July 2017
photo credit: Sonya Sones
C. Alexander London (Alex) has written books for children, teens, and a few grown-ups. He’s the author of The Wild Ones series (a Jr. Library Guild Selection), Dog Tags and Tides of War series, as well as the Accidental Adventures and two titles in The 39 Clues series for young readers. His young adult debut, Proxy, was an American Library Association Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Readers and included on their 2014 Best Fiction For Young Adults list, as well as many state reading lists around the nation. At one time a journalist reporting from conflict zones and refugee camps, he has been a public librarian, a bookseller, and a snorkel salesman (really!) He lives with his husband and dog in Philadelphia, PA. Find him online at: www.calexanderlondon.com
What are you reading? What's on your nightstand?
Right now I'm tearing through V.E. Schwab's A Darker Shade of Magic, but I have about 16 other books piled on my nightstand too.
Where do you go to get inspired?
Inspiration is everywhere if you go through life with your eyes open. I don't look for it in any one place. It's at the train station and in the woods and in my living room. I've even found inspiration in the dentist's waiting room. Of course, I don't recommend that one. Floss, people!
What's something that surprised you recently (in a good way)?
A pair of red plush leopard print pants I had in college still fit me.
Where do you write?
Most often my office. My desk looks at a giant old tree and a hawk sometimes lands on it and stares at me. Sometimes I need to be around humans and not hawks, so I'll go to a local coffee shop, which is at a train station. Always interesting things happening at a train station.
What/who makes you laugh? Why?
No one makes me laugh more than my husband, who is my favorite weirdo. Nothing makes me cry more than a sad dog. I am a sucker for dogs. I wrote four books about dogs, after all!
"...Whipping Boy + Blade Runner with a sprinkling of The Hunger Games (plus, of course, a dash of A Tale of Two Cities) = a treat for teen SciFi fans."
—Kirkus Review
"Highly Recommended for all those loving action/adventure/high speed books. ...I’d pair it with anything to do with institutionalized racism,sexism, and classism in the US, debt and economy discussions, and how far away we could be from [the scenario described within the book]."
—School Library Journal
"A full cast of colorful animal characters... With rich vocabulary, a satisfying quest, and some dastardly villains, this will be an easy pick for middle-graders who love animal adventure stories."
—Booklist Review
"The sharp, lively descriptions (‘like dynamite in a silk purse’) shine while the exhilarating finale illustrates that home is wherever your ‘howl to snap’ friends live."
—Publishers Weekly
"...a moving and important account of war's youngest victims in a region that too rarely enters the American consciousness."
—Publishers Weekly
"An elegantly composed work about Jewish identity that yields enormous insight from direct, simple questions."
—Kirkus Reviews