#andrewbuckleyauthor

[markgottliebliteraryagent]

Hollywood, NY & SF Book Fest Honorable Mention Recipient Andrew Buckley

Andrew Buckley is an editor for a small press, a professional copy and content writer, and a cohost for a geek movie podcast. He is the author of The Perils of Growing Up Werewolf series. His forthcoming book is The Fate of Freddy Mitchell, book one in the Dead Kid Chronicles, about when the fates of the underworld fail to capture a young soul at his scheduled time of death, and the very fabric of the universe begins to unravel—while the fates scramble to correct their mistake, he is forced to deal with a chatty crow, dark and sinister creatures hunting him through the night, a murderous gang of soul hunters, and the fact that he no longer appears to be as alive as he used to be. Andrew now lives happily in the Okanagan Valley, BC with one beautiful wife, three kids, one cat, one needy dog, and a multitude of characters that live comfortably inside of his mind.

Many of your books seem to have a humorous bent to them. What do you feel the comedic storytelling medium affords authors?

I’ve always thought comedy was a great way to break down barriers as it comes with an inherent sense of relatability. I don’t know that it’s quite as safe to do so today as it was ten to twenty years ago as people seem to take far more offense to things these days (thanks, internet)! However, comedic storytelling gives you the opportunity to attack a story from a different angle. It skews perspective and allows you to explore something in a different way. Also, who doesn’t love to laugh? Go on, name someone! Can’t, can you?

Are there any particular authors or books that have influenced you as a writer?

My favorite book of all time is The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. It was the first real humorous bit of fiction I read back when I was around eleven or twelve years old. I’ve since read it twenty to thirty times. Adams' humor struck me as something special. It wasn’t that he was just being funny, he was doing it in such a smart and satirical way that it was impossible not to fall in love with it. His asides and tangents were almost as entertaining as the main storyline. He made a robotic sliding door have a personality! The man was a genius! I later also fell in love with Terry Pratchett’s work, and later still with Neil Gaiman (more Neverwhere than American Gods). Douglas Adams in particular has always had a strong influence on my writing and my sense of humor in general.

“I’ve always found a lot of inspiration in fairy tales and myths, and stories that teach some sort of moral lesson.”

Your children’s middle grade fiction series, The Perils of Growing Up Werewolf, begins with the title of Hair in All the Wrong Places…does it contain an important message about going through puberty?

It does! At least I hope it does. I’ve always found a lot of inspiration in fairy tales and myths, and stories that teach some sort of moral lesson. When I started writing about a teenage werewolf, I wanted to run his werewolf transformation story parallel with his journey through puberty. While the main character, Colin, is dealing with his new powers as a hairy creature of the night, he’s also struggling with hormones, girls, and homework. The lesson I wanted Colin and the readers to learn in that story is that even though your body changes as you get older, you’re still the same awesome person.

Werewolves seem to be the perfect engine for exploring what it means to go through bodily changes. Did any other monsters, such as vampires or zombies, previously come to mind?

The subject of teenage zombies was already covered very well by Isaac Marion’s Warm Bodies. I’d considered a vampire at one point, but it felt like they’d been done to death (pun intended). I always thought I had a really great werewolf story inside of me (I loved Michael J. Fox’s "Teenwolf" movie when I was a kid), and while this book started out as an adult werewolf novel, it quickly became apparent that the main character was meant to be a tween. The werewolf changes of more hair, confusion, and hunger, is basically puberty in a nutshell. What I’m saying is, all teenagers are werewolves.

Hair in All the Wrong Places was a Hollywood Book Fest, New York Book Fest, and San Francisco Book Fest Honorable Mention recipient. What was it like to win so many honors for your first foray into middle grade fiction?

It was certainly an honor to receive such honors. Joking aside, it’s always nice to be recognized for work you produce. Writing middle grade fiction was a surprising turn for me and occurred when I had young kids who wanted to read something I’d written. Hair in All the Wrong Places was the answer to “Dad, why can’t I read your books?”

“Being able to speak with teachers, librarians, and parents has been a great way to spread the word about my books...”

You seem to do a lot of speaking engagements at schools and libraries. Do you find these events to be a helpful way of connecting directly with your readership of parents, teachers, librarians and students?

