December 16, 2008
I’m thrilled to welcome Greg Logsted to my blog. The premise for Greg’s first YA book SOMETHING HAPPENED is awesome and I can’t wait to read it.
What inspired the plot for your book?
First of all, let me say thank you for having me on your site. Well, let’s see, my first book SOMETHING HAPPENED was just inspired by reading the newspaper and watching the evening news. For quite a while all you ever saw was one story after another about how some hot teacher had been ‘dating’ a thirteen-year-old boy. It was always reported with a bit of the old nod-nod, wink-wink.
It got me thinking about how something like this gets started. What happened in the lives of these people before they met?
SOMETHING HAPPENED is about a poetry-writing thirteen-year-old boy, Billy Romero, who’s still grieving from the loss of his father. He falls prey to a beautiful young teacher who shows him the attention and understanding he craves. Unfortunately the relationship becomes more than Billy expected it to be.
Why did you decide to write in this genre?
I think the whole genre gives you more opportunities to express raw emotions and philosophical insights. You can look at something with fresh eyes and just write about how messed up it is in a way you can’t always do in other genres.
Plus, it’s just plain fun being in the head of a teenager again
What is your writing process like?
I do have a day job so the process isn’t as extensive as I’d like it to be. But I normally write for an hour in the morning before work and then a couple hours at the end of the day. If there’s noise in the house I’ll slip on a pair of headphones and listen to some music BUT nothing with lyrics, maybe Miles Davis or something like that. I also love to read a poem before I start to work. For me it gets my mind thinking about the importance of finding the right words.
What are you working on now?
This summer my second book comes out, ALIBI JUNIOR HIGH. It’s more action packed than my first. It’s about a thirteen-year-old boy, Cody Saron, accustomed to living a globetrotting James Bond lifestyle with his mysterious dad. Cody must suddenly learn to cope with regular school life for the first time after he’s forced into hiding when a secret mission turns bad. He thinks after everything he’s done that going to a small Connecticut junior high school will be easy, a piece of cake…boy, is he ever wrong.
Right now I’m working on a very Twin Peaks-ish type of book. It has me by the throat and it’s not letting go. I’m about two thirds of the way through. It’s going to be called THE STUTTERING TATTOO. This one’s a lot of fun!
What do you do when you’re not writing?
I spend time with my wife and daughter. In the winter I like to ski, in the summer I’ll do a little surf fishing. There are always books to be read and shows to be watched. I’m fairly quiet. I don’t bother the neighbors…much.
Who do you like to read?
A few of my favorites are John Kennedy Toole, David Foster Wallace, Russell Banks, Mary Shelley, Harper Lee, Pablo Neruda, Hunter Thompson, Edger Allan Poe, Ken Grimwood, and T.C. Boyle.
Greg Logsted was born in Amityville, New York, raised in Ridgefield, Connecticut, and attended the University of Arizona for Journalism. He lives in Danbury, CT, with his wife, author Lauren Baratz-Logsted, and their daughter Jackie. The three of them wrote a series together called THE SISTERS EIGHT. Greg’s first YA novel, SOMETHING HAPPENED, was published by Simon Pulse in 2008 and his second, ALIBI JUNIOR HIGH, will follow in mid-2009. His website is still under construction, but interested parties can take an early peek at www.greglogsted.com.
Posted by Sara Hantz in Interviews @ 1:50 pm
Alyson Noel Says:
Such an amazing, writerly type family!
Great interview, Sara!
scott neumyer Says:
Great interview and it totally inspired me to go buy his book from Amazon
Sara Hantz Says:
Thanks Alyson and Scott.
amanda ashby Says:
Great interviews!!!! I love the sound of this and also Alibi Junior High – which is an amazing title!!!!