Trent Reedy

I’m excited to announce that Trent Reedy is our newest guest on What Was on His . . . !

With two middle grade novels published—Words in the Dust and Stealing Air—Trent has turned his writing skills to young adult. He just released Divided We Fall, which Publishers Weekly awarded a star and declared a ‘stunning trilogy opener.’ Although Trent has much in common with Daniel Wright, the protagonist of Divided We Fall—the National Guard taught each of them to rig explosives and fire machine guns, and then called both up for active duty—Trent currently lives much more calmly in Spokane Washington than Daniel in the center of a near-future America on the verge of civil war. 

For a close-up and engaging look at Trent Reedy’s writer’s life, please keep reading, because here is Trent with What Was on His . . .

Coffee Mug: Most days I drink out of a particular coffee mug, a white one with brown swoops that was one of the few of my father’s possessions that I actually asked him for before he died years ago.  My father wasn’t really a coffee drinker, but he had owned the cup for as long as I could remember, and so it reminds me of happy times and family.

On rare occasions I drink out of a Doctor Who disappearing Tardis mug because I’ve been deep into Doctor Who since I discovered the show in 1989.

On Write Outside the House Fridays (WOHF), I take a Royal Baby Cup to Atticus coffee shop in Spokane.  This mug has cheesy, heart-shaped photos of the royal couple, and it was made before the child was born, so it just says “Royal Baby.”  It’s the cup for those who absolutely had to have a Royal Baby Cup, but couldn’t be bothered to wait for the child’s birth.  It’s so funny and ridiculous, and the baristas at Atticus always announce my drink is ready in a big voice, saying, “Royal Babyyyyyy!”

Play List: As I write this, I’m listening to my playlist full of songs that I heard at Atticus Coffee Shop.  There are a lot of songs with whistling in them.  I love songs with whistling.  In the coffee shop, when a great song comes on, I have to go up to the barista and ask the name of the song so I can buy it later.  My problem is that it seems like all the really great songs come on when there’s a huge line in front of me.  I want to push people out of my way and rush up to the counter before the song on Pandora or whatever skips ahead and is lost.  Of course, I always wait my turn.  I’ve lost some really swell songs that way.

Tumblr: Tumblr!  Yes, I am new to Tumblr.  Some of my friends at Scholastic introduced me to it, and I’ve really come to enjoy it.  Right now there are some posts that I reblogged about the tragic death of Phillip Seymour Hoffman.  He was extraordinarily talented, and his death was a huge loss to us all.

Desk: What’s not on my desk?  I do most of my writing on a large-screen iMac on top of a big old wooden desk I bought from University of Iowa surplus.  Both the computer and the desk are rock solid, and I love them.  You can tell how close I am to a writing deadline by how messy my desk is.  When I begin a new phase of drafting or revision, I clean and organize the desk.  As the deadline approaches, the piles of books, papers, napkins, pens, and other assorted bits grows and grows.  Who has time to clean and organize the desk when approaching a deadline?  I take lunch at my desk a lot, and I got tired of walking back to the kitchen for the salt and pepper shakers.  The solution?  Tardis salt shaker and Dalek pepper pot!  The desk is cluttered and messy.  I hope the plots of my novels are not.

Bookmarks Bar: My writer friends on Facebook frequently post links to intriguing articles about books or writing.  I rarely have time to read these articles when I see them, but I don’t want to lose them.  I used to print them, but I recently discovered that I can, with one click, add them to my reading list.  The problem is that I sort of forget them once they hit the reading list.  Some day, I’ll take a whole day off and catch up on all that swell reading.

Calendar: I mostly rely on Apple iCal for staying organized these days, and it is a bit of a stretch to say that I am organized.  After all, I had to ask about three times to confirm when my answers were due for this blog.  Right now I have a lot of writing deadlines on my calendar.  I was very pleased to be able to add the release date for my fourth novel, IF YOU’RE READING THIS on August 26, 2014.

I also have a lot of fictional events at various times on iCal, since I use it to track events in my novels.  This helps me make sure I’m keeping track of the plot and pacing, but also, with DIVIDED WE FALL, it means some pretty intense national events are on my calendar.  At some point in the near future I’m going to pass these events, and I’ll be happy to note how much better the real America is when compared to the scary future in DIVIDED WE FALL.

Dream Guest List: I’d love to sit down to a nice long, slow meal with YA dystopian/post-apocalyptic authors.  I’d love to compare notes and experiences with The Hunger Games’ Suzanne Collins, Ashfall series author Mike Mullin, Lois Lowry of The Giver fame, Divergent author Veronica Roth, Legend series author Marie Lu, The Eleventh Plague and The Darkest Path author Jeff Hirsch, Matched trilogy author Ally Condie, and other writers who have created these horrifically fascinating worlds in YA novels.  How cool would that be?  I would never want such a meal to end!  “More, dessert, anyone?”

Night Stand: It’s funny, but when Jill Santopolo wrote about what was on her night stand, she sent in a photograph of my novel DIVIDED WE FALL.  Presently my night stand showcases the first in Jill’s new middle grade novel series SPARKLE SPA: ALL THAT GLITTERS.  I’m not offering a photo, though.  My night stand is not nearly as clean and dust-free as Jill’s.

TV Screen: Since we were in college together, my wife and I have taken a break to watch one Doctor Who story every week.  We call this Sci-Fi Friday night.  Outside of that, I’m waiting forThe Walking Dead to return.  That last episode before the midseason break was intense!

Mind: Book two in the DIVIDED WE FALL trilogy is on my mind.  It’s called BURNING NATION, and I’m hard at work on it.  I’m juggling many characters in this story, and that has been a fascinating challenge.  A lot of people, having finished the first book in the trilogy, have encouraged me to hurry to get the second book out.  I’m working as fast as I can!

The other thing on my mind is how grateful I am to Sandra Nickel for inviting me to visit this blog.  I’m grateful for the opportunity and support.

Thank you, Trent.

To keep up to date with Trent Reedy, follow him at www.trentreedy.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Trent-Reedy, and on Tumblr at www.trentreedy.tumblr.com. And if you haven’t had a chance to read Divided We Fall, you can order it by clicking below:

Please plan on stopping by again on February 20, when international best-selling author Amy Plum will join us for What Was on Her . . .