In the last three years I’ve spoken to thousands and thousands of students, from elementary to middle schoolers, to high school students and beyond. It’s an interesting byproduct of writing for a younger audience. Connecting with students who have read or want to read my books has been amazing. I get lots of messages asking questions about the story and about the characters. Being able to speak with teachers, librarians, and parents has been a great way to spread the word about my books and word of mouth has been one of the driving forces behind me getting an increasing number of requests for speaking engagements.

How did you find your current literary agent and go on to get future books published?

Well it was a tricky process. I had to wait for a full moon, there was a sacrifice involved, and a lot of Latin. Once the incantation was over, the hellfire had all fizzled out, and the portal was completely closed, and there stood you, Mark Gottlieb from the Trident Media Group. Okay, fine! I didn’t summon you through some elemental dark magic. I was reading acquisitions for a small publisher and met you when you submitted some queries. What struck me was that we shared a similar sense of humor and so we hit it off. Your dedication and hard work has resulted in five of my books being sold to publishers. You're a supportive agent who has been instrumental in my career as an author and is always looking for new ways to push further, something I truly appreciate.

Earlier in your career, you were working as an editor at Curiosity Quills Press. Has a background in editing helped to inform your novel writing career?

It certainly has, without a doubt. For one thing, it introduced me to my agent. But working as an editor and consequently working with other editors has been one of the best learning experiences of my life. Every single time I work with an editor, without fail, I learn something new. As a consequence, my writing is constantly improving.

“...while it’s not an easy thing to get published, it’s the authors that persevere and keep trying that make it in the end.”

What have you learned from the book publishing experience, now as an author of multiple books? Do you have any wisdom to share with writers hoping to become published authors?

I teach a novel writing course that I developed and the final week in the series is dedicated to talking about the publishing industry. The main takeaway, and the best advice I can share is that while it’s not an easy thing to get published, it’s the authors that persevere and keep trying that make it in the end. If you quit after your first rejection letter, you’re 100% guaranteed to fail. However, if you keep going, take the rejections as they come (I received over a 100 rejections for my first novel) and continue working on your craft, you’ll get there in the end. Oh, and keep writing. That’s important. Nothing worse than a writer that doesn’t write.

Can you tell us a bit more about your forthcoming book The Fate of Freddy Mitchell, book one in The Dead Kid Chronicles series?

I’m not an author who is inspired by dreams... Except this one time. I dreamt about a teenage boy chatting with a talking crow. The crow was trying to explain to the boy that he was dead, and the boy was in denial and arguing back with the crow. I woke up and made notes for a new middle grade series: The DeadKid Chronicles' The Fate of Freddy Mitchell follows the title character through a darkly hilarious adventure of murder, mayhem, and supernatural shenanigans. It’ll be my first illustrated middle-grade chapter book and will be published in 2020 from Month9Books. Follow my social media for excerpts, news, cover reveals, release dates, events, and more!

[month9books]

Do you like spooky books? These are sure to make you shiver. @iamgeorgiamcbride @rebekahlpurdy @andrewbuckleyauthor @kfthorsness @ipgbook #indiebooks #halloweenbooks #speculativefiction #montn9books #yalit #kidlit #middlegradebooks https://www.instagram.com/p/B4MvKOPgknK/?igshid=xfg6luij7vyj

[danafraedrich]

Whew! I’m back at it, y’all. The Printers Row Lit Fest in Chicago this past weekend was AHMAZING!!! Again, a huge thanks to @andrea.hunter3 and @artgirl1313_ for helping me out. I drove home on Monday and then promptly took a 5 hour nap 😂 😴. I’m jumping back into the #bookravensjun19 challenge. #FavoriteChapterHeadings It’s a tie for me. Between @andrewbuckleyauthor ‘s Death, the Devil, and the Goldfish and my own book baby (okay, I’m biased), Raven’s Cry. #QOTD - big cities or quiet places in the the country? Discuss. . . . #booknerd #books #booksarelife #booksaremagic #bookstagram #bookstagramcommunity #bookstagrammer #bookworm #read #reader #reading #lovetoread #bookdragon #bookwyrm #booknerd #booknerdigans #danafraedrich #andrewbuckley #deaththedevilandthegoldfish #RavensCry

[month9books]

