Greyson
Gray: Rubicon
1. What
inspired you to write your book?
As
a veteran youth worker, former middle-school teacher, and husband of a youth
director, I’ve been fortunate to be surrounded by off-the-wall characters whom
continually inspire my novels. It was my first-year as a sports camp counselor
that I realized that I was in a literary gold mine. The kids who were put under
my care were wacky, daring, witty, and ridiculous. I began writing the greatest
hits with each weekly batch of new kids.
Soon,
the camp setting inspired the plot. The kids were learning new sporting skills
every day, with majors and minors in every sport from rugby to skeet shooting.
I thought, what if these goofy kids used all their newfound skills to defeat
bad guys? When I placed today’s bad guys (terrorists) in the camp’s abandoned
observatory and pushed the characters towards them, the first book wrote
itself. Then, when I heard secessionist threats in the news after Obamacare’s
passage, I knew I had a unique direction for the series to take: the kids would
dare to stand up to terrorists who wanted a new civil war.
2. What is it about?
Greyson Gray: Rubicon, the fourth and most intense
installment of the series, follows
Greyson through an America on the edge of civil war. With the country suffering from the fallout of a crippling new
law, neighborhoods are divided, nationwide protests grow, and threats of
secession from the terrorist group Pluribus increase. To make matters worse,
Pluribus and its “Wolf teams” are working on a bold, crippling attack they hope
will send the country over the brink.
When the paramilitary group Rubicon calls Greyson to mission,
he must wield new ammunition and work with friends across the country—both old
and new—to face the threat. In a frenzy of explosions, deadly drones, and
dazzling cutting-edge technology, Greyson must fight the terrorists on urban
streets, atop snow-covered mountains, and in towering skyscrapers, culminating
in a journey that challenges Greyson to his core.
3. What
do you hope will be the everlasting thoughts for readers who finish your
book?
While
the book is primarily a fun adventure with intense action and witty humor, it
is also real and relevant, addressing serious questions from a youth’s
perspective. My hope is that it inspires kids to ask serious questions about
the course our society is taking. Though the book includes bad people on both
sides of the political spectrum, it illustrates that there are clear dangers to
an increasingly large and invasive government. In the same way, it shows that
violence is rarely the right answer. At this point in the series, I want kids
to ponder the purpose, scope, and size of our government.
Another
hope I have is that readers will be inspired by young Greyson’s courage and
integrity. From the beginning he dares to do what is right, no matter the
costs. He not only fights bad guys, he fights to find the truth and to find
what’s good. The youngest generation needs this attitude more and more. When
truth and goodness is so hard to find, they need to be motivated to fight to
find it. Merely “googling” the answer is not enough for the toughest questions.
Also, when Greyson knows something bad is going down, he uses whatever he can
to try to stop them. He doesn’t care that he is a kid. He doesn’t rely on adults
to stop the bad guys. He merely fights for what he believes is good and accepts
the consequences later. How many of today’s kids would sacrifice something for
a cause greater than themselves? How many are so devoted and dedicated to do
so? My hope is that many will see Greyson do so at age twelve and follow suit.
4. What
advice do you have for writers?
Let
real life inspire you more than books and television. You want a unique voice
with fresh content, so find unique places and people and spend time with both.
Of course, don’t give up reading and watching, but understand that everything
you take in may become ingredients for the next book. Do you want the recipe to
use natural and organic ingredients, or processed and packaged ones?
Also,
if you want to have a lucrative career in self-publishing, be prepared to spend
a lot of money in marketing. While there’s a very small chance you’ll make it
big just by posting serials or by making social media accounts, there’s a
slightly bigger chance if you hire an editor, a cover professional, a
publicist, a website designer, and a weekly masseuse (or therapist). The influx
of self-published authors is a double-edged sword. Your voice is ever smaller,
and the pool of people seeking your money is ever bigger. Start saving your
money as you write your first best-seller.
5. Where
do you think the book publishing industry is heading?
