1. You often write short stories for your students’ grammar tests or mid-terms. How did Fakie start and what was your inspiration?
When the kids read my goofy stories about exploding toothpaste and mucus monsters on tests, they critiqued my writing pretty honestly. So I felt like I was ready to write a real story. Fakie came to me one day when my class was in the library, and the twentieth or so kid of the day told me there wasn’t anything he wanted to read on the shelves. I looked around, and I had to agree with him. Looking down the rack I found football, basketball, baseball…all the superstar sports. But I didn’t see any middle-school action story that would interest these skateboarders who just couldn’t find what they wanted to read. So I decided it was time to write one.
2. Alex and his mother, Sonya, are part of the whiteness relocation program. When you began writing Fakie, did you research the witness relocation program at all?
I thought I knew everything about the program from movies and books. But when I started writing, I checked my facts. For instance, I thought the program was part of the FBI, but I found out it was through the US Marshal Service. I knew their basic functions, and I tried to stay true for the most part. But I made up the part about Lankford refusing to report to anyone and giving Alex and his mom the programs and social security numbers. I figured it was possible for the Marshal’s office to do that, but I don’t think the government would give anyone that kind of power.
3. Alex’s one true friend is Tim. Tim is able to see beneath Alex’s outward appearance. Do you think this changes Alex’s course of action for the rest of the novel?
Definitely. Tim believes in Alex: the Alex beneath the poser surface. Therefore, Alex lets himself relax a little and dig under his layers of lies and fake personalities to find who he really is. Tim enables Alex to take risks with skateboarding, build a group project as he is building friendships and creating a home in Virginia Beach. Ultimately, Alex’s friendship with Tim enables him to ask for the help he needs and save his and his mother’s lives.
4. Authors tend to incorporate characteristics of people they know into their characters. Do any aspects of your children’s personalities’ transition into Alex’s personality?
My children were too young to factor in to this story when I wrote it. But My students’ personalities definitely show up. Alex and Tim are hybrids of several students I’ve had over the years. I’ve taught many Brian’s. I even grew up with a few. But they didn’t usually have their transformation from bully to friend until after graduation. Nate and Tyler are pretty much clones of two of my best friends in high school.
5. Currently, Alex is fifteen years old. Where do you think he’ll be in ten years?
I think his struggle against and the eventual triumph over the killers will stay with him forever. Unfortunately, I don’t see his personality allowing him to turn into a spy or anything. That’s a pity. It would be a cool sequel. Instead I see him after college starting a company with his friends: maybe an East Coast Long Board Company or something that would take a ton of self confidence and risk-taking chutzpah. Because he will have plenty of both after his adventure. I don’t see any obstacle frightening him.
6. Alex Miller’s life rests on the ability to create various identities. If you could change your identity, who would you become and why?
I think if I changed, I’d have to do it right. I’d grow out my hair, get the arm tattoo, and grab a classic BMW motorcycle. I’d throw on a backpack with all my stuff and hit the gas. Why? It would just be incredibly freeing to have no place to be, no duties, no responsibility. I would just ride around, see everything, meet everyone, and then ride on. Hmmm. It just occurred to me that as a kid I wanted to do the same thing, only as a cowboy.
7. Have any of your students read Fakie or Outrage? If so, what is their opinion of the book?
Quite a few have read it at this point. Most have told me that they like it. Which I expected because they probably think I’ll fail them or something if they tell me it stinks. But it’s cool when a kid I don’t know who is in someone else’s English class pops his head in and tells me he liked it. It’s also cool when a kid tells me, “Hey, why did you…” or “They should have…” I love these reactions because they are honest. I can only get better by getting honest criticism.
8. As an English teacher, what do you feel is the greatest challenge when getting kids to read? How can it be solved?
Over half my students right now are avid readers. That’s risen considerably since the Harry Potter and more recently Twilight phenomena have hit. The other half has very little time to read. My students play school sports, go out with friends, hunt, race cars and bikes, surf, party, text, and watch a lot of TV. There are a lot of activities to compete for their time. The key to hooking their interest is writing short (but not condescending) books about what they’re interested in (see above list). They need to see what they can get out of a book before they are willing to invest their time in reading it. Maybe a good starting place would be magazines for some, comics or graphic novels maybe for others. Maybe they’ll never pick up Twilight or War and Peace. That’s OK. But they should see that there is a value to reading.