the creature department author interview + giveaway

Today’s post features an interview with Robert Paul Weston, author of The Creature Department, and a giveaway.  The Creature Department is a middle grade novel/collaboration between Weston, the folks at Razorbill (Penguin) and Framestore, creators of Dobby from Harry Potter and the Geico gecko.  The Creature Department was released by Razorbill on November 5, 2013.

Robert Paul Weston is the British-born Canadian author of Zorgamazoo, Dust City, and Prince Puggly of Spud and the Kingdom of Spiff, along with recent release (just this past Tuesday!) The Creature Department.  He currently lives in London, England, and you can follow him on twitter or find him on Goodreads.

Have any experiences in your everyday life prepared you for the job of making up marvelous monsters?  Which ones?

I live in London, England, on the east side of the city, where there is a large amount of street art. In my neighbourhood, a simple walk to the library takes you past capering creatures of all shapes and sizes. They are painted on the walls of tall buildings as well as hidden in the shadowy crags of back alleyways. I discover new ones nearly everyday and, if you are in the right frame of mind, they are always inspiring. I often take photographs of them and post them on my website. You can see some of them here: http://robertpaulweston.com/blog/london-street-art/ 

Did you have to do any specific research on monsters/creatures?  What was your most interesting and/or disgusting discovery?

Of course I research! It's a writer's lifeblood, no matter what you're writing. Perhaps my favourite find is a rare creature called the Gillygalloo. Details about its appearance are sketchy and vary somewhat, but I've come to understand it's a part-fish, part-bird creature that lays valuable square-shaped eggs. Also interesting is the fact that it originates in North Eastern American and Quebecois lumberjack mythology.

What are your favorite young adult or middle grade speculative fiction titles (aside from your own)?

Skellig by David Almond

Momo by Michael Ende

Young Adult Novel by Daniel Pinkwater

What I Was by Meg Rosoff

House of Stairs by William Sleator

Do you have any hidden (or not so hidden) superpowers?

I can speak to inanimate objects. They are excellent listeners.

What are you reading right now?

On Familiar Terms by Donald Keene

Thanks so much for answering those questions, Robert!  Skellig has been on my to-read list for ages, but now I know I’ve got to get to it sooner rather than later. 

Think you might like to read The Creature Department?  Enter the giveaway!  Two (2) entrants will win finished copies of the book.  To enter, simply fill out the FORM.  Earn up to two (2) extra entries by commenting on this interview post and/or my review post.  Giveaway open internationally, will end at 11:59pm EST on November 22, 2013.  Winners will be selected at random and notified via email.  Good luck!

It’s a tentacled, inventive, gooey, world in there...

Elliot Von Doppler and his friend Leslie think nothing ever happens in Bickleburgh, except inside the gleaming headquarters of DENKi-3000—the world’s eighth-largest electronics factory.

Beneath the glass towers and glittering skywalks, there's a rambling old mansion from which all the company’s amazing inventions spring forth. And no one except Uncle Archie knows what’s behind the second-to-last door at the end of the hall.

Until Elliot and Leslie are invited to take a glimpse inside.

They find stooped, troll-like creatures with jutting jaws and broken teeth. Tiny winged things that sparkle as they fly. And huge, hulking, hairy nonhumans (with horns). It is unlike anything they’ve ever seen.

But when Chuck Brickweather threatens to shut down the DENKi-3000 factory if a new product isn’t presented soon, the creatures know they are in danger. And when Uncle Archie vanishes, it’s up to Elliot, Leslie, and every one of the unusual, er, “employees” to create an invention so astonishing it will save the Creature Department.

Fine print: I am providing/mailing the giveaway prizes (or ordering them from The Book Depository), and did not receive any compensation for this post.

the creature department

One of the in-person events in my almost-entirely-virtual book blogging life is Book Expo America.  It’s a conference/book fair hosted in New York City each year, and the attendees and exhibitors are booksellers, librarians, publishers, educators, authors and others with a professional interest in the business of books.  When I went this past June, I met a virtual Creature from the imagination of Robert Paul Weston.  And when I say ‘met,’ I mean a digital creation named Gügor was on a large screen, greeting visitors to the Penguin booth and having short conversations with them.  But what IS Gügor anyway?  He’s a Creature, from The Creature Department, an adventurous and monster-filled middle grade book!

