Interview with Mark Goldblatt, Author of Might as Well be Dead

I always like to start with the short and sweet: Give us the elevator pitch for Might as Well be Dead?

 

It’s the story of David, a 13-year-old boy, reeling from the sudden decision of his mom to desert him and his dad; he encounters, or begins to hallucinate, a ghost named Winston—whom older readers may recognize as John Lennon. (It’s worth noting that Lennon was also traumatized by losing his mother). They have emotional work to do together, some mysterious wrong they’re supposed to set right. That’s the plot.

 

The concept is just so imaginative. Where did it come from?

 

I’d been wanting to write a novel about a traumatized kid for a few years, one that would deal compassionately with mental illness but that would be lighthearted page by page. The Lennon angle came to me after I watched the movie Yesterday in which Lennon turns up for a five-minute cameo—a gut-wrenching scene if you’re a Beatles fan. There’s probably a little influence from the 1950 movie Harvey too—in which the Jimmy Stewart character is befriended by a giant rabbit whom only he can see.

 

I love the character of Winston. Several times, I wondered if, in earlier drafts, he was actually John Lennon (since the Beatles are his mother’s great love). How did Winston’s character grow or change as you moved through drafts?

 

I toyed with calling the character “John Lennon,” but it’s a middle grade novel, and I thought that might be off-putting to young readers. Lennon lived and died in the last century, and my book is set in 2023; kids should be able to jump right in without doing background research. You can read the book—I hope—without ever realizing that Winston is Lennon. The plot should still make sense…insofar as a story about a kid hallucinating a middle-aged Englishman makes sense.

 

Might as Well be Dead deals with some really serious issues–specifically, mental health (for both David and his mother). Did you ever struggle with how much / how deeply to address this issue with younger readers?

 

I tried to be careful about that. As I mentioned above, it’s a lighthearted book page by page. But the bottom line is that David is hallucinating—which means he’s experiencing significant mental health issues. I read a lot about childhood trauma and instances of hallucination in children. But I also sought out mental health professionals as early readers. I wanted their feedback; I didn’t want to write anything that would caricature or in any way diminish David’s ongoing emotional challenges.

 

Your tone is so spot-on for MG. How do you tap into the MG voice?

 

Here’s a confession. I don’t intentionally write in a middle-grade voice; I never have. I stumbled into middle grade fiction while I was writing an adult novel—or so I thought—about a kid struggling with guilt over a horrific bullying incident. The point of the book was to explore the moment in a child’s life where his conscience kicks in. Random House bought the book and, to their credit, recognized that it had more potential in the middle grade market than in the adult market. They gave it a title I would never have considered, Twerp, and the book wound up a bestseller.

 

Obviously, things have changed since then. Random House contracted a sequel to Twerp—Finding the Worm—which has also done well. So I know the market a little better. When I began writing Might As Well Be Dead, I realized that it would be published as a middle grade novel. But in terms of the process of writing, it’s exactly the same as when I’m writing a novel for adults. Inhabit the mind of the narrator. See what he sees. Feel what he feels. Develop an intellectual and emotional stake in what’s going on. Take nothing, not a single scene, not a single sentence, for granted. You’re not just getting from Point A to Point B. If you don’t care, the reader won’t care.

 

What was the biggest surprise you encountered writing the book?

 

The scene at the end, where David has to confront the truth that he’s been keeping bottled up, was extraordinarily difficult to get through. I was sobbing when I wrote it, and when I edited it, and even now, when I read it back, it still upsets me. That’s not something I’ve encountered very often in writing a book—especially since I knew the book was headed in that direction all along.

 

If readers take away one thing from this book, what do you hope it will be?

 

First and foremost, I hope they’re entertained by it. Beyond that, I’d like young readers to realize that mental illness comes in many forms and intensities, some of which are not straightforward or easy to recognize. Finally, I hope readers of all ages enjoy spending time with the ghost of John Lennon—or at least my idea of the ghost of John Lennon. I did. I miss him (again!) now that the book is over.

 

What’s next for you?

 

I’ve always thought of myself as a college professor—I teach developmental English and lecture in religious history at Fashion Institute of Technology, a branch of the State University of New York—who happens to write on the side. But I’ll be retiring this spring after 40 years, which I suppose means I’ll be writing full time. I’m currently working on two (very) adult novels, and I’ve recently finished the third book in the Twerp trilogy. Other than that, I’ll continue to play softball (reasonably effectively) and golf (comically poorly).

~

Mark Goldblatt is the author of the best-selling middle grade novel Twerp and its sequel Finding the Worm, as well as many works of fiction and non-fiction for adults. His writing has appeared in popular and academic journals including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, New York Observer, USA Today, Time, Reason, Commentary, National Review, Quillette, Philosophy Now, and the Sewanee Theological Review. He teaches developmental English and religious history at Fashion Institute of Technology of the State University of New York.