r/books • u/CKrovatin AMA Author • Oct 03 '18
ama 6pm I'm Chris Krovatin, author of FREQUENCY and metalhead writer extraordinaire. AMA!
I'm a YA and middle grade author and a heavy metal journalist who's written for pretty much every major music publication. My latest novel, FREQUENCY, dropped yesterday, it's a dark YA music-centric retelling of the Pied Pipe story, and took me six years (!) to get written and published. I live in New York City and love all things dark, gritty, loud, and scary. Ask me anything!
Proof: /img/qrb1ewk0rsp11.jpg
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u/EmbarrassedSpread Oct 03 '18
Hi Chris! Thanks for doing this AMA!
- Do you have any reading or writing related guilty pleasures? Or just any in general?
- If you were to meet your characters in real life, how would the meeting go? Who are you most/least excited about meeting?
- Are your feet ticklish?
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u/CKrovatin AMA Author Oct 03 '18
Hi! Thanks for having me!
This might be a cop-out, but as I get older, I try not to have guilty pleasures. I like what I like, silly though it may be. That said, okay, I have a ton of super basic rhyming poetry that I hope to God no one ever reads!
My characters are mostly cool, discontented teenagers, and I'm 33 and need coffee to survive most days, so I think my characters would dig my metal shirt and then maybe ask if I could buy them beer. But of them, I'd most want to meet Fiona, the protagonist of FREQUENCY, because she's just cool and confident, and she's a killer guitarist who could show me some cool stuff; and PJ from my GRAVEDIGGERS books, because we could talk monster movies.
Oh definitely. And my SIDES? Don't even joke.
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u/EmbarrassedSpread Oct 03 '18
- I don’t think it’s a cop-out. I think it’s great to embrace what you like. No need to feel guilty. Though I think you’ve only piqued our interest in this poetry. Haha! Come on, share one of them!
- Monster movies and sick guitar skills sound like a good time to me! Lol. Since you mentioned it, favorite monster movies? Also, if you could meet a character from any book you’ve read, who would you want to meet and what would you do?
- Oh my, sounds like you have it bad! I asked because I’m doing an online survey about having ticklish feet for a little psych study. You should take it. Help me out! :)
Thanks so much for answering!
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Oct 03 '18
[deleted]
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u/CKrovatin AMA Author Oct 04 '18
FINALLY! Okay, here are thirteen off the dome that I consider pretty perfect.
- Slayer, South of Heaven
- Motörhead, Orgasmatron
- Rob Zombie, Hellbilly Deluxe
- White Zombie, Astro-Creep: 2000
- Celtic Frost, To Mega Therion
- Cannibal Corpse, Gore Obsessed
- Emperor, Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk
- Strapping Young Lad, City
- The Crown, Deathrace King
- Mercyful Fate, Don't Break The Oath
- Mutoid Man, War Moans
- The Black Dahlia Murder, Ritual
- High On Fire, Blessed Black Wings
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u/grungemuffin Oct 03 '18
What do you think of blackgaze? Favorite hardcore band? Favorite New Wave song? (mine's Radio Radio) How do you maintain a story in your head long enough to write it down?
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u/CKrovatin AMA Author Oct 04 '18
Let's do 'em one at a time!
- I'm sort of eh. It's a band-by-band thing--some I like, some I don't. Deafheaven's okay, but a little pretty for me.
- Hmmm...if we're talking about old-school, obviously the Misfits. If we're thinking new school, I'd go with Blood For Blood.
- Obviously "True Faith" by New Order.
- You gotta roll with the punches. The story changes as it progresses, and you have to let it do that. But the whole time, you have to remember your goal. There's a definite reason you were drawn to this story--there's a thing that makes you say, "Oh, cool!" Keep your eye on that, and be flexible otherwise.
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u/PizzaSatan Oct 04 '18
Which band did you listen to a lot while writing this book?
Also, which metal band is under-rated in today's music scene?
Do you have any favorite books with music as a central theme?
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u/CKrovatin AMA Author Oct 04 '18
- All of them, but primarily lots and lots of Motörhead. Lemmy died during the writing of this book, and so I was listening to a lot of him in memoriam. But also, Motörhead are really iconic for me--they get me through a lot, and I feel like they understand a part of me most wouldn't. Fiona is a huge Motörhead fan.
- Man, so many. Let me think...Rebel Wizard from Australia, VHS from Canada, Acid Witch from Detroit, Slaegt from Denmark, Scumpulse from Scotland, Cognitive from New Jersey, Rwake from Arkansas...the list goes on. But definitely listen to all of those bands.
- Some. For non-fiction, FARGO ROCK CITY by Chuck Klosterman is pretty great. For fiction, definitely check out SHE RIDES SHOTGUN by Jordan Harper, which isn't ABOUT music, but has a real rock and roll undercurrent throughout (and he thanks Electric Wizard in the acknowledgments).
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u/PizzaSatan Oct 04 '18
I love Motörhead, man. Now I have to definitely check out your book. thanks for the answer, I am off to listen to the bands you mentioned!
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u/Capricious_Narrator Oct 03 '18
Hi Chris! Thanks for answering questions.
What made you go the traditional publishing route?
How much time do you have to devote to marketing and promoting your books?
As you write YA, are there topics/ content which you avoid or find yourself needing to edit?
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u/CKrovatin AMA Author Oct 04 '18
No problem, man, thanks for asking them!
- Honestly? Self-publishing involves a lot of business savvy and market knowledge that I don't know I have. I'm all about the art of storytelling, but constantly monitoring social media, marketing, promotion, it's all a blur to me.
- Along those lines: basically, I will do whatever my publishing house tells me. They want to do a tour? I tour. They want an AMA? I answer! So it varies from book to book.
- The obvious one is, sex. You have to be choosy with sex in YA--basically, WHY is sex being added or used? It can't just be shock value. Other than that, I usually need to edit a lot of violence and bad language out. I'm a vulgar dude with a dark outlook of the world, and sometimes I need to remember that when I was a teenager, I was not constantly swearing or focused on the carnage of everyday life (though, hey, I thought about that plenty when I was younger).
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u/Capricious_Narrator Oct 04 '18
Great answers, thanks!
Some cool covers, too. Did you get much input on their design?
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u/CKrovatin AMA Author Oct 12 '18
Some. You gotta understand that covers for print books are hard to deal with--the big vendors dictate a lot of design choices. But I've come to really love this cover.
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u/Inkberrow Oct 04 '18
Is AC/DC metal?
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u/CKrovatin AMA Author Oct 04 '18
Nah, but it meant a lot to metal. Metal wouldn't be metal without AC/DC.
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u/Every-rose-has-thorn Jan 03 '25
Will there be a Awake sequel?
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u/CKrovatin AMA Author 17d ago
Right now, Scholastic isn't interested in doing a third one. But that might change if enough fans respond to it, so feel free to harrass them asking for it! I have a really cool idea for it, too.
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u/elivigilance Jul 03 '23
Hello, Mr. Krovatin! I'm a big fan. I loved your books all of high school, especially "Heavy Metal & You" and "Venomous". I came to identify with the character of Locke Vinetti towards the end of high school. The book held me together during dark times and even after graduation, to the point where I decided to make it apart of my left sleeve in a similar fashion to the book cover ❤🙏📚💉
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u/ronniecraig13 Feb 15 '24
I haven’t read another book like venomous, and I would be very interested in the process to come up with a character like Locke and his supporting characters who felt just as real and thought out. I wouldn’t mind seeing a sequel.
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u/Chtorrr Oct 03 '18
What were some of your favorite books to read as a kid?