A story of loss and forgiveness, tolerance and kindness, Susie Speider deals with the death of her father while Matt Ryder–the new neighbor boy–has just lost his mother. Ultimately, Spider Brains poses some important questions about how to treat Attention-Deficit-Disorder.
How did you come up with the title and how much say did you have on the cover design?
The actual working title for Spider Brains was Speider: The E is Silent. It was a bit of a mouthful and the publisher wisely asked me to rethink the title.
As for the cover, the publisher involved me every step of the way.
Do you have a favorite line or excerpt that you would like to share from your book?
Maybe this Nano-excerpt will give you an idea of Spider Brains:
ONE - SPEIDER: The E is Silent
Me?
Super human kid by night, regular high school teenager by day. I’m a junior. Well, next year.
My name is Susie Speider. The E is silent. My name is NOT pronounced speeder. For crying out loud. We are not a family of racers. Sheesh.
My problem? There are two major-stager problems in my life. My meds, for starters. They say I'm ADD. Yeah. Like, so, I concentrate on the moment du jour. What's wrong with that?
Then, there's the issue with my grades. They suck. And, my teacher, Ms. Morlson. She hates my guts! She holds my going or not going to the U in the palm of her cold calloused clammy hands.
But, with the new glasses my mom got me and my new meds, maybe I can improve over the next two years enough to bring my grades up to pass with something decent.
The problem? With these new glasses now I look like a short amorphous geeky version of the svelte coolamundo Morticia from the Addam’s Family but not in a good way and certainly not with her way cool clingy clothes. Plus, with my braces, Lord, I look like the empress of geeks on planet Nerd-O-1.
Article comments
1 - Susan Wingate
Thank you so much for having me on your blog today.