Annabell: What inspired the idea behind Creature Kid?
Rashad Freeman: Well I’ve always liked the idea of somehow getting superpowers. And since I don’t see myself getting any, the next best thing was to write a book about it.
Annabell: Creature Kid is such a guy-filled story. The set of main characters are all boys with a very tight bond. Was their relationship influenced by the friendships in your own life? What is one of the best memories you have with your own group of best buds?
Rashad Freeman: The boys in the story are actually modeled after my son and his friends and how the interact. My best memories growing up are all the insane things we did over the summers spent water skiing. From diving to the bottom of murky lakes to leaping off rope swings as the tree branch broke. It’s truly a miracle I’m still alive.
Annabell: Anthony’s character is entering his first year of high school. What were your first thoughts when you first entered the high school you attended?
Rashad Freeman: High school wasn’t really a scary thing for me. I was sort of into everything so I knew a lot of the upperclassmen. I’d played the violin forever, was big into sports and made pretty good grades. I think this made the transition pretty easy.
Annabell: Anthony is the more responsible one out of the crew. Mit and Mikey are joksters and Steveis the lady’s man. What were you like in high school.
Rashad Freeman: I was definitely the jokster. And still am. I’m waiting for some flush of maturity to overwhelm me but it hasn’t yet.
Annabell: There is a bit of romance inside the suspense-action filled plot. Will Nikie and Anthony’s romance continued to be explored as the novellas progress?
Rashad Freeman: Yes, I wanted the first book to provide more of an intro and each additional story will get longer and more complex.
Annabell: What is the name of the second novella and what hints are you willing to give away as to what readers can look forward to?
Rashad Freeman: The second novel is named Rendition and you can expect Anthony to learn a great deal more about his origins. A lot of the questions from book one will be answered and some unexpected guests may poke their head out.
Annabell: If you had wings, what would you want them to look like and where would you go?
Rashad Freeman: If I had wings, which by the way would be my number one wish, I think I’d want dragon wings. Not really sure where’d I’d go but I’d fly everywhere.
Annabell: Would you ever go back and turn Creature Kid into a full-length novel?
Rashad Freeman: Well, it was designed to be a short YA novel right around 40k. The other books will be much longer as the story is expanded and it matures probably between 90-110k. With that said, I have thought about expanding volume 1 and coming out with a 2nd edition when volume 2 comes out. It’s still up in the air but is definitely an idea.
Annabell: If you got the chance to play mad scientist, what do you think you would create?
Rashad Freeman: Hmm that’s a good question. A dragon seems like a great thing to have. So I’ll probably go with that, of course I’d have to have the ability to control him with my mind.
Annabell: The cover is great! Who is designed it?
Rashad Freeman: A friend who wishes to remain unknown and myself, I added the letters :-). I must say it was much harder than I thought it would be and for future covers I’ll be using a professional or at least someone who claims to be.
Annabell: If you could tag team with any author and write a book together, who would you pick and what type of concept might you tackle?
Rashad Freeman: J.K. Rowling for sure. I love her writing and am a diehard Harry Potter fan. I’d actually like to do a wizard book but one a bit more dark than Harry Potter and where the hero is actually as powerful as everyone thinks they are.
Annabell: Thank you Rashad Freeman for the terrific interview! If you want to know more about the author and the Creature Kid Series, check out the author’s blog at http://www.rashadfreeman.blogspot.com/.
