Guest Post: Cameron Stracher (Author of The Water Wars)

Everyone, please welcome Cameron Stracher, author of the upcoming YA release, The Water Wars. Thank you Cameron for taking the time out to do this interview, it's greatly appreciated.

If you are a fan of dystopian fiction and feel the need to read this one, have no fear! It will be available in bookstores on January 1st, just three more days left. I hope you all enjoy the post and make sure you leave lovely comments for Cameron!

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(Photo Credit: Marion Ettlinger)

Cameron Stracher is the author of two memoirs, Dinner with Dad (Random House, 2007) and Double Billing (William Morrow, 1996) as well as a novel, The Laws of Return (William Morrow, 1994), and a book about the 1970's running boom which will be published by Random House in 2012. His essays and opinion pieces have been published frequently in the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, among other publications. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, two children, and two thirsty golden retrievers.

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The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher

Reading Level: Young Adult

Release Date: January 1, 2011

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Pages: 256

Summary:

Would you risk everything for someone you just met?

What if he had a secret worth killing for?

Welcome to a future where water is more precious than oil or gold... Hundreds of millions of people have already died, and millions more will soon fall-victims of disease, hunger, and dehydration. It is a time of drought and war. The rivers have dried up, the polar caps have melted, and drinkable water is now in the hands of the powerful few. There are fines for wasting it and prison sentences for exceeding the quotas. But Kai didn't seem to care about any of this. He stood in the open road drinking water from a plastic cup, then spilled the remaining drops into the dirt. He didn't go to school, and he traveled with armed guards. Kai claimed he knew a secret-something the government is keeping from us... And then he was gone. Vanished in the middle of the night. Was he kidnapped? Did he flee? Is he alive or dead? There are no clues, only questions. And no one can guess the lengths to which they will go to keep him silent. We have to find him-and the truth-before it is too late for all of us.

"Let us pray that the world which Cameron Stracher has invented in The Water Wars is testament solely to his pure, wild, and brilliant imagination, and not his ability to see the future. I was parched just reading it." -Laurie David, Academy Award–winning producer of An Inconvenient Truth and author of The Down to Earth Guide to Global Warming

"A gripping environmental thriller with a too-real message." - Howard Gordon, executive producer of 24 and author of Gideon's War

Pre-order: Amazon / Kindle / B&N / Book Depository

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Guest Post:

1) Thank you Cameron for taking the time out to do this guest post. The Water Wars sounds like a fantastic read! I am eager to know, what inspired you to write it?

CS: I wanted to write a story that my son would want to read. He is a pretty sophisticated reader, and both of us had recently read and enjoyed The Golden Compass and The Road. I wanted to encourage his own reading, while trying out a new genre.

2) How does it feel being a debut YA author? Are you nervous how readers will perceive your work?

CS: Nervous, yes. Excited. Thrilled. I had a great time writing The Water Wars, and loved being in that world. I hope there is more to come.

3) Throughout your novel, who was your favorite character creation? Did your personality traits or some you know influence any of your characters?

CS: I have a son and daughter about the same age as Vera and Will, so naturally I was influenced by them. But as any author will tell you, the characters take on their own traits, and soon begin acting differently than the people they were modeled on. I enjoyed very much creating those two, but I also really liked creating the villians Nasri and Tor, as well as the pirate, Ulysses, and the skimmer, Sula.

4) If you had to cast movie roles to play your main characters, Vera, Will and Kai, who would you pick?

CS: Good question! Vera might be someone unknown and plucky, with a lot of grit and determination, maybe like Abigail Breslin when she was in Little Miss Sunshine. I think Will is a sort of Daniel Radcliffe type, and Kai -- well, I'll leave that to the reader's imagination.

5) Are you currently working on any other YA projects?

CS: I have the first few chapters of a book I'm calling "91," about the end of the universe, and some ideas floating around for both a prequel and a sequel to The Water Wars.

6) Lastly, do you have anything you'd like to say to your future readers?

CS: I hope you enjoy the book, and I'd love to hear from you! Thewaterwars at gmail