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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Susan Kaye Quinn, Author of Open Minds, Presents:

Image
Finding Time to Write the Sequel by Susan Kaye Quinn, author of Open Minds (Book One of the Mindjack Trilogy) Even before I decided to self-publish my new paranormal/SF novel Open Minds (Book One of the Mindjack Trilogy) , I knew it would be a trilogy. But once I had made the decision to publish, the need to get busy on the sequel(s) kicked into high gear. Except that I was also publishing a book. Most writers find it difficult to balance writing with all the other demands in life. Even people who are lucky enough to write full time (which I am, since I write while my kids are at school), there’s still a tug between writing time and all the other things that need to be done. Once you’re published, this all changes, and not for the better. Now, not only do you need to write and get the kids to school and get the laundry done, but you also need to market your book, which can mean everything from actually getting it published (edits, covers, websites, blogs)...
Read more

Robot Writing - What It Is & How to Avoid It

Image
Many beginner writers fall into the habit of what I like to refer to as “robot writing.” It’s when you basically write your scenes like a grocery list. Ex: Marcy stood and walked across the room. Then she picked up the candle stick to inspect it. She blinked when she noticed the spot of dried blood. Marcy dropped the candlestick and ran from the room. I call it robot writing because when I'm reading it I tend to fall into a robotic pattern and start to sound like the robot from the old Lost In Space series. "Danger. Danger. Will Robinson." You may as well put numbers in front of each sentence: First Marcy stood and walked across the room. Second she picked up the candlestick to inspect it. Third she blinked when she noticed the spot of dried blood. Fourth she dropped the candlestick and ran from the room. Don’t get me wrong, robot writing is absolutely acceptable in your first draft, no matter your writing experience. Your first p...
Read more

Don't Be Closed Minded. Read a Banned Book. #Giveaway

Image
On this list , compiled by the ALA, of the top 100 challenged books of the decades 1990-1999 and 2000-2009, I've read: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Adventure of Huckleberry Finn The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Blubber Crank The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time The Dead Zone The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things Fat Kid Rules the World The Giver Harry Potter (series) The Hunger Games (series) The Kite Runner The Lovely Bones Olive's Ocean Speak Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes That Was Then, This Is Now Thirteen Reasons Why Twilight (series) A Wrinkle In Time I would recommend any of them, but especially the titles I've linked. The thing with me and banned books is that I don't get it. The banning thing. Why would you ever feel the right to keep a book out of the hands of other readers? Why would you feel you have the authority to say what some can and cannot read? Do you have the right to voice your o...
Read more