Meet Max Williams of the Max Williams Adventure Series

In My Sister, the Traitor, Max Has an Admirer

Meet Axel: The New German Kid in My Sister, the Traitor

I want to introduce you to Axel Wakenbaum, Mrs. W’s great-nephew. My friend, Collin Wildridge, suggested giving Mrs. W a nephew who would be Max’s rival in the second Max Williams Adventure book. The story unfolded from there. So, with a nod of appreciation to Collin, here’s Axel –

Interview with the Author of My Sister, the Traitor

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What’s new in this second book of the Max Williams Adventure Series?

Oh, there’s tons of new stuff. For one thing, Max has changed a little. Of course, he’s a year older. But most importantly, sixth grade has been a big year for him. After the big football game at the end of My Neighbor, the Spy, when Max defeated the Reedster with the Heaven and Earth Aikido technique, Max became popular. Instead of being teased and called names as school, Max and his team became the guys everyone wanted as friends. Mrs. W founded an Aikido dojo and Max is now one of the senior kids there. He even helps Sensei W with a beginner kids’ class. Unfortunately, Max’s ego has gotten a little too big. He likes being the one everyone comes to for help, and he likes being a star at the dojo. So, when Axel, Mrs. W’s nephew, comes to town for the summer, Max doesn’t react very well.

Axel is a totally new character. He wasn’t in the first book. He’s from Germany, a senior in high-school, and has trained in Aikido for about nine years. To Max, it seems like Axel can do anything. Axel is a great character, and one of my favorite parts is when he tells his family’s story of their escape from East Berlin after World War II.

Something else that is new about this book is that there is a ramped-up danger level. Max and the guys are a little older, a little more mature, and it seemed only natural that the situations they find themselves in are a little more serious. Max and the gang face some life-and-death situations in this book.

What role does Mrs. W play in My Sister, the Traitor?

Mrs. W is definitely back in a big way. Max’s rival, Axel, is her nephew. This puts Max in an awkward position. He loves Mrs. W. He would never do anything to hurt her. But his feelings of jealousy for Axel kind of overwhelm his better judgment. Max faces some very real risks, including losing Mrs. W’s friendship.

Why is the title My Sister, the Traitor?

Well, the last straw for Max is when Axel shows an interest in dating his sister, Belinda. Max feels like this is the ultimate betrayal. Axel is interfering with Max’s status at the dojo, with Mrs. W, with his own parents, and then with Belinda. Plus, because his friend Bump has a major crush on Belinda, he’s willing to help Max with a plan to ruin Axel’s reputation.

Why does Max try to ruin Axel’s reputation?

Max is so jealous of Axel, he just wants him out of his life. He figures if he can make Axel look bad to his sister, she’ll stop dating him. If he can make Axel look bad to parents of students at the dojo, Mrs. W will stop letting Axel teach classes. Max just wants Axel out-of-the-way, and making him look bad is a convenient way to do it. I’ve recently had a personal experience where I learned what feels like when people tell lies about you. Rumors have a way of taking on a life of their own. And, with social media as popular as it is, it’s extremely easy for rumors to go viral. Rumors are a form of bullying, and the damage they can do to a person’s life is as great as physical damage. Max didn’t feel like he was doing anything harmful when he began, but he wasn’t thinking clearly. It’s an important lesson for him to learn, and I don’t think he’s going to make that mistake again.

Is Mrs. W’s sensei back in this story?

Absolutely – at least in a small way. Sensei taught Max the Heaven and Earth technique and how to eat sushi in My Neighbor, the Spy. To me, Sensei represents the Aikido community at large. I’ve met so many awesome people through Aikido. It’s a martial art that seems to attract super bright, ethical, caring people.  I want readers to get a sense of how the Aikido community supports one another. Sensei is a wise teacher, but also has a sense of humor and is accessible to even the youngest learners like Max. Max makes some terrible mistakes, but Sensei uses the mistakes as a learning opportunity and not an excuse to scold or make Max feel worse than he already does. I love Sensei. He’s one of my favorite characters to write, besides Max, of course.

