When one starts blogging it is important
for one to introduce ones self and even more important to stop talking in the
third person. Before we begin I want everyone to do this. Picture the Queen of
England standing in front of you. Now slap her and say, “Stop talking in the
third person!” Good, now that’s over with here a few things about me.
One of the first things my publisher asked
me is if I was going to use a pen name. I thought about it then decided, with a
name like Montgomery Thompson who needs a pen name? Names are a crucial part of
a story. Still, I thought something cooler, especially for the kids’ books,
would help with name recognition. I noticed that there are a lot of kids’ book
authors who use initials; J. K. Rowling, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, R. L.
Stine and such, so I tried it. M. J. … naw, how about M. T.? That works but
then I’ve used my last name up. I have to come up with another last name. How
about M. T. Bucket? Switch the spelling perhaps to ‘Bukkit’. I can picture a
few kids giggling over that one but then why not just go with an entirely
fabricated pen name. There’s Yowanda Reed, or Eileen Tufar. Ah heck, with a name like Montgomery Thompson,
who needs a pen name.
W is the most attractive letter.
Two of my favorite words to stretch out
are: spoon and llama.
My favorite character name is : Barv Tweezman.
Even though Barv is just an incidental character in The Shielding of Mortimer
Townes I may focus on him at readings. I’d like to challenge kids to find him
in the story. I really want to hear their definitions of his job title; what
does Mr. Tweezman do exactly? Of course the most fun is going to be reading
their stories involving Barv and his off-camera escapades.
I have no favorite song but my favorite
chord is C.
I write when I drive. Long drives are when
story ideas come in the form of questions. It could be passing by an abandoned
house and I think, who lived there? Why did they leave? Do they still own the
house? How many people has that house known? Maybe it used to be a farm. An old
farmer and his wife, but not just any farmer. He’s an educated, sophisticated
man who keeps everything tidy. The heart of goodness lives in him. Hmm, sounds
like a superhero. But now he’s very old. What happens when Superman gets old?
An indestructible old guy? Now that’s funny, but not very plausible. I like science
fiction, almost anything can be made plausible. Like, how did the old guy
become indestructible. Aliens of course! Why would they make an old guy
indestructible? Now we have a story.
So there are a few things about Montgomery
Thompson. Why anyone would be interested is beyond me. A writer buries
themselves inside their writing. The archetypes they use are metaphors for the
kind of people they like and would like to be.
