I’m a huge fan of the series City Spies and was thrilled that James Ponti was coming to a local bookstore at RJ Julia's in Madison, CT
Fun Facts about James Ponti:
He used to work in television
He was a reluctant reader as a child.
Favorite book:
There's a funny story about how he discovered that the author lived in his hometown (Florida).
The idea came from travel - he wanted to write books that would take place all over the world. And readers could travel the world through his books.
Came up with the idea traveling to London and Paris
He liked the idea of middle schoolers as spies because they
1. disappear into the background
2. test out different identities
3. no one would ever think they are spies
Writing Points:
He likes to blend the old ideas with the new ideas (ancient Egypt but hacking creating the problem)
He conductions expert interviews: asking people "What do you hate about books or movies that gets them wrong?"
He's mostly a pantser BUT he does know the ending.
And we have Suzanne Collins (of the Hunger Games fame) to thank for his books. She persuaded him to start writing. They used to work together writing for TV shows.
Also, the movie rights were sold!
Here we are together. Because I'm awkward, I didn't get a picture with Laura. But this one came out nice.
