My first trade book, Strange But True, came out one week ago. A lot has happened since then!
A TV Appearance
First of all, I was on TV. The Hank Stolz Experience, a local Worcester show, called me on Thursday to ask me to film an interview the very next day. Of course I found a way to make it work! The interview aired three times a day for the entire week of my book’s release.
This was my first time being interviewed for TV, so I was a bit nervous. But I think I went well. I hit all the major points I wanted to make about science and perception.
When you see me looking off to the side, I actually felt like I was looking straight forwards. There were three cameras, and I kept looking at the one in the middle! When they went to a break, they told me I shouldn’t do that. Oops. For the second half of the interview, I do a better job at looking in the correct direction.
A Podcast
My publisher, Quarto, launched a new podcast. I’m the first guest! I talk about my writing career, science and magic, and the research for Strange But True.
Here’s my answer to the question: Why do you consider Strange but True to be a science book, not a paranormal book?
“I’ve always been fascinated by the paranormal. At a young age I did think it was real… I thought it was very likely that things like ghosts or Bigfoot might be real. I was certainly open to these ideas, most kids have very expansive imaginations and are very open to the idea of magic and wonderful things existing. I think that’s great and I think all kids should think like that. But at the same time, and I don’t know where I got this idea from, I felt like science was ruining the magic. I was mad at science for doing this. For trying to solve things and take away the mystery. I feel very sad for myself now because I wish I hadn’t thought like that. I don’t know who gave me that idea but I wish it hadn’t happened because now I know that science is very mysterious and very wonderful and really adds a lot to your experience in the world when you start to learn about it.”
“So that’s why I wanted to write this book. I want kids to have that sense of mystery and wonder but I also don’t want them to be afraid of science — I want them to embrace it and think of it as a way to add to their wonder — to expand their ideas and give them more things to wonder about than they would have if they weren’t learning science.”
A Party
On Saturday, October 5th, I held a book launch party at the Beaman Memorial Library in West Boylston, MA. Lots of family, friends, and even a few people I didn’t know showed up. I told a ghost story complete with a ghost photograph and talked about some scientific explanations for what might have happened. Then people shared their own paranormal experiences in small groups. And everyone had some delicious cake.
