Building Character with Tobias Rogan from Fresh Meat

Welcome to my blog feature, Building Character in which you get to meet a character from a book. Talking to a character outside of their book is fun! Huge. Amounts. Of fun. 

This week Strands of Thought is host to Tobias Rogan from Fresh Meat. Welcome to Strands of Thought, Tobias. Tell us a little about yourself and what your life is like.

Hi. I’m Tobias Rogan, fifteen years old. I lived in Hampton, New Hampshire with my parents and my two little sisters until I got a crush on this guy, Larry Denning. He was twenty-two and I was dumb enough to think he liked me. Yeah, I like guys even though I am one. So what? Anyway, I was an idiot. Larry assaulted me and changed me into a werewolf, and now I’m never going to see my family again.

Oh! Wow, that makes the normal worries of the teen years pale in comparison. A werewolf? Really?

Yep, I just got turned into a werewolf by this guy I thought liked me. While he was attacking me. Oh, and the werewolf Alpha who took me in told me I can’t talk about it because he’s afraid someone will think a boy who got assaulted by a guy is weak or gay or both. Yeah, no big deal.

What is the strongest personality trait you bring with you into this tough situation?

I’m good with my kid sisters. One is autistic; the other’s only eight. I have to take care of them sometimes when my parents are fighting. I guess I’m a good leader, too; at least my friends usually ask me what to do.

Is there anything about you that people are always giving you a hard time about? How do you feel about it?

My dad gives me a hard time about everything. Not helping my mother enough. Not being into sports and stuff. I’m fifteen; I shouldn’t have to run the house and babysit all the time. I have stuff to do with my friends. And I don’t like sports. That doesn’t mean I’m not a “man.”

What are your three favorite leisure activities?

Hanging out with my friends at the beach. Times three.

“Times three” – I love that! If you could change one thing in this world, what would you change?

I’d make my father stop being a dink to my mother and us. Just because he’s the one earning the money doesn’t mean he’s the only one in our house who’s worth something.

Thanks for visiting with us, Tobias. Readers, here is more about Tobias’ story, Fresh Meat:

Tired of constant fighting at home, fifteen-year-old Tobias Rogan dreams of getting out. Then he meets twenty-two-year-old Larry Denning and believes he's found his chance. Although he hasn't decided completely whether he's straight, gay, or bi, Tobias can't deny his attraction to Larry, and Larry's interest in him is clear.

Then in one afternoon, Tobias's life is turned upside-down. Larry assaults him, turning him into a werewolf in the process. Tobias ends up at the home of the local pack's Alpha. As he attempts to adjust to his new life, Tobias learns that Larry is victimizing other boys. When Larry changes another boy and dumps him at the Alpha's home as a warning to Tobias, Tobias knows he must stop Larry from harming anyone else. But how?

Publisher link: http://www.featherweightpublishing.com/ShowBook.php?YA=JR_FRESHMEAT/
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Fresh-Meat-ebook/dp/B00BGJHONA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361017158&sr=8-1&keywords=Fresh+Meat+Jo+Ramsey/
Omnilit: https://www.omnilit.com/product-freshmeat-1061643-139.html

And here is some information about Tobias’ author:

Jo Ramsey is a former special education teacher turned author. She enjoys writing books about characters who don’t believe they’re anything special until they suddenly become heroes. She has been writing since age five, and her first young adult novel was published in 2010. Jo lives in Massachusetts with her two daughters, her husband, a pet mouse, and two cats, one of whom likes to play fetch.

Jo Ramsey’s website: http://www.joramsey.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JoRamseyYA
Tumblr: http://joramseyya.tumblr.com
Twitter: @JoRamseyYA
***

If you have a character from a children’s, tween or young adult book that you’d like to see interviewed on Building Character, please contact kaistrand at yahoo dot com.

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