Bill Doyle, author of the Behind Enemy Lines series as well as the newly released Scream Team (illustrated by Jared Lee, of Black Lagoon fame!), answered some questions for all of you Book Box Daily readers. Read on to find out what it was like to write two very different series, where he got the idea for monster baseball players, and some of Bill’s own original monster mash-up ideas!

Book Box Daily: You’re the author of both the Behind Enemy Lines series and the brand-new Scream Team series—what is it like writing in such two different styles and levels?

Bill Doyle: Yes, they’re definitely two very different series. The Scream Team is about funny misfit monsters who love to play sports. And Behind Enemy Lines tells the stories of real heroes who’ve done incredibly brave and dangerous things. Because they’re so unrelated, it actually makes my life as a writer easier. It’s simple to keep the two series separate in my mind when I sit down at my computer, and there’s no blurring of one into the other.

BBDaily: The first Behind Enemy Lines book was much more research based, while the second seemed to involve more interviews. What was it like taking on the role of reporter versus researcher?

Bill Doyle: Interesting question! In addition to reading memoirs, biographies, and news reports, like I did with the first Behind Enemy Lines, I took the few weeks needed to locate the subjects for the second book so I could interview them. This book is all about conflicts in the Middle East after 1991, so I had the chance to talk to soldiers and one civilian who were in the center of the fighting. A single interview could last over four hours—that’s about 80 pages when typed up. With the second book, I felt even more responsibility to tell these people’s stories the best that I could. These heroic men and women deserve nothing less.

BBDaily: How did you choose which stories to tell in Behind Enemy Lines? Was it difficult to make them age appropriate?

Bill Doyle: Narrowing down the list was the hardest part. There are countless extraordinary soldiers doing so many brave things every day. I worked with the fantastic editor Jenne Abramowitz—who also edited the first Behind Enemy Lines—to find a good, age-appropriate range. Because we started by selecting subjects with readers in mind, making the stories a good fit for age and level wasn’t too tricky after that.

BBDaily: Switching gears to your new series, Scream Team, where did the idea of monster baseball players come from?

Bill Doyle: Matt Ringler is another incredible editor at Scholastic, and he came to me with the idea of misfit monsters playing sports. We had some back-and-forth—picking types of monsters, setting tone, things like that—and the Scream Team was born! That’s another reason why it’s so fun working with Matt on this project—it’s definitely his baby, too.

BBDaily: What was it like working with illustrator Jared Lee on Scream Team?

Bill Doyle: What’s it like being on a team with the illustrator of the Black Lagoon series…and so many other fantastic books? It’s AMAZING. Anytime I get an art PDF that’s from Jared, I get all excited to open it and I’m never disappointed. The absolutely engaging way he draws characters and his clever, unexpected touches…all really bring the story to life in a way any author would be thrilled about.

BBDaily: I’ve heard that humor is one of the hardest genres to write. Did you find it difficult to be funny while writing The Werewolf at Home Plate?

Bill Doyle: You know, oddly enough, I didn’t. Early on, when I used to write more scripts, I learned that if I try too hard to be funny, I’m not. So my comic rule of thumb is this: If I’m straining to make a joke, chances are people will have to strain to laugh. So I’ll either drop the joke or rework it so it’s more natural. Plus, we’re talking about wacky monsters playing sports in the Scream Team series…so there are tons of organic ways for me to slip in funny bits and gags.

BBDaily: I couldn’t help but notice Attack of the Shark-Headed Zombie in your repertoire of titles…what other terrifying things can you think of to mash together?

Bill Doyle: For this age, I only do scary fiction if I add lots of touches of humor—like Attack of the Shark-Headed Zombie. The next title in that “boys battling monsters with magic” series is Stampede of the Supermarket Slugs. To dream up more monster-y mash-up ideas, I just look around my office. (I read this Ray Bradbury interview where he said he keeps interesting objects around to spark creativity. I try to do the same.) Using the stuff on my desk right now, off the top of my head I’d imagine a Five-Tongued Dinobot or a Biting Candy Box of Doom or a Fish-Faced Ficus Fiend. You get the idea!

If they’d like, I’d love for people to visit me at www.billdoyle.net. Thanks for letting me hang out on your blog…I’ve had a blast!

You’ll find Behind Enemy Lines later this fall from Book Clubs, and you can find Scream Team #1: The Werewolf at Home Plate on Lucky in September.

Tags: Authors, interview