Excessive shedding. A creepy floating man. 🐾 A strange new teacher. It must be Monday. 🐾 Being a werewolf is no picnic. Colin's constantly hungry, spends a ton of time shaving, and fights to keep his emotions in check to avoid turning into a giant, drooling, hairy, smelly, howling wolf. But Colin's not the only creature hanging around the town of Elkwood. Vampires, zombies, goblins, ogres, and other questionable visitors and their various shenanigans have got everyone on edge. Colin just wants to live a normal life, date, and get his homework done on time. But the town of Elkwood needs him. So when a secret government organization asks for his help, will he be able to control the animal inside, or will he give in to the perils of growing up werewolf? 🐾 @andrewbuckleyauthor #Action #Adventure #Fantasy #fantasy #spookybooks #zombies #friendship #nature #wildlife #middlegradebooks #month9books #rogermantis #teenwolf #vampires #backtoschool #middlegrademonday #werewolf #booksforkids #booksforboys #yabooks #scholasticbookfair #writing #authorlife #librariansofinstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/B1bMa2dAudC/?igshid=ctehj2aaesyk

[month9books]

Excessive shedding. A creepy floating man. 🐾 A strange new teacher. It must be Monday. 🐾 Being a werewolf is no picnic. Colin's constantly hungry, spends a ton of time shaving, and fights to keep his emotions in check to avoid turning into a giant, drooling, hairy, smelly, howling wolf. But Colin's not the only creature hanging around the town of Elkwood. Vampires, zombies, goblins, ogres, and other questionable visitors and their various shenanigans have got everyone on edge. Colin just wants to live a normal life, date, and get his homework done on time. But the town of Elkwood needs him. So when a secret government organization asks for his help, will he be able to control the animal inside, or will he give in to the perils of growing up werewolf? 🐾 @andrewbuckleyauthor #Action #Adventure #Fantasy #fantasy #spookybooks #zombies #friendship #nature #wildlife #middlegradebooks #month9books #rogermantis #teenwolf #vampires #middlegrademonday #werewolf #booksforkids #booksforboys #yabooks #scholasticbookfair #writing #authorlife https://www.instagram.com/month9books/p/ByxVRYIAhrq/?igshid=1do9r8qdeg3ke

[month9books]

Just in time for summer. The HAIR IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES series. @andrewbuckleyauthor will make you belly laugh with his funny books about the troubles of a boy turned #werewolf. 🐾 #Action #Adventure #Fantasy #fantasy #spookybooks #zombies #friendship #nature #wildlife #middlegradebooks #month9books #rogermantis #teenwolf #vampires #middlegrademonday #werewolf #booksforkids #booksforboys #yabooks #scholasticbookfair #writing #authorlife https://www.instagram.com/month9books/p/Byr4Fn4gjIb/?igshid=19dzbvcvx8rjy

[month9books]

Excessive shedding. A creepy floating man. A strange new teacher. It must be Monday. In @andrewbuckleyauthor series about a boy turned werewolf, being a werewolf is no picnic. Colin's constantly hungry, spends a ton of time shaving, and fights to keep his emotions in check to avoid turning into a giant, drooling, hairy, smelly, howling wolf. But Colin's not the only creature hanging around the town of Elkwood. Vampires, zombies, goblins, ogres, and other questionable visitors and their various shenanigans have got everyone on edge. Colin just wants to live a normal life, date, and get his homework done on time. But the town of Elkwood needs him. So when a secret government organization asks for his help, will he be able to control the animal inside, or will he give in to the perils of growing up werewolf? 🐾 #Action #Adventure #Fantasy #fantasy #spookybooks #zombies #friendship #nature #wildlife #middlegradebooks #month9books #rogermantis #teenwolf #vampires #middlegrademonday #werewolf #booksforkids #booksforboys #yabooks #scholasticbookfair https://www.instagram.com/month9books/p/Bykocv0AKdx/?igshid=1w7vcwxhhriwt

[month9books]

How cool is this? @andrewbuckleyauthor, who wrote the #hairinallthewrongplaces trilogy, recently visited a #MiddleSchool to give two author presentations and a #storytelling workshop. If you’ve a #middlegrade reader definitely check out this series. . #writingclass #writingcommunity #writingprompts #schoolvisit #education #presentation #creative #publicspeaking #workshops #authorsofig #workshop #writing #authorvisit #storytelling #students #middlegradebooks #middlegrademarch #middlegrademonday #wherewolf https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvbge_yHqHB/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1h92nidqmbzae

[month9books]

