Blog Tour: So Shelly - Ty Roth - Interview

Today Ty Roth is here promoting his debut YA release, So Shelly, courtesy of Teen Book Scene. You can follow along with the tour here. 

What books would each of the main characters personally identify with, or love?

Gordon Byron: Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones

Shelly Shelley: Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why

John Keats: Libba Bray’s Going Bovine

Who is your favorite poet?

I’ve always been drawn to Irish poets; my two favorite are William Butler Yeats and Seamus Heaney. My favorite poem of all time is Yeats’s “The Lake Isle of Innisfree.” The poem is fantastic in both senses of the word. The two phrases from the poem: “Soul clap its hands” and “Peace comes dropping slow” possess the elusive and enigmatic meaning that all great lines of poetry contain. They speak to me in an transcendent way beyond words; they mean something to me in a way I can’t put words to and to try would ruin them. Heaney’s work is just so poignant in its universality. He writes poetry simultaneously understandable for the common man and woman and with the erudition loved by English majors.

Do any of the characters have theme songs? If so, what are they?

It’s funny that you should ask this. Actually, in the novel, Shelly assigns an R.E.M. song to both Gordon (“Nightswimming”) and to Keats (Try Not to Breathe). She also has her own favorite (“Shiny, Happy People”). If, as the author, I could choose a theme song for the novel, it would be “Kings and Queens” by 30 Seconds to Mars. It really captures the spirit of the story and also some literal plot occurrences.

What would the front page headline of a newspaper say about you?

Blind Squirrel Finds Nut

If you could be any tree, which kind of tree would you be, and why?

This is a tough one; I’m not much of a nature person. Is it cheating if I say a “Family Tree?” I am all about family, or how about a “Shoe Tree?” I’ve recently developed a love of shoes. Okay. I’ll be serious. How about a Weeping Willow? I think they are sadly beautiful, shade-giving trees. I also have a propensity for liking dark stories with unhappy endings.

Thank you so much for being here today, Ty! I love your answers! 

Don't they make you want to run out and get a copy of the book? I know I want to get one as soon as possible. :) 

Look for it: Amazon, Book Depository.