From the Grave With Cynthia Reeg

cynthiaCynthia Reeg, a curious librarian, ventured from behind the stacks to become a children’s author. Now she contends with quirky characters and delightful dilemmas as often as possible in her stories. Her amazing husband, two grown sons, two adorable grandsons, and awesome family aid Cynthia on this wild and wonderful adventure. She’s a Kansas native who has lived in five other Midwest states. Currently she resides in St. Louis, Missouri and loves to vacation in Florida and New Mexico. Cynthia enjoys tennis, hiking, reading, and hanging out with her family. For more information, visit www.cynthiareeg.com. Find her on Twitter and Facebook

Amie: Welcome, Cynthia! It’ so great to have you join us here at the Files! Some of you may not know this but Cynthia and I are publishing sisters – that is we share the same publisher for our books. So, Cynthia, why don’t you start by telling us what your inspiration was for From the Grave?

Cynthia: First of all, I love Halloween and monsters. Using that theme, I wanted to approach the subject of bullying and intolerance from a different perspective. I hoped that if I created a fun and entertaining fantasy story that kids might also be open to exploring issues of prejudice. Plus, I had a great time crafting the crazy monster world, with all its rules and strange inhabitants—and monster curses, of course.

Amie: We share a similar love for Halloween! And monster curses are the best – in all their diverse ways! Tell us about your favorite character and why you enjoyed writing him.

Cynthia: My favorite character turned out to be bad guy—seventh grade troll, Malcolm McNastee. He originally started out as a fairly typical antagonist but quickly gained equal billing with my other main character, Frankenstein Gordon. What can I say? I write from a sinister perspective much more easily. Malcolm revealed so many conflicting emotions and plot twists that he demanded to be put front and center. And truly, it’s not easy to win an argument with him.

Amie: The antagonist can be the most fun to write! So it’s my understanding that you’re a librarian (yay!). Did your work influence your writing at all?

Cynthia: Of course! Although I left my library job a few years back to devote more time to writing, I use my librarian experiences with children to shape what I write. I know that action, silliness, suspense, and quirky characters draw them into a story. That’s how I try to write because it’s all about connecting with the kids!

Amie: It sounds like you know your audience really well, and that is definitely key to a successful story. Final questions: Graveyard or haunted house? Mummies or Deadies? Booberries or sandwitches?

Cynthia: Graveyard—I love the outdoors. 😉
Mummies—I relate to being so wrapped up in my work.
Sandwitches—more substantial fare for a hungry writer!

Amie: Good choices! Though I think I’ll take the booberries but only covered in chocolate. They make a nice topping for ice scream!

from-the-grave

Monster is as monster does, but Frankenstein Frightface Gordon is totally the wrong shade of ghastly green—actually a pathetic baby blue—and he’s more concerned with keeping his pants neat and tidy than scaring the pants off his victims. But when a new law is passed to rid Uggarland of misfits such as Frank, he must decide if he will become the monster his parents can be proud of or be the monster he can be proud of. Relying on his dead grandmother’s guidance from the grave, Frank makes a most astounding choice and enters into an adventure that most likely will seal his doom.
Or prove he is truly monster enough.

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Amie Borst is the author of the Scarily Ever Laughter Series featuring Cinderskella, Little Dead Riding Hood, and Snow Fright. Find her on her website, her blog, facebook, twitter, and instagram.

MsFishby
3 Comments
  1. Thanks, Jeri & Rosi, for the kind words. Monster on! 🙂

  2. Great interview, Amie and Cynthia!!

  3. Thanks for an interesting interview. I love the title of this book and think it will strike a chord with a lot of middle-graders. I will check it out as well.