D. Robert Pease, author of YA novel Noah Zarc, shares his interview with Character Building Counts Book Awards. Using time travel and spaceships to save animals from extinction, Pease teaches children about overcoming disabilities and the power of family love.
Describe your book’s character-building message.
At its heart, Noah Zarc is a book about family and the lengths each member will go to help and protect the ones they love. It incorporates the usual sibling issues and kids getting in trouble with their parents, but behind it all is a family that truly loves one another—even to the point of great sacrifice. Noah Zarc also touches on finding your place in the world, even if you are different. The main character, Noah, is a paraplegic. Sure he has moments of self-pity, but in the end he overcomes his disability and thrives.
What inspired you to share that message with your readers?
I didn’t consciously set out to write a book like this; it just grew out of my great love for my kids. I wanted to, in some small way, show my children how far I would go to protect them—how much they mean to me. Noah being a paraplegic was also not intentional. He actually didn’t start out that way, but I had one of those strange instances where my character “spoke” to me and said he was a paraplegic. I actually fought it for a while because I didn’t want people to think I wrote him that way for some politically correct reason. In the end I gave in because I realized I had no choice; Noah was a paraplegic, so I couldn’t fight it any more.
Describe your target audience?
While it seems many people of various ages and genders enjoy Noah Zarc, my primary goal was to write a book for tweenage boys between about nine and fourteen-years-old.
How would you like your message to impact them?
I hope the children who read this book will get a glimpse of how much their parents love them. I know I didn’t have a clue when I was a kid. And most parents will probably say they didn’t really know what love was until they had kids of their own. But maybe when kids see what Noah’s parents do for him and his siblings, they will learn a little more about how much their parents love them.
What have you learned about yourself through the publishing process?
Publishing is hard—really hard. And I have always been the kind of person who doesn’t like hard work. I know that’s sad, but that’s just who I am. Through this process I’ve learned (and am still learning) how to push past it—how to keep going when I feel as if I want to quit. So I am actually learning I can work hard. I can keep going when I’d rather just lie on the couch and watch TV. If I really want to reach my goals, I have to suck it up and get to it.
What is your goal as a writer?
First and foremost, I want to write stories that people of all ages have fun reading. Nothing makes me feel better than to receive a note or read an online comment from a youngster who just finished Noah Zarc. Simple comments like “Awesome!” and “Great book!” from kids make my day. Ultimately, I suppose, I’d like to be able to make a living at this thing called writing. I don’t really crave the fame or the fortune—just a comfortable income.
How will a book award help you achieve that goal?
When readers see that a book received an award, that work immediately gains standing in their eyes. I have found that people who read Noah Zarc really like it. The age-old problem, of course, is getting them to read it. So having that award, or that acknowledgment from some official source saying that yes, this book is worth reading, can go a long way toward getting someone to click that “buy” button.
D. Robert Pease, www.drobertpease.com
Nesta Aharoni, CBC Book Awards, www.CBCAwards.com, Character Building Counts!