Your son’s experience with Aikido inspired you to start writing the Max Williams Adventure series. Now that he’s in college, is he still pursuing his training?

He sure is. It’s a little harder with the demands of college studies, but his Aikido training is an important part of who he is. He also finds that training is a great way to relieve some of the stress of college life. He’s taken many of his friends with him, and some of them want to learn Aikido now. He’s also exploring the idea of teaching an Aikido class on his college campus. Teaching is an important aspect of training in a martial art. I think he’ll be a great sensei, and I’m excited that he’ll be spreading Aikido to a new generation of students.

Did you enjoy writing this book as much as you enjoyed writing My Neighbor, the Spy?

Of course. The best part of writing this book was that the idea for the story came from a fan of My Neighbor, the Spy who contacted me through e-mail. Collin was a senior in high-school when the first book came out, and heard about the book through his sensei. He was so excited about having a book about aikido for kids that he e-mailed me. I’ve enjoyed corresponding with him ever since. It was his idea to give Mrs. W a nephew who would be Max’s rival.  Collin is now in college and is a wonderful writer in his own right. He taught me how to do zazen.

Why does Axel tell the story about his family’s escape from East Berlin?

There are several answers to this question. In My Neighbor, the Spy, Max uses stories about real, famous spies to motivate his team with their morale flags. Max is a smart kid. He sees history as a relevant way of learning how to deal with the present and the future. This is a quality that my father passed on to me, and I’ve tried to pass on to my son. My son has a wonderful ability of finding older people who have developed wisdom in their field and learning everything he can from them. It was important for me to have Max have this same characteristic.

Another part of the answer is that the inspiration for Mrs. W’s character is a woman my son met through his training. We had the privilege of sharing gumbo and cornbread last Christmas Eve with her and she shared her family’s story of their harrowing escape from East Berlin just as the wall went up between East and West. I took some liberties with the details and added some characters, but Axel’s story is based on her story.  I think, for me, it just confirmed the depth and breadth of resources within the Aikido community. This is an amazing woman, really.

So, I included the story because it’s a fascinating story and because I wanted Max to continue to use stories from history to shape himself, his beliefs, and and view of the world.

Is this part of the reason you introduce some Zen into My Sister, the Traitor?

Kind of. It really just fit. Axel needed to introduce something that seemed strange to Max and the other kids. And, Zen principles are often taught along with Aikido principles. The ideas of balance and harmony are common in both, and this is something that Max is learning in this story. Max lets his ego get in the way of his Aikido practice and his interactions with his old and new friends. This creates the problems that lead to danger for Max and Axel. In order to get out of danger, Max has to learn to work with Axel and earn back the trust of his friends and family. Just like in Aikido, where you have to sense your partner’s movements, Max has to learn how to tune in to how his actions affect others. It’s what we all have to learn: how to live in harmony with others.

Release Date for My Sister, the Traitor: May 29, 2015

Never Underestimate the Power of a Kid

This blog often features kids who’ve achieved amazing things. But, because Max, the character in my Max Williams adventure books, is kind of nerdy, usually the achievements featured here involve science or technology. I am absolutely delighted to share the above video of 13-year old Joshua Colley hitting it out of the ballpark performing a scene from Broadway’s Les Mis.  Actually, the performance was a parody, part of a Broadway fundraising performance. It was designed to make the audience laugh. You can hear people laughing at the very beginning of the video – as Colley walks out onto the stage. What a silly idea, for Jean Valjean to be played by a kid, they must have been thinking. But the laughter quickly gives way to applause.

It’s not that Colley isn’t already a Broadway pro. He is one of the actors playing the character of Gavroche in the current Broadway production of Les Mis. What he does that’s amazing here is that he takes on the role of the main character, Jean Valjean, a role often refered to as “iconic.” (See boingboing article here.)

