My third book, The Mega, was a journey and a half.
It started with this short story I wrote on AdorkableLife about a very real kid who becomes a very real superhero with disastrous results. I had been watching a ton of Star Wars, reading Joseph Campbell, and I thought about the hero's journey. I had been reading John Green, re-reading The Catcher in the Rye. I wanted to write an epic story that felt small.
Cole Cofield is not a hero, not even close. I'm hesitant to call him a nerd because "nerd" has taken on this amorphous meaning. Happy to say the connotations of the word "nerd" are not negative anymore. Cole is about video games, comic books, horror movies, manic pixie dream girls, riffing on Jurassic Park, staying as invisible against the walls of his high school. Perfectly camouflaged.
What could force you to put on a costume, a mask, a brand, another name? What if the person you loved was hurt? Or the town that gave you your first love-hate relationship was in trouble? Who are the villains in this life and why do they hurt, and in turn, hurt others? I wanted a big story that had those A New Hope serial moments.
My favorite movies map out a time and place. With The Mega, I wanted to build the geography of Harpoon, and the surrounding towns. The places you used to drive to with your friends, the Moontower in Dazed and Confused, those inherent places that have known purpose.
Happy to say that the final draft of the book is done ... now I'm just trying to find the best home for it.
n.o.
