Corina asked Shane Barker:

I have two questions: 1. Have you ever incorporated anything into your stories that have happened to you in real life? 2. Have you ever decided not to publish a book after you finished writing it?

Shane Barker Hi, Corina! (Sorry I've taken so long to answer your question . . . I got lazy and haven't been on this site for quite a while.) But yeah, I use stuff from real life all the time. Most of the little "side stories" in "Shredder" were things that have happened to me. And people have told me they think that "Outtabounds" was more biography than fiction. (Some people who know me really well have said that while reading one of my books they've thought: "I remember that!" And I was almost embarrassed to publish "Outtabounds," just because so many people would recognize certain things.) And as for not publishing a book, once I've put so much effort into a project, I don't think it would be right not to get it in print. If there's ever a project that I'm not really happy with, I quit working on it before it ever gets done. (And I've got quite a few of those!) Sorry again for not getting back to you. I appreciate your questions. (Have you see the new dinosaur books, by the way? I wrote "Time Snap" as a stand-alone book, but it sold so many copies I thought, shoot . . . if people like dinosaurs that much, maybe I'd better do another one. Now it's turned into a series and I'm really excited about it.)

flag