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FAQs (more FAQs here) People. I get mailed and asked questions quite often. So thought I would start pasting up the questions and their answers here, just in case you were gonna ask something similar. To kick off, here's three Qs sent by a German girl, Raphaela, for her school paper. AFter that, some others asked by American readers through my US publishers. Do mail me with your own questions, whatever's on your mind. I answer everyone in the end, even if they don't get posted up here.
What inspired you to write the books SN/BA?
This (the process that leads to a book) is always a difficult thing to describe. You do not wake up one morning and spring from your bed shouting "I shall write a book about ... butterflies/capital punishment/undercover police work!" Well, you might possibly do that I suppose, but it would only be the first tiny step in a long evolutionary process and the chances are that you might even end up with a book that was not at all about butterflies/capital punishment/undercover police work. Other influences, thoughts, inspirations would almost certainly feed into the story before you started writing and change it unrecognisably.
For me the anchor point and foundation stone of any book is the main character(s). Of course I start with an idea of subject matter and context for the story, but the main character(s) is more important, because once he or she or they are fixed in your mind, once they live and breathe and have their own autonomous existence, then they start to influence how the story will take place, where it will be, how it will develop etc.. Both before writing a book (and for me there is at least a year of allowing a world to develop in my head before I start to write) and during the writing, I am constantly surprised by changes to the story (sometimes HUGE changes) that the main character chooses or that the story chooses by itself. This could be an unexpected death, a hero turning into a villain, a completely different time or setting for the story etc. So... with SHARP NORTH and BLOWN AWAY, this happened too. Of course I had an idea of subject matter and rough time setting for these books, but more importantly I had Mira. And during the long long time that I was allowing the story to bubble away in my subconscious, Mira decided lots of things for herself. At the same time, I heard news stories, read other books, and was subject to all kinds of influences that were able to turn the story on its head again and again. And then that magical day when you sit down at the keyboard and finally allow Mira (or whoever) to live her life, to step out into the snow! And even then you can be sure that the story will change and wriggle and fight itself into new shapes like a snake under your fingers.
What message do you want to convey with your books? The answer to the previous question (above) is definitely that I did NOT ever set out to write a book to preach to people or tell them what they should be doing. Not even a book to give them information they need.
A story is a story. People bring their own meaning. Different emotions are unlocked in different readers. There cannot be a "message", not in that sense. Excitement, suspense, catharsis, escapism, indentification with the hero or heroine, all these kinds of things are ingredients in a good story. You might make people think or ask questions, but only if you have a great story to start with. (My wonderful agent is always reminding me that the three most important aspects to writing successful books are story - story - story) Even if you are not good at writing, a good story can be published. A great user of language with NO good story will not ever get to the shops.
Actually, there IS a message in my books I suppose. It is.... be full of life... live... breathe... don't wait!
What is your favourite book and why?
It is a book called "Pennington's Seventeenth Summer" by K.M. Peyton, a book for young adults that was published around 1970. It is about a wonderful, angry, rebellious, brilliant boy/man in his last year at school, facing all kinds of pressures and disapproval, but doing what I said in the last question....being full of life... surviving... breathing. K.M. Peyton (now in her seventies but still writing) was first published age 15! She writes so easily about the human heart and the strange situations in which we live our lives. Her characters live so strongly. This book is also incredibly funny! I have read it maybe 15 times!
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