A.J. Symon is the author of the new young adult novel Golden Boy. He is also a screenwriter, and he lives in Barnesville, Georgia.
Q: You’ve said you were inspired to write Golden Boy after playing fetch with your golden retriever–can you tell us more about that?
A: Yes, well, I was playing fetch. He was playing keep away. If you’ve ever tried to get something away from a dog who didn’t want you to have it, you know what I mean.
He’d come about a foot from me with the ball in his mouth, grinning. Basically, taunting me. I’d reach for the ball, and he’d shift his head out of the way just enough so I’d miss. When I lunged for him, he’d tear across the yard like a rocket.
One time, he even dropped the ball between my feet, and just when my fingers were millimeters away, he snatched it back, dodged between my legs and took off. You could almost hear him yelling, “Psych!”
After about an hour of that, I stopped and thought to myself, If that dog were human, he’d be an incredible running back.
That’s when the idea struck me. A dog becomes a human football hero.
Q: How did you create your characters Emma and Hudson, and how would you describe the dynamic between them?
A: Hudson gets his name from my own golden retriever Hudson, who I lost many years ago. The character’s sweetness and love for life is based on him and on his son Chip, who I named Emma’s big brother after.
Chip was my first service dog after I was diagnosed with a seizure disorder, and I’ve been blessed that both he and Hudson were my “heart dogs” or “soul dogs.” The best friends anyone could ever have.
I lost Chip very suddenly, and that gave me the impetus to write Golden Boy. I had all these feelings and didn’t know what to do with them. It just poured out of me. I dedicated the book to both of them.
The character of Emma came about because, if you’ll excuse me for nerding out about writing, the main character needs an arc—to learn a lesson and grow emotionally by the end of the story.
