I broke into the wild of world publishing by working with Adam Selzer on The Smart Aleck Staff, which produced the acclaimed Smart Aleck's Guide to American History. I still lives at Smart Aleck HQ, helping the interns drill for any likely scenario. Together, we defend HQ from irate Civil War buffs, deal with Adam's eccentricities and attempts to cook, and keep the proton packs ready (in case Adam's night job as a historian and ghost investigator turns ugly). Adam and I are engaged in a "beef" because blog drama apparently drives book sales.
The staff is now engaged in several new guides, including books about Shakespeare, baseball, and grave robbing.
Sparks, my first novel, is set in Cornersville Trace, Iowa, the same made-up suburb of Des Moines that appears in most of Adam's books. Cornersville Trace is located in between the real-life surburbs of Urbandale and Johnston.
