Friday, March 20, 2020

Character Interview: Monsterland's Wyatt Baldwin @#characterinterview

We are really excited to have Wyatt Baldwin here with us today at Blogging Authors! Wyatt Baldwin comes from the inside pages of Michael Okon's new book, MONSTERLAND. Take it away, Wyatt!

What is your name?

Wyatt Baldwin, not related to Alec.

What do you look like?

5’11. Black hair. Lanky. Normally wearing a cool vintage zombie shirt and jeans.

Where are you today and what are you doing?

Heading to the opening of that new theme park Monsterland with my best friends Melvin and Howard Drucker. We are meeting up with the cool kids, and my crush – Jade. What a better way to meet up at a theme park with real werewolves, vampires, and zombies? I’m going to have to prove to my friends how brave I really am.

You come face to face with your worse enemy. How do you react?

At this point in my life, I would freeze and walk away. But isn’t that how all protagonists begin at every story? Who knows what’s going to happen as my life progresses.

How would your parents describe you?

Well, my dad died a few years ago, they said it was an accident but I wasn’t too sure about that. My mom would call me a brilliant hypochondriac maybe. A nerd with a gift to convince anyone that zombies can beat werewolves or vampires seven days a week, and twice on Sunday. My stepfather Carter, well, who cares what he thinks.

Who is your best friend?

I have two, Melvin and Howard Drucker. We work together at Instaburger. You can call us the “outcasts” in Copper Valley, although I moved here recently, I feel like I’ve known them my entire lives. They got me, and we have this evergreen debate on which monster would win – werewolf versus vampire versus zombie. I’m in Team Zombie.

Are you faith-oriented?

After my father died mysteriously, I don’t know what to believe anymore.

Are you married or in a relationship?

Married at 18. Ha! Nope, just would love Jade to notice me. She’s the girl I’ve been longing for since I got to this small desert town.

Do you have children?

Nope. Will I ever? Hopefully with Jade, but you never know how life can change in an instant.

Inside the Book

Welcome to Monsterland—the scariest place on Earth.Wyatt Baldwin’s senior year is not going well. His parents divorce, then his dad mysteriously dies. He’s not exactly comfortable with his new stepfather, Carter White, either. An ongoing debate with his best friends Melvin and Howard Drucker over which monster is superior has gotten stale. He’d much rather spend his days with beautiful and popular Jade. However, she’s dating the brash high-school quarterback Nolan, and Wyatt thinks he doesn’t stand a chance. But everything changes when Wyatt and his friends are invited to attend the grand opening of Monsterland, a groundbreaking theme park where guests can interact with vampires in Vampire Village, be chased by werewolves on the River Run, and walk among the dead in Zombieville.With real werewolves, vampires and zombies as the main attractions, what could possibly go wrong?

Praise:

“Michael Okon crafts a fabulous novel with unique, unforgettable characters. …The world building was done fabulously. There were believable backgrounds that explain how it could be possible for there to be a world that had not only vampires, but also werewolves and zombies, excuse me, the vitality-challenged. It all comes together seamlessly as the plot lines converge to make for an explosive ending.” – Devouring Books 2017, blogspot
“I can assure you of this: you will not be disappointed. Nor will you sleep well at night for a while, either. But isn’t that the mark of a master storyteller! Hat’s off to Michael Okon” – Theodore Jerome Cohen, Author of “House of Cards: Dead Men Tell No Tales (Martelli NYPD, #2)”
“As this book deserves not only top of the New York Times bestseller list but on the big screen as well. The moment I began to read my world was transformed and I was living through the novel.” – Carey Hurst, Tales of A Wanna-Be SuperHero Mom
“First rate YA fiction with a monsterous twist. Highly recommended.” – Richard Schwindt, author of “The Death in Sioux Lookout Trilogy”
“Okon does a fantastic job of creating distinct personalities for the different monsters. The vampires are sly and cunning while the werewolves are weary and brooding. Even the zombies have some personality, albeit it’s only shown through thoughts they struggle to string together.” – Alejandro Ramos, medium.com
“I enjoyed the beautiful prose, the great characters, and the exciting plot. It’s hard to read this novel without getting emotionally involved.” – Divine Zape, Readers’ Favortie (Five Star Review)
“I think MONSTERLAND provides something different for the YA category that really isn’t otherwise present, not only in type of story but in teen/adult relationships.” – litbites.com, Blog Tour
“This book has a charm often lost in supernatural stories. Michael Okon sets a brilliant scene where you can hear and see the world coming to life before your eyes. You don’t read this book, you live it. .. Monsterland makes for a fun yet harrowing horror read, with injections of comedy, and masterful execution.” – K.J. Simmill (5 Star Review)

Monsterland Awards

2017 Readers’ Favorite Five Star Review
Feathered Quill Book Awards 2018 – Science Fiction/Fantasy – Second Place
Feathered Quill Book Awards 2018 – Teen Fiction, Graphic/Anime (13-18 years) – First Place
The Feathered Quill, The Write Companion Award for Best Overall Top Pick
2018 Shelf Unbound – Notable
2018 Readers’ Favorite Silver Medal Winner in the Young Adult – Horror genre
2019 International Book Awards – Fiction: Fantasy – Finalist
2020 Feathered Quill Book Awards – Gold/1st Place – Best of Backlist

ORDER YOUR COPY

Amazon → https://amzn.to/31KQKFy

Barnes & Noble → https://bit.ly/2SCCo5P

_____________________

Meet the Author

Deborah Serani is an award-winning author and psychologist who has been in practice for thirty years. She is also a professor at Adelphi University and is a go-to media expert for psychological issues. Her interviews can be found in Newsday, Psychology Today, The Chicago Tribune, The New York Times, The Associated Press, and affiliate radio programs at CBS and NPR, among others. Dr. Serani has also been a technical advisor for the NBC television show, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. The recurring character, Judge D. Serani, was named after her.