It’s my pleasure today to welcome a new-to-me author
who writes Children’s Middle Grade Historical/Speculative novels.
Please join me in giving a warm welcome to Jeff
Bolinger – better known as Author Carey Fessler from Melbourne, Australia.
Carey has published four Middle Grade Action/Suspense novels and is here to
talk about this books and writing. While I don’t have children nor
grandchildren, I still enjoy books for all ages.
Welcome Carey. Please tell us a bit about your
writing and your latest released, FOILED.
Where do you
get the ideas for a book?
Carey:
Ideas can
come from everywhere, which is why I’m open to trying new things. The more
experiences I have in life the more I have to draw from to inspire my writing. Coming
up with the seed for a scene (remember, a story is just a series of scenes you
weave together) idea is easy for me. All I do is say these three words: “What
happens if …? (I brain storm the worst-case scenario, then dig a bit deeper and
drop my MCs into the hole)
For
example, the seed for my book Foiled
came after my brother in-law had showed me his three photographs of a UFO near Roswell,
New Mexico. As an author I didn’t care if the photos were real or not. I just
asked myself, “What happens if … in 1947, two Roswell kids obtain a piece of
alien technology and become fugitives?”
Once I
complete a skeletal scene-by-scene story outline, only then do I begin the
actual writing process and flesh out the story by creating a couple of engaging
heroes that serve as catalysts and a formidable villain who cross paths,
blocking each other’s goals, which creates plenty of opportunities for tension,
suspense, and action.
Please
tell us more about Foiled.
Carey:
Foiled is a Middle Grade pacey,
page-turning novel set in 1947, featuring the famed Roswell UFO crash incident
near Roswell, New Mexico.
The title
Foiled has three
meanings:
1. Foil:
noun - referring to the ‘magic foil,’ (piece of thin metal sheet) in the story,
which is a piece of alien technology from the crash site of a UFO. On the front
cover, you can spot the girl holding it in her hand. ;)
2. Foil:
noun - The two MCs contrast each other and so emphasize and enhance the
qualities of the other.
3. Foil:
verb - prevent (antagonists) from succeeding.
What
exciting story are you working on next?
Carey:
I’ve just
finished the last book in my sea-island adventure trilogy:
Shanghaied:
Escape from the Blackwolf
Shipwrecked:
Dragon Island
Sea
Raiders
How did
you come about writing?
Carey:
I first
started writing short stories for my son when he was very young. I made him the
MC of each story, which featured his favorite toys as sidekicks. The stories
were an instant hit … with him anyway. That was enough to keep me at it.
When did
you first consider yourself an author?
Carey:
The first
time I came out of the closet and told someone other than my wife.
Do you
write full-time?
Carey:
Yes.
Then
what's your work day like?
Carey:
Up at
dawn, walk the dog, eat brekky, and write (from a small simple Ikea desk, which
overlooks our leafy street) until noonish. Walk the dog, eat lunch,
re-write/revise the previous day’s work until around 3pm’ish. Walk the dog, do
errands, housework and make supper. Binge on Netflix. Fun read an hour before
bedtime. (I like Clive Cussler). Rinse and repeat.
Fun
related 😊:
Carey:
I write
while listening to either Classical or New Age music. Yes, I love Mozart and
Enya.
As a
child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Carey:
An oceanographer.
Probably from watching so much Jacques Cousteau on TV. Later, I took scuba
diving lessons in college and then joined the Navy, serving on board nuclear
submarines, so I came close-kinda.
Best
piece of writing advice:
Carey:
Anne
Rice- The Vampire Chronicles. “Go where the pain/pleasure is.”
Anything
additional you want to share with the readers?
Carey:
- I use
the pen name Carey Fessler to honor the two people who encouraged me to
read as a kid — my grandparents: My G’ma’s maiden name is Carey and my G’pa’s
last name is Fessler … Carey Fessler worked perfectly.
