GtPGKogPYT4p61R1biicqBXsUzo" /> Google+ Interview: Derek the Ghost (Derek Taylor Kent) of Scary School + giveaway | I Smell Sheep

Monday, August 12, 2013

Interview: Derek the Ghost (Derek Taylor Kent) of Scary School + giveaway

Derek Taylor Kent is the 'ghost writer' for 11 year old Derek the Ghost. You see, Derek the Ghost wanted to write a book about the adventures the kids at Scary School have, but since he is a ghost he can't pick up a pen or type on a keyboard. So Derek Taylor Kent offered to write down his words for him. I got to sit down with both of these cool dudes and ask them so questions. Make sure you stick around till the end because we have a copy of The Northern Frights: Scary School Book #3 to give away.
*all artwork below is posted with permission of Scott M. Fischer, illustrator 


Sharon: Welcome Derek and Derek… um, this won’t work. How about DerekG and that other guy? Just kidding!
Derek the Ghost: Derek is fine. I'll know who you're talking about. I have psychic ghost powers.

Derek Taylor Kent: It's true. Watch out.


Sharon: Where would you guys like to do this interview? I would love to tour the cool clubhouse that was built for Derek the Ghost in book #1. If you take me I will give you a tour of our dungeon… *whisper* we have a dragon.
Derek the Ghost: We can do the interview in the haunted house my sister built for me. Just remember you have to give a piece of yourself to the ghosts that live there before you're allowed to enter. 
Sharon: hmmm... why not! how often does a person get to visit a real haunted house?



Sharon: Some of our readers might not know about Scary School. Would both of you to tell them a little bit about Scary School from your perspective? And your favorite parts?
Derek the Ghost: Scary School is the only school in the world where regular kids get to go to school with all sorts of scary kids. Like zombie kids, vampire kids, or werewolf kids. And your teacher is always something scary, like a T-Rex, a Dragon, or a mummy.

Derek Taylor Kent: Just making it to lunch with all your arms and legs is considered a great day.
Derek the Ghost: My favorite part of Scary School is the playground, also known as the "slayground". The monkey bars are over a river of lava, there's alligators at the bottom of the slide, and you better watch out for the Pit of Skarflak. 


Sharon: Derek the Ghost – Do you have a favorite teacher at Scary School?
Derek the Ghost: I don't think I should say who my favorite teacher is, or others might get mad and not let me sit in their classrooms anymore, but my least favorite is definitely Mr. Acidbath - his science experiment gone wrong turned me into a ghost!


Sharon: Derek the Ghost- What are some pros and cons about being a ghost?
Derek the Ghost: Pros: Being able to walk through walls. Saves a lot of time. Also you get a lot of cool stuff like a ghost pad that never runs out of paper and a ghost pen that never runs out of ink.
Cons: Not having mass.

Sharon: Derek the Ghost- In your newest book The Northern Frights (Scary School Book #3) the kids meet Polter-Bears and an Ice Dragon! Were you worried for Charles Nukid and his friends?
Derek the Ghost: Yes, I am always worried about them. But as an objective documentarian, I almost never interfere. You may remember that one time I helped Charles Nukid not get eaten by Dr. Dragonbreath because he seemed to be having a hard enough day already when he almost got eaten by Archie the Giant Squid and Mrs. T the T-Rex. But there was nothing I could do to help them against that Ice Dragon. You'll have to read the book though to find out if Charles and his friends survive the encounter. 


Sharon: Derek the Ghost- I hear you like comic books. We like comics here at I Smell Sheep! What are some of your favorite kinds of comics?
Derek the Ghost: Since I'm a ghost writer, I like to follow the great comic book writers: Frank Miller, Jim Shooter, Neil Gaiman, etc. My favorite characters are Daredevil, Wolverine, Batman, Bone and the old Valiant comic books like Harbinger.

Sharon: Derek the writer- oh, I guess I should ask you some questions too… Would you like to have gone to Scary School as a child?
Derek Taylor KentDefinitely! Talk about a school that's never ever boring! 

Sharon: Derek the writer- How do you come up with all these interesting characters that attend Scary School, like Stephen Kingsley and Charles Nukid.
Derek Taylor KentStephen Kingsley was easy. He's based on a famous writer of scary stories of a similar name. I always wondered where he got his ideas. Turns out he got them at Scary School. 
With Charles Nukid, I wanted to create a character who would be the least likely type to survive Scary School -- a skin-and-bones kid who always follows the rules, but it turns out he's able to survive and thrive better than everybody just for those reasons.


