Forbidden Journal of Rufus Rumble #2 by NICK LONG is the second book in a hilarious new series that’s perfect for reluctant readers. Read on for a Q&A with the author.
Rufus Rumble is back! What inspired this second instalment?
Rufus still had a lot of mysteries to investigate, so he definitely needed to come back for this second book. He’s got to find out more about the strange rock he’s carrying, and most importantly, he needs to find out what happened to his Mum!
What scene did you have the most fun writing?
I had a lot of fun with the scene where Rufus meets an enigmatic character called Loco Joe. Loco Joe lives alone on top of a sinister mountain called The Fang. He’s part shaman, part guru and 100% eccentric, which is why he was so fun to write. The other scene that I loved writing was the climax. I can’t talk too much about it because it’ll spoil the plot but it’s just so cinematic and ludicrous. Like nothing else you’ve ever read, I’m sure!
What made you choose the journal format for this series?
Without the journal format adding a layer of reality and mystery, I think this story might be just a little too unhinged. The journal format gives you a timeline and an anchor point. Thanks to the personal point of view, we get to really understand Rufus’s thoughts and ideas in a way that isn’t too staged or intrusive.
Tell us about the aliens! How did you come up with them?
I decided I had enough weird characters (mermen, yeti, dragon etc) from book 1 that I didn’t need any more oddballs. So I made these aliens in Book 2 very humanoid in form. The idea to make them simple but distrustful rural folk, came I think because I remembered a story from the 1950s in which the first astronaut Yuri Gagarin crash-landed in a Russian field after his space flight. He was rescued by an old potato farmer in his ox wagon, who initially didn’t believe he was an astronaut and thought he was a spy. So that very much inspired my aliens and their suspicious nature. They think Rufus and his space crew have come to spy on their prize-winning pumpkins. Daft, I know.
Can we expect even more hair-raising trouble in Book 3?
Well the stakes and the ridiculousness are only amping up each time so I expect the answer is yes!
Describe this book in three words.
Funny. Adventurous. Mysterious.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
In his job as a TV producer, Nick Long has been up close and personal with five-metre crocodiles, ruthless crime lords, unstable Alaskan glaciers and tight deadlines. Can you guess which of these was the scariest? When he’s not avoiding deadlines, Nick lives with his wife and two boys on Sydney’s Northern Beaches where he enjoys inventing excuses for not doing handyman stuff. The Forbidden Journal of Rufus Rumble is his first children’s book series.
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