Today, I’m spotlighting another amazing Cybils-nominated author (the winners are going to be announced tomorrow! I can’t wait!), this time the author of the amazing Because of Mr. Terupt. Teacher, wrestling coach, father of daughters, and all-around nice guy, Rob Buyea (pronounced Boo-yeah) was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule and answer a few questions for me.

MF: First off, the blurb on your book by one of my husband’s favorite authors, John Irving, got me wondering. How did that come about?
RB: John and I first met in the wrestling room at Northfield Mount Hermon School. I coach the team there, and at the time, John’s youngest son was attending NMH. We talked whenever was saw each other on campus over the next year. After I started to get serious interest from editors about Mr. Terupt, I told John that I was a writer. He asked to see my story, read it, and loved it. I’m very lucky to have such a great person in my corner.

MF: Very cool! That is amazing. Can you tell us a little bit about the process (from inception to publication) for the novel?
RB: I was working on a different manuscript when some of the voices first began talking to me. Peter, Jessica, and Luke started in on me first. I tried not to listen to them because as I said, I was working on something else. They didn’t leave me alone, so I began to put their voices on paper. I shared the beginning with some writing colleagues, and then I knew I was on to something. I attended a conference hosted by the SCBWI where there was a first pages panel. Peter’s voice was read and critiqued on the spot. Everyone loved it. I worked to finish the story and sent it out.

MF: Did you always mean to write for a middle grade audience, or did it just happen?
RB:I knew I was writing for a middle grade audience. In fact, I imagined being the teacher standing and reading aloud to his classroom as I wrote the story. I used to love to do that. Many teachers that have used Mr. Terupt as a read-aloud have sent me wonderful emails.

MF: I agree: it would make a great read aloud. Why did you decide to write the story of Mr. Terupt and his classroom from the point of view of several different people rather than a single narrator?
RB: I had finished reading Bat 6 by Virginia Wolff not long before I began Mr. Terupt. I think that had an influence, though I didn’t consciously think about it. Imagine saying to a student, “Tell me about school today.” You’d get twenty different responses from a class of twenty. I had seven kids that wanted to tell you about that year with Mr. Terupt. Naturally, they all had something to say.

MF: I think the different narratives added to the story; it was one of my favorite things about the book. Do you have a favorite character or scene in the book?
RB: No and No. I could never pick a favorite character. One week I’m really thinking about Peter, and then the next it’s Anna, etc. And there are a lot of parts I really liked writing. I had a lot of fun with the dollar words and the scene where you see the principal’s underwear. I liked writing the snowball scene, the hospital scene with Lexie and the other girls, and James with Peter. I also really liked writing about Danielle’s grandmother. She’s important to me.

MF: Is there anything you would like (or hope) your readers take away from reading your book?
RB: I hope it prompts thought and brings laughter. I hope my readers realize there’s much more to their classmates than just what they see in the classroom. I hope my readers have many connections—to self, to classmates, and if they’re lucky, to their own “Mr. Terupt.”

MF: It did remind me of my 5th grade teacher; she was absolutely amazing. How do your experiences as a teacher help you with your writing?
RB: I had lots of students and experiences that spark my imagination.

MF: Is there some one or something that inspires you to write?
RB: I was inspired, not by my own “Mr. Terupt,” but rather by the students I taught. They were amazing—in so many ways. I began writing because of them. Turns out that writing has also filled a void in my life. I trained as a very dedicated wrestler all my life. Once I graduated college and was no longer competing, I felt like something was missing because I wasn’t training. Writing has taken that place. The mental toughness and endurance that went into wrestling now goes into my writing. I love it.

MF: What’s the last book you’ve read and loved (and why)?
Hope Was Here, by Joan Bauer. I read it because it was on Jessica’s mind while I was working on the sequel.

MF: If you don’t mind telling us, what can we expect next from you?
RB: Mr. Terupt Falls Again. Scheduled for a Fall 2012 release.

MF: Thanks, Rob, for your time!

After I finished Belly Up, I wondered a bit about the guy, Stuart Gibbs, who wrote this incredibly funny story. And after it made our Middle Grade Cybils shortlist, I knew I needed to interview him. A few interesting bio tidbits first: he grew up in South Texas, was at one point one of the world’s experts on capybaras (the other two being the Kratt brothers?), and has written shows for TV and movies before venturing into the world of middle grade fiction. And if his first novel is any indication, I, at least, am glad he made the jump.

MF: This is your first novel, yes? Congrats! Can you tell us a little bit about the whole process?
SG: Yes, this is my first novel. I sold it by writing a pitch for Simon & Schuster: A synopsis of the story and the first few chapters. Originally, the story was told in third person, but my first editor at S&S suggested changing it to Teddy’s voice – and gave me a few suggestions as to what to concentrate on in the story. For example, he felt that the interplay between corporate hype and reality would be interesting to kids. I worked at a zoo when I was in college – and I studied biology – so I had a good background of knowledge to draw on. It took me about four months to write the book.

