Scott Neumyer

Scott Neumyer, author of the just-released young adult eBook Jimmy Stone's Ghost Town, is a writer, publicist, and photographer. He has over ten years experience in online marketing and publicity and spent three years as a Media Buyer for a major national film distributor. He appears in the non-fiction book Wanted Undead or Alive: Vampire Hunters and Other Kick-Ass Enemies of Evil (Citadel Press August 2010). Scott has also had stories appear online and in print in prestigious magazines such as McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Pindeldyboz, and Hobart Pulp. Visit www.scottwrites.com.

Gerald So: Tell me a little about the concept for Jimmy Stone's Ghost Town and what inspired it.

Scott Neumyer: Jimmy Stone's Ghost Town is, when you break it down to the barest of bones, about a fifth-grader, his dog, and an unlikely friend finding a way into another world, learning they have a quest, and setting about that quest with more than a little reluctance. That said, it's also about ghosts, fun, relationships, family, bad fathers, almost-sisters, and one really awesome tree.

The idea for Jimmy Stone's Ghost Town really came about by me wanting to write something that I would have loved to read when I was Jimmy's age. I grew up on awesome books for boys like Hatchet, My Side of the Mountain, the Hardy Boys books, Encyclopedia Brown, and How to Eat Fried Worms. Maybe I wasn't looking hard enough, but I had a hard time finding really fun books like that for young boys today, so I figured I would write one that maybe, just maybe, could live on the outskirts of that group.

And all that's not to say girls, teenagers, and adults can't enjoy it! There's a little bit of something for everyone in Jimmy Stone... (I've been describing it to friends as Harry Potter meets The NeverEnding Story meets the movie Lady in White. Mind you, I don't think I can measure up to any of them, but they're good descriptors.) and that seems to be the resounding response I've gotten from readers so far. That and "when is book two coming?!"

GS: The book sets the stage for a series. Do you have the number of books planned out? How frequently will they be released? Will they all be in eBook format?

SN: I do have a plan in mind about how many books will be in the Jimmy Stone series, but I'm not quite ready to say yet. I'm hard at work on book number two and I'd love to hear where people think Jimmy, Trex, and David are going next (there are a few hints in Jimmy Stone's Ghost Town). As for timing, we shall see how well this one does first before we decide how often and what format they'll be in. That said, I'm a huge fan of this digital revolution so you can rest assured there will always be eBook versions, no matter what other versions might be out as well.


Order Jimmy Stone's Ghost Town from Amazon or BN.com.