About The AuthorMichael Northrop is the New York Times bestselling author of Scholastic's new multi-platform series, TombQuest. His first young adult novel, Gentlemen, earned him a Publishers Weekly Flying Start citation, and his second, Trapped, was an Indie Next List selection. His first middle-grade novel, Plunked, was named one of the best children's books of the year by the New York Public Library and was selected for NPR's Backseat Book Club. He is originally from Salisbury, Connecticut, a small town in the foothills of the Berkshire mountains, where he mastered the arts of BB gun shooting, tree climbing, and field goal kicking with only moderate injuries. After graduating from NYU, he worked at Sports Illustrated Kids magazine for 12 years, the last five of those as baseball editor.
About TombQuestTombQuest is a new multi-platform series built around the magic and mystery of ancient Egypt. In Book 1, Alex Sennefer's Egyptologist mom uses the Lost Spells of the Egyptian Book of the Dead to bring him back from the brink of death. But when she does, an ancient evil is also awakened. Mummies begin to rise. New York is overrun with scorpions. And worst of all for Alex, his mom and the Lost Spells both disappear. Now it’s up to him and his best friend, Ren, to battle the evil forces, find his mom, and save the world. Even if that means going head-to-head with an ancient Death Walker who has been plotting his revenge for 3,000 years.
After you finish the book, you can continue the adventure online! You can build and explore ancient tombs, full of monsters and mummies, treasures and traps!
Interview with Michael Northrop
Did you always enjoy writing, even as a child?
I am dyslexic, so I got off to a slow start reading and a late start writing. When I finally began to write for fun, it was mostly poetry. I liked poems because they were much shorter than stories. Plus, I liked to rhyme—maybe I missed out on a career as a rapper?
Where do your ideas for books come from?
Where do your ideas for books come from?
They usually start with a topic I am very interested in, like baseball or ancient Egypt. Then I ask myself "What if" questions about that topic. “What would happen if a kid got hit in the head by a pitch and became afraid of the ball?” Or “What if instead of guiding a spirit into the afterlife, the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead could bring a spirit back?”
Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?
Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?
Nope. When I was young, I could barely even read—I actually had to spend a second year in second grade, in a small special education class. It took me a long time to learn to write well—and a longer time to believe anyone would want to read what I’d written.
What path did you take to become a writer?
What path did you take to become a writer?
I majored in English in college—I was still all about the poetry then. I was even the poetry editor of a student magazine. Somewhere along the line, I came to the jarring realization that “poet” wasn’t really a job anymore. I began to gravitate toward journalism. Articles were almost as short and challenging as poems, but they paid better. I spent 12 years at Sports Illustrated Kids magazine, writing and editing short pieces about sports. That was when I decided I wanted to write my own stories and began writing fiction on the side.
How do you write a novel? It seems so hard to get past the first 10 pages.
How do you write a novel? It seems so hard to get past the first 10 pages.
I take it one step at a time. I begin with an interesting scenario. Then I ask myself two questions, over and over again. “What would (probably) happen next?” and “What could (possibly) happen next?” I try to find a balance between the two, with more “woulds” than “coulds,” so that it will seem realistic, but enough “coulds” to keep it interesting.
What is your favorite book that you have written and why?
What is your favorite book that you have written and why?
My favorite book that I've written is the second TombQuest book: Amulet Keepers. It is set in London, and I went there to do research for the book. So it is based in almost equal parts on my own experiences (describing the sights and sounds of some very cool places) and my imagination (adding mummies and mayhem).
What is your favorite book written by someone else?
What is your favorite book written by someone else?
Watership Down by Richard Adams. It’s about a group of wild rabbits looking for a new home. It has compelling, memorable characters (Fiver! Bigwig!!) and deals with the big questions: life, death, loyalty, power, society... Who knew you could learn so much from talking rabbits?
What is the best advice you have for aspiring young writers?
What is the best advice you have for aspiring young writers?
Even if the story or book that you're working on seems like a mess, you can still get a lot out of finishing it and spending time trying to make it better. Revision is just as big a part of the process as writing. Seeing what works and what doesn’t makes you a better writer, and understanding that the first draft is just the first step takes a lot of pressure off when you sit down to write.
