James Dashner

It’s no secret that my heart is with teen literature. I love the books, the authors, the readers, the events. They are fun, energized. The fans are avid. They come with a plethora of questions. Monday night we hosted James Dashner who was engaging, entertaining, and funny. Hard to believe he was an accountant in a previous life (he asked if there were any accountants in the audience and was a little surprised to find there were actually two!).

James Dashner was born and raised in Georgia and attended Brigham Young University. He currently lives in the Rocky Mountains with his family. He is the author of The 13th Reality Series and The Maze Runner series, both of which I think are brilliant. He is now a full-time writer and says he drew inspiration for The Maze Runner from both Ender’s Game and The Lord of the Flies.

He talked about his love of literature, and his love of movies. That reading should be part of every writer’s day. And that he also drew inspiration from the many movies he’s seen (he told everyone they should go and see Inception if they haven’t yet seen it!). Did you wonder about the slang in the book? I know I did. Apparently it was for many reasons: to suggest a time in the future where language has changed, to allow kids in the novel to say more than “gosh darn” but still be appropriate for middle schoolers, and to give readers a taste of the disorientation that Thomas feels all along.

Did you wonder whether Dashner was introducing a love triangle for Thomas/Teresa/Brenda? He says no. And, as I mentioned in my review earlier this week, Dashner admitted he wanted to leave a clue for the readers at the end of The Scorch Trials but his editor took it out, wanting to keep it for Book 3. However, that if you read the epilogue and the remembered dreams carefully you could figure it out. So that’s what I’m planning on doing (even though I haven't yet) so if you figure it out first, remember to tell me too!

And these photos are courtesy of the lovely Tricia, who takes amazing photos don't you think? Thank you Tricia.