- In my
book Shanghaied: Escape from the
Blackwolf, Scott wants to tell a lie to get aboard the submarine. In Foiled, Kate wants to help Billy
hide from the authorities. Life is all about making choices: good vs bad.
Sometimes people make a bad choice for a good reason. Either way, experience is
a good teacher. Adults are constantly telling children what they can and can’t
do. In Foiled, I set out to
write a story about an eleven-year-old stumbling over endless physical and
mental pits, picking herself up, and pushing herself on to discover for herself
what she can do. I also wanted to ask, “Would an eleven-year-old stop at the
established limits set by the grown-up world to save her friend and family, or
would she break those limits?”
- One
thing I like to do as an author is name a minor character after a person who
has helped me by being a test reader. I do this as a way of saying ‘Thanks.’
Plus, people think it’s cool to have a character in a book with their namesake.
Ex: In Shanghaied I
named Golsh after a friend who read an early draft of the story and gave me
some useful feedback. I find sharing my work with others is a great way to
improve my writing.
- I write
my stories because they’re the kind of books that I would’ve wanted to read
when I was a kid. The fact that other people—ages 9 to 99—enjoy reading my
stories is a bonus.
- Talent
is nice to have, but I relied more on practice and determination to achieve my
dream, which was to write a book. When you’re passionate about something, it
never feels like work. Dreams do come true, so don’t give up on yours.
- I’m
hoping to turn kids onto reading by sparking their imagination.
Albert
Einstein said, “Imagination is intelligence having fun.”
- Never
underestimate how important you are to a book as a reader. Without the reader,
the words are just ink marks on paper. Your imagination brings the story to
life.
Carey,
thanks so much for joining us and sharing this insight into your writing. I
love how you came about your pen name. It’s a great way to honor your
grandparents. You can find Carey’s books HERE.
Now for
those who aren’t familiar with Carey, here’s a bit of background on him in his
own words.
 |
| Author Carey Fessler |
I grew up in a military family and moved around more
often than a gypsy. My favorite smell is green, favorite flavor is mist, and
favorite day of the week is Funday. I wonder if fish wish they could wink, and
trees wish they could walk. I think it’s bizarre that your belly button harbors
more bacteria than there are birds in Borneo. I believe biographies are boring
and think it’s fun to speak in silly-sounding sentences with wacky words that
start with the same letters. Finally, I believe in exercising your imagination
and secretly staying up past your bedtime.
Find out
more about Carey and his writing on his website.
Now here’s
a synopsis of FOILED.
Twelve-year-old
Kate lives with her mother on the U.S. Army base near Roswell, New Mexico, in
1947. One night, just as Kate’s friend Billy shows her strange pieces of foil
that his dad retrieved from the wreckage of what may have been an alien
spacecraft, a CIA agent arrives at Billy’s house and informs his family of
their reassignment to Germany. The agent demands the return of the foil. Billy,
not wanting to move to Germany or return his treasures, begs Kate for help.
Feisty and fiercely loyal, Kate agrees to help him find a place to hide.
The two friends use their wits, their knowledge of the
terrain and geography around the base, and sheer determination to evade
capture.
Hiding
under the moonlit shadows at a gas station on the outskirts of town, Kate
telephones her mother back on the Army base hospital, where she works as a
nurse, to tell her of the drama and warn her of the death threat the CIA agent
made against the family. Ignoring her mother’s order for the two children to
come to the hospital, Kate is determined to warn her grandfather about the
threat, too, since his has no telephone. Together, Kate and Billy strike off to
reach him, more than two hundred miles away.
Thus
begins a cross-state adventure in which along the way, the two friends discover
the foil has a mysterious power that’s… not of their world.
Late that evening, disaster erupts into a fiery explosion when a
diversion goes horribly wrong, at the gas station, as Kate and Billy sneak into
the bed of a pickup truck that is heading out of town. When Kate discovers that
their ride is traveling in the wrong direction, they attempt to stop the moving
truck, which leaves Billy hanging on for his life, and the driver abandoning them
out in the middle of nowhere.
