Welcome to Swoony Boys Podcast! This is our stop on the I AM THE TRAITOR Tour. It’s no secret that we love these books and Allen Zadoff, which means we are super excited to be a part of this one!
We’ve got an awesome interview with Allen today, plus a giveaway at the bottom of the post! You don’t want to miss any of it! Here we go…
I AM THE TRAITOR by Allen Zadoff
Also by this author: Boy Nobody
Series: The Unknown Assassin #3
Published by Little Brown Books for Young Readers on June 9th, 2015
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Pages: 352
Goodreads Buy the Book
In the third and final installment in the Unknown Assassin trilogy, Boy Nobody is on the run from The Program and uncovers a secret about his past that forces him to decide where his loyalties lie.
The Program has sent Boy Nobody on countless missions, instructed to kill whichever target he was given. But now, after going rogue, he is on his own mission to rescue his friend Howard who was captured by The Program. Boy Nobody manages to free Howard as well as Tanya, a mysterious girl who was being held with him. Howard and Tanya help Boy Nobody collect information about his father, eventually revealing a dangerous secret that teaches Boy Nobody a valuable lesson -- he can't trust anyone.
Allen Zadoff packs the third book of the Unknown Assassin series with even more action, higher stakes, and mind-blowing reveals that will leave readers riveted.
***INTERVIEW***
Hi, Mr. Zadoff! Thanks for taking the time to talk with us today. We’re excited for our readers to get to know you a little better. Let’s get started!
TRAITOR is the last book of the trilogy, the one where the secrets of The Program and the assassin’s history are revealed. I’ve been working on this series for more than three years, and it was bittersweet to finish the last book. I had an enormous sense of accomplishment, but also a great sadness about leaving this world I had created. I sent a note to my original editor Kate Sullivan who was there at the very beginning, and we both shared the experience of “Wow. It seems like we just started the series. It went by so fast.”
Now you’ve made me all sentimental, Swoony Boys! Do you see what your questions have done?
There’s always a point in the writing process when the characters begin to come alive, and it almost feels like I’m working for them rather than visa versa. The book starts to write itself. Athletes call it “being in the zone”. When I’m in the zone, writing is the most fun I can have in the world. But when I’m not in the zone and I’m struggling with something, I wish I’d gone to medical school like my mother told me I should.
I couldn’t pitch the book without pitching the series. So I’d say, “THE UNKNOWN ASSASSIN is about a teen assassin who befriends the children of his targets so he can get to their parents and quietly get rid of them. In I AM THE TRAITOR (Book 3) we find out how he got to be that way in the first place.”
I think it would be cool if Alex Rider and the Assassin teamed up for an adventure. They could teach each other a few things!
I wish cookies would help, but Hollywood is immune to cookies. (Brownies on the other hand…) At this point, I can tell you that the book was optioned by Sony Pictures and developed by Overbrook Entertainment. The companies have until the end of 2015 to decide if they want to make a movie or not, so we should know something definitively in the next six months.
If you weren’t a writer, what would you be? And the answer is, I would be an astrophysicist, a cop, or a CIA agent. Those are three professions I’d really like to try. The nice thing about being a novelist is I can pretend to be a lot of things, so I’m not complaining about my current job!
Thanks so much for stopping by, Allen! This was an absolute blast.
***About Allen Zadodd***
Allen Zadoff is the author of the THE UNKNOWN ASSASSIN series as well as several acclaimed novels including FOOD, GIRLS, AND OTHER THINGS I CAN’T HAVE, winner of the Sid Fleischman Humor Award and a YALSA Popular Paperback for Young Adults. Allen’s action-packed series debut, I AM THE WEAPON (formerly BOY NOBODY), is a page-turning thriller about a teenage assassin that has already been optioned for film by Sony Pictures & Overbrook Entertainment. The book was featured in the Los Angeles Times’ Summer Reading guide and has received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and VOYA. Kirkus Reviews called I AM THE WEAPON “fast, furious, and fun.” Look for the sequel, I AM THE MISSION, beginning in June 2014. Allen is a graduate of Cornell University and the Harvard University Institute for Advanced Theatre Training. His training as a super spy, however, has yet to be verified.
***GIVEAWAY***
Good luck and happy swooning!
Check out the other stops on the tour by clicking the image below!
Congrats, Allen, on the completion of the series! Are there any other books in the wings we can look forward to?
I can’t believe this series is already finished! I read the first book by chance and enjoyed it a lot, however I lost track of this series, so now that it’s finished I have to catch up!
Ps. I have a US address!
Sounds like an exciting read, THANKS!
Love the interview… Thanks for sharing your thoughts!