Jean Valjean is a grown-up role, always played by grown-up actors. Here’s a scene from Les Mis with the Hollywood heart-throbs Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean and Russell Crowe as Javert:

Without taking anything away from the awesome performance of Jackman, I think Colley brings as much depth and gravitas to the role of this adult character as do real adult actors. Because kids haven’t been through the full range of life experiences as an adult, some assume a kid is incapable of expressing the depth of emotion of a character like Jean Valjean. Colley proves those skeptics wrong. Colley proves that it’s a mistake to underestimate a kid’s ability to draw on great reserves of talent and heart.

Here’s another version of The Confrontation, an impromptu performance by Neil Patrick Harris and Jason Segal.

I’m thrilled to share this video of an accomplished kid Broadway performer because it’s a reminder that kids are achieving amazing things in all kinds of places. Max has never been to a Broadway show and hates it when his mom and sister Belinda watch ballet on TV. But, in my new Max Williams adventure, My Sister, the Traitor, readers will discover that former bully, Stuart Bender, has a previously hidden artistic talent. Mrs. W, who has a habit of recognizing the awesomeness of kids, recognizes Stuart’s talent and encourages him even when his parents make fun of him for being artistic instead of sporty.

So, seeing Colley’s performance thrilled my heart. Kids never cease to amaze me with their strength, creativity, and talent. Write me and let me know about other amazing kids and their accomplishments – maybe even your own!!

Would You Like to Review My New Book?

There’s nothing more gratifying to a writer than having a reader appreciate your stories. Even bad reviews are helpful, to tell the truth, because they guide you to do better the next time. As an independently published author, I depend on reviewers to get the word out about my books. So, I’d like to offer to any of my website readers the chance to receive a complimentary electronic copy of my new book, My Sister, the Traitor, for review, before the book is available to the public. If you enjoy the book, I hope you will post a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or on your own website or blog.

If you’d like to receive a copy of the book for review, simply e-mail me at contact@beckyblackpowell.com, or leave a response below. I’ll need to know where to electronically send your e-book.

I appreciate my website readers and my book readers, and look forward to many more good stories to share.

My Sister, the Traitor is available for pre-order on Amazon. Just click here.

A Zen Folktale: The Cats and the Big Rat

My new book, My Sister, the Traitor includes this old Zen folktale about a big, pesky rat and the cats who try to catch it. One of the characters in the book tells this tale to show his aikido students the connection between Zen principles and the practice of martial arts. I’ve adapted this folktale from the original version written in 1727 by Issai Chozan.

The Cats and the Big Rat

Once there was a swordsman named Shoken who had a pesky problem. A rat had taken up residence in his house. But, this wasn’t your ordinary rat. This rat was so daring, so bold and fearless, it didn’t even try to hide its mischief.

Shoken trapped the rat in a room and sent in his pet cat to catch it. But, the faithful old pet was hardly the equal of the bold rat. The rat bit the cat in the face and she ran away crying pitifully.

Now, Shoken knew of some cats in the neighborhood that were known for their great skill and courage in rat-catching. So, he sent his servant to bring these cats to his house. He showed the great cats into the room where the rat sat, relaxing happily in a corner.

The rat watched the cats approach from his and looked rather unconcerned. Then, the rat viciously attacked each of the cats, who beat a hasty and terrified retreat.

Well, Shoken got so angry and frustrated at this point. His concerned servant told him about a cat he had heard of that lived nearby. He told Shoken that, despite this cat’s plain and unassuming appearance, she had a reputation for being the best rat-catcher in all the area.

Public Domain, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Japanese_traditional_furry_art1.jpg

Now it was certainly true that this cat was not better looking than the other cats – the ones who lost to the rat. Shoken was not impressed by her looks at all. But he was desperate, so he pointed her toward the room with the rat.
This cat went into the room with the waiting rat as if absolutely nothing were out of the ordinary, moving quietly and slowly, with no particular attitude.

The difference was in the rat. He was visibly terrified by the plain, homely cat. It huddled in a corner, frozen with fear. The cat walked calmly to the rat, picked it up in his jaw, and carried it out by the neck.

Now that evening, the other cats, eager to learn the secrets of this master rat-catcher asked her to meet with them. They gave her a seat of honor and bowed deeply before her and said, “We are famous for our bravery, skill, and cleverness, but we’ve never faced a rat like this. None of us had the slightest bit of success, yet you easily got rid of the rat. We beg you tell us your secrets.”

The plain cats said, “First, each of you tell me how you have trained.”

The first, a sleek black cat, came forward. “I was born to be a rat-catcher. My father and his father before him were rat-catchers. From the day I was born I did nothing but train to become the great rat-catcher I was destined to become. I can leap over obstacles seven feet tall. I can squeeze myself into the tiniest rat hole. My acrobatic skills are second to none. I am particularly known for my ability to fool a rat into thinking I am asleep, then as soon as they are within reach, striking with flashing speed. It is most embarrassing that I was forced to retreat from that old rat today.

“Ah,” said the plain cat. “You are indeed most skilled in the technique of the art. You focus on planning out how to combat your foe. But technique is only one part of what it takes to master of the art. You are clever, yes, and that cleverness comes from your active mind, and that is important to the art. But, focusing on cleverness alone will not help you become a master.

By Hishida shunso (1874 – 1911) (Japanese) (Painter, Details of artist on Google Art Project) [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

A beautiful tiger-striped cat came forward and said, “I believe the most important part of fighting is the spirit, or the ch’i. I have spent many years developing my ch’i, to the point that my spirit fills heaven and earth it is so strong. It is my great spirit that overwhelms my opponent. Because of my highly developed spirit, I do not have to plan out my fighting technique; it simply flows out naturally, depending on the situation. My intent gaze alone should have defeated that rat. But, it did not.

“Ah,” said the plain cat. “You obviously have great psychic powers. But, you are too aware of your spirit, which weakens you. You never know if your opponent’s spirit is stronger than yours. You say your spirit is so great it fills heaven and earth, but it does not. What you are describing is just an image of your spirit, not the spirit itself. Your spirit only comes into being under certain conditions but true spirit is bright and illuminating. It is the difference between a great flowing river that is always there and a flood after a great rainfall.

A furry grey cat came forward and said, “I have trained faithfully to not over-awe my opponent. I have developed the discipline to not force a fight. Against a strong enemy, I adopt a yielding and conciliatory attitude, simply following up his movements. In this way, I am like a curtain yielding gently to a stone thrown at it. Even a strong rat should find no way to fight me. But this rat today did not submit to my yielding psyche.

“Ah,” said the plain cat. “Your yielding psyche is only something you created with your conscious mind. Your yielding psyche is artificially created and thus it interferes with your natural perception and agility. The only way to truly let nature take its course is to do away with all that artificial thinking and planning.

The three defeated cats looked glumly at the plain cat. He said to them, “You have each trained hard and developed your useful skills. Skill in technique is the vessel for reason. The body is the vessel for spiritual power. And, when the body is in harmony with nature, it acts in accord with the environment, thus the yielding psyche is able to stop fighting on the physical plane of force. You must not let ego or self-consciousness interfere with your practice. Only then will you become masters of the art.

Featured Image Photo Credit:  http://”Cats suggested as the fifty-three stations of the Tokaido”. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cats_suggested_as_the_fifty-three_stations_of_the_Tokaido.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Cats_suggested_as_the_fifty-three_stations_of_the_Tokaido.jpg

Rumor Bullies

I’d planned to write a post this week with featuring websites where you can find out more about Aikido. But, because of something that has happened to someone close to me, I changed my mind. I’m going to write a post about how people bully others by spreading rumors about them. I’m also going to tell you some of the plot to My Sister, the Traitor that I had not planned on revealing before the book comes out. I’m doing this because the message is important.