After
they hitchhike a ride to the nearest town, Kate is torn between telling lies
and reaching her grandfather to warn him of the threat by Special Agent Falco.
With family coming before conscious, opportunity allows her to steal the car in
a demolition derby-like get away, where she hopes a couple of driving lessons
she’s had behind the wheel of her grandpa’s old jalopy truck will be enough to
get the two friends to their destination—alive.
At
an all-night roadside diner, a cryptic phone call with her mother sends Kate
spiraling into more worry. An encounter with a suspicious waitress leads to the
arrival of a state trooper. Using the magic of the alien foil, which sometimes
allows Kate to read minds, she is able to create another chance for escape.
However, soon a second state trooper cruiser pulls into the diner parking lot
followed by a car driven by Falco. Kate and Billy slip out a back window,
abandon their stolen car, and thumb a ride with a friendly trucker that is
short lived when they spot what appears to be a police roadblock on the bridge,
leaving town. They exit the eighteen-wheeler, ghost back into the dawn
darkness, and make the next leg of their journey, travelling down river by
borrowing a small leaky boat.
After
escaping the venomous fangs of a rattlesnake, they plod across the burning
sands of a mesa to arrive exhausted at Kate’s grandpa’s house—but can’t find
Grandpa—anywhere.
Her
Grandpa Clyde stirs Kate awake and she quickly retells the drama leading up to
the present. But before the threesome can take flight, a deputy arrives at the
property to take Kate and Billy into custody. Pushed closer to her breaking
point, at what appears to be a trip all for nothing, Kate takes extreme action
and pulls out a loaded rifle on the deputy, allowing Grandpa Clyde to secure
him out of harm’s way. This bold action allows them to escape in the Piper Cub,
her grandpa’s small, light aircraft.
During
a fuel stop in Albuquerque, Kate is unable to reach her mother by telephone and
fears that Falco has made good on his threat. Using the magic of the alien
foil, she discovers the man driving the refueling tanker is planning to stall
them long enough for the law to show up. Kate’s quick thinking allows them to
make a hasty departure, which is intercepted by the arrival of two speeding
state trooper cruisers and flying bullets.
Grandpa
Clyde lands outside an Indian reservation to seek safety and overnight refuge
from an old friend. The jewelry craftsman makes a special pendant for Kate,
which has a secret compartment to hide the alien foil from unwanted eyes. The
next morning, when Billy becomes too homesick and wants to return to his
parents in Roswell, Grandpa Clyde drops him off at the nearby airport outside
Santa Fe, where Kate must say goodbye to her best friend.
Soon
after departing the airport, an Army helicopter intercepts the Piper Cub and
tries to force them to land in the desert. Kate reaches her limits, fights
back, and downs the helicopter with a surprise and inventive attack.
Their
victory celebration is cut short when Grandpa Clyde suffers a stroke and is
unable to fly the plane. Kate is forced to take over the controls and must land
the plane in nearby Santa Fe … to save her grandpa’s life.
With
only a few hours of flying experience under her belt, Kate crash-lands next to
a park plaza in the center of town. Unable to pull Grandpa Clyde from the
wreckage, and with the smell of leaking fuel, Kate refuses to abandon her
grandpa. When she’s just about to give up all hope, a stranger from the nearby
crowd hauls her grandpa to safety. Only when Kate sees Grandpa Clyde being
trolleyed to the ambulance, does she melt into the growing crowd of on lookers
and slip away.
From
a nearby post office, Kate follows her grandpa’s instructions, and calls
another one of his trusted friends, who drives into town to rendezvous and
rescue her. Days later, after Grandpa Clyde’s recovers enough to be discharged
from the hospital, he secretly joins Kate where they decide to remain living on
a ranch until her mother finds a civilian job so she can resign her commission
from the Army, allowing them to start a new life beyond the tendrils of the
CIA.
Thanks so
much for stopping by today. Do you enjoy reading books that are “technically”
written for people younger than yourself?