It’s a tentacled, inventive, gooey, world in there...

Elliot Von Doppler and his friend Leslie think nothing ever happens in Bickleburgh, except inside the gleaming headquarters of DENKi-3000—the world’s eighth-largest electronics factory.

Beneath the glass towers and glittering skywalks, there's a rambling old mansion from which all the company’s amazing inventions spring forth. And no one except Uncle Archie knows what’s behind the second-to-last door at the end of the hall.

Until Elliot and Leslie are invited to take a glimpse inside.

They find stooped, troll-like creatures with jutting jaws and broken teeth. Tiny winged things that sparkle as they fly. And huge, hulking, hairy nonhumans (with horns). It is unlike anything they’ve ever seen.

But when Chuck Brickweather threatens to shut down the DENKi-3000 factory if a new product isn’t presented soon, the creatures know they are in danger. And when Uncle Archie vanishes, it’s up to Elliot, Leslie, and every one of the unusual, er, “employees” to create an invention so astonishing it will save the Creature Department.

Elliot von Doppler is a science-obsessed twelve year-old.  Leslie Fang could be described the same way.  But while Elliot grew up in Bickleburgh, Leslie just moved to town with her mother, and the two children only know each other because they tied for 3^rd place in a science competition.  When Elliot finally gets the chance to tour the famous DENKi-3000 electronics factory (and really the only exciting thing about the entire city of Bickleburgh!), Leslie is invited too.  There they discover that Elliot’s uncle Archimedes has been in charge of a most interesting research and development department – one run by and devoted to Creatures!  Elliot and Leslie will need to race against time to help the Creatures invent one more new product and prevent the shutdown of DENKi-3000.

In The Creature Department, Robert Paul Weston introduces a laboratory full of inventive monsters who work with Creature physics (entirely different from human science!) to create new, exciting and original inventions.  They invent things like TransMints, which combine elements of technology, freshness, and the best memories of winter to produce some of the finest candies ever.  The trouble is that the Creatures (all uniquely terrifying/interesting/wondrous in their own ways) haven’t invented anything in a long while, and the company’s shareholders are getting restless.  They are even considering selling to Quazicom Holdings, run by the mysterious Chief, a shadowy figure with less-than-honorable intentions.  Into this world of deadlines and science wander Elliot and Leslie, two curious kids who might possess the Knack needed to come up with something truly special to save the day.

The Creature Department is an appealing tale of non-humans of all shapes, sizes, and strengths, and the power of friendship to bring any group together.  Weston writes convincingly of Creature attributes that may make the reader grimace, squirm, or crow with delight, and possibly all at the same time.  It’s full of middle grade appeal, with a glow-in-the-dark cover, gorgeous illustrations throughout by Framestore artists, gobs of snot and goo, and enough journeys above and below ground to please most readers’ expectations for adventure.

That said, the characters were simply that – characters.  With one or two exceptions, they remained static.  In addition, there were a few scenes that tried to make something of the fact that Elliot is a boy and Leslie is a girl and they’re working together *wink, wink*, which seemed out of place in the narrative.  Creature science also bears no relation to human science (duh).  If you let your imagination run wild it’s a lot of FUN, and a quick, simple, fantastical trip into a weird and astonishing secret world.

Recommended for: fans of the Disney/Pixar Monsters, Inc. films, young readers who enjoy off-the-wall adventure and stories about kids saving the day, and people of all ages who daydream about impossible inventions.

Check back in tomorrow for an interview with author Robert Paul Weston and an international giveaway!

Fine print: I received a finished copy of The Creature Department from the publisher for honest review.  I did not receive any compensation for this post.

teaser tuesday (57)

It's Teaser Tuesday, a bookish blog meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Here's how it works:

Grab your current read and let it fall open to a random page. Post two (or more) sentences from that page, along with the title and author. Don’t give anything vital away!

“White’s made it up to fourth gear, which makes her coupe the faster beast. Given enough of a straightaway, she would catch me now for sure. There’s only a short distance left to the tracks, though. I still might make it.”

-p. 105 of Robert Paul Weston’s Dust City