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The Teaching Librarian volume 14, no. 3 43 Michael McGowan: I've just finished writing, directing and producing a one-hour pilot for the CBC called Left Coast. I was out in Vancouver most of the fall working on the project. Just before Christmas, I finally finished the sequel to Newton and the Giant called Newton and the Time Travel Machine. I'm actually hoping to send it to HarperCollins tomorrow after I finish inputting a few changes. I'm trying to finish a first draft of a screenplay that I'm developing with Telefilm and CBC has ordered a bunch more scripts for the series that I'm hoping will go into production this spring. Martha: Are you allowed to tell us anything about Left Coast or the screenplay for Telefilm-- feel free to plug your work shamelessly! <grin> What about the new Newton adventure? Michael McGowan: Left Coast is a family show set on a fictional BC Gulf Island about a displaced Toronto family (is that vague enough?) while the screenplay is attempting to be an homage to Canada (it's a road movie) against a backdrop of some fairly serious themes. As I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to say about the show, and the screenplay is still in it's infancy, I'll stay purposely vague on those two issues. As for Newton Deux, our hero invents a time-travel machine and Herbert and Gertrude go missing. Newton needs to find them in order to stop Gertrude's brother, Prince Raphael from taking over the kingdom. Most of the characters from the first book are in this one. Martha: I can't wait! I know there will be legions of school kids, (and their teachers) rubbing their hands together in glee, reading that Newton, Herbert, Gertrude (and lets hope the quadruplets too!) are on their way back. Did you always have another adventure for Newton in the back of your mind? Meet the Author Michael McGowan: I definitely thought I would write another Newton but I didn't know what it would be. When HarperCollins said they were interested in a second, that's when I started trying to figure out the plot. I tend to come up with ideas only when I have to. In other words once HarperCollins committed, then I began the process of mentally running through various plot ideas until finally I came up with one I thought would be interesting. That seems to be the way I generate most of my ideas. For instance, I knew that CBC was really trying to develop a family series and that prompted me to start thinking along those lines. Martha: So what does a guy who works on so many projects at once do for fun? Michael McGowan: Go into a sensory deprivation room! Martha: I bet. <grinning> Is there any medium in which you haven't worked yet, and would like to? Anything you're still dying to try? Michael McGowan: Not really. I'm always looking to try to find good stories to tell and the medium seems to sort itself out. For me that's the challenge and when I start a new project I have no idea whether or not I'm going to be able to pull it off. Martha: Well we're very happy you've managed to pull it off so successfully, and we look forward to seeing more of your work--in each of the various media--in the years to come! Thanks for letting us into your world… and here's to some rewarding downtime in that sensory deprivation room! z Keep your eyes peeled for Michael McGowan's second novel, Newton and the Time Machine, which is in the process of being published by HarperCollins. Air dates for Michael's other projects have yet to be announced.