This week’s 140 Interview is with “authorboy” Brendan Halpin. Brendan is the author of seven different books, including Dear Catastrophe Waitress, Donorboy and more.

When Brendan’s not writing, he’s teaching full-time or chasing after his three kids and his dog at their family home in Boston. He took some time out of his busy schedule to Twitter back and forth with me about his latest project, I Can See Clearly Now.

Be sure to read Brendan’s blog and to follow him on Twitter @bhalpin.

Ready for this? 1 DM per answer! Tell me about your latest book, I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW. Amazon says it will be available next week!

Sure! Sex, drugs, and educational cartoons in 1972. 4 songwriters, 1 mentor w/ulterior motives, unlimited weed in a tv network basement.

What inspired you to write this book?

Talking at my hs reunion about mentors w/mixed motives & watching schoolhouse rock w/my kids & noticing same personnel on many songs.

What was the biggest challenge you faced writing this book?

Overcoming my own doubts about writing a book with no grief or death in it.

So you’re other books are filled with grief and death? What other ways did this new one differ from your previous work?

I prefer “informed by” to “filled with”. This book also has 5 main characters, and none of them are very much like me.

I like “informed by” better too! Can you describe Levon, Peter, Sarah, Julie and Pamela? You can use 1 DM per character.

Levon: funk bass player, African-American engineering student afraid to tell his parents he wants to be a musician.

Sarah: too chicken for open-mike nights, nailed the audition for Pop Goes The Classroom. Talented & insecure.

Peter: Dylan wannabe from the midwest on his last chance to be a musician.

Julie: advertising jingle writer, wealthy WASP black sheep.

Pamela: folk singer still coasting on 5-year-old hit, mentoring songwriters but has ulterior motives.

Thanks! That was great! Since none of them are much like you, where did the inspiration/idea for these diverse characters come from?

I have no idea. None of them really resemble people I know, either. I guess they’re assembled out of parts of me & others.

As an author, you’re very active online, connecting with fans and using social media. Why?

1.) it’s fun for me. 2.)publishing’s a mess, no $ to promote mid- or bottom-list guys like me, so I gotta do what I can myself.

Are there any drawbacks to being so active online?

Only that online social networking stuff could eat as much of my life as I let it.

Are you working on anything new at the moment?

2 YA books on the way, 1 solo, 1 written w/ Emily Franklin. Writing 1st drafts of 3 YA books, 2 with Emily, 1 with Trish Cook.

Wow, you’re a busy guy! What’s our writing/work schedule like?

I teach full time and write whenever I can steal an hour or two–like while sitting at kids’ soccer practices.

When you’re not teaching full time, writing or at kids’ soccer practices, what do you like to do?

Cook vegetarian food, walk the dog, spend time with my wife & kids, watch horror movies, read, sleep.

I think that’s it! Is there anything else you want to add?

I guess that’s it! Thanks!

I Can See Clearly Now is now available through Amazon.