I’m
eager to see enhanced e-books improve—especially the ones that can synchronize
music with the reader’s reading pace. I’ve dreamed of this possibility because
I recognize the impact that music has on the story-telling experience. Movie
soundtracks are integral in creating an enhanced emotional experience, and it
is a tool that has long been denied to books. Though audiobooks often utilize music,
I look forward to seeing more creative and quality uses of soundtracks
integrated with the reading experience.
This
may be a decade or more away, but I could see the print industry beginning to
adopt some technology as well. Publishers know that print is not going away;
too many readers love the feel of actual books (myself included). So why not
make the best of both worlds? What if you can plug earbuds into a print book to
hear its paced soundtrack or its audio version? What if the book kept track of
your pace like a reading Fitbit? What if you could immediately review the book
via fingerprint scan on the back cover? As technology begins to integrate with
our bodies, it should also meet our books.
6. What
challenges did you have in writing your book?
Rubicon was the most difficult book
to write so far, both technically and physically. First, I had to attempt new
things as an author. I knew I wanted a year to pass between the time the kids
arrived at their new camp and the time Greyson departed. How do I choose what
was important enough during that year to expound on after the lapse? How many
flashbacks are acceptable? Will it feel like we are starting a whole new
exposition phase after the lapse? Another technical issue was the length. At
over 450 pages, it’s a big book (but not nearly as big as Harry Potter’s 636-page
fourth book), and it’s expensive to print on CreateSpace ($16 is the cheapest I
can charge – boo!).
Physically,
this book took me nearly two years to write. I blame my 8-month-old son and the
preceding pregnancy. Place this alongside a shifting day-job situation, 450
pages to edit, and attempts at marketing the first three books, and you have an
author trying to stay afloat as he types.
7. If
people can only buy one book this month, why should it be yours?
No
other series on the market has gritty action that Publishers Weekly calls “high-octane” mixed with humor ForeWord Clarion declares “genuinely
funny.” Even if they do, it won’t be set in a present-day America with real,
relevant issues like drone-warfare, tolerance, religion, terrorism, and more. This
isn’t a typical dystopian. It has fun, sarcastic characters who can certainly
be light-hearted, but then it sets a spark to the world that sends it spiraling
toward a civil war. What happens to these light-hearted, normal pre-teens when
their world grows more dangerous? It’s a slow-burn toward dystopia that is more
frightening—because it’s happening today. And it’s more fun, because the
characters are still kids on the inside. Overall, it refreshes a genre that is
going stale.
Also,
boy-heroes are harder to find in today’s market. Greyson is fun to root for.
Like Indiana Jones, he has signature gear (a fanny pack and red hat), a
signature weapon (a slingshot with different ammo), and great sidekicks
(including a German Shepherd). Like James Bond, he gets to play with high-tech
accessories—such as a personal drone. And, like many heroes, he is daring—willing
to risk it all to do what is right.
So
if readers are ready for a pre-dystopian
adventure with a boy-hero who inspires kids to do what is right and good, no matter
the costs, this is the book they should buy. They will not only be on the edge
of their seat, they’ll be laughing, crying, and rooting for the hero inside
themselves.
Plus,
it’s only $4.99 on Amazon.
B.C. Tweedt lives in North Liberty, Iowa, with his wife, Julie, and their
son, Maverick. When he’s not working on his next book, Tweedt volunteers at his
church's youth group as a mentor of young boys, several of whom served as the
inspiration for characters in The Greyson Gray Series. Rubicon is
the fourth novel in the series, preceded by Deadfall, Fair Game, and Camp Legend. Tweedt plans to
continue expanding the series, following Greyson as he grows up in an
increasingly divided and threatening world, and is currently working on the
fifth Greyson Gray novel.
For more information, connect with Tweedt on his website, or through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, LibraryThing
or LinkedIn.
Greyson Gray: Rubicon is now available
exclusively on Amazon.
It will be available online at Barnes & Noble and iBookstore in November
2016.
To learn more on how to promote books, read my greatest blog posts
from the past five years and 2,000 posts:
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