Then I read on and discovered the book to be "Zombies v. Robots," which of course very nicely smashes the stereotype that "girls don't like zombies, robots, and such things" which was so prevalent when I was a child. I still see and hear little boys in my apartment complex say such things and try to get girls to fit with gender stereotypes. My own daughter LOVES zombies (she's working on a zombie book of her own). Because of all this I was even more intrigued. I love when the boat gets rocked and I find the fireflies showing off their colors, reminding us that the norm doesn't always apply.
I decided to find out how to contact Marisha and her dad for an interview since Marisha had impressed me so much. Child authors is one of the main reasons that I started my publishing, so even though she was going on her own with it, I wanted to help the world know about her story and meet the author.
Grab a cup of your favorite drink, maybe a snack to go with it, and be the fly on the wall in my little chat with this bright young lady and her very supportive father.
If you're already interested, then feel free to open up one of these links at the same time.
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/332701
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Zombies-vs-Robots-ebook/dp/B00DUF3OUU/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1377230724&sr=8-7&keywords=robots+vs+zombies
Webpage: http://www.robots-vs-zombies.com/
Marisha: I turn eight years old this Saturday.
One of the presents that I received was an electrical scooter and I
am looking forward to riding it. I attend PA Cyber School. When I
was diagnosed as gifted, they allowed me to accelerate my curriculum.
I am now 2 years ahead of my grade level.
Teresa: That scooter sounds fun, I hope you get
lots of enjoyment out of it. Congratulations on being so far ahead of
your grade level. I am very impressed and very happy that you’re
being allowed to do that. It is so important to be able to take
classes that are going to keep you challenged and engaged.
Joe: I guess there is a lot to tell. I am a
licensed psychologist. I have specialties in both behavior analysis
and clinical psychopharmacology. I have practiced for roughly 27
years now. I own my own practice in Bala Cynwyd –called Behavior
Analysis and Therapy Partners. The last valuation of the company was
over one and a half million dollars. I have taught at the university
level- mostly graduate students in education, psychology, and
behavior analysis. I started writing in college as a hobby. I mostly
wrote horror, cyberpunk, and science fiction.
Teresa: Wow, congratulations on such hard work.
That is quite the background.
Teresa: How old were you when you started writing your book? How old are you now?
Marisha: I was seven when I started writing
the first book. I am still seven now.
Joe: Forty six and I am still 46 now.
Teresa: So you finished the book in less than a year. Some authors that I know can write that fast and some can’t. Of course a lot also depends on the length of the story being written, but I hope you realize how awesome a feat is to accomplish that fast.
Teresa: How long did it take to write Zombies vs. Robots?
Marisha: It seems like a long time but it was
only five months.
Joe: It took five months to write and then about a month and a half to find out how to get it published.
Teresa: What inspired you to
write it?
Marisha: We were doing story starters to
practice for the PSSAs. I wrote one story on Mario from Super Mario
Brothers and that gave my dad the idea that we could do a book. I was
writing to have fun. I hope people who read it have fun as well.
Teresa: That’s the best way to write. That’s what I do as well.
Joe: Marisha is a cyber school student and I
was helping her as she said with her practice to take our state tests
for writing. We were using the curriculum based measure procedures. They involve giving the child a “story starter” and having them
look at it for a minute, then write for three minutes, and then edit
for one minute. Well, she was producing between forty five and fifty
words per starter and we were doing them 3x-4x/day. About two weeks
into it, I noticed two things (1) she writes very well and (2) we
were producing a lot of words. I thought, hey let’s organize this
and see if we can get something permanent. When I was young, my dad
and I would do a lot of projects together like working on the car and
paneling the basement. I always liked those projects and thought that
Marisha and I writing together could be an excellent project for both
of us. We had done models together. Her school PA cyber gives her a
lot of hands on types of activities. So I had some experience working
with her.
Teresa: Hands on is always the best way to learn.
Teresa: In another letter you mentioned that Marisha
built a robot with her mom. Can you tell us about that project, why
you built the robot, what your favorite part of it was, and anything
surprising that you learned during that project. I’ve never built a
robot, so that is really cool. My son will be so jealous, since
that’s something he’d like to get into.
Teresa: Why zombies? Why
robots?
Marisha: The robot idea came from watching a
show in T.V. called Robot Combat League on Sci-Fi Channel. I really
like that show. They had a father daughter team.
