Pump Up Your Book Chats with Sands Hetherington, author of Night Buddies Go Sky High

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Sands Hetherington, creator of the Night Buddies series of chapter books, credits his son John for being his principal motivator. Sands and young John developed the Crosley crocodile character in the series during months of bedtime story give-and-take. They collaborated many nights on escapades starring John and Crosley, until eventually it occurred to Sands why it was that Crosley was bright red. That was when the first book came together.

Sands raised his son as a single parent from the time John was six. He read to him every night during those formative years: all of the classic children’s stories from Aesop through the Grimms, Lewis Carroll, Frank Baum, Tolkien and Dahl, with a lot of Dickens and Hugo thrown in. When school was out they got in the car and toured Alaska, Canada and most of the contiguous states. John still gets around. So far he has lived in Germany, Scotland, Russia, England and Spain.

Dogs have always been a part of the author’s life, beginning with Whiskers, a cocker spaniel. When his wonderful boxer Hube died, he despaired of finding a boxer who could match him, and instead got a Saint Bernard. He ended up breeding Saints for a number of years and at this point has had twelve as house pets. Sands says dogs can do you a power of good, and if you lose one, go out and get another the next day and you will be surprised at how fast your grief goes away.

Sands is also a Civil War buff. He would like to spend a month of evenings with common soldiers from both sides to see how they felt about the business. And eccentric generals like Jackson, Sherman and Forrest, and most of all Lincoln. Because Lincoln never gets to smile in his pictures.

The author was born in New York City but was transplanted a year later to Greensboro, North Carolina, where his maternal grandmother lived. He never really left the area and has a lot of the South in him. His grandmother was a prominent educator and became a great friend and mentor.

Sands majored in history at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) and has an M.F.A. in creative writing and an M.A. in English from UNC-Greensboro. He lives in Greensboro now, and hangs out with his longtime friend Ann and their Saint Bernards Dudley and Maggie. He likes visiting ancient Mediterranean sites in Turkey and Italy, and most of all Greece.

For More Information

Visit Sands website.

Young John Degraffenreidt and his red crocodile buddy, Crosley, show up at the Pineapple Cheesecake Factory and find Big Foot Mae lying on the floor, staring up at her Great Star Puzzle on the ceiling. Crosley only wants a new supply of pineapple cheesecakes, but what Mae points to on her ceiling will start the Night Buddies on a totally new fantasy adventure. A suspicious white dot has passed through the Corkscrew Constellation and is now moving underneath the Hound Dog Stars. Across the Borough, Crosley s brother Crenwinkle sees the same curious speck in the sky. It looks to be a long night for sleepyhead John, but thanks to the time spreader dingus with its sleep retardant setting, he gets right into their next escapade. Join the Night Buddies as they embark on another Program, this time taking them all the way into the stratosphere in their racing blimp.

For More Information

Night Buddies Go Sky High is available at Amazon.
Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.

Thank you for this interview. Do you remember writing stories as a child or did the writing bug come later? Do you remember your first published piece?

Thanks for having me!

I never wrote a word till tenth grade English class. (I was going to be an automotive engineer.) Then I handed in a rather sappy poetical piece for an assignment, and this foxy student teacher named Ellen gushed over it. Even though she was an older woman and spoken for, that’s what got me going.

My first published piece was “A Southern Story” in The Greensboro Review (a “little” magazine put out by the MFA program at North Carolina/Greensboro). It was about an old supermarket carry-out man who sold magic wine on the side.

What do you consider as the most frustrating side of becoming a published author and what has been the most rewarding?

I’ve published the Night Buddies series myself, so there has been little frustration, per se. Just a lot of sweat and a thousand bothersome details.

The best part has been the good reviews and the seven national awards so far.

Are you married or single and how do you combine the writing life with home life? Do you have support?

I can’t provide you with much here. I was divorced twice, and have a son and a daughter who have long since flown. I live with my short-haired Saint Bernard Maggie who, to this point, has never discouraged me in my scribbling.

What do you like to do for fun when you’re not writing? Where do you like to vacation? Can you tell us briefly about this?

I like to travel. I’ve driven through every state except Hawaii. Western Canada, too. And I’ve visited most of Europe and the Levant. I’ve said many times that I would gladly go to Greece every year.

If you could be anywhere in the world for one hour right now, where would that place be and why?

Santorini/Thera.

Who is your biggest fan?

Dimitri, at my gym. He’s 6’10” and 290 pounds.

Where’s your favorite place to write at home?

I have a really comfortable chaise in my living room, with a good pole lamp. Sometimes I prefer the kitchen table. I couldn’t do anything without my old green clipboard across my thighs.

Do you have any pets?

Maggie is a seven-year-old, 103-pound runt with perfect features. Very athletic, and 75 percent of her forebears are AKC champions going back four generations. (She’s not the least bit arrogant about it.)

Tell us a secret no one else knows.

“We dance round in a ring and suppose,

But the Secret sits in the middle and knows.” (R. Frost)

What’s on your to do list today?

That’s easy: This interview mostly. And sawing up several trees that a storm knocked over last week. Going to the gym for two hours. Walking Maggie. Watching March Madness (life is a metaphor for basketball). But first of all this interview. And thanks again for the opportunity!

Am I allowed to mention that there are three books in the Night Buddies series?

Night Buddies and the Pineapple Cheesecake Scare

Night Buddies, Impostors, and One Far-Out Flying Machine

Night Buddies Go Sky High

www.nightbuddiesadventures.com

Yes, thank you for this interview. Good luck on your virtual book tour!

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