check out.

    And actually, there was one book on my MG summer reading list that I never got to: Chained by Lynne Kelly.Thanks for the reminder.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great interview and it looks like a terrific book. Thanks for running the giveaway.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Actually a lot of books that I bought and didn't have time to read them. But I would say Under the Never Sky would be one of them. Thank you for having this great giveaway!

    ReplyDelete