Joe: When Marisha and I started writing, I was thinking of the future. I guess zombies are popular now and so are robots. I think for me the clincher as to both was the idea of the opposite views of the future they create. In the zombie future, the world is dying. People are turning into mindless beasts with a singular purpose- that is surviving by eating others. Robots are sort of the opposite view of the future a technology that improves and indeed in some respects keeps humans alive. Initially, Marisha wanted more a Haitian zombie- magic creates them. I kind of talked her into more of a zombie that was of a biopunk origin (that is humans are the origins of the zombie plague- science gone amok). We both agreed for the Ramero type- bite others and turn them into zombies.
Teresa: Was there anything
that you would have done differently?
Marisha: No I don’t think so. I had a lot of
fun with the book. I especially had fun looking up some of the solar
and survival stuff.
Joe: If I was
working alone, I would have killed off more of the main characters
but Marisha had a soft spot for them. Marisha was also very much
interested in character development, so she wanted them to feel like
real people. I think that slows them down somewhat but if you look at
zombie flicks that don’t develop the characters they tend just to
be stereotypes of good and evil. So working with Marisha has helped
me to produce a type of book I would not have done so on my own.
Teresa: Was there something
that you took out of the manuscript during the drafting that you wish
you hadn’t?
Marisha: I occasionally get scared about
zombies but not as much as I do about tsunamis.
Teresa: I can understand the fear of tsunami. I
was not in Fukushima, but I did get a text that day waking me out of deep
sleep while I was recovering from a surgery. I was being checked on
because of the possibility of the radiation from the double
disaster coming over the sea since I'm on the West Coast and the air current points right here. Then there is also the fact that I have a lot of family
down by the sea. I check what's going on in that area every time I hear of quakes.
A (Joe): Some of the characters seemed to have been based on subtle jokes that Marisha and her mother make about me. Not to take it personal, it is difficult sometimes to hear those criticisms, your daughter’s criticism of you, directed off handed at the characters in her writing.
Teresa: I can understand that, yes.
Teresa: Was there something
that you wish you would have explored more in your book?
Marisha: In the sequel we had the opportunity
to explore more of Emma and her views of the world and in book three
she will have a new look with a suit that she is constructing.
Joe: While we were writing, I really felt like
I had the chance to learn about culture from my daughters view. She
liked to put songs in the book and we often clashed on which songs to
mention. I found that often I would mention a song and she would have
never heard it, so we would go Youtube and watch it before we made
the final decision of “in” or “out.” Marisha likes a lot of
happy songs like Katty Perry and songs from video games. So I got to
hear more songs like those and I as we did the sequel and now book
three I feel like I have a much better understanding of how she views
the world.
Teresa: What was your
favorite scene or part of your book?
Marisha: In book 1, I kind of liked all of the
scenes but I think the best one was when Emma asks her dad to build
jetpacks. Actually, jetpacks were completely my idea and my dad did
not want to do them at first, but I convinced him.
Joe: I really liked
the scenes in book one where people are fighting back against a world
that seems and really is out of control. I think it is a hopeful
statement. I also really liked the scene where Kathy is speaking to
John Fredricks about his experience in Vietnam. Also, sometimes
Marisha would write a section that was challenging to integrate, so
it became like a puzzle how to fit it in. I liked that – sometimes I
would weave it as a wish of the character or a dream. Those tended to
be my favorite parts because I was able to get something to work that
some would have just said “It cannot happen that way.” It really
helped me to feel like I could preserve her views.
Teresa: Do you have a
favorite character?
Marisha: Emma is clearly my favorite. She is
bright and a computer wizard. In addition, she is an avid gamer. I
also really like Jade and Katrina. Jade is more an artist and better
at reading the situation. Katrina takes care of the animals. I think
Martin was a funny character.
A: I really liked the
character of Pete. He was quite an interesting point of contrast. He
was a medical doctor and also a gun tooting militia guy. The conflict
between the two roles really made him hard to keep an understanding
on. I also really liked Timmy, especially in the sequel, because he
represents the rebellious adolescent who is really trying to make a
difference.
Teresa: Did you work with
an outline for your book, or did you just wing it?
Marisha: We had an outline. We sat and
discussed before starting the setting, characters, plot, conflict,
resolution, conclusion and ending. Then we did chapter headings to
map out the plot. Finally, we had a general outline for each chapter
but the details we winged. In addition, often when writing we changed
things and this affected our outline. We reworked some of the
characters that we were going to kill to keep them alive. My dad then
would write a half sentence story starter. I would look at it for one
minute and think then write for three minutes and edit for one
minute.
Teresa: What did you learn
by getting all the way through the process of publishing?
Marisha: My dad handled a lot of that. I don’t
know.
Joe: I guess for me – it was to learn to let go of things that were not necessary to the story.
Teresa: Publishing a book
is a big process, is there anyone that you would like to thank for
their help and to tell us about what they did?
Marisha: I don’t know. I like some of the
revisions that Krista made.