HAIR IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES 3: The ‘Things That Go Bump in the Night’ Squad A menacing shadow looms over Elkwood, as a dark and sinister evil creeps into town. Only Colin Strauss can feel it happening. He is a werewolf, after all. A routine Night Watch mission ends with Colin rescuing a mysterious girl from monster hunters, causing shock waves threatening to rock the town of Elkwood to its very foundations. Just when Colin thinks things can’t get any worse, he starts having girl problems. If anyone is up to the task, it’s Colin. In the past year, he’s faced an evil biology teacher, defeated a power-hungry wizard, and united a group of unlikely creatures and freaks to defend their home. Can Colin defeat the growing evil, evade ancient monster hunters, and not mess things up with his sort-of girlfriend? Having hair in all the wrong places is fast becoming the least of Colin’s problems. . @andrewbuckleyauthor . #HIATWP3 #hairinallthewrongplaces #werewolf #werewolves #teenwolf #book #books #reader #readers #reading #bookshelf #fiction #bookcovers #mglit #yalit #adventure #mg #horror #kidlit #elkwood #series #sequel #readingclub #2018yearinreview https://www.instagram.com/p/BsVhJrNnWg5/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1wmhcsj8rjxw1

[month9books]

#Repost from @andrewbuckleyauthor. After all, everyone has a little bit of werewolf in them . . . HAIR IN ALL THE WRONG PLACE 3 (link in bio) . . #HIATWP3 #writing #writersofig #instawrite #author #book #books #story #writersofinstagram #reading #writer #werewolf #novel #authors #bookstagram #writerslife #fantasy #novelist #instabook #sequel #series #authorsofinstagram #reader #mglit #yalit #readingtime #readingclub https://www.instagram.com/p/BqKdy1snWgW/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=194h5qsamv4xw

[month9books]

And then there were three. Congratulations to @andrewbuckleyauthor his 3rd book about a wolf-boy is out today! Hair in All the Wrong Places 3: Things That Go Bump in the Night (The Perils of Growing Up Werewolf) it’s sure to make you howl at the moon!!! 🐺🐺🐺 . . . #HIATWP3 #hairinallthewrongplaces #werewolf #werewolves #teenwolf #book #books #reader #readers #reading #bookshelf #fiction #bookcovers #mglit #yalit #adventure #mg #horror #kidlit #elkwood #series #sequel #readingclub https://www.instagram.com/p/BpjsLKnHQ6q/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ik5g22evyhw1

[month9books]

Just a little over a week until you can get your paws on the third installment of @andrewbuckleyauthor #hairinallthewrongplaces #trilogy Available 10/30 #HAIRINALLTHEWROBGPLACES3! . . . HAIR IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES 3: The ‘Things That Go Bump in the Night’ Squad A menacing shadow looms over Elkwood, as a dark and sinister evil creeps into town. Only Colin Strauss can feel it happening. He is a werewolf, after all. A routine Night Watch mission ends with Colin rescuing a mysterious girl from monster hunters, causing shock waves threatening to rock the town of Elkwood to its very foundations. Just when Colin thinks things can’t get any worse, he starts having girl problems. If anyone is up to the task, it’s Colin. In the past year, he’s faced an evil biology teacher, defeated a power-hungry wizard, and united a group of unlikely creatures and freaks to defend their home. Can Colin defeat the growing evil, evade ancient monster hunters, and not mess things up with his sort-of girlfriend? Having hair in all the wrong places is fast becoming the least of Colin’s problems . . . 🐕 Great reading for ages 10+. … #middlegrade #werewolf #middkegrademonday #werewolves #howl #coverreveal #booksforboys #boysread #boysreading #bookrecommendation #classroomlibrary #scholasticbookfair #wolves #reluctantreaders #boyreader #boymom #mgbooks #mustread #bookstagram #booksofinstagram #book #shelfie #bookshelf #mglit #bookish #fantasy #paranormal #month9books https://www.instagram.com/p/BpPGCBsnMh0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1fy0820ubmev0

[month9books]

