Interview with Ericka Johnson, Author of Boe Peep The Tale: Revealed

Today, I have an interview with young and talented author, Ericka Johnson, who has written a retelling of a nursery rhyme.

Boe Peep The Tale: Revealed by Ericka Johnson

Published: 2013 by Alpha Wolf Publishing260 pages

Synopsis:

Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep
And doesn’t know where to find them
Leave them alone and they’ll come home,
Wagging their tails behind them.

That’s probably how you remember the little nursery rhyme, but get ready for a real twist to this fairytale. The real Little Boe Peep (with an E) definitely will find her sheep. She’ll grab her bow and take on the entire pack of wolves and anyone else who messes with her sheep. Her family depends on them for their livelihood and it is up to Boe to protect her sheep, at any cost.

After a pack of giant wolves have stolen Boe’s sheep in the middle of the night, she sets out to get them back. Little does Boe realize what she has gotten herself into as she flings herself head on into a pack of wolves that are being controlled by a fox king, named Snider. After Boe is captured, she talks the wolves into ridding themselves of the slimy fox. They devise a plan, but they soon realize the main man behind the controls is Doc, a mad scientist who is trying to come up with an invention that will enable him to eventually control all animals, and then …people. Boe finds herself far from home, and on an adventure that she had never dreamed of having; until now.

Interview:

Tell us about the book. What is it about?
My book is about Little Bo Peep. You know the girl that lost her sheep, and doesn’t know where to find them.  But this is the new Boe, (with an E) and after she finds that her sheep are missing, she doesn’t just sits around waiting to see if they come home. She is going to track down whatever it was that took her sheep, and will stop at nothing to get her sheep back. Her family depended way too much on these sheep. Failure was not an option. She soon embarks on a wild adventure that she never dreamed that she would have.

What was your inspiration for it?
It was pretty much my two of my little sister that got it all started. Me and some family and friends were going on a vacation that required a lot of driving in a big bus. These two little sisters that were really getting bored.  So as a last resort they came over to where I was sitting and asked me if that I would please tell them a story.  I have to admit, I was getting pretty bored myself so I decided why not.  I had always thought that the poem of Little Bo Peep, was really quite lame, and that there was so much more to her than that. So it was on this bus that I let my imagination take over. I wasn’t able to finish the story before the trip ended, but a little while later I decided to start writing it down.  And that was only the beginning.

Why do you write?
I dunno, I guess for the fun of it. I can just totally let my imagination take over, and let it whisk me away into the story, and take me a on a wild ride. But the cool thing about it is, I get to decide and imagine where this wild ride goes.

If you were to pick a different nursery rhyme to write about, what would it be?
Let’s see, I would pick Goldilocks and the three bears. I think that that fairy tale would be pretty fun to ‘retale’. It’s just got so many different ways that you could add to it, and let my imagination take over. Maybe when the three bears went for their walk, they were really called on a secret spy mission. And the reason for goldilocks even going to their house was to find something that she just had to get back from them.  It would have a lot of action and stuff in it, and wondering who is  really the bad guys. I actually think that it would be a lot of fun to write.

Do you outline the story or does the story surprise you?
Boe Peep kinda follows the poem, yet not really. It has a lot of things happen, that you wouldn’t have thought happened at the first of the book. The ones you think might be the bad guys, are not necessarily the bad guys.  Some things do happen that you wouldn’t expect, or wish that wouldn’t have had to happen, yet not all fairytales are perfect.

What books are you currently reading or finished last?
Let’s see, the last book that I read was the Alliance by Geruld N Lund. It is a pretty good book and I really liked it a lot. It has you wondering what will happen next, and is a page turner.

Other than writing, what else do you enjoy doing?
I enjoy doing a lot of stuff, which includes camping, hiking, riding my motor bike. I entered into the moose hunt draw this year, so wish me luck! I also really love to fly. I actually soloed on my 16^th birthday in a Cessna 172. And now I fly a Cessna 150. It is a total blast, and I am shooting to get my pilots license on my 17^th birthday.

How can people contact you or learn more about your book?
You can email me at ericka@gaelforcepublications.com, the book is available on amazon and alphawolfpublishing.biz. You can also visit my website, gaelforcepublications.com. Please email me! I would love to hear what you thought of it.