BLOG TOUR: How To Capture An Invisible Cat Q&A with Paul Tobin

Welcome to Jenuine Cupcakes, 

this is my stop on the How To Capture An Invisible Cat blog tour!

Author: Paul Tobin 
Illustrator: Thierry Lafontaine 
Publication: March 1, 2016 
By: Bloomsbury USA Children's 
Genre: Middle Grade

Every Friday the 13th, 6th grade genius and inventor extraordinaire Nate Bannister does three not-so-smart things to keep life interesting. This time, he taught a caterpillar math, mailed a love letter, and super-sized his cat Proton before turning him invisible.

As Nate and his new (well, only) friend Delphine race to stop Proton from crushing everyone and everything in town, they come face-to-face with Sir Jakob Maculte (the twenty-seventh lord of Mayberry Castle and leader of the nefarious Red Death Tea Society). Known for its criminal activity, killer tactics, and impressive tea brewing skills, the Red Death Tea Society will do anything to get in their way. 

Nate and Delphine must pull out every mind-blowing gadget, half-perfected invention, and unproven but theoretically sound strategy they've got up their sleeves in order to survive to see Saturday the 14th!

Eisner winner Paul Tobin's extraordinarily madcap middle grade debut features black and white illustrations from film talent Thierry Lafontaine and is the first of five novels in the series.

 ~ Advanced Praise ~

“Tobin uses humor and great imagination to offer younger middle grade readers a delightful romp that will appeal to fans of madcap adventure.” —School Library Journal

“Aimed equally at boys and girls… This winning, consistently funny, smartly silly adventure could be one of Nate's kooky gadgets, a middle-grade reading attractor.” —Kirkus Reviews 

“How to Capture an Invisible Cat is pure, kid-friendly fun.” —Jen Robinson, Jen Robinson’s Book Page

~ Author Q&A ~

 
Do you have a cat?

PAUL TOBIN: I don’t! I wish I did. There’s something very soothing about cats. The last cat I had was way back when I lived in Iowa, a farm cat. We always had lots of cats when I was growing up, but my favorite was named Twinkle. She had extra toes. LOTS of extra toes. 42 toes in all!
 
Do you have any Friday the 13th rituals?

PT: Not particularly. I’m just a wee bit superstitious, so I find myself being a bit wary, but at the same time it seems like a lot of GOOD things have happened to me on Friday the 13th, so everything seems okay. I should probably treat myself to some cake or something on every Friday the 13th.  Or, maybe just every Friday.
 
If you had to eat the same thing every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?
 
PT: This question is HARD. I guess… maybe pasta? I’m tempted to say cookies or cake or pie or something like that, but sweets should be treats, and if all I ate was treats I’d probably get sick of them. Pizza might be a good choice, too.
 
What was your favorite book growing up?
 
PT: I’d say my favorite books were the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mysteries. I loved the characters, and the sense of adventure and mystery. They’ve continued to be a big influence on my own writing, especially the Nancy Drew novels, which were a direct inspiration on my series of Bandette graphic novels, the adventures of a teen thief.
 
Do you have any writing advice for kids who like to write and might want to be an author one day?  
 

PT: I think the main thing is to read. Read what you love. Reading is actually practice for writing, in my mind. And of course keep writing, and don’t get too caught up in trying to be “perfect.” Just write a story and move on. It takes a long time to really learn any craft, so just accept that your next story is going to be better written, more interesting, etc. If you get caught up in the “perfect” idea, it can stop your momentum. And (to harp on the point) don’t worry about perfection on a first draft… just keep going. It took me about three months to write the first draft of How to Capture an Invisible Cat, and then more than a year of revisions. You can’t revise, though, until you have your whole story!

Thanks Paul!

 

~ About the Author ~

 

Paul Tobin is the Eisner-award winning, New York Times-bestselling author of Bandette, Colder, and many other comic books and graphic series. His original graphic novel I Was the Cat was nominated for an Eisner in 2015. 
 
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Tour Schedule 

Monday, March 21—Daddy Mojo (US)

Tuesday, March 22—Nerdy Book Club (US)

Wednesday, March 23—Jenuine Cupcakes (US)

Thursday, March 24—This Kid Reviews Books (US)

Friday, March 25—Fiction Fascination (UK)

Monday, March 28—Gobblefunked (ANZ)

Tuesday, March 29—MumtoFive.com (ANZ)

Wednesday, March 30—Playing by the Book (UK)