An interview with Johnathan Rand, author of "Michigan Chillers"

Johnathan Rand gets a kick out of scaring kids…and the kids love it.

Rand is the author of the “Michigan Chillers” series of books that feature pre-teens taking on all manner of creepy things in various Michigan communities…poltergeists in Petoskey, aliens in Alpena, gargoyles in Gaylord (you get the picture). Since Rand published his first book, “Mayhem on Mackinac Island,” in 2000, the series has exploded in popularity, and now fills the shelves of bookstores across the state. “Michigan Chillers” has become so popular that it led Rand to create another series, “American Chillers,” that will eventually feature kids tackling weird goings-on in every state in the union. As if Rand isn’t busy enough, he also writes books for adult readers, and is the author of two additional children’s book series, “Freddie Fernortner, Fearless First Grader,” and “Adventure Club.” I recently spoke to Rand by phone while he was at Chillermania!, his store in Indian River that sells all of Rand's children’s books, as well as other products. 

Johnathan Rand

 

How did you start writing "Michigan Chillers"?

“It happened in a roundabout way. I had written adult fiction under the name ‘Christopher Knight,’  and while I was working on the second book, I was trying to come up with a metaphor for everything that was wonderful about northern Michigan. Like, if you put everything that’s wonderful in a bottle, and sold it on the shelf as a beverage, what would you call it? One of the names I came up with was a ‘Michigan Chiller.’ I kept thinking about that during the summer, about some of the scary books I had read as a kid, and how I could write scary stories about different cities in Michigan.”



Book 2, "Terror Stalks Traverse City"

 Describe what the “Michigan Chillers” are about.

“They’re spooky stories for kids ages seven to thirteen. They all have different main characters and they stand alone, so they don’t have to be read in any particular order. The kids in these books are pretty much on their own, having their own adventures and solving their own problems. They have to find their own way to get out of scary situations. There’s no blood, nobody dies. I write books like that for adults, but, again, those are for adults. Second graders are already exposed to too much of that stuff as-is. I want to make these books an enjoyable reading experience for them."

 

You publish the books yourself, right?

“Yes. I had pitched the idea to publishers, but I was pretty much rejected. One of the largest publishers in the world told me it was a good idea, but that kids aren’t reading that kind of thing anymore. And of course, now I’ve sold a million copies.”

Do you prefer publishing the books yourself?

“I do, especially after talking to other authors in the business. I’ve spoken to bestselling authors who can’t quit their day jobs because they don’t make enough money. [Self-publishing] is a lot of work because you’re responsible for all aspects of the product, but I’m glad I took that route. Early on I could handle everything myself, but now I have editors, an international events coordinator, an IT guy, an array of people to fill various shoes.”
 


Book 11, "Great Lakes Ghost Ship"

How did you know the books were becoming a hit?

“I didn’t know exactly what was going to happen, but right away the response was great. At the end of Book One, kids could read the first four chapters of Book Two. At the time, only Book One was available, so kids were coming into bookstores looking for Book Two. We started getting calls from bookstores asking for the next book, and it wasn’t even printed yet. That was an indication things were looking good. When we received our first order from a distributor for an entire case (65 books), my wife and I popped open a bottle of champagne. Now we get orders of 100 cases from a single customer.”

When you write your books, do you pick the “monster” first, then figure out the location, or is it the other way around?

“I start by picking a place. In most cases, it’s a place I’ve actually visited. Then I come up with several titles, and pick the title that I think is the best. If I know I have a good title, that gets me excited. Then I build the story around the title.”

What is one of your favorite “Michigan Chillers”?

“That would be one of the more recent ones, ‘Catastrophe in Caseville.’  Last year, I was looking at a website that advertised this huge cheeseburger festival that Caseville holds. It’s a ten-day festival that brings thousands upon thousands of people from around the country. Basically, it’s a big Jimmy Buffett bash. The pictures looked great, and I could imagine this giant cheeseburger destroying the city. The idea of a sandwich wrecking a town was fun.”
 

Book 16, "Catastrophe in Caseville"

What made you decide to write the “American Chillers” series?

“All along, I had been planning to write “American Chillers” if the “Michigan Chillers” series worked. I started getting letters from kids saying the same thing. It was like the kids were urging me on with an idea I already had.”

How many books do you write in a year?

“Typically around eight to ten, sometimes more or less. I could probably get more done in a year, but I travel from mid-September to May. It’s pretty extensive; I’m on the road for a week, home for the weekend, then on the road for two weeks. I can actually write on the road, though. I get up at 3:00 a.m., write until 6:00 or 7:00, then speak at colleges and schools, usually two or three a day. By 4:00 or 5:00 I’m back at the hotel and I hit the sack around 7:00 so that I can get up early again. It’s a magical time early in the morning; everybody’s quiet, and I can concentrate and focus.”

