MEN in YA: Interview and Giveaway with Michael Northrop, author of Trapped

I'm extremely happy to be joined today by the wonderful Michael Northrop, author of two fantastic YA novels: Trapped (2011) (which I reviewed yesterday on my blog and will be giving away today!) and Gentleman (2009). I loved Trapped and I'm absolutely honored to have Michael stop by for the interview today! 

Guys, please give a warm welcome to our brilliant YA Galaxy Defender, Michael Northrop!

E: Evie
MN: Michael Northrop

E: Welcome to Bookish Michael! Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to talk to us today! I thoroughly enjoyed reading your bone-chilling YA novel, Trapped! Could you tell us where the inspiration for this book came from?

MN: Hellooooo! Well, first of all, I’m from a very snowy area in New England. When I was a little kid, a blizzard dumped four feet of snow on us. I wasn’t much more than 4’ tall at the time, so the idea of snow up to my eyeballs has always been with me.

I put the rest together while watching a documentary about the whaling ship Essex, which was sunk by a whale in the middle of the ocean (that’s some karma right there). The sailors drifted for months in their whaleboats, resorted to cannibalism, and mostly died at sea anyway.

So I was thinking about those men, drifting on a vast, indifferent ocean, and I started to think about other ways that people could be stranded in or by nature. I thought of snow right away. Then I started thinking about where they could be stranded. As soon as I thought of a school, I knew I was onto something.

E: How long did it take for you to write Trapped?

MN: I worked at it for about six months, making very little progress, because I was still working full-time-plus at a magazine. The job had started to eat up my weekends, which was when I used to write. Then I rolled the dice and left my job. After that I finished the book in just a few months, in one big adrenalized, caffeinated, relieved rush.

E: How would you describe your book in 5 words?

MN: Teens snowbound at school: Aaaah!

E: What was the most difficult part of the book for you to write? Did you find it challenging to write a story from a teenage boy’s perspective?

MN:  The middle was the toughest part. I really had to immerse myself mentally in the situation, and I had to work hard to be honest about what real teens would and wouldn’t do. I had months to think about the right and wrong moves, but the characters had to make those decisions in the moment.

I actually find it fairly easy to write from a teen boy’s perspective because I remember that age very clearly. One of the things that helps me is that I moved to New York City for college and basically just stayed. So remembering what it was like to be in my hometown is pretty much the same as remembering what it was like to be that age. And I remember it very viscerally: the sights, sounds, smells, and even the feel. What it was like to drive around late at night in my mom’s two-door Buick Skylark out of sheer restlessness, for example.

E: Are any of your characters based on people in your own life?

MN: Not on a one-to-one basis, but most of the characters contain elements borrowed from real people. My brother actually owned the, um, distinctive sniper rifle t-shirt that Jason wears. But Jason isn’t my brother. Matt would never have taken shop class, for one thing.

E: You’re an author of two fantastic YA novels (Trapped and Gentlemen), have you considered making the switch to Adult genre?

MN: Thank you! I’ve definitely considered it. I actually started out by writing short stories for adults, but right now I’m headed in the opposite direction. My next book is middle grade. It’s called Plunked, and it’s about a Little Leaguer who gets hit in the head by a pitch and loses his nerve at the plate. I have a ton of experience writing about sports for young readers, because I worked at Sports Illustrated Kids for 12 years. I’ve also been hit in the head many times!

E: How do you approach writing a new book? Are you a plotter or a pantser?

MN: I’m a pantser. I might have a vague idea where the book is going when I start it, but that’s about it. I feel like I need to spend time with the characters and really develop and get to know them before I know how they’ll react to different situations. When I started Trapped, for example, I expected it to be much darker, but as the characters began to take shape they started to cooperate more than I expected. As a result, the book became more social. My initial idea was a frosty Lord of the Flies, but it became much more of a frozen Breakfast Club.

E:  What’s next in line for you? Are you working on a new book now?

MN: Well, Plunked comes out in March so, you know: Promotion, dead ahead! [Warning horn! Warning horn!] After that, I’m doing another YA. I shouldn’t say much more than that right now, but I’m very excited about it. It’s realistic/contemporary YA— because that’s my thang—and I think it’s fair to say it has a lot of bite.

E: What advice would you give to aspiring authors interested in writing YA novels?

MN: A few things:

1) Write about what really interests you. Don’t try to chase trends: That’s lame, and they’re elusive anyway.

2) Read a lot, and not just the sort of books you plan on writing. (I have this fear of becoming a Play-Doh Fun Factory, just taking YA in and pushing YA out in a different form.) Reading a variety of books exposes you to a wider range of voices, techniques, tools, and information. I always try to mix in some nonfiction, because I learn interesting things and it really reinforces the value of communicating clearly. 3) Finish the book and don’t get too bogged down in editing as you go. I really think you can learn more by finishing a bad book than you can by tinkering with an unfinished good one. Most first drafts are a hot mess anyway. That’s what editing is for, but again, it’s not really editing a book if the book isn’t finished. It’s just revising some pages.

E: What genre do you like to read in your free time? Which of your favorite books would you recommend everybody to read?

MN: I mentioned nonfiction above, but I really like to mix it up—and I definitely wish I had more free time to read! I recommend Grendel by John Gardner, which takes one of the most famous monsters in literature and makes him a fascinating, compelling main character. There’s a saying that everyone is the hero of his or her own story, and this book pretty much proves it. It also proves that great writing doesn’t have to be all that complicated and the power of a simple change of perspective.

Michael, thank you so much for joining us today!  

I'm looking forward to reading your other books!
Thank you for participating in the MEN in YA event! :)

I hope you guys enjoyed the interview, for more information about Michael Northrop and his books, please visit his website: Michael Northrop or/and read my review of Trapped.

Here's a couple more fantabulous pictures from the exclusive MEN in YA photoshoot!

Huge thank you to Michael Northrop for the exclusive (and absolutely gorgeous) photoshoot!

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Thanks to the fabulous:

I have one hardcover copy of Trapped up for grabs!

To be eligible to win all you need to do is be a follower of my blog and enter through Rafflecopter below.

This giveaway is open to CANADA only (sorry guys, Publisher's request!)

Ends: December 20th

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This interview and giveaway are posted as a part of the MEN in YA event (Nov 20th - Dec 20th)

For more awesomeness (reviews, interviews, giveaways, guest posts) please click the banner below!

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About the Author

Evie is the Blogger behind Bookish. She enjoys reading many different genres, especially YA, Paranormal, Contemporary Fiction and Fantasy.

She loves talking to authors and is always happy to welcome them for interviews, and guest posts. She also likes spreading the love for awesome books and  chatting with fellow book-worms.

You can find Evie here: Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Shelfari | The Library Thing