YA Fiction
Date Published: 09-06-2021
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Matthew Shaw is banned from his school's online counseling forum. Is it a crime his advice posts and anarchy blog are more popular than those on the school website? Though he's being as sincere as possible, Matthew, posting as "Frogman" online, wreaks havoc at Henry Blake High with advice that causes breakups, instigates a cheerleader fistfight, and turns a school assembly into an angry mob. When Matthew's private notebook goes missing, he worries not only about blowing his secret identity but about being suspended and ruining his shot to escape Mom's hoarding house.
Is There a Message in Your Novel That You Want Readers to
Grasp?
One of the fantastic things about books is that readers can
see such different stories depending on the experience they bring with them. On
a basic level, Frogman’s Response is about a high school boy in a tough
situation who is trying to make the best of it. Although he has the tendency to
want to retreat inward and to fix his problems on his own, his situation
improves when he reaches out and asks for help. Even taking the first step to
reach out is so hard, so I hope my story can inspire folks to reach out to their
friends, family, and community when they’re having a hard time.
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your
writing?
After
working to polish a novel or a short story with an editor and getting to a
place where the story feels like it flows and the words you picked are just
right, it’s difficult to then move onto the next project and return to the
messiness of a first draft. The blank page and the awkward first sentences are daunting,
so I have to remind myself that first drafts are supposed to be bad! There’s no
way to get back to those pretty final drafts without first getting some version
of the story, however chaotic, onto the page.
How many books have you written and which is your favorite?
Frogman’s Response is the fourth book I’ve written and the first one
published. My favorite story is usually the one I’m working on! I just finished
a short story about werewolves in Egypt and I learned a lot in the research
process. I’m working on a contemporary fantasy trilogy and the book I’m
drafting right now involves mermaids, so I’ve been watching a lot of videos and
reading articles about the ocean. I love learning new things, so research is a
fun part of writing.
If You had the chance to cast your main character from Hollywood today, who would you pick and why?
Since
this is a story about a teenager, the main character would probably have to be
new talent I haven’t heard of yet! The story mentions that Matthew Shaw, the
main character, is mixed race, with some Shawnee heritage. I’d want to be sure
the actor cast actually comes from a similar background so he’s accurately
representing the experience he’s meant to portray.
When did you begin writing?
I
started writing in elementary school, drawing pictures of my protagonists and
filling up spiral notebooks with dramatic stories of magic, tortured geniuses,
and betrayal! I finished my first book about a teen werewolf when I was in
middle school. My writing has improved a lot since then and I’m excited that
now I have the opportunity to share my work with more than just my friends and
my mom.
How long did it take to complete your first book?
My
first book took a few years because I kept trying to get everything just right
along the way. I feel like that’s a trap a lot of us fall into as we learn to
write books. Now I’m a bit better at just writing a note to myself when I
identify a problem and moving on if I can. Once I get all the way to the end, I
can see more clearly how the story flows and how to adjust individual chapters
or scenes so the tension progresses naturally and the ending feels rewarding.
Did you have an author who inspired you to become a writer?
I was inspired by everything I read when I was young, and I
read a lot! Patricia Wrede’s Dealing with Dragons series really got my
imagination going. I struggled with writing immersive fantasy because it meant
introducing a plot, magic system, worldbuilding, and other elements at the same
time and it was difficult for me to know how to order the information to keep a
reader engaged. When I was writing Frogman’s Response, I looked to
stories like Holes by Louis Sachar for an example of how to tell a
simple, engaging story from start to finish.
What is your favorite part of the writing process?
I
love reading the story when it’s done! It might seem kind of vain to say I like
reading my own writing, but the reason I became a writer is because I wanted to
read stories that didn’t yet exist. I love forgetting that I’m an author at all
and sitting down with a story I wrote about scary mermaids or medieval werewolves
and thinking, Wow! This is exactly
what I wanted to read.
Describe Frogman’s Response in 4 words.
Dear Abby gone wrong
Can you share a little bit about your current work or what is
in the future for your writing?
I’m currently working on an adult contemporary fantasy
trilogy about witches in Salt Lake City. The main character, Carmen Morales, is
trying to pay back her student loans selling essential oils when she runs into
a witch who invites her to come work at her coven. The story follows all the
learning and mishaps of a new job with the extremes of supernatural clients! I
haven’t written a series before, so I’m drafting all three before publishing
them so I can be sure they all work together.
About the Author
Heidi Voss’ debut novel Frogman’s Response has been praised as being “instantly engaging” and her award winning short fiction has been featured in multiple anthologies. When not writing or promoting her work, she enjoys video games and exercise.
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