Every Tuesday, get to know a bit about the stories behind the books you love, and discover your next favourite novel.

Sabitha: Today’s story is a bit off-the-wall—maybe literally! Rose Green is going to tell us about the wacky science fiction novel, Mind Over Antimatter! 

Rose: I’m Rose Green, author and illustrator, and my latest work is Mind Over Antimatter, a middle grade science fiction novel.

Thirteen-year-old Cole Uribe can’t believe his luck when an invention contest wins him top security clearance. His mission: pose as the grandson of inventor Nicolás Araya and find Araya’s plans for the micro-black-hole-powered storage device—before Alzheimer’s erases Araya’s mind for good. Except…Cole’s not the only kid claiming to be Marcelo Araya. And one of them is telling the truth.

Can a real grandson, a fake grandson, a nosy neighbor girl, and the greatest mind ever to lose brain cells be a match for a top-secret, most ruthless organization?

Sabitha: What inspired you to write this book?

Rose: Mix a little Nicola Tesla, a little Terry Pratchett, and an unusual landscape in Idaho and you end up with this book.

Sabitha: Sounds wild! We have a lot of writers in our community. What’s your writing process?

Rose: I like to be hands-on when I write. I want to really know what the characters are experiencing. While I could not play with black holes, I did crawl through some lava caves. Location is always important to me in writing, so a lot of my process is me going out and experiencing something there, and then coming home to write about it.

Sabitha: What book do you tell all your friends to read? Besides yours of course!

Rose: Some favorite middle grade books include Brandon Sanderson’s Alcatraz series, Frank Cottrell Boyce’s book Cosmic, and books by Kenneth Oppel.

Sabitha: When you picture your ideal reader, what are they like?

Rose: That smart kid in your life who reads a lot, thinks a lot of complex thoughts, and maybe hasn’t quite figured out how to fit into the world yet. Underneath, though, they are really cool (and hopefully will someday recognize that).

Sabitha: Does the location the story takes place mean something to you or to the work?

Rose: Definitely! Idaho is such a little known state—people think potatoes, and that’s it. But it’s got this interesting farmer-scholar combo going; people value education greatly but also love the wild. A lot of people speak more than one language there. And you can go to Yellowstone in the morning and catch a nice string quartet visiting your local university from New York in the evening. The first town in the US to run on nuclear power is in southern Idaho. Television as we know it was developed by someone from Idaho. I wanted to capture all of that.

Sabitha: Thanks for sharing your story and your process. We’re looking forward to reading! Where can the Night Beats community find you and your book?

Rose: You can catch up on my writing and illustrating on my website. Meanwhile, Mind Over Antimatter is available in print and ebook form from a variety of sources; see this link for more information.