LP: Why did you choose to write a book
for teenage boys, who typically don't do a lot of reading for
pleasure?
I teach those teenage boys who don’t
read for fun. In fact, they will rarely read at gunpoint. When I
take them to the library to look for a book, their main requirement
is that they want something short. They’ll grab The Stranger or Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I know right away that they’ll never read
it. The only way to get them to page two is to grab their interest
on line one. My goal is to write brief, fast-paced stories that will
hold their attention. They probably won’t turn into book worms,
but they will learn more if they have some good experiences with
books.
LP: Though most of your potential
readers will never face situations like Alex’s, it is clear that
issues of identity and self-representation are central to being a
teenager. In what ways do you feel your readers will relate to this
story and see it as relevant to the challenges they confront?
I think most boys would like to walk
out of their own identity and be someone else for a while.
Unfortunately, there aren’t many opportunities to do that. The way
others see a person will affect how they treat that person. In some
aspect, all teens are image conscious. Even the kids who purposely
defy popularity have given themselves an identity to maintain. As a
consequence, they often feel comfortable acting only within that
identity. I talk to a lot of people, and I’ve found very few who,
on some level, don’t feel like a fake at some point. Understanding
who you are involves understanding who you aren’t. In the story,
Alex has had more practice than most people at finding out who he
isn’t, but he must learn that lesson just as the reader must.
LP: Though Alex sees his need to
continually re-invent himself as a burden, what kinds of advantages
or freedoms might also accompany the ability to shed an old identity
and start afresh?
I was the class clown in high school.
That’s not a metaphor; look me up in my senior yearbook, and there
I am, hanging upside down from the auditorium balcony with “Class
Clown” under the picture. As a result, few people took me
seriously. I remember when Mr. Mahler called my name on the first
day of class. “Varrato! Stand up so I can get a look at you. I
want to see who everybody’s been talking about.” Once you have a
reputation of any sort, it’s hard for people to see you any other
way.
When I made the move to college, I took
the opportunity to be the person I wanted to be. I figured there
were 15,000 people on campus who didn’t know me. I was no longer a
prisoner of my reputation. The personality I presented at college was
the only one those people would know. I scaled back the clowning a
little and had serious talks sometimes. Sometimes. I can’t be too
serious for too long. It’s not me. If I hold back my smart
comments too long, I could do internal damage. I think it’s
important to be yourself. It’s just that finding yourself
sometimes takes a little time and experience and a little less
trying to be like everyone else.
LP: How have your experiences as a
high school teacher influenced you as an author?
I spend my time in the classroom
getting to know the students. I don’t lecture, I discuss. I talk
to the kids. Many come by before or after school just to talk. I
learn about their lives. Understanding them helps me both in the
classroom and in writing stories. I listen, I watch how they talk
and interact. I want my characters to be real. So what better way
than to base them on the over 2,000 students I’ve taught? It also
doesn’t hurt to remember that I was a teen at one time. It’s
hard not to feel like one again when you’re surrounded by them
everyday.
LP: What inspired Alex Miller's
story?
When I was teaching middle school, I
taught a group of kids who met after school most days and jumped over
cans and backpacks in the parking lot. These kids weren’t doing
well in school because they didn’t care. But outside of school,
our parking lot was a good place to jump off the sidewalk, and
science books can make great ramps. I asked my friend Dave, the
teacher who ran the student news broadcast, to video these guys and
show them on the morning announcements. After the broadcast, those
kids felt like stars. Their attitude was better, so they did better
in school. So I thought about all the “No Skateboarding” signs
posted everywhere. These kids weren’t delinquents; they just
wanted to play their sport like football, basketball or any other
team sport is allowed to do. In books and movies, those team sports
members always had a chance to be stars and heroes. It was time for
a skateboarding hero. I couldn’t be a super-powered hero story, or
a book about a big skate competition. It needed to be a page-turner
about a skateboarder with his life on the line. And most importantly,
it couldn’t be too long, because these kids would rather be outside
than reading a book.
LP: Have your MySpace page and
website helped you connect with your students and readers? How has
the experience been for you?
I’m revamping the website, so I
expect it to get a lot more attention when the flash version is
online. While I’ve had many visitors at the old site, most people
have contacted me through MySpace.
MySpace has been awesome. Most of my
friends are students and readers. I try to get on everyday and
answer all messages and requests individually. I’ve held contests
and given away free books. I’ve guest blogged on teen sites. It’s
been fun. Last month I was in a Wal-Mart, and someone stopped me to
say, “Hey, I recognize you from MySpace!” That was pretty cool.
LP: Did you read novels outside of the
classroom as a teen? If so, who were your favorite authors? And if
not, what made you a reluctant reader?
I’ve always been a reader. I started
in elementary school reading the Hardy Boys. I know what you’re
thinking: “That’s pretty cliché.” But there were no
action, boy stories in the seventies. So in like sixth grade I moved
on to Alistair MacLean and Robert Ludlum. They had spies, assassins,
and cool gadgets like pen guns. I was hooked. And thinking back, The Bourne Identity has always been my favorite book. Maybe that
identity theme stuck in my brain and came out in Fakie.
LP: Where does your knowledge of
skateboarding come from? Are you, like Alex’s teacher, Mr. Jackson,
suspected of being a secret skate punk, “shredding on the handrails
and the front stairs” when no one’s around?
I still have my skinny skateboard from
the seventies. It was good for riding in a straight line and going
around cones. It’s impossible to Ollie on that thing. There’s
no traction!
Click here to visit Tony's myspace,
email him, and read his blog.
