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1. What does your writing process look like?
I try to write in the mornings before I get involved with life. I also take lots of walks and talk my way through scenes. I submit them to my wife and my writers' group to give me a sanity check.
2. What is one of your writing quirks?
I really get into the characters, especially the bad guys since they are usually demonized in literature. Every person is a hero in their own story—bad guys always have reasons for doing what they do, even if it is really awful.
3. Let's discuss your book The Irish Skateboard Club. It's about an American student in Ireland. Why Ireland?
I lived in the United Kingdom for almost three years and visited Ireland several times. I even flew over it once while in the USAF on my way from the US to England...which is where I got the description of Michael's flight across Ireland.
I was an instructor pilot attached to the Royal Air Force in England—my first student was from Ireland. Learned about the culture and how to decipher the accent!
4. It also includes Russians and Italians. How much research did you do for the book?
I did quite a bit of research while writing my books. I love to do research, sometimes getting immersed in it so much that it slows my writing.
My wife is a Russian speaker with an MA in Soviet Studies. When not in flying positions, I was an international political-military officer working with NATO countries (including Italy) on Russian issues. Both items really helped when I wrote Chita Quest which has Michael's father searching for his own father who was shot down at the end of the Vietnam War. The book ends in Chita, a city in Russian Siberia. Some of that carried over into The Irish Skateboard Club.
In my previous Callahan books, the main adults spoke some combination of Italian, Spanish, and Russian so it was natural that Michael would hear those languages in the households while growing up.
5. The reviewer applauds your characters. How did you make them, especially the young adults, so lifelike?
I worked with teenagers for years as a ski instructor and as Director of all snowboard freestyle ski competitions for the United States of America Snowboard Association (USASA). I am the father of three athletic and competitive boys who gave me quite a bit of inspiration. I love young people for their enthusiasm, energy, and innocence. I had a lot of models to work with.
6. Were there any scenes that you cut out that you wished you could have included?
No
7. Is there a central message that you wanted to convey?
Absolutely, and several messages. One is the danger of human trafficking, a difficult subject but one that young people need to be educated about since they are the primary target of human traffickers. Especially the females. I want to encourage intergenerational conversations about the subject as parents, grandparents, teachers, pastors, adult leaders, engage with young people about the subject. There are suggested discussion questions at the end of the book to help those conversations.
Coming of age is difficult for most people. First loves are wonderful and often heart-breaking (Romeo and Juliet, anyone?). Michael is Hispanic and has problems with bullies because of his size and his complexion. He learns how to deal with them.
The ISC is more about skateboarders/snowboarders than actual skating. Skateboarders invented snowboarding so the mentality is the same between the two groups. Lots of overlap. Both groups have been shunned by adults for their activities. Both sports are now in the Olympics which helps make them more socially acceptable. I wanted to show skaters—and by extension, shredders—as regular high-energy kids, not delinquents.
8. What's next for you? Any future books in the works?
The sequel will have Michael and Cara reunited in Panama City, Panamá to attend a summer program at the Florida State University campus there. Titled The Panama Skateboard Club, it will showcase modern-day pirates looting old Spanish shipwrecks in Central America. Of course, Michael, Ciara, and their skateboarding friends get caught up in the fight against the murderous pirates.
I like to end with fun questions.
9. What's the best writing advice you've received?
Keep writing. Join a writers' group. Go to conferences. But write.
10. If you could jump into a pool of anything, what would it be full of?
Sea water. I am a qualified SCUBA diver and love the sport.
11. What fictional character do you most want to be friends with?
Jack Ryan. Interesting guy. Smart, aggressive, accomplished, and a good person.
12. What's your favorite color?
Blue. Always blue. I have blue eyes and generally wear blue-hued clothes to brighten up my day.
