Hello, Tom Weston, and thank you for joining me today. Would you mind briefly introducing yourself?
Hello, it’s good to be here. I am author, Tom Weston. I live in Boston with my wife, Leigh, although I am originally from England. My background is Computer Science and in a prior life I ran a consulting company and dabbled in business. It worked out well enough to enable me to pursue a new career in writing. This is much more fun – the business world does not have a sense of humor.
You are the author of the young adult book First Night. What is the book about?
First Night is a ghost story for the holidays.
It is set in Boston on New Years Eve, during the First Night Festival. It is about the ghost of a seventieth century Puritan girl, Sarah Pemberton, who meets two teenage sisters from San Diego, Alex and Jackie, and enlists their help in fighting the charge of witchcraft that has been brought against her.
Along the way, the book delves into Boston history and landmarks; one critic dubbed it a history mystery, which I think has a nice ring to it.
What started you on the road to writing First Night?
I had just written a screenplay called Fission, based on the real-life story of the scientist Lise Meitner, and the race for the nuclear bomb. Now, that story began in 1906 and ended in 1968, and included two world wars and the collapse of an Empire. It was very much in the form of the epic or mini-series genre: quite serious and dramatic and high-brow.
When that was completed, I thought that it would be fun to go in exactly the opposite direction, and see if I could come up with a story where all the action takes place in just one day, something light and whimsical. And I was in Downtown Boston on New Year’s Eve when I realized that Boston and the First Night Festival would make the perfect backdrop for the story.
First Night also began as a screenplay, but as it progressed, and the story began to take on a life of its own, I realized that it was becoming a bit darker and heavier than I originally planned. I needed to address that; so I put the screenplay on hold and turned to the novel.
First Night is the first out of the Alex and Jackie Adventures, correct? Is there any way you can let us in on what interesting things are up next?
Prior to First Night (and even Fission), I had an idea for a story set in Luxembourg, but I didn’t have all the characters finalized. When Alex and Jackie appeared in First Night, I knew that they were perfect for this other story, so I resurrected it. It is called the Elf of Luxembourg. In this one, Alex and Jackie get mixed up with some vampires and the search for El Dorado, as well as the Elf of the title. The girls also get to roam the street of Luxembourg, which (for those who have never been there) is a beautiful city in a beautiful (if tiny) country. If all goes well, I expect it to be published before the end of the year.
And after that, we are mulling over some other story lines, which should see Alex and Jackie popping up in other exotic locations and meeting various supernatural creatures. I’m also being asked if Sarah Pemberton will make an encore. I’d like to make that happen if I can.
You also own Tom Weston media: Would you mind telling us a bit about that?
As I mentioned, First Night originally started as a screenplay. Our plan was to create an animated feature, and we formed tom Weston media to handle the production for that, and any other projects that we came up with. In fact, before I wrote a word of the book, we had produced a five minute animation of what is now the climax of the novel. I think it was seeing this short animation that made me realize that there was a deeper, richer story to tell.
Although I got sidetracked with the novel and its sequel, the plans we have for the company are still very much ongoing; on Audio and Video production, as well as the written word. First on the drawing board is a podcast production of First Night. I really like to be involved in the creative side of it; the business end, not so much.
What is up next for you?
As well as the Alex and Jackie stories, we are looking to develop a series about the contributions of women to science. Fission was the genesis for that. I had read the story of Lise Meitner, and I couldn’t believe that she wasn’t a universal name, or that no one had bothered to make a movie about her life. Eventually my wife said quit complaining and start writing.
Where can readers find you on the internet?
You already mentioned our Web site, I’m always happy to receive correspondence or feedback.
Is there anything else you would like to share?
First Night, the novel, would not exist if not for Boston and the First Night Festival, and I must thank them for supplying me with such wonderful material to work with. For those that do not know, the heart of the Festival is the First Night Inc., a non-profit Organization that works year round so that our year end party is a success. I would encourage everyone to visit Boston, especially for New Years Eve. But in the meantime, I’d equally like to encourage every to visit the good people at First Night, at their web site: www.firstnight.org
Thank you for joining me here today and for your time.
Thank you for inviting me.