Last week Chelsea’s debut novel, Rise of Renegade X was released into the wild! This is definately one to check out. It contains all the elements that, to me, make a great novel: good vs evil, coming of age and all the problems that go along with growing up …and a little love interest!

The Monster Lover: Tell us about RRX

Chelsea: The Rise of Renegade X is about a teen supervillain who discovers his long lost dad is actually a superhero, throwing a wrench in all his supervillain plans, especially when he has to go live with him for a while.

The Monster Lover: Why did you choose to write a story from a male perspective? I must say I loved reading his thoughts & then what he says – boy does he have a good filter!

Chelsea: I love writing boy characters. Sometimes I think, “Hmm, maybe it would be fun to write about a girl with a couple awesome, crushworthy guys she has to choose from,” but then I think, “Why add a middleman? I’d rather write about the crushworthy boys…” So, you see, I did it for, um, noble reasons.

The Monster Lover: In RRX, a big thing happens when superhero/supervillain kids turn 16…their thumb gets marked with an H or V. Why did you chose X as a symbol for the 1/2 hero, 1/2 villain symbol?

Chelsea: Originally I had Damien get an H instead of the V he was expecting, but this put him less in the middle, and I don’t know that I was ever really satisfied with that option. Then, during the submission process, an editor suggested I make the half villain, half hero letter be an X, to match “Renegade X” and give that more meaning, while also putting Damien more squarely in the middle. I thought it was brilliant and went for it.

The Monster Lover: Before you ended up naming Damien “Renegade X”, what other names did you consider?

Chelsea: I thought of it while I was writing the scene where Sarah comes up with it, and it just seemed right, so I never changed it.

The Monster Lover: If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

Chelsea: I would love to be able to teleport! Or have a perfect metabolism, if that can be a power.

The Monster Lover: What’s next for you?

Chelsea: Next I’ve written a paranormal historical YA about Julius Caesar and Cicero saving Rome from an army of ghosts. And as of right now I’m looking for the next idea that will really hook me and make me want to write it.

About the book:

Damien Locke knows his destiny–attending the university for supervillains and becoming Golden City’s next professional evil genius. But when Damien discovers he’s the product of his supervillain mother’s one-night stand with–of all people–a superhero, his best-laid plans are ruined as he’s forced to live with his superhero family.

Going to extreme lengths (and heights), The Rise of Renegade X chronicles one boy’s struggles with the villainous and heroic pitfalls of growing up.

Read the first chapter here!

About the author:

Chelsea Campbell grew up in the Pacific Northwest, where it rains a lot. And then rains some more. She finished her first novel when she was twelve, sent it out, and promptly got rejected. Since then she’s written many more novels, earned a degree in Latin and Ancient Greek, become an obsessive knitter and fiber artist, and started a collection of glass grapes. As a kid, Chelsea read lots of adult books, but now that she’s an adult herself (at least according to her driver’s license), she loves books for kids and teens. Besides writing, studying ancient languages, and collecting useless objects, Chelsea is a pop culture fangirl at heart and can often be found rewatching episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, leveling up in World of Warcraft, or spending way too much time on Livejournal and Facebook.
For more information visit www.chelseamcampbell.com

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