South Tahoe High Grad Jory John releases new book

STOP RIGHT THERE. Don’t move a muscle, buster. Stay out of this book or I WILL CHOMP YOU!

Meet Bear. He's exhausted. All he wants is to go to sleep. Meet Duck, Bear's persistent next-door neighbor. All he wants is to hang out . . . with Bear

If you're a dinosaur, all of your friends are dead. If you're a pirate, all of your friends have scurvy. If you're a tree, all of your friends are end tables.

These are just a few lines out of books written by South Tahoe High School graduate Jory John who's ninth book, "I Will Chomp You," is being released on Tuesday.

"It’s a fun time right now," said John. "People will finally be able to see it and I’m trying to embrace it and enjoy it."

He wrote his latest kid's book in the Spring of 2013, and the two year process of getting it to the stores is finally here. "You see the reaction to something you wrote two years ago," John added.

Jory John's love for writing started as a child growing up in South Lake Tahoe. He lived with his mom, long time local Deborah John, in the Sierra Tract neighborhood. In his fifth grade class at Sierra House Elementary, a project to illustrate and write a book was the beginning of a career which earned him two E.B. White Read-Aloud Honors and a spot on the New York Times Best Seller List.

I Will Chomp You is a hilarious twist to a time-tested blueprint as their little monster threatens, reasons, and pleads with readers to go no further in the book because he will NOT share his beautiful, delicious cakes.

"Chomp is meant to be a fun read aloud for small children," said John. "The monster monologue will be fun parts for parents to read aloud."

Humor has been involved in all of his books, from the children's book for adults, All My Friends are Dead, to Goodnight Already!. If children read his adult focused books, and vice-versa, they will all get something different from them.

John, who at first wanted to be a syndicated cartoonist, grew up looking to Charles Schulz and Gary Larson, as well as Shel Silverstein, E.B. White and James Thurber, as inspirations.

After that first project in fifth grade, John would always have a notebook and a pen in his pocket. After school he'd ride his bike out to Kiva Beach, lean against a log and practice writing, things people still haven't read. He said he'd fill notepad after notepad, many of which are still at his mom's Lodi Avenue home.

Deborah John, who spent years working at KRLT and KTHO, always made sure her son had plenty of books to read and pads of paper and pens to write with.

Besides spending time out at Kiva, Jory recalls an idyllic childhood in South Lake Tahoe. He and good friend Nathan Bergner (the new co-owner of Ernie's Coffee Shop) spent hours playing together. He'd find himself at the Bergner home quite often, as well on vacation with the family. "We rafted down the river from the golf course to the Lodi Avenue area," recalls John. "We'd collect golf balls and then I'd go back to the golf course and sell them back."

The 1995 graduate of STHS remembers a lot of great teachers and people who played a big part in his childhood. High School teachers Janna Gard, Jean Anne Conlon, Linda Blaney, Doug Gebott and Al Stevenson, as well as Joanne Finkler from South Tahoe Middle School, all still have a place in his heart as well as former basketball coach Tom Orlich. Locals Bill Olin and Dr. Greg Bergner were also role models as he grew up.

John said he loved to watch local basketball superstar Jerod Haase on the courts. "I loved to watch him dominate on the court," said John. He recalls fond memories of the parade from Stateline to the "Y" in honor of the school's basketball team winning the Nevada State Championship.

He loved the small town he grew up in, the charm and how everyone looks out for each other.

"It continues to influence who I am and where I'd ultimately like to end up," John said of South Lake Tahoe. He may not end up back in his home town but wants something just like it. "Small town life has stuck with me and I crave it living in the city, but I get to recharge when I get back home."

He'd like to come back to town and have a children's event, starting off at Sierra House Elementary. "I'd love to start there since that is where I started," said John. "Make it fun, a celebration of writing books."

While a senior at STHS, John interned at the Tahoe Daily Tribune where he interviewed the Foo Fighters when they were in town for "Boarding for Breast Cancer." He also spent time volunteering at KRLT where they let him run the boards and do all odd jobs, including speaking on the air.

"I found communication to be a passion of mine," said John.

After graduation he went to the University of Nevada, Reno for one year, then transferred to Chico State where he majored in Journalism.

After college, John headed to the San Francisco Bay Area where he wrote for the Santa Cruz Sentinel and spent six years working for the non-profit, 826 Valencia, which was a writing and educational center in San Francisco's Mission District.

It was there that he found his passion working with children. He was able to combine writing with working with kids and doing school visits.

He has worked as a tutor, has been a camp counselor, and then worked with the kids at 826 Valencia. "I feel like I think like a child at times," said John. "I know what they’d like." Though he started out writing adult books, his latest have all been illustrated children's books.

When asked where he gets ideas for his popular books, Jory said he still carries notebooks and a pen with him. He'll be in line at the grocery store or at the bank, and an idea pops into his head so he'll write it down, or else he'd be like most of us and forget what the idea was.

He said there is no real formula to his writing process. He sits down a couple of times a week with about 100 index cards with a lot of coffee, and starts writing down one idea per card. These will be ideas for articles, books and just about anything. Then he'll revisit the cards a couple of days later.

"I'll weed out about 95% of them," said John. "With the ideas that remain I'll really delve into it."

He doesn't take the process and success for granted and is always working on his craft. John carves out hours each day to devote to his craft. Like during his childhood, he does a lot of his thinking and creating while getting out to exercise. "Exercising helps ideas flow," said John. "I walk an hour at least every day. After being at computer all day I need it."

Jory John's books can be found at on-line stores, but he encourages people buy them from independent book stores. Look for him to be in South Lake Tahoe sometime soon, both with time spent with his mom and with a kid's event or book signing.