Interview with MG author Dana Hammer

Middle grade author Dana Hammer is chatting with me about her new fantasy, Fanny Fitzpatrick and the Brother Problem.

During her virtual book tour, Dana will be giving away a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn participant. To be entered for your chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit her other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:
Dana Hammer is a playwright, screenwriter, short story writer, and novelist. Her screenplay, Red Wings, has been optioned by EMA Films, and her adult horror-comedy novel, The Cannibal’s Guide to Fasting, was released in September, 2022 by Cinnabar Moth Publishing. Her middle grade novel, My Best Friend Athena, was published by Cinnabar Moth in 2023, with a sequel coming February 6th, 2024. She was a Writer in Residence Hypatia in the Woods, in summer of 2022. She has received over seventy awards and honors for her writing, few of which generated income, all of which were deeply appreciated. Her works have been and will be published in many anthologies, journals, and magazines. Two of her one-act plays will be produced in 2024 by The Wayward Artist, and a few more of her one act plays have been produced by Force of Nature Productions. Many of her plays have received staged readings. Her next novel, Fanny Fitzpatrick and the Brother Problem, will be released in February of 2024.

Welcome, Dana. Please tell us about your current release.
Fanny Fitzpatrick and the Brother Problem is a sequel to my first middle grade novel, My Best Friend Athena. It’s about Fanny, an eleven-year-old girl who just happens to be best friends with the reincarnation of the goddess Athena. When Athena’s party monster brother Dionysius shows up and disrupts everyone’s lives with his gluttony, emotional incontinence and wacky schemes, it’s up to Fanny to save the day.

What inspired you to write this book?
I feel like Fanny learned some important lessons in the first book. She learned how to be a leader, not a follower, and how important it is to be a good friend. In this second book, she will get to put those skills to use, when she’s forced to deal with a person who is a bad influence on her friends. Because it’s hard to go against what your friends want, and be honest in your convictions, even as an adult. But it’s especially hard when you’re eleven, and you’re up against gods and goddesses.

Excerpt from Fanny Fitzpatrick and the Brother Problem:
Chapter One

          I wake up in the morning to the sound of my mom puking. She’s not a quiet puker. It sounds like she’s trying to vomit up all the organs in her body, while also running a chainsaw or something. And, worse, she’s been doing it for days now.

          Last night we were eating dinner and she couldn’t keep any of it down. She said it was the onions, but she normally likes onions, so I think she’s just very sick.

          At first, I thought it was just a stomach bug, or maybe food poisoning. I remember one time I got food poisoning from some bad tacos, and it was the worst thing ever. I was so miserable I wanted to die.

          But like I said, it’s been days now. She should be feeling better. And for the first time I’m really worried about Mom. I wonder if it’s something serious. I remember a couple years ago when Toya’s mom was vomiting all the time, because she was having chemotherapy for breast cancer. Her mom is fine now, but she had to have her breasts cut off, and she was really sick for a long time.

          I hope Mom doesn’t have breast cancer. She would have told me about that though, right? You don’t hide cancer from your only daughter. That would be messed up.

          I get out of bed and pad down the hallway until I get to the bathroom. The puking is louder now, and I can hear Mom gasping between retches. I knock on the door.

          “Mom? Are you OK?”

          “I’m fine, Sweetie.”

          Then she retches again.

          “No you’re not Mom! You’re sick!”

          She doesn’t answer, because she’s puking so hard.

          “Do you want some Sprite?” Mom gives me Sprite when I’m nauseated, and it usually helps.

          I wait by the door until she finishes retching.

          “Mom? I think you need to see a doctor. You’re not getting better.”

          “Fanny! Go away!”

          And then she retches again.

          I don’t know what to do. My dad has already left for work, so he can’t help. I think about calling an ambulance, but then I remember that 911 is only for emergencies, and I don’t think my mom puking counts as an emergency, even if she’s been doing it for days.

          But then again, what if she actually pukes up her organs? Can that happen? Can you die from puking too much?

          “Mom, I’m gonna call an ambulance,” I say.

          “NO!”

          “But Mom-“

          “Fanny, go decorate the tree!”

          This stops me for a moment. Decorate the tree? Why?

          “Why?”

          “I’m not feeling up to it. Go decorate the Christmas tree. It’ll be a big help.”

          I stand by the door, not knowing what to do. Is Mom trying to be tough, like the time she hurt her ankle and refused to go get X-rays, and she just limped around the house for a week until it swole up to like twice its size, and Dad finally made her go to the hospital, and it turned out she’d FRACTURED IT? Should I be like Dad and put my foot down and call 911?

          Mom isn’t puking anymore though. I don’t hear anything on the other side of the door.

          “Are you feeling better?” I ask.

          “Yep,” she says cheerfully. “Much better. Now go on down and do the tree.”

          I hear the sink turn on and that makes me feel better. She’s either washing her hands or brushing her teeth, which means she isn’t lying, she is feeling better. At least she’s not vomiting anymore.

          “OK,” I say. And then I head out to the living room.

          It’s early December, and last night my dad and I went to get a Christmas tree. Mom got all the decorations out of the garage, but she started feeling sick, and she went to bed without touching them. Dad hates decorating the tree, and I had homework to do, so it just never got done.

          Now I stand in the living room and look at the gigantic green tub that contains our decorations, and I feel…bummed. I shouldn’t be doing this alone. I should be doing it with Mom, while Dad drinks a beer and sings obnoxious Christmas songs at us, just like every other year. Decorating a Christmas tree all alone, in the morning, seems all wrong, and kind of sad.

          Still, this is what Mom wanted me to do. So I open the tub and start taking things out. I grab the ice-blue lights, and a dozen copper balls. I find a blown glass star for the top.

          There is no music. No parents. No songs. And my mom might be dying upstairs. So far this is a really crappy start to the Christmas season. But at least I can make the tree look really good.

What exciting project are you working on next?
I just finished a first draft of the third Fanny Fitzpatrick novel, where Fanny is recruited by sirens. I’m also working on a new middle grade/YA sci-fi novel about alien evangelists. We will see how it turns out.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I don’t really know. I guess when I stopped working full time to pursue it as a profession. But I’ve always written things, ever since I was little.

Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your workday like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
Yes, I am fortunate to be able to write full time. My typical work day takes place while my daughter is in school. Of course, I have to do chores, errands, doctor’s appointments, and things like that, but I can usually carve out a chunk of time to write every day.  

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I really like to burn incense when I write. I think it adds a little ambiance and magic to the writing process.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Many things! A marine biologist, a child psychologist, a poet, a train conductor, a housewife, and a treasure hunter, just to name a few. I think I always knew I would be a writer though, deep down.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
I hope you enjoy my book!

Links:
Website | Facebook

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