Visit with Pam Withers

www.takeittotheextreme.com

Today we're visiting with the extremely talented and prolific Pam Withers, authors of numerous titles for Young Adult readers, including the popular TAKE IT TO THE XTREME series! The latest book in that series, MOUNTAINBOARD MANIACS, is available now!



Adventurous best friends Jake and Peter discover an exhilarating new sport.

Fifteen-year-old best friends Jake and Peter love trying out new extreme sports and competing with each other. Whether they're on surfboards, snowboards or dirt bikes, they always stumble upon adrenaline-pumping adventure. Now Jake and Peter discover mountainboarding and decide it's one of the best free-ride sports around. They set off to bomb down slopes on what looks like a snowboard with spring-loaded wheels.

When a junior-guide training trip promises action on three of the Pacific Northwest's largest mountains, Jake and Peter shrug off the fact that all are sleeping volcanoes that could erupt at any time. Things heat up when at least one of the mountains begins rumbling, and matters get even more complicated by Peter's secret agenda, Jake's inner turmoil, and the arrival of two girls and a nasty senior guide.

Readers will remain at the edge of their seats as they find out whether Jake and Peter can get the group down the mountain alive in MOUNTAINBOARD MANIACS, the explosive finish to Pam Withers' TAKE IT TO THE XTREME series.

I had the chance to ask Pam a few questions about her life and the TAKE IT TO THE XTREME series, which she gladly answered so that I could share the info with you!

1) If you could bring any character from one of your books to life, who would it be and why?

Jake, the main character of my Extreme series.

2) Your own six-word memoir.

Started writing age seven, still love it!

3) What was your favorite book growing up as a teen?

THE WIZARD OF OZ

4) When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?

An author!

5) Your favorite subject in high school – and your least favorite.

Favorite was English (I once wrote an essay on “How to get the car off your parents to cruise around,” not figuring on the teacher mentioning it to my dad!). Least favorite, math.

6) The one book everyone in the world should read.

BANNER IN THE SKY by James Ramsey Ullman.

7) The 2011 release you’re most looking forward to reading.

My standalone teen novel, FIRST DESCENT, about a boy (age 17) who travels to South America for a whitewater kayak expedition and gets kidnapped. Tundra Books.

8) If your mom wrote the author profile for the jacket of your next book, what would she write?

Pleased to see that my daughter’s early-life tendency to have imaginary friends finally paid off in real life. Whew!

9) Your family has the chance to describe you for an interview. What ten words would they say describe you best?

Balances fun and hard work equally! Is a total space cadet when in the midst of a novel, not living in the real world!

10) You have the chance to go back and change a scene from one of your previous releases. What book would you choose, what scene would you change, and how would you alter it?

In my first book, RAGING RIVER, I had way too many adults in the book. I’d knock a bunch more of them off and keep the action with the kids!

11) You’ve invented a new national holiday. What is it called, and what does it celebrate? (Plus, would we get the day off of school and work??)

Imagination Day. Everyone gets off work and school to do something creative.

12) What is your astrological sign? How closely does it match your personality?

I’m a Leo, but I don’t follow that stuff. I stopped reading them when one warned me against flying on a day I had to return home from England. The flight went just fine; I got home safely!

13) You’re going off your diet for one day and only eating food from restaurants. What do you eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?

Sushi, sushi, sushi.

14) What is your ultimate vacation destination?

Ecuador. So full of natural beauty and friendly people.

15) The world has suffered from a one-day only loss of power. You have no cell phone, computer, lights, or anything else that requires a computer, cell battery, or electricity. What do you spend the day doing?

Writing by candlelight with a notebook and pencil. I’ve done it before, since my cabin on an island (where I often write my novels) frequently runs out of power. Sometimes I have a sleeping bag tucked up to my chin, too, since it can get pretty chilly with no power.

16) If you weren’t an author, what job would you be doing?

A shrink (psychologist). Both shrinks and authors have to get inside people’s heads – all types of people’s heads – all day, every day. Shrinks make more money but authors have more fun.

17) You’re invited to a White House function, and you have the chance to give a 10-minute speech to the President and everyone else attending. What do you speak about?

The importance of supporting school libraries, school librarians and reading programs for children of all ages and incomes.

18) Your publisher has instructed you to write a new series based on an endangered species. What animal do you choose?

Anything that is ferocious and scary, as that makes for the most exciting reading.

19) A movie is being made of ONE of your books. Which book is it, and who will star as the main characters?

SKATER STUNTBOYS, and I’d let my readers vote for who would star, as they’re way more current on who’s hot and who’s not.

20) The paranormal genre is big in teen/YA literature right now. Most bestsellers feature vampires, werewolves, faeries, angels, or the like as a main character. In your opinion, why are teens currently fascinated with all things paranormal?

What teen, in what century, has NOT wanted to escape the dullness, pressure and confusion of teen life?

21) Someone tells you that you’ll never publish another book that you write. Do you still keep writing?

Of course. Writers write because they’re born to write, the same way an athlete is born to move.

22) A group of teens ask you the best way to become a published writer. How do you answer the question?

Too many people become obsessed with getting published rather than on improving their writing slowly and steadily. I’d recommend reading books like THE WEEKEND NOVELIST, THE MARSHALL PLAN FOR NOVEL WRITING and books by Sol Stein, and really working at improving one’s writing. Publishing will happen eventually, naturally, if you do that.

**Thanks so much to Pam for visiting with us today! Be sure to visit her website listed above, or you can email her directly at info@takeittotheextreme.com.