Today I have the pleasure in welcoming Ben Horton, author of Monster Republic, which is released TODAY! I had the pleasure of reading Monster republic back in Oct ’09 for my All Hallow’s Eve event and I thought it was absolutely brilliant. It also made #6 on my Top Ten Reads 2009.
Here’s a bit about the book:
An explosion in a nuclear power plant. Kids patched up with scavenged body parts and bionic implants. A growing army of superhuman soldiers programmed for destruction. ‘No’, whispered Cameron to the monster in the glass. And he watched it shaking its hideous head. ‘That’s not me. You’re not me’. As commercial and compelling as a computer game, this is the first book in a major new series.
BCC: Hi Ben, thank you so much for answering my questions and for being on Book Chick City. Also want to say how much I enjoyed Monster Republic, I really can’t wait for the next installment! So what gave you the idea for Monster Republic?
Ben: A friend gave me the initial idea, but his version was much more comical. Luckily, he isn’t a writer, so he was happy for me to take the idea and turn it darker…
BCC: How did you research this book?
Ben: Not much, if I’m honest. I was afraid that if I started doing research, I would find that all the things I wanted to do were scientifically impossible, so I stuck with using my imagination!
BCC: Monster Republic is the first in a new series – what can you reveal about the series, without giving too much away?
Ben: Well, as I’m sure you can imagine, Dr Fry doesn’t like having his plans thwarted. He’s got a typically devious plan to get back at the Rejects – and the Republic will pay a high price for having crossed him.
BCC: How will you celebrate publication day?
Ben: The book is publishing on New Year’s Day, so I suspect champagne may be involved!
BCC: Which authors inspired you or influenced your writing in some way?
Ben: On this book, Anthony Horowitz was the biggest influence. I love the way his writing is so accessible without being simplistic.
BCC: What do you like to read and what are you reading now?
Ben: I love fantasy – I was one of those kids who was always bragging about how many times they had read The Lord of the Rings! At the moment, I’m re-reading The Belgariad by David Eddings.
BCC: Describe your writing in three words.
Ben: Short, sharp and shocking. Oops, that’s four…
BCC: Will you ever write for the adult market?
Ben: Never say never, but I doubt it. I don’t even read that many adult books – there are too many great books for young people that I haven’t read yet.
BCC: Other than the Monster Republic series are you working on anything else?
Ben: Not at the moment. My editor is expecting the first draft of the next Monster Republic in the spring, so that’s the priority at the moment!
Thanks so much Ben!
Read an excerpt from Monster Republic:
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Ben was born in Buckinghamshire, grew up in Norfolk, went to university in Cambridge and now lives in London, making him by far the best-travelled children’s writer in his immediate family.
He has worked in publishing for ten years, covering a huge variety of topics, from the boring (antiques, steam trains) to the intriguing (detective stories) to the downright cool (kung fu movies), but the job he has most enjoyed is editing books for young people. He has worked as an editor on books like the sinister Darkside (Scholastic), and a funny series about football-mad angels called Demon Defenders (Puffin).
When he was growing up, Ben always loved reading stories that let his imagination run wild – from Roald Dahl to The Lord of the Rings. Pretending he was a character inside a book was always more fun than rolling around on a muddy rugby pitch. When he went to university, he found that it was just as much fun to pretend to be a character on stage, and he got into acting in plays. Not long after that, he discovered that it was even more fun to be the director, as that meant he could tell everyone else what to do. Acting and directing plays still takes up most of his spare time today.
Ben also really enjoys watching films. Movies like Batman and X-Men helped to inspire Monster Republic by reminding him that not all heroes have to be good-looking and popular, and not all bad guys are frothing-at-the-mouth maniacs. What he finds most interesting about Cameron, the central character in the book, is not that he turns out to be a hero, but how close he comes to becoming a villain by turning his back on people who need him.
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CONTEST time!!
Thanks to Random House Childrens Books I have THREE, SIGNED copies of the fantastic Monster Republic to offer as a prize!
To enter please fill out the form HERE
This contest is open to UK residents only and ends 14th Jan.
Good Luck!!
15 Comments
Great interview! I read your review back in October and this sounds like an awesome read!
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Very interesting! Certainly not the type of book I often read but I'm open to any books now, wishing to widen my horizon a little bit more.
Now I wish I live in the UK! *lol*
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Great interview! Monster Republic sound fantastic and I am loving the cover. Adding it to my "to-read" pile.
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OMG What a coincidence! I just started reading this book last night and I had a HARD time putting it down to go to bed! It is totally fantastic and I am only about halfway thru it!
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Love this type of book
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Great interview, Carolyn! Wow, Ben is a David Eddings fan – my favourite author EVER! Ben's a bit cool!
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Great interview. Wish I was in the UK to enter. But I will definitely put this on my to buy! – Parajunkee
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This is already on my TBR list- thanks for the interview!
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Yay! I am in the UK so I can enter. I am still really frightened by the cover of this book but as Ben is a UK debut author I want to give this a try.
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Sounds really good. Great interview!
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Great interview! To bad I'm in the US and can't enter. But it still looks like a book I might just need to have!
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Fantastic book review, it makes me want to read the book all the more xx
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Ahh this sounds so interesting
Certainly checking this out 
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sound a facinating read tracey1972 twitter
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This looks like it will be a good book, the cover is great!
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