Ask the Author: John Penteros
Answered Questions (12)
John Penteros
My property tax bill arrived; punctual, number-laden, and larger than last year. I paid it.
John Penteros
I suppose it would be typical to want to live in some utopian society where communities are surrounded by daffodils and filled with bliss. But without conflict, life is boring.
I've seen many episodes of The Walking Dead, and it frustrates me to no end how stupid those people are when it comes to defending themselves against these slow-moving zombies with an IQ of 4 who can't even climb. There are so many ways to eliminate them and all it takes is a little organizing and determination. So if I were to choose a fictional world to travel to, first, it would be a world overrun by zombies (but I've only seen them on TV, haven't read any zombie books yet).
The next best thing would be to fight off the aliens. With that in mind, I'd travel to the time of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds. Okay, once you've thrown all your heavy artillery at these things and not made scratch in their shiny spaceships, it's time to try something new. Isn't the definition of insanity when you do the same thing over and over and expect different results? When one of those long-necked exploratory probes comes sleeking through your basement, hitting it with an axe has two problems:
1) since the probe is suspended in air, your axe-strike won't have nearly the impact it would have if it was held against something solid (like the cement floor).
2) You don't know what it's made of yet, so until you find out, why not clamp something around it's neck and wedge it somewhere so it can't pull itself free? THEN get all medieval on its ass. If it's made of axe-proof metal, put duct tape over it's eyes, get out your torch, hook it up to 240V, get the hammer drill with a diamond studded bit, and pour the pool acid on it. If it starts shooting rays, bend it backwards and let it shoot its own neck.
Can you tell I've spent some time thinking about this? Give me some aliens, give me some zombies, give me a few household tools. They be toast.
I've seen many episodes of The Walking Dead, and it frustrates me to no end how stupid those people are when it comes to defending themselves against these slow-moving zombies with an IQ of 4 who can't even climb. There are so many ways to eliminate them and all it takes is a little organizing and determination. So if I were to choose a fictional world to travel to, first, it would be a world overrun by zombies (but I've only seen them on TV, haven't read any zombie books yet).
The next best thing would be to fight off the aliens. With that in mind, I'd travel to the time of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds. Okay, once you've thrown all your heavy artillery at these things and not made scratch in their shiny spaceships, it's time to try something new. Isn't the definition of insanity when you do the same thing over and over and expect different results? When one of those long-necked exploratory probes comes sleeking through your basement, hitting it with an axe has two problems:
1) since the probe is suspended in air, your axe-strike won't have nearly the impact it would have if it was held against something solid (like the cement floor).
2) You don't know what it's made of yet, so until you find out, why not clamp something around it's neck and wedge it somewhere so it can't pull itself free? THEN get all medieval on its ass. If it's made of axe-proof metal, put duct tape over it's eyes, get out your torch, hook it up to 240V, get the hammer drill with a diamond studded bit, and pour the pool acid on it. If it starts shooting rays, bend it backwards and let it shoot its own neck.
Can you tell I've spent some time thinking about this? Give me some aliens, give me some zombies, give me a few household tools. They be toast.
John Penteros
Ya know, I have only a couple of books on my plate right now: "A Clockwork Orange" (I've just begun it and already have a spreadsheet with over 130 author-invented futuristic dystopian slang words), and "How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking." The latter title is destined to fail, as people remind me every day how wrong I am in ALL my thinking.
As for other books, I need your help. I want to read YYA fiction (like for grades 8 thru 10) with the following criteria: no vampires, no supernatural powers or witches & warlocks ... just real possible (if maybe somewhat incredible) tales of kids doing awesome things. What book really inspired you, or moved you? What story did you connect with and hated for it to end? If you have some books in mind, PLEASE tell me so I don't have to throw too many e-darts at the e-book list (although random book choice can yield some unexpected treasures!)
Oh, and while reading books this summer, I'll be writing one too. It's called TWELVE FEET UP.
JP
As for other books, I need your help. I want to read YYA fiction (like for grades 8 thru 10) with the following criteria: no vampires, no supernatural powers or witches & warlocks ... just real possible (if maybe somewhat incredible) tales of kids doing awesome things. What book really inspired you, or moved you? What story did you connect with and hated for it to end? If you have some books in mind, PLEASE tell me so I don't have to throw too many e-darts at the e-book list (although random book choice can yield some unexpected treasures!)
Oh, and while reading books this summer, I'll be writing one too. It's called TWELVE FEET UP.
JP
John Penteros
I'm still thinking. Honest. It's in my brain's compost heap, where it's generating heat and trying to ferment into something that makes for a great party.
John Penteros
Hmmm. Can I get back to you on that?
John Penteros
I'll have to vote for two favorite couples:
1) Henry and Clare in the Time Traveler's Wife. I like them because they met each other at various ages, experiencing love and frustration with each other in different ways at each meetup on their random timeline.
2) Adam and Mia in the book If I Stay (I was a bit frustrated with them in Where She Went). Their love for each other was as pure and real as it gets in the most heart wrenching circumstance imaginable.
Okay, I admit I also liked the couple in the book I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb (Was it Dominick and Joy?) I just remember they were a bit whacked-out and you never knew what weirdness was going to happen next with them. But sadly, I read it so long ago I can hardly remember the story! Need to read it again.
1) Henry and Clare in the Time Traveler's Wife. I like them because they met each other at various ages, experiencing love and frustration with each other in different ways at each meetup on their random timeline.
2) Adam and Mia in the book If I Stay (I was a bit frustrated with them in Where She Went). Their love for each other was as pure and real as it gets in the most heart wrenching circumstance imaginable.
Okay, I admit I also liked the couple in the book I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb (Was it Dominick and Joy?) I just remember they were a bit whacked-out and you never knew what weirdness was going to happen next with them. But sadly, I read it so long ago I can hardly remember the story! Need to read it again.
John Penteros
It escalated. From writing engineering documents (good for practicing being clear and direct). To writing love notes (talk about trying to attract an audience). To writing annual Christmas letters. To writing emails with more elaboration, creativity, and humor than was really called for. To writing short stories (good for practicing dealing with rejection. Also, see love notes). To having a few false starts on novels. Along the way, at least one person said "hey, you should keep writing," which went a long way toward cancelling the hundreds who made no such comment.
John Penteros
Can't answer until I'm done aspiring.
John Penteros
That William Wallace thing: Freedom.
John Penteros
Twelve Feet Up. That and life's chores.
John Penteros
I don't have writer's block in the sense where "I just can't think of anything to write." I am often blocked from writing by external forces (life's chores). I also have days where I'm too distracted to write, and days where I'm not in the mood to write. I try to take full advantage of the days I'm happy, focused, and free.
John Penteros
There are several facets to Twelve Feet Down, and I don't want to spoil them all, but here's where some of the ideas came from.
Joe's desire to have his own secret hideaway is probably something that every red-blooded boy has dreamed of at some time--a place that's completely yours--a place where nobody tells you what to do--a quiet place where you can be alone to think. However, Joe has a bit more of a remarkable plan for his underground "condo."
There are several "life challenges" aspects to this story, including death of a parent, physical impairment (Joe's loss of his right leg), life choices, and relationship issues which all work together in piling on the stress as Joe pursues his dream. Indeed, pursuing and living our dreams would be quite easy if we lived in a vacuum where nothing got in the way, discouraged us, and distracted us. In Twelve Feet Down, Joe has a greater number and level of obstacles to clear than most young teenagers, but that's what makes fiction compelling. If all he had to worry about was homework and what his mom would do to him if she found out, that wouldn't make much of a story, would it?
Joe has a severe fear of public speaking--something quite common. One piece of research indicates that around two-thirds of the population has some degree of this phobia (known as glossophobia). It's somewhat surprising that with such a large percentage of the population being afflicted with this fear, so few fictional characters seem to have it (or at least it's not shown to us). I felt it was important to reveal just how debilitating it can be, and hopefully give readers who've experienced any degree of glossophobia at least some comfort that they're not alone, if not the idea that maybe they can work their way through it.
There is also a reference to racism in Twelve Feet Down, and one person's approach to dealing with it. Racism will be a more prominent theme in my next book, Twelve Feet Up--probably not the way you think.
Where did these ideas come from? Like most authors, these things came from my own life experiences and (like many authors), I pulled some of them out of my hat.
Joe's desire to have his own secret hideaway is probably something that every red-blooded boy has dreamed of at some time--a place that's completely yours--a place where nobody tells you what to do--a quiet place where you can be alone to think. However, Joe has a bit more of a remarkable plan for his underground "condo."
There are several "life challenges" aspects to this story, including death of a parent, physical impairment (Joe's loss of his right leg), life choices, and relationship issues which all work together in piling on the stress as Joe pursues his dream. Indeed, pursuing and living our dreams would be quite easy if we lived in a vacuum where nothing got in the way, discouraged us, and distracted us. In Twelve Feet Down, Joe has a greater number and level of obstacles to clear than most young teenagers, but that's what makes fiction compelling. If all he had to worry about was homework and what his mom would do to him if she found out, that wouldn't make much of a story, would it?
Joe has a severe fear of public speaking--something quite common. One piece of research indicates that around two-thirds of the population has some degree of this phobia (known as glossophobia). It's somewhat surprising that with such a large percentage of the population being afflicted with this fear, so few fictional characters seem to have it (or at least it's not shown to us). I felt it was important to reveal just how debilitating it can be, and hopefully give readers who've experienced any degree of glossophobia at least some comfort that they're not alone, if not the idea that maybe they can work their way through it.
There is also a reference to racism in Twelve Feet Down, and one person's approach to dealing with it. Racism will be a more prominent theme in my next book, Twelve Feet Up--probably not the way you think.
Where did these ideas come from? Like most authors, these things came from my own life experiences and (like many authors), I pulled some of them out of my hat.
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