Three Times A Charm with Joshua Bellin

Today on Three Times A Charm we welcome The YA Guy himself, Joshua Bellin. I love introducing my readers to new authors. Joshua's debut novel is JUST RELEASED.

Thanks for joining us, Joshua. Would you please tell us a little about your awesome self?

I’m a lifelong resident of Pittsburgh, PA who loves (in no particular order) frogs, gorillas, human beings, and monsters. I’m also a husband, father, teacher, environmentalist, political cartoonist, and movie buff. Survival Colony 9 is my debut novel, but there’s plenty more where that came from!

I’m so excited that Survival Colony 9 is finally out! I can’t wait to read it. For the readers who haven’t been obsessing over it like me, can you tell us about it, please?

In a futuristic landscape ravaged by war, a colony’s hopes for survival hinge on one teenage boy in this fast-paced, action-packed story.

Querry Genn is in trouble. He can’t remember anything before the last six months. And Querry needs to remember. Otherwise he’s dead weight to Survival Colony 9, one of the groups formed after a brutal war ravaged the planet. And now the Skaldi have come to scavenge what’s left of humanity. No one knows what the Skaldi are, or why they’re here, just that they impersonate humans, taking their form before shedding the corpse like a skin.

If he can recall his past, Querry might hold the key to defeat the Skaldi. If he can’t, he’s their next victim.

I recommend Survival Colony 9 to readers who like:

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis

SURVIVAL COLONY 9 is available now from Simon & Schuster, Amazon,Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, select Wal-Mart stores, and other online and physical retailers!

Woo hoo! Doesn’t that sound exciting?!

Okay, Joshua, now it is time for the three’s. Give us your top three answers to the following questions so we might get to know you better.

• Top 3 skills to hone for people just starting in your business.

Skill #1: Get outside yourself and write about people, places, and experiences not your own. One of my favorite writing teachers said not to “write what you know” but to “write what you want to know,” and I think that’s much better advice.

Skill #2: Study craft, but learn the difference between form and formula. Superior writing creates its own form, while inferior writing sticks to formula.

Skill #3: Develop a thick skin. You will be disappointed, rejected, negatively reviewed, sworn at on Goodreads, and lots of other nasty things, but if you remember why you wanted to write in the first place, all this stuff will slide off you.

• Top 3 professions you wanted to be when you grew up.

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a stop-motion animator. My favorite movie was King Kong (1933 original), and I idolized the man who did the special effects, Willis O’Brien, along with his protégé, Ray Harryhausen. I also dreamed of being an artist, either a fantasy illustrator like the Brothers Hildebrandt or a comic-book artist like Jack Kirby. But the truth is, I also wanted to be an author from a very early age. I started my first novel at age eight, and though I didn’t finish it, I still have the typed copy in my file drawer!

• Top 3 favorite places.

Every summer growing up, my family would go to Diamond Lake, just outside White Cloud, Michigan, where I’d spend a week playing with my cousins (twenty-two of them), swimming, and catching (and releasing!) frogs and turtles. Because of that experience, I also love the pond in the cemetery near my home, where I walk with my wife and kids to watch the wildlife, collect buckeyes, and enjoy the peace and quiet. And I also love the seaside town of Rockport, Massachusetts, where I’ve spent many summer vacations ever since my kids were little. They’re not so little now, and they’ve convinced me and my wife to try other, more exotic locales, but Rockport will always be my favorite!

And finally, where can our tech savvy readers find more about you and your brand new book?

Website: http://www.joshuadavidbellin.com

Blog: http://theyaguy.blogspot.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/TheYAGuy

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/joshuadavidbellin

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7393959.Joshua_David_Bellin

Thanks for joining us on this week’s Three Times A Charm, Joshua! Best of luck to you and Survival Colony 9.

THANKS!

GUESTS WELCOME!  I am always looking for guests for Three Times A Charm. If you are an author, illustrator or book reviewer, an agent or an editor. If you have something related to children’s publishing that you’d like people to know about, feel free to contact me about a future appearance.