Tuesday 15 May 2012

Blog Tour and Giveaway: DC’s Amazing Life!


Welcome to DC Green's Grat Siege Blog Blitz Tour. Today, Buzz Words interviews DC Green on his Amazing Life! and whoever likes the ‘DC Green Author’ page in the month of May and sends a message to DC saying ‘Buzz Words’ will be go into the draw for a free copy of his new release Erasmus James and the Grat Siege. 

BW: Have you always wanted to be a writer?

DC: When I was a boy I dreamed of growing up to become a writer, a professional surfer, an astronaut or a jelly wrestler. I was only ever an average surfer, Australia had no space program and I couldn’t afford a swimming pool full of Aeroplane jelly, so I focused on writing. Many grown-ups told me I was a fool and that I would never make a living out of writing. But the only fools are those who are too scared to follow their dreams!

As with any sport or activity, the more you practise something, the better you become. I wrote so much, I won an award from the Victorian government for one of my short stories and had my first article published in Tracks surfing magazine – both when I was still in high school. When I received a cheque for $60 from Tracks, I felt like the richest boy in Ulladulla!

BW: You recently did well in a few writing contests?

DC: Yes! In the last month, my unpublished children's novel 'City of Monsters' has won first place in the Adult Category of the Writing Classes for Kids and Adults Fantasy Writing Competition and runner-up in the 8th Kathleen Julia Bates Memorial Writing Competition. Any discerning publishers reading this are welcome to jump in now, while I’m polishing the final draft until it glistens!

BW: And your latest book is being launched this month?

DC: Right now, I’m on a nation-wide ten-blog tour, launching Erasmus James and the Grat Siege (for details, see below). The official galaxy-wide book launch will be at Ulladulla Library on Saturday, June 2, from 12-1 pm. There will be great prizes, including signed books and posters, ripping yarns, lots of laughs and the chance to ask me just about anything and/or have me sign a book or three.

BW: You worked for surf magazines for many years?

DC: Many, many years! Apart from the abysmal pay, it was a dream job in many ways. I was able to combine the three great loves of my life: writing, surfing and travelling – the latter on someone else’s coin! I roamed the coastlines of multiple continents, usually with a photographer and an ever-changing crew of pro surfers. I was fortunate to have a succession of wonderful editors from magazines around the world who let me be in turn experimental, investigative, tangential, satirical, irreverent, demagogic, demented, gonzo, naughty and frequently the star of my own stories.

BW: Humour seems to be an important element of your stories.

DC: Indeed! I’ve always loved making people laugh. As a grommet (also known as a kid), I was always in trouble for calling out funny comments in class. The teacher would frown my way and shout, ‘Green… detention!’

I interrupted the teacher with so many feeble jokes, I think I set a new world record for being on detention! I suffered chalk dust poisoning and Vitamin D deficiency from being indoors every lunch-time!! I decided there surely had to be another way to make people laugh that didn’t involve me writing, ‘I must not be a goose’ 200 times on a blackboard before I was allowed to eat my sandwich. So I snuck into my big brother’s room and tore pages out of his school books. I cut these up and turned them into… mini-comics!

Four amazing things happened. I discovered that writing and drawing comics was a fantastic way to spend a rainy afternoon. My friends at school dug my comics so much they wanted to buy them. And my big brother had a temper tantrum because pages kept falling out of his school books! So I was having fun, making money, annoying my family and not being put on detention every day! Woo-hoo! Double quinella!!

BW: You often refer to your guard cats.

DC: Yes, I can’t afford guard dogs, so instead my life is in the paws of three bold if usually comatose guard cats: Ninja the Ginger, Frankie Hollywood Junior and Boofhead. I’ve even written a chapter book mystery story featuring the cats, which I hope a clever publisher will want to publish one decade!

BW: I understand you do a lot of school shows?

DC: Definitely the best part of my job is touring schools. In the last six years, I’ve performed over 700 school shows in every Australian state and territory. Instead of being put on detention, I now get PAID to make silly comments and jokes in classrooms! I love hearing windows shake because the audience (including the teachers) are laughing so hard – even if just because they’ve never seen a big bald man rap so badly before! I’m always stoked when teachers tell me their students were so inspired by my show they all wanted to rush back to class to write their own amazing yarns. Sure beats being on detention!

BW: Tell us about your current publisher, Barrel Books.

DC: Barrel Books has been a fantastic publisher, very supportive and open to new ideas. For example, they agreed to share the cost of ten per cent of all sales of my picture book, Three Little Surfer Pigs, going to CanTeen Australia, the organisation that supports young Australians living with cancer and their families. Neither Barrel Books or myself made much money out of that endeavour; but the feeling of doing something for others was wonderful. I wish more famous and wealthy and authors would follow suit!

Unfortunately, the company that distributed Barrel Books’ books, Scribo, went out of business last year, so my five books are now only available through a limited range of bookstores, at my school shows and other public appearances or through www.barrelbooks.com in dead tree, audio or ebook formats.

BW: I understand you’ve already received some good reviews for your new book, Eramsus James and the Grat Siege?

DC: I have! Here are some selected quotes!

‘Hilarious and action packed… an unforgettable book of beasts, battles and bizarre bodily functions.’ – Dee White, Kids’ Book Capers.

‘Grat Siege is full of page turning terror, amazing creatures and amusing one-liners that will appeal especially to boys, holding their attention until the very last full stop.’
– Sally Hall, Needtoreadthis.com

‘Nothing can compare to this… It’s impossible to predict just what will happen next. It’s crazy fun wrapped up in mindgames… Extraordinarily punny, (it) will spin you around until you lose all sense of who you are and what you’re doing there. In a good way. You’ll get dizzy in this whirlwind universe.’ Claire Saxby, Aussiereviews.com

‘It’s funny, sad, scary and the BEST Erasmus novel! I’ll read it 100 times!’ 
– Jack, 12-years-old.

‘It’s funny, exciting and written by a genius!’ 
DC Green.

BW: Thanks for dropping by Buzz Words, DC!

DC: Thanks for inviting me, Vicki!

The DC Green Grat Siege Blog Blitz Tour Itinerary
Topic 1: Blog Tour Mania!
DC Green, Saturday May 12

Topic 2: Inspiration and Ideas
Ian Irvine, Sunday May 13

Topic 3: Book Giveaway
Kids Book Review, Tania McCartney - Monday 14 - Sunday 20

Topic 4: DC Green’s Books
PIO - Monday May 14

Topic 5: DC’s Amazing Life
Buzz Words, Tuesday May 15

Topic 6: Writing Great Characters
Robyn Opie, Wednesday May 16

Topic 7: Plotting and Planning!
Jill Smith, Thursday May 17

Topic 8: Surf Journalism
Chad Kolcze, Friday May 18

Topic 9: Random Questions
Helen Nolan, Saturday May 19

Topic 10: Sneak Peeks
Jackie Hosking, Sunday May 20

DC would be stoked if you could like his ‘DC Green Author’ page on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/DC-Green-Author/184192614968404 
Like DC's page in the month of May and send the message 'Buzz Words' to DC and you'll go into the draw to win a free copy of his new release, Erasmus James and the Grat Siege.

DC’s books can be purchased online here: www.barrelbooks.com

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for supporting my blog tour, Vicki! The post looks terrif! But who's that other bald guy in the photo with me? Heh.

    Happy buzzing


    DC

    ReplyDelete
  2. Absolute pleasure and hope the tours been a great success.

    ReplyDelete

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