Today we welcome Carlie Simonsen to Promote Me Please to talk about the
last book in her Otherworld Adventures series. Carlie Simonsen is the pen name
used by C.M. Simpson so that her YA fiction doesn’t get mixed up with the
science fiction novels she writes for an older audience.
Q.1. Rocky
and the Raptors sounds like a band name. Is this right? If so, please tell
us about it. If not, who are Rocky and the Raptors? Would you tell us who, or
what Rocky might be?
A.1. It’s not a band name. The story is about Rocky, a young boy from
outback Australia, who has journeyed across space with his family in order to
help some aliens with their colony. Raptors are found on the planet, and the
colony is surrounded by a high wall, that it extends as it expands, clearing
each new area of raptors, first.
Q.2. Who is your favourite character in Rocky and the Raptors?
A.2. I’m torn. I like Rocky, but it’s his little sister and her teddy
bear that make me smile.
Q.3. Elevator pitch! Go!
A.3. Aaagh! Too much pressure! Fine. When Rosie’s teddybear is stolen by
a bird, Rocky has to go beyond the colony walls to get it back. The first
problem is that raptors live and hunt beyond the wall, and Teddy might be hard
to find. The second problem? If Rocky doesn’t go looking for Teddy, Rosie just
might—and Rocky likes his little sister, even if she is a massive pain! The
story follows Rocky as he sneaks out into raptor territory to fetch his little
sister’s teddy bear and bring it back, before she tries to go fetch it herself.
Q.4. How did you choose the narration method of Rocky and the Raptors? (i.e. first
person, third person, told-in-letters…)
A.4. Rocky and the Raptors is
more traditional than Dear Tiger.
It’s also for a slightly younger audience. For this series, I chose third person
narration.
Q.5. If Rocky
and the Raptors was a film, who would play Rocky?
A.5. Oh, wow – that’s tricky, but mostly because I’m fond of Pixar. Let
me do a little research… Nope, still no luck. The person who played Rocky would
have to be a male actor around ten to twelve, maybe even thirteen. After that,
I’d say it’s up to the director and casting, because how I imagine Rocky won’t
be how others do. For instance, while I see Rocky as having short hair, that
doesn’t have to be the case, and, while I’ve pictured him as European in
descent, that’s just because that’s been the nationality of most of the station
families I’ve met, and that doesn’t have to be so, either. Really, a Rocky and the Raptors movie could put
any physically active male actor in that role, provided they looked the right
age, could ride a horse, and looked like the kind of person brave enough to
make friends with aliens, and brave and caring enough to look after their
little sister down to rescuing her teddybear and sewing him up when they found
him.
Rocky & the Raptors
Release Date (in AEST) is as follows (although it officially comes out a day earlier US time):
Rocky & the Raptors: May 11, 2018
The Rocky Adventures Omnibus: June 29, 2018 (and available, now, for pre-order)
Links for Rocky & the Raptors are as follows:
Links for The Rocky Adventures Omnibus are as follows:
Thanks, Carlie!
Promote Me Please blog is dedicated to spreading the word about family friendly books and music. It is run by
Affordable Manuscript Assessments.