Sharon: Derek the writer- That is one awesome website you got for the Scary School series! What is your favorite feature on the site?
Derek Taylor KentThanks! I tried to make ScarySchool.com the most fun site on the internet for kids. You can tour Scary School, meet the students and teachers, and even unlock secret chapters (the hints to find them are in the books). My favorite part though is probably the video game on the website. If you beat the game, you will win the weirdest trophy you've ever seen.
Sharon: Derek the writer- How many Scary School books does Derek the Ghost have in him? And just how does he tell you the stories?
Derek Taylor KentThus far, I feel like I've just scratched the surface with the characters and the whole story. I plan on having Scary School #4 come out next June, but it will likely be available exclusively through the Scary School website, so make sure to keep checking back for announcements! 

Shron: Derek the writer- When you aren’t writing for Derek the Ghost what do you like to do for fun? What games do you like to play?

Derek Taylor KentI love to play basketball and still play in lots of leagues. I was also a tournement table tennis player for a long time and still love to play. Games I loe to play are Balderdash, Scrabble, and Boggle.


Rapid Fire

don’t worry, the fire doesn’t hurt… much (evil laughing in background) both of you or just one can answer these.

Sharon: Stinky toes or stinky breath?

Derek Taylor KentToes.

Sharon: monster under the bed or in the closet?
Derek Taylor KentUnder the bed.


Sharon: ride in a flying saucer or in the belly of a whale?
Derek Taylor KentFlying saucer for sure.


Sharon: eat a worm or eat a spider?
Derek Taylor KentWorm.


Sharon: basket of puppies or basket of wart hogs?
Derek Taylor KentPuppies! I have a puppy right now... would be awesome to have a basket of them.


Sharon: slowly pull the band Aid or rip it off?
Derek Taylor KentRip it off.


Sharon: cake or pie?
Derek Taylor KentCake.


Sharon: Coke or Pepsi?
Derek Taylor KentNeither. I've never had a soda. They've always tasted disgusting to me.

Thanks to both Derek's for talking with us. Be sure to check out my reviews of all the Scary School books:
Scary School (Book #1)
Scary School: Monsters on the March (Book #2)
Scary School: The Northern Frights (Book #3)


Scary School #3: The Northern Frightsby Derek The Ghost, Scott M. Fischer (Illustrations)In The Northern Frights, the third book in the spooky Scary School series, Charles “New Kid” Nukid and his friends, including Lattie, a girl ninja, must fight an epic battle with an ice dragon to save their school. But first they must survive going to Scream Academy as exchange students. And that may be hard, because the Academy has an abominable snowman for a principal, a Headless Horseman as one of the teachers, and the students are yetis, trolls, and ogres!

Will Charles survive to make an ancient prophecy come to pass and save everyone? The illustrated Scary School trilogy by Derek the Ghost, with its mix of humor, scares, and adventure, is a perfect pick for middle-grade readers of the Wayside School series and the Zach Files books.



About the author:
website-FB-twitter
Derek is an eleven-year-old ghost who haunts the classrooms and hallways of Scary School, writing down all the spine-tingling often hilarious things that go on there. Despite his ghostly state, Derek still enjoys reading comic books and hopes to one day become a master ninja. If that doesn’t work out, he will continue to share the fun of this very special, very secret school, so all kids can experience the scariest school on earth. Derek the Ghost communicates through the first-time ghost whisperer Derek Taylor Kent, who is a writer and performer in Los Angeles, California.



23 comments:

  1. I would love to go to school with shifters - not just werewolves, but shifters of all kinds. To be fair, I asked my children what they'd like to go to school with and they answered wizards and fairies. So I suppose it would be a versatile school indeed and that's the best kind! Thanks for sharing. I enjoyed the post. michelle_willms@yahoo.com

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  2. Werewolves, or rather Were anything :)

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  3. My daughter said that she would like to go to school with dragons and gnomes.

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  4. I would like to go to school with all types of shifters, vamps, goblins, Fae and elves, and just about anything that is magical and good.

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  5. Shifters, mermaids, fairies, and witches :)

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