 

What’s in the future for you?

“As far as the ‘American Chillers’ go, I know I’m going to write one for every single state. I’ll continue writing the ‘Michigan Chillers’ series. I’ve had people ask me, ‘Will you write ‘International Chillers,’ but I don’t know about that.”

What do you read when you’re not writing?

“I will read just about anything and everything. I like scary stuff, but I also read autobiographies, kids’ books, just about everything.”

 

What is one of your favorite places to visit, or your favorite things to do, in Michigan?

“I grew up fly fishing the Au Sable River in Grayling, and I love going to the U.P. once a year to rent a cabin in as remote of an area as I can find. I spend two weeks writing, hiking, fly fishing. It’s so desolate, it’s like a whole different country.”

 

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For more information:

Johnathan Rand's website

A tribute to Elmore Leonard

The "Dickens of Detroit," author Elmore Leonard, has died at age 87. He had suffered a stroke late in July, and though initially he appeared to be recovering, he ultimately lost his battle, dying at his home earlier today in Bloomfield Hills. Leonard is best known for his gritty mystery and crime novels, many of which have been adapted into television shows and Hollywood films by the likes of Steven Soderbergh, Quentin Tarantino, and Barry Sonnenfeld.

Elmore Leonard

Leonard was born in 1925 in New Orleans, and moved with his family to Detroit when he was about nine years old. He's said that the writing bug first bit him in the fifth grade, when he wrote a play based on the novel, "All Quiet on the Western Front" and staged it in his classroom. In 1943, Leonard graduated from the University of Detroit High School, then joined the Navy, where he served in the South Pacific. After leaving the service, he studied English and philosophy at the University of Detroit, graduating in 1950.

Though Leonard got a job writing copy for an ad agency, the fiction bug was still circling him. Inspired by Ernest Hemingway's spare style, and by the western movies Leonard loved so much, he began writing western novels, then segued into crime fiction. Throughout the decades, he wrote 45 full-length novels, as well as a novel serialized in the New York Times Magazine. Leonard also wrote several short stories, essays, non-fiction works, and screenplays.

I haven't read any of Leonard's works, though a few of his novels are in my insanely huge pile of to-be-read books. I'm more of a historical fiction girl, so I'm not sure whether his subject matter will interest me. However, I might have to pick up a few works in homage, especially after having read one of the suggestions he gave to aspiring writers in his essay, "Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing." Quite simply, Leonard said, "Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip."

For more information:

Elmore Leonard's website

List of Elmore Leonard books

If you like history, mysteries, and Detroit, you'll love these books...

I'm really excited about September 3. Not because it's the day after Labor Day. (Because, really, why would anyone be excited about that?) I'm excited because that's the day the fourth book in the Detroit-set historical mystery series by Kalamazoo author D.E. Johnson will arrive in my mailbox. (I've already pre-ordered it from Amazon.)

I HIGHLY recommend this series for anyone who's interested in Michigan, history, and mysteries (or any combination thereof). I read the first book in the series, The Detroit Electric Scheme, because the Library of Michigan named it a Michigan Notable Book in 2011. I was skeptical, because I wasn't really a "mystery" person, but the plot sounded interesting. (Will Anderson, the alcoholic ne'er-do-well son of a Detroit automobile company owner, must defend himself from murder allegations after the body of his former friend is found crushed in a hydraulic press in his father's factory.) So I gave it a try.

And I read it in, like, three days. I couldn't put it down. I enjoyed the book because it had a suspenseful plot and also because I learned a lot about early automotive history, as well as the milieu of Detroit during the early 20th century. The book includes such "real-life" characters as Edsel Ford, the Dodge brothers, Big Boy (a fearsome bouncer at one of Detroit's seediest bars), and the Adamos (leaders in the Detroit underworld at that time). The book's main characters are fictional, but are so well-drawn that when misfortune befalls one of them at the end of the book, I started crying (which is something I NEVER do while reading).

Three other books follow The Detroit Electric Scheme: Motor City Shakedown (which was a 2012 Michigan Notable Book); Detroit Breakdown; and the latest, Detroit Shuffle, which hits the shelves in September. Each pits Will against a different aspect of the early-20th-century Detroit underworld, and is required reading for anyone checking out this blog. Seriously. There will be a pop quiz about the books tomorrow morning.

Okay, I won't go that far, but I do recommend this series...read the books, get lost in stories that will set your heart racing, learn some amazing things about early Detroit, and support a Michigan author in the process.

For more information:

D.E. Johnson's website