Super Problems received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author Jason R. Lady.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
The name of my book is Super Problems and it was published December 2020.
What’s the book’s first line?
Every year, the small town of Circleburg celebrates its Mismatched-Sock-Superhero Festival.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
A sixth grader gets a magic pen that makes everything he draws become real. Before he knows the pen is magical, he draws himself and his friends as superheroes. Now finding themselves as real-life superheroes, the middle schoolers find out being superheroes isn’t as easy as the movies make it look! They have to learn to work as a team, protect an obnoxious talking alpaca, and battle the evil Stinky Sock and his nefarious sock army! Can they solve their super problems before it’s too late?
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
Super Problems is very much based on myself and my friends as middle schoolers. My dad was in the Army and our family moved around a lot. I liked to draw cartoons so at every new school I came to, I would draw myself and the kids in my classes as superheroes and put us in our own comic book adventures. When trying to think of an idea for a book, I thought about those comic books I used to draw and wondered what would have happened if I’d drawn all us kids as superheroes and then we actually got turned into superheroes?
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
Chiefly, someone should read Super Problems if they want to have fun. Lots of wacky stuff happens in this book. Socks come to life. Alpacas sing opera. Dry cleaning trucks are hijacked. An art teacher uses kung fu. Pictures and ideas come to life with the magic pen, challenging conceptions of art and imagination. And if you like to laugh, Super Problems is a book for you!
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
Scott is a new kid in town, missing his old friends and having some trouble trusting and accepting his new friends. He’s also suffering from a tough case of writer’s block, which is bad because Scott is a talented artist and storyteller who draws his friends as superheroes and stars them in their own comic book adventures. Since he moved to his new town, he’s been unable to draw. His new friends try to help him break through the block. Scott was based partly on me when I was in middle school. I drew a lot and had the “new kid” experience quite a few times. So, I’d say he reminds me of me!
When did you first decide to become an author?
I switched from drawing my own comic books to writing my own novels in high school. I was getting impatient with how long it took to tell a story when I had to draw everything that happened! So, I moved to writing my own novels by hand in thick spiral-bound notebooks. The first one was a Robin Hood parody that starred my 11th grade cross-country team. These books I wrote were big hits with the other kids and the notebooks got passed around on the bus and at the lunch table. I think around that time I started to have a vague idea that I wanted to be an author.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
No, my first book is Monster Problems, another magic pen adventure. In Monster Problems, a different sixth grader gets the magic pen and before he knows it’s magical, he draws a monster to get his bratty little brother. The monster becomes real, and worse, only he and his brother can see it. The feuding brothers have to learn to put aside their differences and work together to solve their monster problem!
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
When I’m not writing, I work in Human Resources for a non-profit organization, primarily focusing on recruiting and new employee onboarding and orientation.
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
I’m a very seasonal writer. I tend to work intensely on a project for a few months out of the year and take the rest of the year off from writing. It helps me recharge my batteries and develop ideas in the “off-season”.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
The hardest part of being an indie is promoting and marketing my books. It’s a very crowded field and it’s hard to stand out and get attention. The best part is the high degree of latitude I have and relative independence.
What’s a great piece of advice that you can share with fellow indie authors?
Because there’s so much competition and the market is so crowded, my advice is to seize any opportunity you see to promote yourself and your work. I’ve made some headway by looking for book bloggers and book reviewers. I even found a couple of reviewers in the UK! The key is to be persistent and know that for every 30 inquiries you send out, you’re likely only going to get 5 responses. We have to cast a wide net.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
I’m motivated by the prospect of entertaining readers, igniting their imaginations, and making them laugh! It makes my day when somebody tells me my work made them think, or got them excited to find out what happens next, or made them laugh out loud. That’s when I know I’ve done my job.