Joe: Yes, Krista Schwartz and Jason Sinner
were both real helpful in getting the book through. They both spent a
lot of time editing and reviewing the book. Some of the stuff cut was
really unnecessary, as well as some of the stuff they asked us to add
was very helpful. As you write, you know the characters so you might
leave something out that you know but the audience does not. It is
good to have some-one point that out.
Teresa: Do you plan to make
the book available as an audiobook?
Marisha: We did make an audio book version but
my dad voiced it and we are not sure they will accept it.
Joe: As Marisha said, we made an audiobook and
it is under review. I think that the issue was I tend to have a great
voice most of the time (I did a radio show for awhile and taught) but
other times my voice can be grating and irritating.
Teresa: Are you going to
write another book?
Marisha: We are writing book 3 now.
Joe: Book 2 is Zombies vs. Robots Part 2: Out
of the Rubble. The second book is faster pace, as we had less need
for character development. It reads a lot more graphic. It is due
out in a few days. The third book is Zombies vs. Robots: Emma’s
Army. In the first book, Emma’s hacking is just briefly introduced
and toward the end of the book, you get a sense of just how powerful
she can be. In the second book, she is sort of unleashed. In the
third book, it sort of all comes together for her and you can really
see her come on her own. Also, Martin’s process of moving from a
typical sci-fi utopian to a cyberpunk hero is really completed by
books three.
Teresa: You just get more and more amazing.
Teresa: What is your
favorite genre to read?
Marisha: I vary. My favorite stories this
year were the Hunger Game trilogy. I really like Mocking Jay the best
because it was the most action and really showed war that Katiness
actions created.
Joe: I like all kinds of horror stories but I
like the cyberpunk style of a faceless corporation taking control of
the world and powerless govs that cannot stop them. In addition, I
like the idea that technology does not instantly produce moral
people. I like the flawed hero types.
Teresa: Do you have a
favorite author?
Marisha: Favorite author is Michael Scotto and
Susan Collins. Michael Scotto writes a lot of the books I read for
school. I like his illustrator, especially his covers.
Teresa: If you had a huge
sum of money tomorrow, what do you think you would do with it?
Marisha: I don’t know. I would save some in
my bank account. Also, I would like to buy my ticket to France- I
want to go in the fall.
Teresa: What do you most
want to be when you get older?
Marisha: I want to be a zoo veterinarian, a
politician, and then the president of the United States.
Teresa: What do you think
is the most pressing need in our world today?
Marisha: A way for the poor to become rich.
Teresa: What’s your most
favorite place in the whole world?
Marisha: Wildwood, NJ, Clearwater and Orlando
Florida, as well as India and Poland.
Joe: Asleep in my bed in Philadelphia but
Wikki Beach in Honolulu, HI is a close second.
Teresa: What’s the most
important thing about you and/or your book that we should know?
Marisha: The book is 100,000 words and it is – I
don’t know – it is a nice book. This year has mostly been a zombie
year and I hope next year we do a book on vampires. I would like to
see a story I did for American Girl get accepted. It is called Linda:
A Swimmer’s Dream.
Joe: The book’s characters all really grow a
lot. Even the characters that you might not like change and grow. I
think that this is important because people do change. Lots of death
in the three books and it is hard on people when they get attached to
a character to lose them, so I think people should put that in their
decision of wither* to read or not.
Teresa: Is there anything
you’d like to tell us or give us to think about that we’ve not
covered?
Marisha: No. Well Zombies really frighten me. I
think that I have had enough with zombies after the three books. They
are creepy. I like historical fiction to read on my own.
Joe: We a lot of fun to write. I hope people
have as much fun reading as we did writing.
Teresa: Thank you so much for joining us so that we could learn more about yourself and your books.
Teresa: Thank you so much for joining us so that we could learn more about yourself and your books.
 |
| Who says school has to be in the classroom? Research opportunities abound. Source: PA Cyber article on Marisha |
I hope that you enjoyed the interview. If you are interested in the book, I suggest checking it out. Don't forget to be watching for the next books in the series.
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/332701
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Zombies-vs-Robots-ebook/dp/B00DUF3OUU/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1377230724&sr=8-7&keywords=robots+vs+zombies
Webpage: http://www.robots-vs-zombies.com/
*This stems from older English usage and has been left, not a misspelling. I personally have a large beef with people saying things like "you can't use this word, it's obsolete, ancient, archaic" or some such. I like archaic language, so if there is a reason for an archaic word to be used instead of a more modern one I defend it. It is nice to see that other people also use archaic words in daily language.
1 comment:
Wow! Great interview! I'm a fan of the books and the writing team - and I'm looking forward to vol. 3. Keep on writing!
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