In My Sister, the Traitor, Max becomes jealous of Mrs. W’s German nephew, Axel. To Max, Axel is ruining his life – at home, with Mrs. W, and at the dojo. Max hates the way everyone who meets Axel thinks he’s so smart, strong, able to do anything. So, Max decides to make people, including his sister who has a crush on Axel, believe that Axel isn’t as great as he appears to be. He gets a friend to help, and spreads rumors about Axel. It’s not hard to do because once people hear the rumors, they repeat them as the truth. And, rumors spread like wild-fire, especially on social media. Max’s plan works. People begin to dislike and mistrust Axel. Unfortunately, Max’s plan has disastrous consequences that affect many people.

Spreading rumors about someone is a form of bullying. A rumor is is based on doubtful truth. If you look in a dictionary or thesaurus, you’ll find that synonyms for “rumor” are gossip, hearsay, and speculation. The important thing is that “true” or “fact” isn’t part of that definition. The reason rumors are harmful is that each time someone repeats one, it gains power and begins to feel more true, even though it is not. The fact that lots of people have heard the same rumor sometimes makes people believe even more that it must be true.

Having rumors spread about you based on things that are not true hurts as bad as being beat up. It hurts especially when the people who start the rumors are people who you trusted and depended on. It hurts deep in your stomach, a knotty, twisty kind of hurt that makes it hard to concentrate. It makes you want to cry, but you don’t feel any better after you do. It causes you to feel like you can’t trust anyone ever again, that everyone is staring at you, talking about you behind your back. You feel sad and alone at home but you feel uncomfortable when you go out. You know the rumors are very unfair and that if people knew your side of the story they would understand, but you cannot make that happen. Each time the rumor gets repeated, it gets harder for people to care about your side of the story. It feels as if you are in a deep hole and each repetition of the rumor is a shovelful of dirt raining down on your head. You want to defend yourself, tell the truth, get your story out there, but you can’t. The feeling of unfairness, of injustice, makes you want to scream. You feel angry, hurt, betrayed, lost.

Max learns how harmful rumors are and he works hard to make up for the damage he’s caused. But, many people never learn that. If you hear a rumor, please do two things. First, question it. Don’t assume that it is the truth and don’t assume that it is the complete story. Second, don’t spread it. If it’s not the truth, spreading a rumor spreads the damage. A rumor is very hard to root out once it has taken hold.

We all get mad at people, even at friends or family.  But saying things that aren’t true about them isn’t the way to deal with that anger. Spreading rumors is just as much a form of bullying as hitting someone and the damage may be even more long-lasting.

Fortunately, Max has people around him who help him work his way out of his predicament. And, he has the practice of Aikido, which has teaches him the value of community, coöperation, and peaceful resolution of conflicts. If you find yourself wanting to say bad things about someone because you are angry, stop and think for a second, and then try to find another way to work through your anger. You may think that rumors don’t hurt because they are only words. But, anyone who has been the victim of rumors can tell you the damage is painfully real.

The Human Storybook

If you’ve read My Neighbor, the Spy, you know that Mrs. W is from Germany and escaped East Berlin just as the borders were closed after World War II. I had the privilege over the holidays of spending some time with the real person that inspired the character of Mrs. W. (I’ll call her Betty.) She and my son went to an Aikido seminar together and she spent Christmas Eve with us. She’s lived an interesting life she is like a living storybook. She shared with us some of her family’s experiences when East Berlin closed the borders.

After World War II, the U.S. controlled the West side of Berlin and Russia controlled East Berlin. The two sides coexisted for a while, but East Berlin decided to close its borders and stop allowing its citizens to pass back and forth into West Germany. The people who lived in East Germany, like the Betty, her mother, father, and little sister, didn’t know this was going to happen. Betty was only 17 when a friend of the family came to her home one evening and said, “They are closing the borders. You have to get out now or you’ll never get out.”

Her father and mother quickly sprang into action and came up with a plan for escape. Fortunately, the phone lines still worked to the West, and Betty’s father called a friend in West Germany and asked for his family’s help. The plan was that the Betty’s family would go to a particular gate, pretend that their youngest daughter was really the daughter of the friend’s family in West Berlin who was visiting them, and they were taking her home. The friend would be waiting on the other side of the gate with his wife. They would wave at Betty’s sister to make the story more believable. Betty’s family would then cross over to West Germany to take the “family friend” home and they would never go back.

