Character Book Club: Meet Erik Burks - Pirate & Ghost Hunter!

Hey everyone! Guess what? Remember a few months ago when I got to do a super cool interview as part of the Character Book Club? Well ... I think I must have done a pretty good job, because they asked me if I wanted to do it again. It's true. Yup! You don't see Nate Rocks here interviewing anyone do you? Nope - it's just me, Millie. Just sayin'....  

Anyway - today, I have someone pretty awesome. His name is Erik Burks and he's from this great book called A Pirate, A Blockade Runner, and A Cat, by Beverly Stowe McClure. If you haven't read it - you should. Trust me.

Welcome to the Character Book Club Erik! We're all really glad you're here. (Cue in the applause!)

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So Erik - Your friend Star can read your thoughts, right? She calls them mind dreams. I'm really interested in hearing more about these mind dreams -- they sound pretty cool. Can you tell me about them?
 
Hey, Millie. Mind dreams, huh? Okay, here’s how they work.  Star can read every thought in my head, good or bad. Sometimes it gets downright embarrassing. So, I try not to think. Have you ever tried to erase all thoughts from your brain? Impossible.
 
Yeah I think that would be pretty hard. Although, it would be kind of fun to know what my little brother Doogle is thinking.Especially if it involves snooping in my room. I may have to get together with your friend Star at some point and investigate this further. 

Next question: When you & your mom first moved to Charleston did you think you'd be spending your summer looking for lost ships & pirates?
 
No way. I really wanted to stay in Texas and play baseball. Then stuff happened and I ended up in South Carolina, on a ghost ship with a pirate, a blockade runner, and a cat, sailing up the Carolina coast. Nobody would believe it if I told them.

photo credit: meshmar2 via photopin cc

You got that right. As soon as you said "ghost", my immediate thought would have been "oh sure you did..." but after reading your book, I'm totally convinced. You know - I thought I had a ghost in my house but it just turned out to be my brother Doogle sleep walking, but you met real life ghosts! How was that - I mean meeting James for the first time?
 
Ghosts, yeah. “Shudder.” Spooky, huh? The weird thing is most people can’t see a ghost. I didn’t even believe such a thing existed. So when I met James, I thought he was some guy playing a trick on us, until I tried to touch him. My hand went right through him, feeling nothing. Star finally convinced me he was a ghost and so were James’ cat and the pirate Bonnet. I figured I was going crazy.

CREEPY!! Then on top of ghosts, you had a hurricane! I experienced my first hurricane last year & we lost power for a week. It was fun at first & then it wasn't . What was it like being on a ship during a hurricane ? Did you get sea sick from all the jostling around?
 
Yeah, I know what you mean. Losing power sucks. You can use your cell for a while, then the battery runs down and you’ve lost touch with the world. Nothing but darkness around you, and being stuck on a ship, in the middle of the ocean, well, I don’t recommend it during a hurricane. I tried to pretend I was okay, but my stomach rolled and rolled with the ship, and I thought I’d … mmm, you get the idea.

Yup - I sure do. It seemed as if everywhere you all turned things got a bit more complicated. At what point did you realize maybe you got yourself in a little too deep?
 
Haha, a little too deep, yeah. When the pirate, Major Stede Bonnet, pointed a cutlass at me, sharp enough to cut off my head, I started questioning my sanity. What was I thinking? It was a little too late by then, since we were miles from land and no one had a clue where we were.
 

photo credit: dieselbug2007 via photopin cc

I gotta say, you handled that whole part pretty well. For me, I think I would have lost it at the webbing. Followed by the  head in the backpack - Ewww - Nope - don't even want to go there. SKIP!  Did any of that gross you out?
 
You would have to mention the head. I still have nightmares when I think about it. The eye sockets in the skull looked like they were watching me, and when the skull bounced across the deck, eyes glowing, I almost jumped overboard. It turned out okay for Blackboard. He got his head back, even if it was lopsided. Can you imagine drinking out of a skull, like people claimed they did? Double Ewww!

TMI dude T.M.I. !!  So I have to say if I ran off like that with my friends, my mom would have killed me with a capital K- but you got off pretty easy. How'd you manage that? (& do you want to trade moms?)
 
“Snicker!” Yeah, I came out pretty good there. I could see myself grounded until I was as old as our neighbor, Mr. Casey, or older. I think Mom felt bad about moving me away from my friends and Dad so she went easy on me this time, to make it up to me. Nah! I think I’ll keep my mom, at least for now.
 
Smart move. I just got majorly grounded for running off for only a few hours. UGH!  One more question -- the next time you & Storm & Star go off on an adventure, do you think maybe I can come along?
 
I don’t plan to go on any more ghost hunts with the twins. If I do, you bet you can come along. Umm, you don’t read mind dreams, do you?

Not yet - but I seriously want to learn! Hey thanks for stopping by Erik! You are way cool!  

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Enter the  FAN ART CHALLENGE!

Do you love to draw? Are there times when you find yourself holding a pencil, not realizing that you had picked it up? Is there a scene in your head you just have to see on paper? 

If so, why not enter the fan art challenge? Send us an original illustration of a scene from A Pirate, A Blockaderunner, and A Cat and you will be entered to win a signed copy of this new middle grade book. 

Enter to win:
Scan and email your picture to: haightjess@gmail.com

Snail mail your picture to:
DMS
6 Butternut Lane
New Fairfield, CT 06812

Fan art contest ends: Sunday, September 22nd

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COMING NEXT MONTH- 
HEY!! Don't leave yet 'cause I want to tell you about next month's Character Book Club. Guess who is FINALLY getting interviewed? That's right - ME - and trust me, you don't want to miss it. Erik's going to interview me on Beverly Stowe McClure's blog in September. Sign up for the DMS Newsletter to be the first of your friends to find out the date (don't you love it when that happens?) ....   SEE YOU THEN!