A Bite Above the Rest | Author Interview | Book Tour

I’m so excited to be a part of the book tour for A Bite Above the Rest 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 A Bite Above the Rest in one sentence?

Upon moving to a Halloween tourist town—a place where spooky decorations stay up year-round and costumes are worn daily—11-year-old Caleb begins to suspect that real vampires and werewolves and witches might be hiding amongst the fakes.

Can you introduce us to the main character(s) of A Bite Above the Rest?

Caleb is an anxious, unsure-of-himself kid who is still reeling from the death of his father when he moves to Samhain, Wisconsin. Never much of a Halloween fan, Caleb can’t understand why his mom thought they’d be happy there. Luckily for him, though, he meets Tai soon after the move, and she quickly becomes the best friend he’s ever had. Bold, fearless, and quirky, Tai is the perfect partner for Caleb as he seeks to uncover the truth about his new hometown.

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

I 100% did NOT know how the book would end when I started! In fact, I was halfway through writing my first draft before I even knew whether Caleb’s suspicions about Samhain were right… or wrong.

Do you have a favorite scene, moment, or quote from the book?

Oh gosh, I have a lot of favorite scenes! But if I had to pick just one, it would probably be when Caleb and Tai test their English teacher to see if he’s a real, live werewolf. Or scratch that, maybe it’s when they test Celeb’s neighbor to see if she’s a witch. Or, well, maybe it’s the scene where they’re being chased through the archives by a boulder-headed giant…

What is something readers will find in A Bite Above the Rest that they may not realize based on the synopsis?

Hopefully it’s clear that the book is spooky from the description, but it’s also full of humor and heart!

What’s something you hope readers will take away from A Bite Above the Rest?

Honestly, I just want people to have fun reading it! My biggest dream is that a reluctant reader somewhere will be given a copy of A Bite Above the Rest, they’ll be inspired to open it up thanks to Jordan Kincaid’s amazing cover art, and then they’ll realize that reading isn’t so bad. In fact, it can actually be *gulp* rather enjoyable.

What are three books you would recommend if someone enjoyed A Bite Above the Rest?

Scritch Scratch by Lindsay Currie
The Stitchers by Lorien Lawrence
The Last Rhee Witch by Jenna Lee-Yun

ABOUT THE BOOK

Synopsis:

A boy moves to a Halloween-themed town only to realize there may be more to the tourist trap than meets the eye in this fast-paced romp of a middle grade novel perfect for fans of The Last Kids on Earth and Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library!

When Caleb’s mom decides they are moving to her childhood home in Wisconsin, Caleb is not thrilled. Moving schools, states, and time zones would be bad enough, but Mom’s hometown is Samhain, a small and ridiculously kitschy place where every day is Halloween.

Caleb is not a fan of Halloween when it only happens once a year, so Halloween-obsessed Samhain is really not the place for him. How is he supposed to cope with kids wearing costumes to school every single day ? And how about the fact that the mayor is so committed to the bit that City Hall is only open from sundown to sunup to accommodate his so-called vampirism? Sure enough, Caleb becomes an outcast at school for refusing to play along with the spooky tradition like the other sixth graders. Luckily, he manages to find a friend in fellow misfit Tai, and just in time, because things are getting weird in Samhain…or make that weird er .

But there’s no way the mayor is an actual vampire, and their teacher absolutely cannot really be a werewolf—right? Caleb discovers Samhain is so much stranger than he ever could have imagined. As one of the only people who realizes what’s happening, can he save a town that doesn’t want saving?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR