Q&A with James Ponti

 

Photo by Elena Seibert Photography

 

 

James Ponti is the author of the new middle grade novel The Sherlock Society. His other books include the City Spies series. He lives in Orlando.

 

Q: How did you come up with the idea for The Sherlock Society, and for the Sherlock siblings and their friends?

 

A: There’s a lake near my house and I went for walk around it with the hope of coming up with a new book idea.

 

I set ground rules. There are benches around the lake and I had to sit at each one. When I did, I had to ask myself a question and couldn’t get up until answered it.

The Idea Lake

At the first bench, I started with something simple, I think it was “What type of story do you want to write?” I knew I wanted to do something of a traditional mystery. By the time I made it around the lake twice, I knew enough to get started.

 

Originally it was called the Sherlock Sisters. (I liked the sound of that, but then decided it would be more fun to writer a brother and sister.)

 

I wanted to set in in Florida (where I’ve lived for almost my entire life) but that created a problem. How would the characters get around? That’s what led to Grandpa, who I absolutely love. Once he was added to the mix, the story came alive for me.

 

Amazingly, I worked out an opening on that walk and it is almost word for word the opening of the book. “Maybe if our last name was Baker, we would’ve sold cupcakes. Or if it was Walker, we might’ve taken care of people’s dogs while they were on vacation. But, it’s Sherlock, so starting a detective agency just seemed like the thing to do.”

 

Q: How would you describe the kids’ relationship with their grandfather?

 

A: For the last five years of her life, my mother lived with us in a little apartment similar to the one in the book. I loved the dynamic she had with my kids. It was based on love with a little bit of rule-breaking mixed in.

 

That’s the dynamic Grandpa has with the kids in The Sherlock Society. It’s like bonus parenting. He’s there to show them a few things Mom and Dad might not have time for (or think is wise) and he’s totally on board for any adventure they want to undertake.

 

Q: Did you need to do any research for this novel, and if so, what did you learn that particularly intrigued you?

 

A: I did a ton of research. I started with interviews.

 

For example, Dad’s a marine biologist at the University of Miami, so I hung out with a marine biologist at the University of Miami to learn about his research and life. They get rescued by the Miami Police Department’s marine patrol, so I went for a little ride along with them through Key Biscayne.

With Christina Diaz Gonzalez and the Marine Patrol

Christina Diaz Gonzalez is an author friend who lives in Miami, so the two of us went all over town to every location in the book. We even visited the school the characters attend and had the principal show us around.

 

I was intrigued by Andrew Baker’s research into coral. He’s the marine biologist and it’s fascinating what he’s studying.

 

The most surprising discovery, though was when we went to Al Capone’s old house. It was more than a hundred years old and was a part of the book, until we got there as it was in the process of being torn down. It makes it a century, but can’t last a couple more years for my book, so I had to rewrite those chapters.

 

Al Capone's house

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

 

A: I always hope that readers have fun going along on the adventures in my books. I hope that it inspires them to look into things like the coral research or the Everglades.

 

But mostly, I hope they see an empowering version of themselves. I like writing kid mysteries because I like kids to read about people like them solving problems with brains, teamwork, and empathy.

 

Q: This is the start of a new series–can you tell us what's next?

 

A: I am so excited about book two. I am thrilled that people have responded to Grandpa like they have. He’s such a fun character and an aspect about book two that’s great is we get to see him when he was 12. There’s a flashback to the first mystery he came across and the one that turned him into who he is. And, even better, the team gets to help him finally solve it 60 years later.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I absolutely love my job. I get to make up stories and share them with readers. I get to hang out other writers who I adore.

 

But I also get to work with incredible people. Only my name is on the front of the book, but there are dozens of people who make major contributions. They include my editor, publisher, publicist, agent, marketing team, the list goes on.

 

They also include school librarians, booksellers, and the kids in my neighborhood who read my books as I work and give me incredible feedback and suggestions. I am very lucky to be surrounded by the people I am.  

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with James Ponti.