Q&A with Raj Sidhu

 

Photo by James Reese

 

 

Raj Sidhu is the author of the new middle grade novel Thrash Force. He is also an education entrepreneur, and he lives in California.

 

Q: What inspired you to write Thrash Force, and how did you create your character Riley?

 

A: It was the spring of 2020, and the pandemic meant that I was finally stuck inside with not much to do but to finally confront my lifelong dreams of writing a book.

 

I had a big, heady sci-fi magnum opus that I’d been turning over in my head for over a decade. And I got through three or four drafts of it before I realized: this thing is just wretched. Just a monstrous, amateurish jumble of cardboard characters and self-important slush. I hid it away in some forgotten folder, and cast about for a new direction.

 

After some healthy introspection, I came to the conclusion that I hadn’t been having any fun with that first story in the first place. And so, I turned to the things that did bring me joy: the books and media of my youth (think Courage the Cowardly Dog, Powerpuff Girls, and Captain Underpants), as well as the wacky, deeply-unserious D&D adventures that my friends and I were doing pre-pandemic.

 

So there it was: the spirit of my favorite kids’ cartoons wrapped in a body constructed from RPG mechanics. I began to noodle around on the page, and to my delight, the writing flowed. Within five or six pages, I was hooked: I was slinging puns, and putting these delightful characters I’d discovered up to all sorts of mischief.

 

Writing a comedy allowed me to completely sidestep my worst instincts for brooding and headiness. It also forced me to be sparing with poignancy. And these were very good guardrails for an amateur such as myself.

 

As for Riley: Riley sprung to life almost immediately and of his own accord. But it took years of editing (and more than one existential crisis) for me to understand his motivations, insecurities - and him as a character, for that matter.

 

Q: The Kirkus Review of the novel says, “Perfect for fans of fantasy role-playing games as well as newcomers, this tale is both meaningful and entertaining.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: First and foremost, I refuse to hear praise of Thrash Force without a healthy dose of disbelief. But in this case, I must trust that Kirkus is not secretly run by my wife, my parents, or anyone else who is semi-obligated to say nice-ish things about me.

 

Kirkus’ review - and that passage specifically - is an enormous relief for me. Even though role-playing games are an important set piece for the book, I wanted to tell the story in such a way that a kid who’s never even heard of D&D could follow the story without missing a beat.

 

Because at the end of the day, the story isn’t really about 20-sided dice, leveling up, experience points, or any of that - it’s about a boy who’s struggling with what he believes about himself.

 

Q: Did you know how the story would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?

 

A: Many, many (many) changes were made to Thrash Force along the way. I had something like 15 drafts of the book before we submitted it to publishers. And by the time Liz Kossnar (my excellent editor) was through with me, I must have had well over 20 drafts!

 

Even though the rough contours of the book didn’t change - kids are handed lemons, kids make weird lemonade - the way we get from point to point is wildly different between draft one and draft one-billion.

 

Maybe it’s because I’m pretty new to all of this, but it took me years of drafting to really understand Riley and the crew enough to properly finish their story. As my understanding grew, the narrative had to change, even if the skeleton of the story didn’t.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?

 

A: I think what I’d love most for my readers to take away from the book is a good, hearty laugh. I hope they get lots and lots of quiet chuckles and giggles to themselves, as well as a handful of throaty chortles along the way.

 

And for those readers who need it, I hope that they take from Riley’s story what I eventually did: that honesty, particularly with oneself, is often very good policy.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: The truth is that I’m currently working on my daily step count, the quality of my voice acting for my kids’ bedtime stories, and figuring out how exactly one pickles a ball. But I have lots and lots of other middle grade stories that I’d love to tell. Stay tuned!

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Q&As are much harder than they seem!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb