At the age of sixteen – a junior in high school
– I begged and pleaded with my parents to let me audition for The Chicago
Academy for Performing and Visual Arts. And tired of dealing with the whining
of their drama queen (me) day in and day out, the parental units finally caved
in. So I prepared an aria (I'd been taking classical lessons -opera- for two
years) and then decided, what the heck, I might as well give the theater
program a shot too.
Long story short, I got in.
But it wasn't for my acting. See, instead of a monologue I performed a scene between two characters. By myself. Yeah, if you ever want to look like a total wackadoo schizo try something from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Maybe something between Big Daddy and Maggie?
Good thing I could sing.
FAME! I'm gonna live forever!
It was at The Academy (what the cool kids call it) where I learned how to get into a character's head, to give them a story, and bring them to life, understanding what drives and motivates them.
Long story short, I got in.
But it wasn't for my acting. See, instead of a monologue I performed a scene between two characters. By myself. Yeah, if you ever want to look like a total wackadoo schizo try something from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Maybe something between Big Daddy and Maggie?
Good thing I could sing.
FAME! I'm gonna live forever!
It was at The Academy (what the cool kids call it) where I learned how to get into a character's head, to give them a story, and bring them to life, understanding what drives and motivates them.
I approach my writing the same way. Hey, I may not be the best actress in the world, but it's my hope this training helped me to create believable characters and true to life dialogue. I put myself in the character’s shoes, take on a role, and envision the environment like a stage designer.
I put myself in the characters’ heads, asking myself questions like: how
would I feel? What would I do in this situation? What am I seeing? Doing? I
laugh, cry, and scream, right along with them! I hope that doesn’t make me
sound like a schizophrenic! Of course, I’ve never been a sideshow attraction at
a circus, nor a twelve-year-old boy, but this process works for me. Maybe it
will work for you.
Title: King of the Mutants
Publication date: October 21, 2014
Publisher: Tantrum Books/Month9Books, LLC.
Author: Samantha Verant
Can one boy stop a nefarious plot to turn kids into super-mutants?
Maverick Mercury enjoys his life as the sideshow attraction known as “Gator Boy” at Grumbling’s Traveling Circus and Sideshow.
His freakish mutations are the result of some billionaire geneticist’s experiments gone awry. But life as a mutant is about to get worse, as Maverick uncovers a plot to kidnap kids, turns them into super-mutants, and sells their powers to the highest bidder.
Now, Maverick is on a mission to find the mad scientist who may have created him and destroy his sinister plans!
ABOUT SAMANTHA VERANT:
Samantha Vérant is a travel addict, a self-professed oenophile, and a determined, if occasionally unconventional, French chef. Over the years, she’s visited many different countries, lived in many places, and worked many jobs— always on the search for the one thing that truly excited her. Then, one day, she found everything she’s been looking for: a passion for the written word and true love. Writing not only enabled her to open her heart, it led her to southwestern France, where she’s now married to a sexy French rocket scientist she met over twenty years ago, a stepmom to two incredible kids, and the adoptive mother to one ridiculously expensive Bengal cat. When she’s not trekking from Provence to the Pyrénées, tasting wine in American-sized glasses, or embracing her inner Julia Child while deliberating what constitutes the perfect boeuf bourguignon, Samantha is making her best effort to relearn those dreaded conjugations.
