JULIUS CAESAR BROWN AND THE GREEN GAS MYSTERY by Ace Hansen

I met Ace (in non-alien form) at a conference, and I was really intrigued with JULIUS CAESAR BROWN AND THE GREEN GAS MYSTERY:

When a mysterious green gas crisis breaks wind, the Global Air Group (GAG) offers a million-dollar prize to the first person to discover the cause. Julius Caesar Brown dreams of winning the cash so he can pay off Jake the Snake, the blackmailing bully who threatens to ruin his chances with the cutest girl in fifth grade. But Julius can barely pass a math test, let alone solve an international scientific mystery. What he needs is money. Fast. His mom volunteers him to help the Zombie Lady. Yeah. The crazy woman down the street who every kid knows eats boys' brains. But Miss Crabtree's no zombie. And winning the million-dollar prize may not be as far-fetched as Julius once thought.






Your website bio states that you grew up in a house full of "deadly stinkers, tree houses, and scary neighbors." How has this influenced your writing, and can you tell us more about your journey toward publication?  

As a wee tot, I spent a lot of time alone hanging out in trees, daydreaming and making up stories. I didn’t start writing until I’d lived almost four decades and I truly believed I’d be published within a year—ha! It took five.
 
I daydreamed a lot as a kid too (and still do!). I love the premise of JULIUS CAESAR BROWN AND THE GREEN GAS MYSTERY. What inspired the idea, and what was the most fun about writing it?  

I sat down one day to brainstorm some “what if” possibilities and I remembered a breath mint commercial in which people’s bad breath came out green. I’d always wondered what life would be like if our gas came out green and thus the story was born. I wrote this story in thirty days and had so much fun doing all kinds of fart research and also discovering a plausible solution to the green gas mystery.
 
Would love to hear more about what's involved with "fart research"! Who is Ace Hansen, and what are his favorite things (besides gummy worms)?  

Ace is my inner 11-year-old boy who thinks he’s an alien. Besides gummy worms, he likes telling potty humored jokes, spits in public, plays cowboy songs on the harmonica, pulls cat’s tails, and loves to read Roald Dahl’s books. 
 
I love Roald Dahl! Matilda is one of my favorite books. If you were stuck on a desert island (or a faraway planet) what books would you take with you and why?  

I’d have to load up my e-reader with tens of thousands of books of many varieties because I am a voracious book worm and I hate reading the same book twice!

Thanks, Ace! To grab JULIUS CAESAR BROWN AND THE GREEN GAS MYSTERY for yourself, click on the link below: