We love Peter Lerangis (and his new Seven Wonders series!), especially that he's so willing to sign copies & answer Q&As for his international fans! We're happy to share his Q&A with you.
-Can you give us a glimpse of any new characters we’ll get to meet in Seven Wonders Book 2: Lost in Babylon (or any characters from Book 1 that we’ll get to know a lot better)?
Some of them are human, like Fiddle and Nirvana, a hippie aeronautics genius and Goth girl who are KI operatives. Also a pointy-bearded Babylonian king with weird feet, a vizier whose eyes bounce uncontrollably, a sightless shape-shifting gardener, a guard called Chthush, and a slave named Daria who has an uncanny ability to learn languages. You’ll also meet a giant lion-dragon called a mushushu, monkeylike creatures with lethal spit, and a lizard named Leonard. We also learn a lot more about Marco. I mean, a lot. That’s all I can say.
-You’ve gotten to go on both a US and international tour for Seven Wonders Book 1: The Colossus Rises; can you share a few of your favorite memories?
Where do I begin! ◦ Showing up at the National Book Store the day after I arrived in Manila, when my body was telling me it was 3 AM, to give three press interviews followed by four TV interviews before sitting for a live presentation with a huge crowd of friendly faces — and realizing I knew most of them already through social media! It was exhilarating. ◦ The unbelievable enthusiasm from beautiful international schools in Manila and Kuala Lumpur. ◦ Being grabbed randomly by a famous Filipina socialite with feathered eyelashes for an impromptu Twitter photo while on the way to dinner with the great NBS staff (who insisted this was not planned!) ◦ Staying in a hotel room with a view of the soaring Petronas Tower in Kuala Lumpur. ◦ Tasting durian and pulled tea for the first time, under the patient, watchful eyes of my new MPH friends in KL. ◦ Careening along the highway in the backseat of a car being driven on the right side of the street and adjusting to the fact that this was correct. ◦ Trying to figure out how to use the KL train ticket machine during rush hour without knowing a word of Malay. ◦ Setting up in an aisle of the Kinokuniya Book Store in Singapore and drawing a big crowd (because of my big mouth), followed by a packed presentation at the astonishingly beautiful Woodlands Library, which has its own waterfall! ◦ Being treated to a terrific interview at the Singapore Arts House after eating frogs’ legs for the first time in my life, and then enjoying a private tour of the Singapore National Museum from best-selling author Adeline Foo and her daughter. ◦ Enjoying block after block of great music that poured out onto the sidewalk all along Broadway in Nashville, TN and 6th Street in Austin, TX. ◦ Sitting for eleven TV interviews in a row and knowing I was reaching people from coast to coast while sitting in a studio in Chicago. ◦ Arriving two hours late (because of a plane delay) at a signing event at Quail Ridge Books in North Carolina — only to find that the crowd had patiently waited! ◦ Trudging wearily into a hotel after that same day of delays, only to be told I had been randomly chosen as Guest of the Day, meaning an upgraded room and a basket full of free snacks! ◦ Receiving chocolate-dipped strawberries and champagne from my publisher in my hotel, after The Colossus Rises debuted at #4 on the New York Times bestseller list — and a similar basket of treats from the publisher’s International Department in Singapore (do you see a trend here?) ◦ Knowing that by the end of my U.S. tour, I had personally reached about 10,000 readers in their schools and in bookstores, along with countless others on TV. ◦ Knowing that by the end of my international tour, I had made new friends and new readers with people on the other side of the world, which I will never forget.
-Did you have a particularly favorite (or challenging) scene to write in either book?
I loved writing the opening scene in Book 1 and discovering Jack’s voice. I love writing any scene that has Torquin in it. Jack’s escape attempt was fun but scary, as were the training scenes, and it was painful to write about the search for the path into Mount Onyx, because the characters suffered so much! Book 2 was a blast because I had to dig into research to imagine a world where I’d never been and then populate it with fun characters, giving the whole thing a sci-fi/fantasy/Seven Wonders twist.
-Which of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World would you be most excited to visit? Why?
If the Seven Wonders still existed, I think I’d like to visit the Hanging Gardens with a comfy beach chair and a stack of books. Then I’d climb to the top and read until sunset in the aroma of flowers and the sound of splashing water
-Can you give us a glimpse of any new characters we’ll get to meet in Seven Wonders Book 2: Lost in Babylon (or any characters from Book 1 that we’ll get to know a lot better)?
Some of them are human, like Fiddle and Nirvana, a hippie aeronautics genius and Goth girl who are KI operatives. Also a pointy-bearded Babylonian king with weird feet, a vizier whose eyes bounce uncontrollably, a sightless shape-shifting gardener, a guard called Chthush, and a slave named Daria who has an uncanny ability to learn languages. You’ll also meet a giant lion-dragon called a mushushu, monkeylike creatures with lethal spit, and a lizard named Leonard. We also learn a lot more about Marco. I mean, a lot. That’s all I can say.
-How about 7 words to describe Jack McKinley?
Smart. Goofy. Insecure. Brave. Loyal. Flawed. Odd.
-You’ve gotten to go on both a US and international tour for Seven Wonders Book 1: The Colossus Rises; can you share a few of your favorite memories?
Where do I begin!
◦ Showing up at the National Book Store the day after I arrived in Manila, when my body was telling me it was 3 AM, to give three press interviews followed by four TV interviews before sitting for a live presentation with a huge crowd of friendly faces — and realizing I knew most of them already through social media! It was exhilarating.
◦ The unbelievable enthusiasm from beautiful international schools in Manila and Kuala Lumpur.
◦ Being grabbed randomly by a famous Filipina socialite with feathered eyelashes for an impromptu Twitter photo while on the way to dinner with the great NBS staff (who insisted this was not planned!)
◦ Staying in a hotel room with a view of the soaring Petronas Tower in Kuala Lumpur.
◦ Tasting durian and pulled tea for the first time, under the patient, watchful eyes of my new MPH friends in KL.
◦ Careening along the highway in the backseat of a car being driven on the right side of the street and adjusting to the fact that this was correct.
◦ Trying to figure out how to use the KL train ticket machine during rush hour without knowing a word of Malay.
◦ Setting up in an aisle of the Kinokuniya Book Store in Singapore and drawing a big crowd (because of my big mouth), followed by a packed presentation at the astonishingly beautiful Woodlands Library, which has its own waterfall!
◦ Being treated to a terrific interview at the Singapore Arts House after eating frogs’ legs for the first time in my life, and then enjoying a private tour of the Singapore National Museum from best-selling author Adeline Foo and her daughter.
◦ Enjoying block after block of great music that poured out onto the sidewalk all along Broadway in Nashville, TN and 6th Street in Austin, TX.
◦ Sitting for eleven TV interviews in a row and knowing I was reaching people from coast to coast while sitting in a studio in Chicago.
◦ Arriving two hours late (because of a plane delay) at a signing event at Quail Ridge Books in North Carolina — only to find that the crowd had patiently waited!
◦ Trudging wearily into a hotel after that same day of delays, only to be told I had been randomly chosen as Guest of the Day, meaning an upgraded room and a basket full of free snacks!
◦ Receiving chocolate-dipped strawberries and champagne from my publisher in my hotel, after The Colossus Rises debuted at #4 on the New York Times bestseller list — and a similar basket of treats from the publisher’s International Department in Singapore (do you see a trend here?)
◦ Knowing that by the end of my U.S. tour, I had personally reached about 10,000 readers in their schools and in bookstores, along with countless others on TV.
◦ Knowing that by the end of my international tour, I had made new friends and new readers with people on the other side of the world, which I will never forget.
-Did you have a particularly favorite (or challenging) scene to write in either book?
I loved writing the opening scene in Book 1 and discovering Jack’s voice. I love writing any scene that has Torquin in it. Jack’s escape attempt was fun but scary, as were the training scenes, and it was painful to write about the search for the path into Mount Onyx, because the characters suffered so much! Book 2 was a blast because I had to dig into research to imagine a world where I’d never been and then populate it with fun characters, giving the whole thing a sci-fi/fantasy/Seven Wonders twist.
-Which of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World would you be most excited to visit? Why?
If the Seven Wonders still existed, I think I’d like to visit the Hanging Gardens with a comfy beach chair and a stack of books. Then I’d climb to the top and read until sunset in the aroma of flowers and the sound of splashing water