Wednesday, 3/17/2010
Max Cassidy is the world’s foremost and youngest escape artist. Chained, handcuffed, locked in an airtight water tank, there’s nothing he can’t get himself out of. He learned the art from his father—a man who just two years ago was murdered, and Max’s mother went to jail for the crime.
Now a mysterious man has shown up backstage after one of Max’s shows, telling Max that not only is his mother innocent, but his father is still alive. He can provide only one clue: a slip of paper with eight digits written on it. It is this clue that will lead Max from his home in London to the exotic and deadly Central American country of Santo Domingo and the impenetrable fortress on the sinister Isla de Sombra.
Max Cassidy can escape from anything—but given the chance to finally know the truth about what has torn his family apart, escape from Shadow Island is the last thing on his mind.
The latest offering from the new Walden Pond Press imprint, MAX CASSIDY: ESCAPE FROM SHADOW ISLAND is thriller writer, Paul Adam’s first novel for children. Adam sat down with Walden.com to discuss Max Cassidy and his greatest inspirations.
Interview with Author Paul Adam
What was your inspiration for Max Cassidy?
Max is one of those characters that has been lurking in some hidden corner of my brain for many years. I first read about the legendary escapologist Houdini when I was in school at junior school and found his tricks and stunts fascinating… He’s the kind of kid I would have liked to have been when I was his age – only I couldn’t pick locks or get out of handcuffs or swim a hundred meters underwater.
What is your favorite book?
I’m going to cheat a little here and choose Len Deighton’s Game, Set and Match spy novels - which are actually a triple trilogy of nine books.
What is your favorite movie?
What inspires you?
Music
What is your favorite thing to eat?
Roast chicken
What is the best advice you’ve been given?
As a writer - Get something down on paper, then you have something to change. As a person - The things you regret in life are not the things you did, but the things you didn’t do.
What is your favorite pastime?
Music - playing and listening
What is your greatest accomplishment?
Trekking around the Annapurna Massif in the Himalayas
What are you most proud of?
My children
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
No (generally when my kids are asking me for money)
Which talent would you most like to have?
The ability to compose music
Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Harry Palmer in Len Deighton’s early novels (though to be exact, Deighton didn’t actually give his hero a name. It was Harry Saltzman, the producer of The Ipcress File, who christened the hero Harry Palmer).
What is your motto?
It’s never too late
What is your favorite school subject?
Geography because I’m interested in the world and different places
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