Outside Nowhere | Author Interview | Book Tour

I’m so excited to be a part of the book tour for Outside Nowhere that is hosted by TBR and Beyond Tours. I was really excited to also be able to interview the author for this book!

INTERVIEW

How would you describe Outside Nowhere in one sentence?

A charming slacker is sent to work on a farm with three rules — stay out of the farmhouse, do your chores, don’t eat the crops — and after the kid breaks the rules, magical and mysterious events begin happening across the property.

Can you introduce us to the main character(s) of Outside Nowhere?

Parker Kelbrook is the type of kid who instead of spending twenty minutes on his homework will spend three hours convincing his teacher that he should be excused from the assignment because his neighbor’s guinea pig died. He’s never worked a day in his life, and he’s always been able to joke his way out of anything he didn’t want to do. So, when he’s given a job doing manual labor— and his fellow young co-workers expect him to roll up his sleeves and pitch in— he’s completely out of his element. A classic fish-out-of-water.

Molly is the farmer’s niece. She’s smart, strong, and even more quick-witted than Parker. Which means she doesn’t have time for his games. She’s also keeping a couple of huge secrets.

Chet is a small, earnest boy with a big heart. He shows Parker the ropes around the farm and encourages him to put in the work and keep his head down.

Walter is the biggest boy on the farm and also the biggest bully. Unfortunately for Parker, Walter doesn’t like him very much. And Parker will discover it’s because they have an unforeseen shared history.

Do you know from the beginning how your books will end or do you let your characters decide their journey?

I’m always surprised by the details that emerge as the characters and story lead the way. I’m a strong believer in outlines, but a stronger believer in embracing the unexpected. My outlines will often have literal lines like, “And then something bad happens,” and that line could be followed by something in the spirit of, “And then something happens that makes everything worse.” I’ll use those beats as placeholders to figure out the most unexpected ways to surprise myself (and my characters), in order to keep readers on their toes and turning pages. Because, hopefully, if I’m not entirely sure what’ll happen next, no one else will be either.

What is something readers will find in Outside Nowhere that they may not realize based on the synopsis?

All of my stories are driven by heart, humor, and magic. I think this story has more heart than one might expect.

What’s something you hope readers will take away from Outside Nowhere?

It’s less important how you start something, and more important how you finish.

What are three books you would recommend if someone enjoyed Outside Nowhere?

I’m glad you asked!

The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier. Definitely scarier than my story, but if you’re brave enough, it’s a terrific read. The story follows a sister and brother who run out of options and are forced to work in a creepy house where things might not be as they appear.

Holes by Louis Sachar is a wonderful book. It also has an element of kids being sent away from home and forced to work together (but at a juvenile detention camp).

The Midnight Brigade by me, Adam Borba. It’s set in Pittsburgh, which has over 400 bridges. The story follows a quiet, introverted kid named Carl Chesterfield (the opposite of Parker) who finds and befriends a troll under a bridge. Carl keeps that troll a secret with his friends until they’re forced to come together to save their city (and Carl’s parents’ failing food truck business)— possibly from monsters. And again, it’s driven by heart, humor, and magic. 
Thanks for the great questions! Outside Nowhere publishes October 18^th.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Synopsis:

From the author of The Midnight Brigade, this heartwarming and humorous middle grade novel follows one boy’s summer adventure at a peculiar farm in the middle of nowhere. 

Charming and funny, Parker Kelbrook can wriggle out of anything he doesn’t want to do. So when he’s forced to take a job at the local pool—a threat to his beach-filled summer plans—he comes up with the perfect prank to get himself fired.

Once Parker’s father catches wind of his latest scheme, he decides enough is enough, and Parker is sent halfway across the country to work on a farm alongside five other kids who aren’t his biggest fans. As Parker learns to roll up his sleeves and keep his head down, strange things start happening. And after he awakens one morning to find a seventeen-hundred-pound dairy cow on the roof of a barn, he suspects that something magical and mysterious is growing in the farm’s fields.

Adam Borba presents a whimsical new story about a boy’s discovery that mistakes and miracles can have serious consequences.

Content Warning: death of a parent

ABOUT THE AUTHOR