A Skype visit with Mr. Gratz

ELIZABETHVILLE - Being unable to meet an accomplished author in person could have been a "tragedy" for aspiring writers at Upper Dauphin Area High School.

Instead, with the district's technology capabilities and Skype, 18 students in Eric Fite's 10th-grade Honors English class were able to converse face-to-face with Alan Gratz on Feb. 10. Gratz is the author of several books, including "Something Rotten", a modern retelling of William Shakespeare's Hamlet.

"Skype visits are great for me because I get to reach out to readers all over the country - and the world - without leaving my office. I live in western North Carolina, and I've done Skype visits with readers as far away as San Diego, California, and Tokyo, Japan," said Gratz in reply to an email inquiry from The Citizen-Standard following his Upper Dauphin virtual visit.

"As school budgets increasingly tighten, virtual school visits are a great way for educators to bring authors into the classroom. A visit to Elizabethville, PA, for me, for example, would require a flight and at least one night in a hotel in addition to an honorarium, and many schools just don't have money for those kind of events anymore. At the same time, I think author visits are invaluable experiences for students. I know I would have loved to have met an author when I was a student! Skype allows a middle ground between the optimal author experience and affordability," Gratz said.

Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice calls over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free. Calls may be just audio or, if desired, can include video. The application runs on a computer and, basically, allows it to be used like a phone, according to UDA Director of Technology Bryan S. Campbell.

Skype is used in the district to allow access to individuals and/or organizations that would otherwise be inaccessible either because of distance or cost.

"I believe that these types of opportunities are very important in our ever increasingly 'globalized' society. These unique opportunities provide students a glimpse of the diversity beyond our valley," Campbell said.

Fite discovered that Gratz had a website, and he sent him an email to see if he'd be willing to participate in another Skype interaction. Gratz had Skyped with Fite's classroom last year. Fite saw that the author does conduct school visits, but since Gratz is from North Carolina, that was not a feasible option for UDA.

"I Skyped with Mr. Gratz last year as well. My students seemed to really enjoy talking with him, so I thought it would be something I should continue to do with my classes.

"I was hoping by being able to talk with Mr. Gratz face to face, my students would be able to ask him specific questions about his book that only he could answer. Even though his book is based on Hamlet and it follows a similar storyline, there are some differences between the two works. I also hoped my students would be able to learn more about the writing process and what steps an author goes through in order to write and publish a book," Fite said.

Inquiries from the UDA sophomores ranged from specific questions about his works and characters, to finances.

- Krysta Wynn, of Elizabethville, wanted to know if any of Gratz's books were considered to be made into a movie.

"I learned that it takes a lot to get a book to become a movie," said Wynn. "You need to have it go through Hollywood to see if anyone will pick it up. If someone picks up your book, they'll pay you for the rights of your book, then if they don't start it as a movie after a year, they either buy the rights again or you get it back and try it with Hollywood again," she said.

- Lykens sophomore Collin Markel wanted to know what other interests Gratz had besides writing.

"I learned that Alan Gratz loves baseball and is writing a book entitled Fantasy Baseball," Markel said.

- Meanwhile, another student, Joshua Paul asked how long it took Gratz to write Something Rotten, why he chose to make Horatio the main character of the story, and if he is currently working on any new books.

Paul said he learned that it took Alan Gratz a little over two years to write Something Rotten.

"Horatio Wilkes is the main character because Hamilton Prince (Hamlet) deals with too many other problems and Gratz wanted to continue writing other stories with Horatio as the main character. He has also written Something Wicked, a modern retelling of Macbeth. Horatio Wilkes is also the main character in this story too." said Paul, of Lykens. Gratz shared that his book, Fantasy Baseball, is in the final editing steps and he is currently working on a new book, too, Paul said.

- Shawn Bordner, of Lykens, wanted to know what book Gratz made the most money from and how much money he makes per book sold. According to Bordner, Gratz made the most money from Samurai Shortstop, and he makes $1.50 off of each book he sells.

- "I asked him how he got started writing. I would have liked to ask him how someone, a student like me, would get published," said Leslie Etzweiler, of Elizabethville. "I learned from speaking with Mr. Gratz that even though people are published, they are still normal people," she said.

Gratz, author of Samurai Shortstop, Something Rotten, Something Wicked, and The Brooklyn Nine, commended the efforts of Mr. Fite and readily answered his students' questions.

"Most of my Skype visits are simple Q&As, where my live school visits also involve a more formal PowerPoint presentation. But virtual visits are still a great way for students who have read my books to ask me why I made particular decisions in the story, or to learn more about my inspirations or methods. And who knows - maybe someday soon I'll be talking to students on their phones!" said Gratz.

Learn more about Alan Gratz at his website, http://www.alangratz.com.

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