Young Author Shares Tales of Writing, 'Heavy Metal' and 'Venom'

Young adult book writer Christopher Krovatin told the teens in the library “Talk It Up” book group Tuesday night that the best advice he could give to inspiring writers is to simply write and keep writing.

That’s exactly what he did. He started writing his first book at the age of 16 and was published by 19. Krovatin, now 26, shared the stories behind his two teen novels “Heavy Metal and You” and “Venomous” as well as his own tale of how he got to where he is today.

He led the discussion by explaining his main character Locke Vinetti in his more recent book “Venomous” which the group recently completed. The book which takes on the feel of a graphic novel with illustrations by artist Samuel Yuen, Jr. is about an out of control teenager who is empowered by his own anger which he has personified in his own way by naming it “venom.”

Krovatin told the teens that Locke is what is known as an unreliable narrator. He may be passionate about what he says and does but may not actually mean it or sometimes may not be honest. The character can be compared to Holden Caulfield in “Catcher in the Rye” he explained.

“Many people have demons but Locke has given them a name and a face,” he explained adding that Locke has given his power over to the venom and became powerless to something he created.

Krovatin admitted that the book is somewhat autobiographical. Other characters in the book also take on characteristics of himself and members of his family. He enjoyed writing the book but writing about dark subject matter isn’t necessarily an easy thing to do.

With his first book “Heavy Metal and You” he wanted to tell the real story about heavy metal teens, as he was one himself. He was tired of reading countless books where such teens were described as wearing Judas Priest T-shirts and did nothing but guzzle beer and insult people. He set out to write what he calls “a heavy metal love story.”

One of the teens pointed out that the dialogue in the books felt like a real teen wrote it unlike other books written by adults who may try too hard to give it a teen feel. This is why it is important for writers to write what they know, Krovatin advised.

He wrote both books during his senior year in high school. It took him about a year to write both but he didn’t actually finish them until he was in college, he told the group.

He encouraged the members to reach out to authors to share their thoughts about the books they read.  He happens to love receiving feedback of all kinds. In fact, writing to David Levathin, writer of “Boy Meets Boy and  “Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist” helped lead him to becoming a published author.  Levathin was impressed with the young Krovatin and hired him as his intern at Scholastic Books. Once Levathin read his manuscript of “Heavy Metal and You” he set out to publish it.

Krovatin shared a bit about what his own teen years were like and spoke of the importance of family which he told the group is “important no matter what.” He referred to characters in his book who may appear different but no matter what is happening in their lives they are still family.

In addition to working on a third book, Krovatin writes music reviews and articles for Revolver magazine and also serves as vocalist for the Queens-based death metal band Flaming Tusk.