BOOKS AND MOVIES

Posted By CarrieK on September 3, 2009

Michelle at GalleySmith is hosting the Literary Road Trip:

The Literary Road Trip is a project in which bloggers are volunteering to showcase local authors. This showcase can be anything you want to make of it – book reviews, author interviews, giveaways – as long as you’re working with an author local to you.

Michael Harmon is a YA author who moved in his teen years from California to Spokane, Washington. He still lives in Eastern Washington with his family, and spends his time (when not writing) backpacking, fishing, shooting, and woodworking.

The Last Exit to Normal: When Ben Campbell was fourteen years old, his world fell apart. Dad came out of the closet, Mom split, and Ben was left with the aftermath of a family torn apart. Then the real trouble started. Three years, countless joints, and one arrest later, Ben finds himself at the Last Exit To Normal. He also finds an eleven year old boy who has bigger problems than he ever dreamed of.

The Last Exit To Normal is called Rough Butte, Montana, and he’s taken there by his father and his partner to ‘straighten him out’. Except Ben doesn’t think he’s the one who needs straightening, and from there, the sparks fly as he and his father come to terms with who they are, how they see each other, and what ‘family’ really means.

The Last Exit To Normal calls to the reader to know the story of Ben, a boy who loves his father and hates him at the same time, and a teenager who is learning to cope with life, injustice, and coming to terms with adulthood.

Skate: There’s not much keeping Ian McDermott in Spokane, but at least it’s home. He’s been raising Sammy practically on his own ever since their mom disappeared again on one of her binges. They get by, finding just enough to eat and plenty of time to skateboard.

But at Morrison High, Ian is getting the distinct, chilling feeling that the administration wants him and his board and his punked hair gone. Simply gone. And when his temper finally blows–he actually takes a swing at Coach Florence and knocks him cold–Ian knows he’s got to grab Sammy and skate. Run.

Their search for the one relative they can think of, their only hope, leads Ian and Sammy across the entire state of Washington in the cold and rain–and straight into a shocking discovery. Through it all, Ian knows exactly what he has to do: protect Sammy, and let no one split up their family of two. Michael Harmon tells a nuanced and unflinching story of wilderness survival, the fierce bond between brothers, and teen rage–and redemption.

For more information on his books and an in-depth bio, visit Michael Harmon‘s web site.

I was fortunate to be able to interview Mr. Harmon via e-mail:

Please tell us a bit about your journey to becoming a writer. Was it something you always wanted to do?

Michael: “My journey to becoming a writer is not typical fare, to say the least. I have no training. No Masters In Fine Arts degree, no English degree, no college at all, really. In fact, I don’t even have a high school diploma. I dropped out in the twelfth grade. I’ve never taken a writing course, and I failed nearly every English class during my illustrious high school career. But I always wrote. Not because it was something I wanted to do, but because it was something I loved. Writing has always allowed me to express myself, and it lends clarity to my life as I do so. I began with short stories, poetry, and finally, when I was thirty years old, my first novel. At that stage, my children were older, I had a bit of time, and I decided that I did in fact have a need to see how far I could take this writing gig. So I taught myself how to write, and as I’m not a book learner, the only way to teach myself was to simply sit down and type. I’ve written 21 novels in the last eight years.”

As I read through your web site, I discovered that one of your books (The Last Exit to Normal) has been banned or challenged in school libraries. What was that experience like?

Michael: “All of my books have been disallowed from being read by some school or another, and though I have very strong feelings about censorship, schools have the autonomy to do as they see fit. My biggest concern is that the parents of the children attending those schools have the power to change policy, but rarely do. It’s usually either one or two very loud and irritating parents who think it’s up to them to dictate what others are allowed to read, or it’s a very quiet ‘omission’ by school administrations who don’t want to chance any confrontation if they include certain materials. The silent majority is….too silent.

The Last Exit To Normal wasn’t just banned from a school. I was censored from an entire state Department of Education. Here’s the short version: I was invited at the behest of the Delaware Department of Education to give several junior high school presentations to students who had achieved a certain academic goal. I accepted the invitation, and soon after, the administrator I had been contacted by abruptly retracted the invitation, writing to me that I was not to be a part of the events. After repeatedly writing back to her asking why, I finally spoke to her on the phone, and she specifically told me that due to The Last Exit To Normal having gay content in it, that I and my novel could not be condoned by the state to visit. Individual schools could choose to have me visit, but the state itself could not allow me to speak about a book with a gay father in it due to possible conflict or disagreement. Eventually I received a letter from the Secretary Of Education. In that letter, I was told that the official policy of the state had not been followed by the employee who had made the decision. I was then re-invited on the condition that I speak to the students about SKATE, my first novel, but not Last Exit, as it was determined to be too mature for the audience. I declined. All in all, the experience was outrageously funny in a sick and sad way. Funny due to the gobbledygook language used to cover their behinds, but sad for the students, parents and teachers that were being controlled by a government agency that was, in my opinion, misguided, ignorant and reactionary.

As a parent of an almost-13-year-old daughter, I’ve found that the books she reads spark amazing discussions on topics that might not have come up otherwise. Why do you think parents are so afraid of their teens reading books that talk about real life issues?

Michael: “As the parent of a 16 year old and 18 year old, I can understand fear. Life can be scary, and parents have an instinct to protect their children. Oftentimes it’s easier to be silent about difficult issues, and in that silence, we hope and pray for healthy outcomes. But hopes and prayers don’t work all the time. Open communication, honesty, and unconditional love do work. I think sometimes the possibility of knowing your child to be involved in difficult issues is more devastating to a parent than the actual problem, so ignorance is bliss, to be cliche. Bliss for the parent, heartbreaking and dangerous for the child.”

How has being a parent influenced your writing?

Michael: “Every one of my novels is dedicated to my children. Both of my kids read my YA stuff, and I use them as a gauge for interest and reality. Rarely does a writer find a good critique with absolute brutal but well-intentioned honesty. Having your kid say, ‘That part is stupid, dad’ is what I need to keep it real, and they have unquestioned authority abo ut being teenagers because they’re teenagers. I’m not.”

Do your kids read your books?

Michael: “As I said, I’ve written over 20. They’ve read most of them.”

What books have your teenagers enjoyed lately?

Michael: “My 18 year old daughter reads voraciously. I can’t keep track. We have hundreds of books in our home. My son won’t even read the microwave directions on the back of a burrito package, but he does like my work. The last book he read was Brutal, my third published novel.”

Which writers have had the biggest impact on your life and your writing?

Michael: “Kurt Vonnegut is brilliant. Cormac McCarthy, particularly The Road.”

What is the best book you’ve read this year so far?

Michael: “Why, of course that would be one of mine. Ha. I re-read The Road recently. Great stuff.”

If you could recommend one book that everyone should read, what would it be?

Michael: “I can’t really recommend any one book. I, just like many others, am a very particular reader. Years ago, I read The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver. It struck me. Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier. Anything Vonnegut.”

Thank you so much to Michael Harmon for the interview. To visit other blogs participating in the Literary Road Trip, click on over to GalleySmith. Stay tuned: next Thursday I will be highlighting author Terry Davis.

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Categories: authors
Tags: author interviews, literary road trip