Author interview: John C. Ford

John C. Ford wrote THE MORGUE AND ME, a YA mystery novel released on June 25, 2009. He is offering a free signed copy of the book at his blog. To enter to win, just leave a comment on his giveaway entry before Tuesday, July 7th!

Christopher just needed a job to kill time the summer after high school graduation. He didn’t expect it to be in the morgue. And he certainly could never have predicted that Tina—loud, insanely hot, ambitious newspaper reporter Tina—would be his partner. But all of that did happen. And Christopher’s life will never be the same.

The Magic 8
Where authors answer 8 important (and magical!) questions. Uh huh.

1. At age eight, what did you want to be when you grew up? And at age eighteen? And while you’re at it, what about at age twenty-eight?
Eight: Olympic swimmer. I probably even would have told you the event: 200 backstroke.
Eighteen: Winona Ryder’s husband.
Twenty-Eight: Supreme Court advocate or . . . yep . . . author.

2. Which Breakfast-Club-style label would have best fit your teenage self?
(Clever Examples: The Bad Ass, The Athlete, The Hottie, The Dork, The Genius, The Psycho, The Social Butterfly, The Band Geek, The Drama Queen/King, The I Wish I Were a Vampire, The Entirely Something Else.)
The Outsider? Although, when I say that, I imagine a guy wearing black jeans with one of those chain-loop thingys hanging from the waist, and that wasn’t me. I was much more the Anthony Michael Hall type, fashion wise.

3. What are some of your superstitions and/or phobias?
I’m bad with heights. Although it’s not the heights themselves that scare me, but rather the sensation that some alien force is going to inhabit my mind and make me throw myself over the railing/wall/whatever. I’ve always wondered: is that how it is for everybody who’s afraid of heights or is that my own particular dysfunction?

4. Without giving away too much from your book, which character or scene are you the most pleased about having created, and why?
I’d pick out two scenes set in the morgue where the main character, Christopher, is working for the summer. Not surprisingly, it’s also the starting point for the mystery.

In the first, the town Sheriff rushes Christopher out after a body has arrived. I like some of the lines in that scene, but mostly I just like the feel of it. You’re just understanding that this 18-year-old kid has stepped into something fishy, and I like how the mystery starts to play out through Christopher’s eyes.

The second is a scene in which Christopher is working late at the morgue and has an unexpected encounter with Julia, his high school crush. It’s sort of like a date, but in a morgue. A date in a morgue! As soon as I thought of that concept, I had to go with it.

5. Was there any certain music that inspired you while you were writing this book, or is there a song that could serve as your protagonist’s theme song?
Honestly, I’m quite jealous of people (and by people, I believe I mean every writer but me) able to connect with their stories through music. It seems terribly artistic, but I have to have pretty much total silence when I write.

A song for my main character . . . okay, if Adam Lambert ever sings Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven set to a pop beat, that could be it. See how bad I am at this?

6. When I was having a rough time finding an agent, sometimes I’d say things like, “Getting this book published would be great and all, but I’d like it even better if someone would use my characters to make a TV show that I can watch!” What about you? Do you have a fantasy list of who you might like to see involved in making a movie or television series about your book?
Oh, I hear you on this one. I have a fantasy of my novel as a tv series—think Veronica Mars meets Moonlighting. It totally rocks . . . in my head. I would cast Ed Norton (time-traveled back to his 18-year-old self) and Emily Blunt (you know, from The Devil Wears Prada?) as his unattainable, man-eating sidekick, Tina, a local reporter. I would be totally riveted.

7. What’s up next for you as a writer?
I’ve got a notion for a thriller-type story that I’m excited about, but I’m scared to say more. Apparently, one of my superstitions requires me to avoid talking about ideas before they’re down on paper.

8. And, now, the most important question of all: Beatles or Elvis? Please support your answer. ;-)
Okay, you’ve really raised the stakes with this one. I’m going to choose Elvis Presley, and here’s why: I once threw a party in which we played cheesy Elvis movies all night in the background (if you’ve never seen Clambake, it’s a must!), and it was one of the best parties I’ve ever had.

Bonus: Do you have any questions you’d like me to ask my Magic 8-Ball on your behalf? (I’m telling you, this thing is scarily accurate! Well, except for when it’s lying.)
Okay Mindi’s 8-Ball, give it to me straight:
If I had met Winona Ryder when I was 18, would see have dug me?

Mindi has got me fantasizing – will there ever be a tv series of The Morgue and Me?

Do you ever get tired of answering people’s silly questions?

So, um, sorry about Winona! But, hey, TV series, yeah?

Thank you so much, John!

And everyone else, check out THE MORGUE AND ME, and click here to enter John’s contest to win an autographed copy!