Author Interview: James Ponti

I'm thrilled to be chatting with James Ponti today!

About the Book:

In the tradition of Nancy Drew, four kids and one grandfather in Miami tackle a decades-old mystery in this first book in the action-packed and funny Sherlock Society middle grade series from New York Times bestselling, Edgar Award–winning author James Ponti! Siblings Alex and Zoe Sherlock take their last name as inspiration when choosing a summer job. After all, starting a detective agency has to be better than babysitting (boring), lawn mowing (sweaty), or cleaning out the attic (boring and sweaty). Their friends Lina, an avid bookworm, and Yadi, an aspiring cinematographer, join the enterprise, and Alex and Zoe’s retired reporter grandfather offers up his sweet aquamarine Cadillac convertible and storage unit full of cold cases. The group’s first target is the long-lost treasure supposedly hidden near their hometown Miami. Their investigation into the local doings of famed gangster Al Capone leads them to a remote island in the middle of the Everglades where they find alarming evidence hinting at corporate corruption. Together with Grandpa’s know-how and the kids’ intelligence—plus some really slick gadgets—can the Sherlock Society root out the conspiracy?

I was lucky enough to get an ARC. You can read my review here. 

(I loved it!)

And I got to meet James at a local(ish) bookstore for the City Spies tour. You can read about that meeting here. 

About the Author:

James Ponti is the New York Times bestselling author of four middle grade book series: The Sherlock Society following a group of young detectives; City Spies, about an unlikely squad of five kids from around the world who form an elite MI6 Spy Team; the Edgar Award–winning Framed! series, about a pair of tweens who solve mysteries in Washington, DC; and the Dead City trilogy, about a secret society that polices the undead living beneath Manhattan. His books have appeared on more than fifteen different state award lists, and he is the founder of a writers group known as the Renegades of Middle Grade. James is also an Emmy–nominated television writer and producer who has worked for many networks including Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, PBS, History, and Spike TV, as well as NBC Sports. He lives with his family in Orlando, Florida. 

Interview:

Did Al Capone really bury one million dollars somewhere in Florida?

 

My understanding is that he actually buried keys to safety deposit boxes. (I eliminated that step to make it just the money so that it would be more immediate.) I also made up the treasure map; but the rest of it is true including the niece having him hypnotized and digging up all the land on the estate. (Funny side note – I planned to include the Capone house as part of the story, but the day I went there to scout and research, it was literally being torn down. It was more than one hundred years old, but they picked that day to make me rewrite the plot. Instead, I have they come there as it’s being torn down)

 

What was your first summer job?

 

My very first one was selling food at Sea World. (I worked at the Snack Encounter, which was right next to the Shark Encounter.) But every summer after that, I worked at Walt Disney World on the Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes. I would stand in the front of a giant canoe, dressed a coonskin cap and tell bad jokes to guests paddling through the summer heat. (“You see that burning cabin over there? That’s where my girlfriend lives. Well, actually we broke up, so she’s just my old flame. She used to work her but she got fired. It burns me up to think about it.”) It was a great job that taught me a ton about comedy writing. I’m still friends with many of my fellow canoers and we greet each other with the call “Yip-yip-yow,” which played on a recorded loop in the back of the Rivers of America.

That's too funny. I love the "Dad" jokes.

 

What fun tidbits of research didn't make it into the book?

 

I hung out with a marine biologist at the University of Miami because the father in the book is a marine biologist at the University of Miami. Late one night, we were with his grad students at the nursery where they try to grow coral and they played Marvin Gaye over loudspeakers to get the coral “in the mood.” I could not figure out a way to work that into the plot.

 

There was another one that I couldn’t figure out, but have since added it to book two. The Bee Gees lived in Miami Beach and when they drove over the Tuttle Causeway, the sound of their tires going over the seams in the road created a rhythm that inspired the beat of the song Jive Talkin’. Originally, it was even title Drive Talkin’ because of where they first heard it.

 

I can't wait for book 2!

Do you have a favorite fictional detective/story?

 

So, so many. My first was Encyclopedia Brown, whose stories inspired me greatly. My favorite author is Michael Connelly and I love his main character, Harry Bosch. My wife and I are addicted to British mystery shows and my favorite detectives there are Christopher Foyle from Foyle’s War, Jimmy Perez from Shetland, and Vera Stanhope from Vera.

 

Which W would you choose to research?

 

I am fascinated by character and personality, so for me it would always be Who.

Thanks for chatting with me! I really loved the first book in The Sherlock Society and I'm looking forward to more.