An Author Interview with Don Everts

What peculiar thread connects secret superpowers, chicken farming, Victorian architecture, and the impossible awkwardness of being 14? Debut middle grade author Don Everts weaves it together for us in this conversation about his new book, Oscar and the Mystery of the Glowing Orbs.

Oscar and the Mystery of the Glowing Orbs features a 14-year-old main character. How did it feel to dive back into the mind of a 14-year-old? What were you like at 14?

I loved climbing into the mind of a 14-year-old! It was both exhilarating and hopeful to ride the latest research, my relationships with young teens, and my own fading memories into the glorious, high-stakes land of the middle grade reader. Me at 14? I was insecure and unstoppable, realistic and a dreamer, curious and fearful, discovering who I was and constantly trying to look cool. In other words, I was full of life-giving tensions like most 14-year-olds, I guess.   

In the story, Oscar learns that he has a supernatural power, which might feel like a common storyline in middle grade fiction. Why do you think we like reading about the supernatural, and what makes this story different from the other superpower books out there?

For most of us, coming of age involves wondering about our purpose and exploring our giftedness. So, I think the “Wait, I have a special power?” storyline is perfect for middle grade readers! Watching a character discover their unique powers helps us reflect on our own discovery process. 

The superpowers in The Sensate Saga are unique because of how subtle they are. No one in Oscar’s school can fly or bend steel. But a few of them have had one of their senses blossom in a special way: one student can see the relational connections between people, another can smell anger, a third can hear anxiety, another can smell hope. There’s something super relatable about these superpowers, and they open a window for the reader to explore how these important realities (relationships, anger, anxiety, hope, etc.) are in play all around them every day. Who needs to bend steel when you can literally see who has a crush on you?

This book takes place at Centerville High School and in many ways (if you don’t count the superpowers!) it seems like a typical school. Were any of the people, places, or events in the story based on real-life situations?

A few years ago, my wife and I moved across the state (our rising freshman son in tow!) and moved into a 135-year-old Victorian house. Much of the setting in Oscar and the Mystery of the Glowing Orbs is taken from our new home and new town and new backyard chickens. The Benevolent Booklover Bookstore that Oscar discovers is, alas, a figment of my imagination.

Having your parents move you across the state just before you start high school is incredibly dramatic. It happened to me when I was my son’s age, and I turned around and did the same to him! So, some of the stressful and wonderful and hilarious moments Oscar runs into while starting at a new school are inspired by my own fumbling experience back in the day and my own son’s brave experience over the last few years. As far as I know, my son never developed any superpowers like Oscar!

This book touches on so many topics: disability, race, faith, friendship, and family dynamics to name a few. Why was it important for you to explore themes like this?

Young teens are inherently thoughtful, and these are some of the very important realities they’re dealing with and wondering about. That’s what I love about the “magical realism” genre: you get all the fun and adventure of the supernatural, but you get to interrogate the very real world we’re all trying to live our lives in. Real fun, but super applicable. 

For example, Oscar and his friends run into all sorts of real-life issues like anxiety and insecurity. They navigate interactions with friends and parents, they’re offended by discrimination and bullying, they get embarrassed and have each other’s backs, and they share hilarious opinions about the best condiment for tater tots – all while trying to save the world from bad guys. Magical realism is perfect for a fun, but deep story! 

What do you want readers to feel and experience when they read Oscar and the Mystery of the Glowing Orbs?

First, I want readers to have a blast! I tried to write a smart, adventurous book I would have loved to read when I was 14: filled with fun characters, an intriguing mystery, solvable codes, thrilling supernatural elements, and a setting I’d like to hang out in. 

Second, I’d love for readers to look with new eyes around their own schools. Everything Oscar and his new Sensate friends are experiencing is real-life stuff, and this story invites the reader to look at (and smell and listen to) their own world in new ways. Like every good story, I hope this book helps the reader both feel seen and equipped to see the world around them. 

You’ve had a lot of other jobs and interests in your life – working on college campuses, in churches, writing numerous nonfiction books, restoring a Victorian home, amateur chicken farming – so how did you find your way into writing fiction for this age group?

I wound up writing this book because of a failed trip to a big box bookstore. My son had an assignment to read a book written in the last three years. After searching my own library (filled with wonderful novels...all of which were too old) he asked me if I could run to the store to get him one while he finished his history homework. I was ecstatic! My love language is giving and receiving books, and I relished the chance to pick out a fun, but deep novel that would transport him with its story and intrigue him with its honest grappling with the real world. 

When I got to the middle grade section of the bookstore, I realized that a wide majority of the books were written for female readers (their pink covers were a dead giveaway). Of the thin slice of books left, there were some that looked fun but not too deep – a few sports-based titles – and others that looked deep but not too fun (issue-specific books focused almost exclusively on getting across a point). I wound up bringing my son two World War Two novels. He wasn’t thrilled.

Later that week, I was complaining about all this to a novelist friend of mine at a barbecue in our friends’ backyard. She nodded thoughtfully as I complained and then said: “Well, you’re a writer. Why don’t you do something about it?” I realized while finishing my tasty brat that I didn’t have a good answer to her question. Next thing you know, I was writing a middle grade novel! 

Oscar and the Mystery of the Glowing Orbs is the first book in The Sensate Saga. Can you give us a sneak peek into the books that will follow?

The series follows the unfolding story of Oscar and his friends, but each book has a different protagonist. So, Oscar will be in book two, but another one of his Sensate friends will take center stage. Literally! Without giving away too much, I’ll just say that the bombshell at the end of book one is just the first in a series of surprises as Oscar and his friends realize the mystery is much larger – and more dangerous – than they ever would’ve guessed. Also, book two has plenty of cats, video games, and mysterious bad guys!

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