MF: Did you choose to write for middle grade audiences, or did that just “happen”? If you did choose it, why?
SG: It really just happened. I’d always thought about writing an adult novel, but had never given the idea of writing for middle grade any thought until my agent (Jennifer Joel) approached me about it. The moment she did, I realized that was exactly the audience I should be writing for. I had originally thought of Belly Up as a book for adults with an adult protagonist – but then realized the murder of an animal was the perfect crime for a kid to solve. Plus, I have young children, so the idea of writing something that they could read was exciting to me.

MF: How on earth did you come up with a hilariously outlandish idea like a murdered ornery hippo for a book?
SG: I worked at a zoo when I was in college and always knew a zoo was a great setting for a story. At some point, I realized I’d never heard of a murder mystery where the victim was an animal, so that seemed like a fun idea. But then, to create a good mystery, I needed an animal that a lot of people wanted dead. A hippo seemed like a great victim. They’re extremely dangerous and foul-tempered, yet most people seem to think of them as docile and harmless. Just the sort of animal that a corporation might mistakenly turn into their mascot and then regret doing so.

MF: Tell me about writing comedy: humor’s such a personal thing, how did you go about making sure it was funny?
SG: You’re right that humor is personal. Because of that, it’s hard to write something that will be funny to everyone. So I basically just wrote what was funny to me and hoped other people would enjoy it as well. I know that not everyone finds everything in Belly Up as funny as I do – but I’ve also had parents write to me saying that their children were laughing so hard reading the book that they fell off the couch, which is probably the greatest praise I could ever get.

MF: I remember being curious while I was reading: how much of the animal information is fact and how much was fiction?
SG: About 99% the animal information is fact. I really wanted to be as factual as possible in writing this. I’d like to say it’s 100% fact, but it’s possible that I got some things wrong.

MF: The book has a strong (but not overpowering) environmental vibe: what are you hoping, if anything, your readers take away from reading this book?
SG: I certainly want kids to care about the environment, though I think that’s a message they get pounded with through various media these days, so I didn’t want to be overbearing with it. Hopefully, my readers are also learning that zoos are an extremely important part of the conservation movement. They’re not – as some people think – ‘jails’ for wild animals. At one point, I have Teddy voice a very personal thought of mine: That zoos are a compromise. There probably isn’t a zookeeper in the world who wishes we didn’t need zoos, but the fact is, without them, there might never have even been an environmental movement in the first place.

MF: Do you have a favorite character or scene in the book?
SG: I truly love Teddy, though I’m also very pleased with how Summer McCracken turned out. As for my favorite scene, well, it was a banner day when I came up with the sequence at Henry’s funeral. I think that one turned out to be quite funny.

MF: Oh, I agree: that was hilarious! You’ve also written for TV, correct? What are the differences and/or similarities between writing for TV and writing novels?
SG: They are extremely different experiences. Writing for TV is a much more collaborative process. You have producers, studio executives and network executives all giving you notes – and that’s just for the outline. By the time your show gets filmed (and there’s a good chance it won’t), the director, the actors and other writers have all weighed in too. Sometimes, this all works out great – and sometimes it doesn’t. When writing the novel, really the only other person with much input is your editor, so it’s much easier to stay true to your original vision.

Writing a novel is much more exacting work, however. In a book, every single word has to be just right, whereas, when you’re writing for TV, it doesn’t really matter how well you write a scene description; all that really matters is the dialogue.

MF: Are there five books you think everyone should read? (If there aren’t, what’s the last book you read and loved and why?)
SG: Wow. Five books. That’s very hard to narrow down. Can I pick my five favorite humor writers? These are the authors who’ve probably influenced my style the most – and the writers whose books I’ve read over and over again:

Roald Dahl made me laugh out loud all the time as a young reader.
Carl Hiaasen, Gregory McDonald and Donald Westlake are the funniest crime writers there are.
Bill Bryson writes nonfiction, but he does it in an amazingly accessible, incredibly funny way.

MF: Those are amazing writers. If you don’t mind telling us, what can we expect from you next?
SG: My next book, The Last Musketeer, will come out in the fall. It’s about a teenager who goes back in time to medieval France and ends up uniting the Three Musketeers – who are also teenagers — for their first adventure. This book is the first of a trilogy.

And in spring 2012, Spy School will be released. That’s about a kid who is thrilled to learn he’s been accepted to the CIA’s top secret Academy of Espionage – but then discovers he’s only been brought in as bait to catch a mole.

Plus, I’ve just developed the story for a sequel to Belly Up. So, hopefully I can get started on that sometime soon.

MF: Wow, things to look forward to! Thank you so much for your time, Stuart!