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Willy the werewolf is super excited! Know why? Because HAIR IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES 3: THE 'THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT' SQUAD releases in 26 days! Grab your copies of books 1&2 before the next full moon! 🐺🦇🌚 #Repost from @andrewbuckleyauthor 🐺🦇🌚 #HIATWP3 #writing #writersofig #instawrite #creativewriting #author #book #books #story #write #writersofinstagram #reading #writer #werewolf #novel #amwriting #authors #bookstagram #writerslife #fantasy #novelist #instabook #amediting #sequel #series #authorsofinstagram #reader #mglit #yalit #month9books #bookstagram #booknerd #middlegradebooks #boybooks https://www.instagram.com/p/BojPTeKFvuQ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=147h6wli0vwdk

[danafraedrich]

Booksta-friends! I had such a fun time chatting with Kelsey of @readwriterepeat_podcast . If you’re not subscribed to this awesome podcast, what are you doing with your life?! Our super fun chat releases March 18th, but in the meantime, why not check out their feed and the link in their bio. Clicking on Guests on their page gives you access to fun things like teasers and short stories. Other fellow Bookstagrammers and overall awesome human beings featured there include @abiwriting , @andrewbuckleyauthor , and @thedawnhusted . . Repost @readwriterepeat_podcast. ・・・ @DanaFraedrich is our March guest on Read.Write.Repeat! To read more about her, click the link in our bio, and then click the "guests" tab on our website, www.readwriterepeatpod.com.⠀ Dana is a kickass author of Steampunk Fantasy and all sorts of wonderful imaginings. You don’t want to miss what she has to say during the episode, which will air March 18th. In the meantime, read a teaser of her novel, check out some of her contributions to Kelsey’s website, and some of the short stories that she’s written in response to Read.Write.Repeat prompts. You can find a full list at the end of her bio. Also, don’t miss her response to our Proustish Questionnaire, which will post on the 16th. . . . #amreadingfantasy #fantasy #steampunk #author #authorsofig #authorsofinstagram #writer #writersofinstagram #writersofig #preview #prerelease #goodread #book #books #bookish #novel #fiction #writing #amreading #bookrelease #indieauthor #independentauthor #bibliophile #bookporn #read #readers #reading #booklove

[danafraedrich]

"With the world in chaos over no one dying, the logical thing for any British person to do was to sit down and have a nice cup of tea, offer tea to others who were not drinking tea, chat warmly about tea, and maybe have a scone, too." .⠀ A new post is up on my blog: my review of Death, the Devil, and the Goldfish by the hilarious @andrewbuckleyauthor . Original Post: link in profile. Also mentions the awesome @readwriterepeat_podcast and exciting news regarding a giveaway 😉. .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ #booknerd #books #booksarelife #booksaremagic #bookstagram #bookstagramcommunity #bookstagrammer #bookworm #read #reader #reading #lovetoread #bookreview #fivestars #deaththedevilandthegoldfish #andrewbuckley #fantasy #paranormal #funny #sciencefiction #authorsofinstagram #writersofinstagram #writerscommunity #writerssupportingwriters #authorssupportingauthors #authorscommunity

[danafraedrich]

“I would always rather be happy than dignified.” ~Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte. Same, girl. Same 😄 🙌. 🏷 #grimdragon - your last five star read. Ohmygoodness, you guys! I read this book for the first time last month. This is a where-have-you-been-all-my-life-book. I LOVED it. I adore strong women of all types, and Jane is a quietly strong woman. She's cooly in charge of herself. I love her so much! Gah! @juliablakeauthor mentioned to me before I started it how much she loved it, and since I've read it, I've learned @faith_therivens is a huge fan too. Consider me well and truly part of this club now! Okay, I think I'm done. *tiny squee*. . 🏷 #readerfeels from @mchrobakauthor . 😂 - Book that made you LOL: Death, the Devil, and the Goldfish by @andrewbuckleyauthor . #currentlyreading I'm almost done and I'm dying! 😡 - Book you wanted to throw at the wall: Getting Rid of Mister Kitchen. What's the point??? 😶 - Book you didn’t like finishing: The Night Circus. I was so disappointed. 😭 - Book that made you cry: The Black Cauldron. Called the hubs (the fiance then) sobbing. 🙄 - Book that made you roll your eyes: Wuthering Heights. 😍 - Book that made you sigh in love: A Shining in the Shadows by @theconstantvoice . I can't say why, but squee! 😆. .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ #booknerd #books #booksarelife #booksaremagic #bookstagram #bookstagramcommunity #bookstagrammer #bookworm #read #reader #reading #lovetoread #janeeyre #barnesandnobleleatherboundclassics