Ebenezer's Locker: Character Interview with Rhonda Zymler

Hey everybody, I'd like you to meet Rhonda Zymler, the main character of Anne Johnson's novel EBENEZER'S LOCKER.

Hello, Rhonda! Thanks for being here today.

Hi there. My mom told me to remember to say thank you for having me. So, thank you for having me.

How old are you, Rhonda?

I'm twelve. I'm in sixth grade. What grade are you in? You look like you're in high school or something.

How would you describe yourself?

I don't know. Not that good at school, I guess. But I have really cool best friends, Mica and Ashley. So that makes going to school bearable, even though I get yelled at like fifty times a day. I think I make my teachers and the principal pretty nervous.

So what can you tell us about Corbin Elementary School?

Well, it's in Marklebury, my town. I guess the building's been there basically forever, like over a hundred years. It used to be a school for psychics, though, before they turned it into a school for just, well, normal kids. I used to think it was a really boring place, but then there was this ghost who showed up. Two ghosts, actually.

When did you meet the spirits that haunt the school?

I was at my locker one morning, late for first period as usual, and I get this sort of chilly, windy feeling. And then I started seeing these notes written on my stuff, telling me to find locker 176. Which was dumb, since I have the last locker, and it's number 175. The notes were signed "Ebenezer," which is a pretty weird name unless you're watching "A Christmas Carol." So I knew something was up.

What is it about these spirits that draws you?

Oh, they don't draw me. More like I draw them. They're practically obsessed with me, it seems like. Won't leave me alone when I'm in the school building. Maybe they'll finally be happy if I can find that stupid locker that doesn't exist.

What does it feel like to travel back in time?

That's a secret. You have to read my story to find out! I was really scared to do it, but it was the only way to find the locker. My friend Mica's neighbor, Tallulah Radley, is a medium, and she decided this would help me communicate with the spirits and solve this mystery.

So Anne Johnson wrote your story, did she? Tell me, do you think she did a good job?

She's awesome. But I think she got frustrated sometimes because I kept doing things that surprised her. She's totally organized, unlike me, so it made her jumpy that I wouldn't behave. But she should have known that behaving is not one of my specialties.

As a bonus question, what's a secret about yourself that you didn't tell Anne?

I bet she doesn't know I have a banana sticker collection. You know, the oval-shaped stickers they put on bananas? I make my mom buy every single brand of bananas she can find, so I get all different stickers. My dad got me some really cool ones when he went to a law enforcement seminar in Hawaii once. As of today I have sixteen different types of banana sticker. Sixteen! I bet you don't know anybody with more than that.

When will your story be available for purchase, Rhonda?

You can buy Ebenezer's Locker as an e-book starting June 1. I'm counting every hour of every day. Because by then school will be out for the summer, too!

Thank you so much for coming over and visiting, Rhonda! I really had fun talking to you. Hey! Do you think Anne would like it if I posted links where readers can visit her?

Yeah, she definitely likes links.

Anne can be found at her website, her blog, and on Facebook and Twitter.

Anne E. Johnson's novels:Middle-grade paranormal mystery, EBENEZER'S LOCKER, MuseItUp Publishing (June, 2012)
Spacepulp sci fi, GREEN LIGHT DELIVERY, Candlemark & Gleam (June, 2012)Middle-grade historical, TROUBLE AT THE SCRIPTORIUM, Royal Fireworks Press (July, 2012)
Website: http://anneejohnson.com/
Writer's Blog: http://anneejohnson.blogspot.com/