Tony Wirt

Tony Wirt was born in Lake Mills, IA, and got his first taste of publication in first grade, when his essay on Airplane II: The Sequel appeared in the Lake Mills Elementary School’s Creative Courier.

He's a graduate of the University of Iowa and spent nine years doing media relations in the Hawkeye Athletic Department. He's also been a sportswriter, movie ticket taker and Dairy Queen ice cream slinger who can still do the little curly thing on top of a soft serve cone.

He currently lives in Rochester, MN, with his wife and two daughters.

Wirt's new novel is Pike Island.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

Most of the excitement in Pike Island takes place on Pike Island, so I think the title puts readers right in the middle of the action. I always thought the name of the island would be a great title for the book, unfortunately, the real place I set this book is called Mystery Island, and that sounds way too much like something out of an episode of Scooby Doo. So my agent, my editor, and I put our heads together to think up a new name that sounded both realistic and a little spooky.

What's in a name?

Not much, honestly. I never name any of my main characters after anyone. Minor characters, however, I'll sometimes toss in a mixture of old friend's names. In an early draft I had a character named after an obscure Minnesota Indie Rapper, but by the time the book sold and was published, Lizzo's career had exploded and she definitely didn't fit the 'obscure' description.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

Half of the story in Pike Island revolves around a group of guys on a trip to the lake. While no character is based on me and my group of friends individually, they are definitely inspired by the group dynamic we had. We took many trips up to my grandparent's cabin together, so I definitely mined those memories for some color.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

I don't outline things out, but I usually have an ending in mind when I start. The beginning usually changes more, because I'm always looking for a better way to hook the reader.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

I think there's always some of the author in their characters. For me, there's usually a lot of me in the early drafts, but with each re-write the characters establish more of their own personality and act like themselves instead of me.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

I always listen to music when I write, and each book tends to feed off a different genre. Pike Island needed a lot of 80s and 90s College Rock (R.E.M., Husker Du, The Replacements). My book Just Stay Away fed off of Hall of Fame hip-hop (A Tribe Called Quest, Erik B & Rakim, Wu Tang Clan). I never know what a particular book is going to need.

Visit Tony Wirt's website.

The Page 69 Test: Pike Island.

--Marshal Zeringue