Interview with author Christopher Maselli

Who and what age do you write for?I’ll write for anyone who will read my material! In the past, I’ve written board books for babies, comics for preschoolers, books for middle-graders, devotionals for teens and articles for adults. My favorite group to write for is middle-graders, ages 8-12.

Why do you write for this particular group?When I was 13, I started reading because I finally found a sci-fi book series that was fun and captured my attention. I like to write for this age group, especially boys, because I think there are guys out there like me who just need something cool and fun to start reading themselves. I also made Jesus my Lord when I was 13, and the things I read about Him changed my life. I hope what I write encourages kids like me to follow Jesus, too.

Do you have any new books coming out soon?
Right now I’m in a very intensive school that’s taking a lot of my time. I’m learning how to write better each and every day. But I’ve still saved some time to write new stuff. In fact, no one knows about this until now, but I have a new series coming out this year called “Super Sleuth Investigators.” It’s about a boy and a girl who solve mysteries…and each mystery is set up to see if you can figure out the clues and solve it before they do.

What book or series is your best seller?
That’s hard to say. The Superkids series I do isn’t tracked in the same way the Laptop series is, so I don’t have definite numbers to compare. I think they’ve done very similar. I can tell you for sure that Laptop book #1: Reality Shift is the best-seller in the Laptop series and Superkid book #3: Escape From Jungle Island is the best-seller in the Superkid series.

Why do you think that one sells the best?
Reality Shift sells best because it’s the first one in the series and it has received a bunch of great reviews. Readers also like Matt and his friends a lot—and the idea that they can make anything happen by typing it!

Escape From Jungle Island sells best because of the cover. It’s very cool, with Valerie running toward the reader. Girls especially like that cover. It’s one of my favorite books I’ve written because you can see how Valerie’s faith saves her in the midst of trouble.

What’s your favorite series for kids that you’ve written?
Overall, I like the Laptop series best. I just love the idea that you can change anything by writing it. But as far as favorites go, I’d say my favorite book in the Laptop series is #4: Power Play. Matt goes on his first “date” in that book, and actually, that’s where I had planned to start the series. Originally, he was going to find the laptop with Isabel and it was going to be their adventures together. We changed that later and gave Matt a group of friends—it does work better—but I always wanted to include the dynamic between Matt and Isabel. And I really got to do that in Power Play.

My favorite Superkid book, by the way, is the last one, The Knight-Time Rescue of Commander Kellie. It’s the first book I did that has knights and castles and dragons and stuff in it. I had a blast writing it.

What’s your favorite series for kids that someone else has written?I like the Wally McDoogle series by Bill Myers. And the Dunc and Amos series by Gary Paulson. And the Sidekicks series by Dan Danko and Tom Mason. But my favorite book is Holes by Louis Sachar

When and why did you decide to write books?
I’ve always liked to write, but I started writing books that people published about 12 years ago. My goal is to write books that challenge kids to live out their faith.

Do you write any shorter little kids books?
I’ve written a little bit of everything. My solve-it-yourself mysteries are especially loved by younger kids.

What are your favorite things to do?
Other than write? I spend way too much time messing around on my computer. I’ve just started learning how to play the guitar, too. And of course, I have a little daughter now and LOVE spending time playing with her and my wife.

I like to read books about superheroes. Will you be writing any books with superheroes in them?
Funny you ask! For my school, I’m writing my “big paper” on superheroes in children’s books. I’d love to see a list of what you’ve read—I’ve had a hard time finding a lot. But writing that paper has lead me to some great ideas I plan to write soon…and hopefully someone will want to publish them. I have one “silly superhero” idea and one serious one.

What advice could you give a kid who wants to write or maybe has another dream they want to pursue?
Whatever you put your mind to, you can do. If you’re determined to be a writer, or anything else, if you’ll pray about it and practice it and learn it and keep praying and keep practicing and keep learning, you can do it. As I stated earlier, I’m still doing those things today.

Was there ever a time in your life you wanted to quit writing? What happened and why didn’t you quit?
Good question. I don’t think there was ever a time I didn’t want to write…but there has been a time or two I’ve wondered if I might want to try something else. The thing about writing—especially writing for children—is that you have to do it because you want to do it. Because, to be honest, it’ll probably never make you a lot of money or bring a lot of fame. But neither of those things interest me much, and the trade-off is that I get to work at home with my wife and daughter and set my own hours and stay in my pajamas if I want. That’s worth a lot.

Do you have a scripture or quote that has encouraged you lately?
My favorite scripture is 1 Timothy 4:12—“Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” I hope every guy and girl who read my books see that truth in them and live it out.

Do you have other plans or dreams for your writing? If so, what are they?
I hope to be a better writer, to write about things I can’t stop writing about because I love them so much. I’m really enjoying all this superhero stuff I mentioned earlier. Maybe that will lead to something neat.

What do you like best about being a writer?
I said this earlier, but I love the benefits—working at home, setting my own hours, etc.

What’s your least favorite part about writing?Sitting in front of a computer for LONG periods of time. That sounds like fun, but once you’ve done it every single day for many years, it can get a bit monotonous. But it’s better than using a pencil and paper for me. 

Anything else you would like your readers to know…
This blog rules! Oh, and you can check out my website at http://www.truthpop.comif you want to see more. Feel free to email me anytime.