An Interview with Sands Hetherington

The Night Buddies and Evil School Bus #264 Awareness Tour is presented in partnership* with Sands Hetherington and The Children’s Book Review.

Join us on an exhilarating adventure with John and Crosley in Night Buddies and Evil School Bus #264, the fourth exciting book in the Night Buddies series!

The iguanas are up to their mischievous antics once again, and this time, they’ve souped up a flying school bus for maximum mayhem! As they wreak havoc across the Borough, it’s up to John and Crosley to sniff out their evildoings before chaos reigns supreme. Get ready to soar through the skies in the Night Buddies’ racing blimp as they race against time to thwart the iguanas’ nefarious plans. Will they succeed? There’s only one way to find out!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Night Buddies and Evil School Bus #264
Written by Sands Hetherington
Illustrated by Natalie Leininger
Ages 7+ | 156 Pages
Publisher: Dune Buggy Press | ISBN-13: 9780984741762

Publisher’s Book Summary: The iguanas are back to their stinky shenanigans. They’ve fitted out the flying school bus for real mischief and are marauding all over the Borough. They’ve really got it in for John and Crosley, who must sniff out their evildoings before it’s too late! Will they succeed? Join the Night Buddies in their racing blimp for this exciting new adventure!

Available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Bookshop.org.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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 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, North Carolina.

For more information, visit www.nightbuddiesadventures.com/, https://twitter.com/Night_Buddies, https://www.pinterest.com/nightbuddies2/, https://www.facebook.com/NightBuddies, https://www.instagram.com/nightbuddiesadventure/, https://www.tiktok.com/@nightbuddiesbookseries%20.

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR

Natalie Leininger, illustrator of the 4th title in the Night Buddies series, grew up in New Jersey and has been drawing ever since she was young. She now lives in Nebraska and attends the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, studying the fine arts. She is in her third year at the university, primarily practicing oil painting, but spends time outside of the classroom working on a variety of projects. She has always enjoyed being with children, which made illustrating and working on Night Buddies such an enjoyable project!

Natalie strives to capture our world in bloom. Whether it be through the literal sense of a blooming flower or the simple act of sketching a character’s smile spreading across their face, her art is a place for all to engage in their own way.

Interview

BZR: As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?

When I was very young, I wanted to be an automotive engineer. Cars always fascinated me. Later, I decided I wanted to be a writer.

BZR: What is your favorite book and why?

The Catcher in the Rye for all the reasons everyone else liked it. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist/narrator tells it like it is in his own voice. It felt so real about a teenage kid who was entirely himself, speaking his thoughts and feelings. I was maybe seventeen when I read it. We were visiting friends on the North Carolina coast and our host, Marilyn, a friend of the family, said, “You need to read this.” I took it to bed and stayed up all night taking in every word.

BZR: That is the sign of a good book. Can you share an instance where real-life events inspired your writing?

My son John made up the character of Crosley. I had to figure out and justify why Crosley was a red crocodile.

BZR: How do you deal with the pressure of meeting deadlines?

I didn’t have any, other than my self-imposed deadline to work a couple of hours every day, which was my regimen. So, no deadlines per se, except at 3 pm I had to go to work on the manuscript.

BZR: How important are receiving book reviews to you?

I love them, especially the good ones. Overall, the reviews have been terrific for the whole Night Buddies series, which has won numerous awards.

BZR: What is the best advice you have received as a writer?

In a word, Read! All writers need to be readers. Writing is a craft, so. the more a writer reads books the more he or she understands the elements that go into them. That’s how they get better at the craft.

BZR: Is there anything you’d like to share with prospective writers?

Mainly, it’s getting the first draft down, and then there’s the hard work of rewriting involved. Learning to self-edit before sending it on to a professional editor is advisable.

BZR: Thank you Sands for taking the time to answer our questions. It’s been a pleasure.

Giveaway

Enter the giveaway for for your chance to win an autographed 4-book series, including Night Buddies and the Pineapple Cheesecake Scare; Night Buddies and One Far-out Flying Machine; Night Buddies Go Sky High, and Night Buddies and Evil School Bus #264!

Night Buddies and Evil School Bus #264: Book Giveaway