If she turned over her identity papers, the guards would realize that she and her sister were not telling the truth about returning to their home in West Germany, that they really lived in East Germany. Thinking quickly, and looking young for her age, when the guard asked for her papers, Betty lied and told him she wasn’t 14 yet.

But, when Betty’s family reached the designated gate, it was closed. They would have to find another gate to cross through, but they would not have the friends on the other side to help them. When they found a gate that was open, the guards refused to let the Betty’s parents go with the sisters. Betty volunteered to take charge of her little sister. The border guards questioned two girls at length. It was the custom at the time for children to receive their identity papers when they turned fourteen. Betty was seventeen. If she turned over her identity papers, the guards would realize that she and her sister were not telling the truth about returning to their home in West Germany, that they really lived in East Germany. Thinking quickly, and looking young for her age, when the guard asked for her papers, Betty lied and told him she wasn’t 14 yet.  After the lengthy questioning, the the guards allowed the two girls to cross into West Germany.

Betty knew to go straight to her father’s friend’s home. The family was happy to see the two girls, but Betty’s parents still were not there, and Betty had no idea whether they had been able to get across, if they were still in East Berlin, or if they had been captured or even killed in their attempt to cross. It was a scary and confusing. Betty and her little sister stared out the window of their friends’ home waiting and watching for their parents.

Finally, the friend’s wife decided the little sister should take a warm bath to calm her down. Betty helped her sister into the bath. While she was bathing, they heard a car door slam. Betty looked out the window to see her mother and father emerging from a taxi cab. Her little sister yelled, “Mother! Father!” and jumped out of the tub stark naked, ran downstairs and out the front door to leap into her parents’ arms.

When the time came, Betty’s parents ran. Her mother lost a shoe and her purse. They must have been terribly frightened, especially since they didn’t know whether their daughters were safely across the border. Suddenly, they heard a voice yell, “Stop.”

The story of how Betty’s mother and father came across the border was as exciting as Betty’s own story. Her father scouted around until he found a place on the border with a railroad track, but no fence. He and his wife went to the top floor of a building that looked out on the track. There, they timed the guards’ schedule. They figured out just how much time they had to slip across the tracks onto West German soil. When the time came, Betty’s parents ran. Her mother lost a shoe and her purse. They must have been terribly frightened, especially since they didn’t know whether their daughters were safely across the border. Suddenly, they heard a voice yell, “Stop.”

Betty’s mother couldn’t take it anymore and stopped to turn herself in. But, the person who stopped them was a West German police officer. They had made it safely to West Germany. The police officer called them a taxi cab and paid for their fare to their friends’ home where the parents reunited with their children.

Growing up in the United States, it’s hard for me to imagine such a thing happening one night after dinner. Things were very different at that place and time. I can always read a book that tells me about the history of a place and time. But, it’s not often you get to hear a story from someone who was actually there and part of story.

If you have grandparents, aunts, uncles, or family friends who have been other places, seen world events happen, fought in wars, gone through hardships, or seen major milestones in history actually happen, ask them to tell you about it. Some stories may be hard for them to tell, but if you are honest and respectful about listening, they will probably share it with you. Listen carefully and ask questions. Later, write it all down so you will remember.

Here are some ideas for what you can do with that story:

• Make a Family History Book with each persons’ story and a photograph or drawing.  You can make it in a notebook or on the computer.
• Make a “digital story” using film editing software and old photographs. You can write and record your own narration. Click here for information on how to do this.
• Write a graphic novel that tells the story. Draw your own illustrations and write your own dialogue based on the story.
• Create a historical fiction story. Take the true story and add imaginary characters or events that fit with the facts.

History is the best story you’ll ever hear. Search out your own! Let me know what you find out.

photo credit: <a href=”https://www.flickr.com/photos/markturner/4019837762/”>Mark Turner</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a&gt; <a href=”http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-