MMGM: Interview with S.A.M. Posey, Author of the Last Station Master

I am so excited to introduce you to S.A.M.* Posey, author of THE LAST STATION MASTER. S.A.M. is a gifted writer, whose stories are full of heart, peopled with well-rounded characters, and immersed in African American history. I feel fortunate to be able to call her one of my critique partners and a dear friend. Her debut, THE LAST STATION MASTER, came out last February.

It is a fast-paced read that will especially appeal to boys--and it sneaks in a little history while being entertaining at the same time. Besides, Nate is a likeable, but imperfect protagonist, and he has interesting parents and grandparents--always a plus for me.

Synopsis of THE LAST STATION MASTER:

On his grandparents remote North Carolina farm for the summer, Nate discovers there's more happening on the rambling property than anyone realizes. To stop a terrorist's plot and prevent a military disaster, he must unravel the clues around him and use what he learns about the farm, the Underground Railroad, and the lost secrets of an old ghost to become the Last Station Master.

Hi, S.A.M.! Thanks for stopping by! 

When did you decide to be a writer?

That was about eight years ago. I was looking for MG books with boys of color as the MC. There wasn’t very much of an offering. This had to be fixed, so I started writing. Yeah, I was naïve enough to think that writing was easy! Thank goodness for naïveté because I discovered a new passion. I love writing for kids.

I know you do a lot of research for your stories.  How do you decide what to include and what to leave out?

Great question. I research as I write. I want to make sure that if I write something based in facts, it’s accurate, Sometimes, I have to rewrite parts of a story to accommodate the facts. Still, I don’t want to bore the young reader with too much realism in my imaginary world. I try not to ramble on about all the things I learned while writing the story. The facts introduced into a story need to be essential to the telling of the story. If a reader wants to know more, I’m awfully fond of glossaries and I like to include one at the end of the book.

How did you get the idea for THE LAST STATION MASTER?

You know, I wanted to write a modern-day kid-friendly story that was rich in African-American history. Having a main character who needed to dig into his family’s past to solve a predicament with a current event seemed like a good way to do this. It was fun writing this sort of parallel between the two eras.

Your characters are so well-rounded and authentic. Can you give us any tips on how you create your characters and make them come alive?

Oh, that is so easy. Everything I know about teen boys, I learned from my son and his friends.  They can be charming when the need arises (not with their parents, of course, but with people their parents know), they can be stupid and really smart at the same time.  They are, in fact, a work in progress, and it’s rather easy to write those types of characters in this constant flux of growth. Teens are not set in their ways so they can be many things, even contradicting things, at the same time. When it comes to teens, I write what I see.

You sold THE LAST STATIONMASTER to your publisher without an agent. Can you tell how this came about? What made you decide to submit directly to publishers?

I had a couple of agents interested in The Last Station Master before I sold it to Key Publishing.  Really, the offer came in from KPH while the agents were still considering it . I knew that even if the agents decided to represent the story there was no guarantee the story would be sold to a book publisher.  KPH was a sure deal, so I went with them.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on a series. The first book, Josephus Maxwell and the Lost Tribe, is an adventure story set in Brazil where Joe encounter a boy from one of the lost tribes of Brazil, drug cartels, U.S. military, and  of course, lost treasure.

 What your favorite books or authors influenced you? Do you have any favorite books on the writing craft?

I love so many writers. Jacqueline Woodson, J.K. Rowling, Angela Johnson, and Lois Lowry to name a few. The Giver (which is coming out this year as a movie, woot, woot!!!) remains my favorite book of all times.

I’m really bad about reading how-to books nowadays. But when I first started writing I found Stephen King's book On Writing really insightful. Mostly because it gave me a peek into his writing process. I think every writer can benefit from hearing what King has to say about writing.

The Element of style by Strunk and White is a must have for writers, methinks. I know all that I know about word placement from this book.

Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynn Truss is another good one. I don't read a lot of how-to book anymore. I find critique groups and beta reader very helpful when it comes to pulling a story together. It's a process that works best for me.

What piece of advice would you give to other writers?

Patience is probably the best attribute a writer can have. We all want to publish the next bestseller yesterday. But, writing, like any craft, takes time to hone. Once you’ve done that, it takes even more time to find someone who loves your baby as much as you. My advice is to believe in yourself and your work. Then wait for your time. It will surely come.
Great advice!  That answer will be going on my fridge.
*S.A.M. Posey is a penname. Check out her "About Me" page on her website to learn more.
You can find S.A.M. Posey online at: http://www.samposey.com/, Twitter, Facebook
To check out more Marvelous Middle Grade suggestions, check out Shannon Messenger's blog.