Interview with Author Greg Howard, author of The Whispers

The Whispers is my pick for best Middle Grade Book of 2019!
I'm never wrong. See my five star Review Here. As a reviewer for both School Library Journal and
VOYA and a Cybils fiction judge, I have an uncanny record for
picking the winners. My interview with Author Greg Howard follows:

Interview Questions for Greg Howard

Some questions are about your book, middle grade books, writing and life.  

Readers, parents, bloggers and librarians will want to know about you, the author.

What is the MOST important lesson you learned from an elder

(grandparent, parent or other)?

There is a scene in The Whispers where Riley’s parents have him and his brother

decorate two empty laundry detergent bottles up as people, writing the name

Can’t on one and If on the other. Then their father digs two small graves in the

backyard where they have a funeral and bury can’t and if. This came directly

from my childhood. My father directed my brother and I to do exactly

the same thing and after we buried those words in the backyard,

we weren’t allowed to use them anymore. It was a powerful lesson that might

have slipped by me as nothing more than a game or a fun exercise at

the time, but that lesson stuck with me for a lifetime. I don’t say I can’t do

something, or I could if this or that. No excuses - just do it, whatever it might be.

In the author note, you write about losing your mother at a young

age and how grief manifested itself to keep you safe. Besides

the alternate story, did you have any other coping mechanisms?

Television was definitely one of my main coping mechanisms and a great escape

from reality. I would get lost in all those stories for hours and I felt like the

characters were part of my life, like my friends. I particularly remember

being obsessed with Samantha Stephens. Yes, that Samantha

Stephens—the good witch married to the mortal and whose mother appeared

out of thin air at the most inconvenient times wearing fabulous flowing lingerie.

Bewitched was one of my favorite TV shows because it opened up a world

in which anything was possible with the crinkle-twitch of your mouth,

snapping your fingers or flailing your hands in the air.

When you were writing this book, did you have any idea how

impactful it would be on young readers’ lives? (dealing with grief,

coming out, knowing their true gender?)

Honestly as I was writing the book, I wasn’t really thinking about that. I simply

had a very personal story that I had to tell. But when the first draft was done,

going through the editing process, I started to feel the weight of that possible

impact. But if I can reach just one queer kid living out in the country

somewhere who feels alone and isolated and show them that

they’re not alone and that they matter, I will feel like I did my job.

Middle grade books are beginning to address topics that were

usually only tackled in YA. Besides being queer (and I hope

I’m using the right word here. If I’m wrong, please correct me.

What other term or terms, can be used?), what topics would

YOU like to see in middle grade books?

It is absolutely fine to use the word queer as it’s a very inclusive word.

I love that we are seeing more difficult topics tackled in middle grade

because kids that age are dealing with these issues every day. I would

love to see more middle grade books tackle the problem of racism

and xenophobia. Kids are taught this thinking from a very young age,

so it’s never too early in childhood development to address, in my

opinion.

Writers go through many stages: drafting, editing, rewrites,

more editing. How long from start to finish book, did it take for

The Whispers? How many edits did you do as a writer?

It took me about five months to write the first draft of The Whispers.

The book had not been sold yet, so I went through it a couple of times

before I sent it to my agent who always has wonderful editorial

insights. I believe we went through two more rounds of developmental

edits before she sent it out on submission. So that’s four rounds of

edits right there. Then when the book sold to Putnam/Penguin

I went through another round of developmental edits with my editor,

and then four rounds of line edits. And yes, each time, you have to

start from the beginning and go through the entire manuscript. And then

when I knew it was my very last chance to catch anything, I went through

it one more time before turning in the final draft. That’s ten times

through the manuscript after the first draft was complete. And yes,

we still missed a couple of things, but I’m not about to spill the

beans. We will correct those on the first reprint.

What was your favorite book as a young child? As a teenager?

My favorite books as child were those in the Encyclopedia Brown

series. My favorite book as a teenager was The Shining. Go figure.

What is the best book (any genre) you’ve read in the last year

and why?

I recently read Beloved by Toni Morrison for the first time.

The language is so beautiful and effortless even though the story

is completely raw and devastating.

What living celebrity, sports figure, actor or person do you

admire most?

Barack Obama—to me he is the embodiment of grace, wisdom,

and perseverance.

If you had millions of dollars, what charity would you help?

If you had millions of hours, what charity would you volunteer

your time for?

I would gladly give a million dollars to the ASPCA to help protect

animals against abuse and cruelty. And if I had millions of hours

to donate, I would spend it in animal shelters.

What would you tell 8-year-old Greg if you could?

You are not alone. And you matter.

Complete the following statements: (you can be funny or serious):

I’m happiest when: my dogs look at me.

My current state of mind is: Contentment

My favorite saying, proverb, quote or wisdom is:

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget

what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

― Maya Angelou

The funniest thing about growing up in the South:

The road signs.

Thank you to Greg Howard. It’s a pleasure to see

The Whispers doing so well and kids embracing Riley’s story.