As you encourage your children to read, why not encourage them to read a cool book written by a kid? Richmond’s own, Zack Samuels (a.k.a. Henri Maggot), started writing My Life as a Young Wizard when he was 11-years-old. Wise beyond his years, yet down to earth, Zack has now reached the ripe old age of 13 and has a published book to show for it.
Zack’s book tells the tale of a young wizard going to 6th grade for his first (and hopefully only) time, who is faced with many hardships, and must use his powers to survive the grueling world of middle school. Richmondmom.com sat down with Zack, his mother Geri Samuels by his side, to learn more about the process of writing a book as a pre-teen. And for a special kid to kid perspective, my son Cameron (8-years-old), who was recently wowed when he read My Life as a Young Wizard, also joined in the fun.
Zack was quick to establish a rapport during our interview at a local café and appeared at ease as if he had been handling interviews his entire life. He maintains that his parents are his “managers” and also shared, “My mom doesn’t just manage my writing, but also cleaning my room.” Without missing a beat, Geri joked that managing his writing was the easy part!
CB: Why did you decide to write a book? Did you do it for the money or for the happiness?
ZS: Well, it was a lot of work, but a lot of fun too. The 6th grade was a really hard year for me, and I wanted to have a record of what was going on.
CB: How long did it take to write?
ZS: About a year, give or take a few months.
CB: Who were your influences in writing the book?
ZS: J.K.Rowling for sure and Jeff Kinney. I wanted it to be about the 6th grade and a mix up between Harry Potter and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but with a lot more 6th grade-ness.
ZS: How is your orange juice?
CB: Good. What kind of juice do you like?
ZS: That’s a good question. Grape.
RM: White or red?
GS: I vote white. It’s less messy!
RM: Tell me about using the term “journal” in the book instead of “diary”.
ZS. Well, plain and simple, a diary is “girly” but a journal is not.
RM: Why did you choose to use a pen name or pseudonym, and why did you choose to write as Henri Maggot?
ZS: Well, I was reading a book at the time where the author used a pseudonym, and I thought that was pretty cool. I was feeling weird the day that I chose the pseudonym, and I am also fascinated with the French language, so I made the author ¼ French. He is also ¼ French Fry, but that is a different story. Also, I didn’t want the publisher to know I was a kid until (my manuscript) was accepted. I didn’t want them to publish it just because I was a kid.
RM: What was your favorite part of writing the book?
ZS: Writing about action and using magic.
RM: What advice would you give to kids who struggle with reading and writing?
ZS: Read for just a few minutes a day and it adds up to thousands of minutes every year. And the more you read, the better you write. The better you write, the more you can read.
Zack says he has several additional books “in the works”. When he isn’t writing, Zack enjoys playing Tennis, as well as “playing video games, playing with my sister, and playing video games with my sister!”
My Life as a Young Wizard, by Henri Maggot is available on amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. For Richmond Mom’s list of Great Gift Book Ideas by Richmond authors, click here.
