An Interview with Nick Courage on his debut novel, “The Loudness”
I met with writer Nick Courage on Thursday, April 9th, to chat with him about his first novel, The Loudness. It is a coming-of-age novel that is set in the future, after a series of destructive natural disasters, called The Tragedies. The main character, Henry Long, is bored in his quiet little town of the Green Zone, one of the few habitable areas left. He hopes to have a little excitement in his heart for once. That is, if he had a heart. His is artificial. Henry’s wish becomes a reality when he visits the Other Side, a community where Henry feels truly happy. But nothing really lasts for long. When his father and mother, the acting mayor of the Green Zone, are kidnapped on their trip to The City, he is thrust into a world he isn’t ready for. As he travels to save his parents, he finds out more about the issues around him, and that anyone can be a superhero, even the ones who don’t have hearts.
I first asked Nick (He said I could call him Nick) about “the loudness”, asking if it is a literal, tangible thing? A metaphor for something bigger? He told me that there were a few scenes in the book where Henry blacked out, and that it was pretty fun to write those scenes. He also liked writing things with multiple ways to be interpreted. He said it was like “describing the indescribable.” Nick said readers should think of it how they want— there’s no wrong answer.
I began my next question by stating a simple one regarding a female character with many names: “Which one is it: Ava, Evelyn, or Freckles?” He laughed and said, “I’m happy you decided to start that question that way! Ultimately, it’s Ava. Ava is Henry’s ‘girlfriend.’” It’s hard to be in love when everything around you is falling apart. My follow-up question was, “How do you think Ava/Evelyn/Freckles relationship with Henry changes how he looks at himself and the world around him?” Nick thought it was funny that, for about half the book, Henry didn’t even know what her real name was, even though they were together so much! It was also very empowering to Henry to have someone who cared about him so much. It’s empowering to anyone, really, to have someone love you.
Lastly, I asked Nick about his cover art and design. I was wondering if he had any control over it, or, if not, did he even like it? He said that he did not have any control whatsoever, but he absolutely loved it. Nick thought that it was funny that there was a picture of a massive storm on the cover, and the person who designed the cover was named Rain. Also, he liked the embossment on the cover letters. For a closer look at the cover, click this link: http://www.nickcourage.com/theloudness/
The Loudness is an amazing novel for middle grade kids, an emotional rags-to-riches story and an origin story about finding one’s place, and how a superhero doesn’t have to be bitten by a radioactive spider, or come from another planet, to be truly super.
I’m afraid this will be my last interview of the school year, but I’ll be back next year! Signing off for now,
