Most people think that when you have a published author for a teacher, it of course will be your English teacher, right? Wrong. MY math teacher has a series of books written, with the first one already published. And they're not even math books. His book is entitled Dream World, and is a contemporary fantasy novel. It follows the life of Trayvian James, a seventeen year old boy who lives in a small mountain town in Colorado. He's a "down and outter," his parents are not really involved in his life, and he has no friends. Since his real life sucks, he lives for the night in which he has always dreamed of the same world. In Havehn, Trayvian is everything he is not in real life; he is confident, popular, has loads of friends, and is attending The Academy where he is about to take The Test to become a Warrior Mage, the youngest to ever do so. He loves his live in Havehn and being able to go there is the only thing that manages to get him through the day.
But everything changes the day a girl named Claire moves to his town. Tray falls in love with her at first sight, and tries his hardest to build up the guts to talk to her. While Tray starts to become more involved in the real world, his dream world is showing signs that an ancient propehecy is about to come true, in which he is the only one that can stop The Darkness that has been imprisoned for more than a thousand years. But when his dream world needs him more than ever, all that he yearns for is his real world. And for the first time he'll have to choose which life he holds most dear.
Brian Wood, or to me Mr. Wood, is a math teacher and basketball coach at Mountain Vista High School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. His marriage of 6 years to his wife Crystal was recently blessed with a beautiful 8 month old baby.
For someone that never wanted to be an author, having 1 book already published with 3 on the way is a pretty amazing feat. Having been thinking of writing a fantasy novel for a while, Wood read the book Sleeping Freshman Never Lie in which the idea of starting out as writing a high school novel first developed. He says how "while I was in Mexico with my wife, the idea dropped in on my head. It was almost an epiphany, and the idea for the 4 book series all came at once. It was one of those things where once you get an idea you have to write it out, you don't have a choice." Something that Wood loves most about his books are the fact that they are "fun, simple, and heartfelt. I think that people do enjoy reading them."
One thing that is critical to each and every writer is inspiration. His daughter is definitely someone who accomplishes that task, as well as great authors such as J.K. Rowling and Pat Conroy. And when asked what was the best advice he had ever been given, he explains how "it wasn't necessarily told to me, but my parents let me believe in my dreams. They let me believe that I could play in the NBA even though I was a white kid who probably wouldn't be very athletic. But because of that dream I got a division 1 scholarship and so much happened just because of my dream that never came true. I would say go for what you want."
It's hard for writers to create a character without installing at least a bit of themselves into him or her. And as for Wood and Trayvian, they do share something. "I think we definitely share a sense of humor. A lot of things are different about us but we have the same sarcasm and wit."
Brian Wood's first book Dream World can be purchased at any online venue like amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com. Make sure to pick it up and keep an eye out for the next three!
