Ellen Prager is the author of the new middle-grade novel Stingray City, the third in a series for kids called Tristan Hunt and the Sea Guardians. Her other books include The Shark Rider and The Shark Whisperer. She is a marine scientist, freelance writer, and consultant, as well as the science advisor to the Celebrity Xpedition in the Galapagos Islands.
Q: How did you come
up with the idea for the settings and themes for this third book in your Tristan Hunt series?
A: Even while finishing the second book in the series, The
Shark Rider, I was already thinking about book three; the locations and marine
life I wanted to integrate into the story, and ideas for the plot.
Part of what I look for are wondrous natural settings that
readers can potentially go to or learn more about online and that provide
numerous undersea habitats to explore, some excellent sea creatures to feature
as well as opportunities for humor. Both Monterey Bay where the book starts and
Grand Cayman where the bulk of the story takes place fit my needs perfectly.
As for themes for the third book, in general I look for
real-world important ocean issues and in this case chose two topics that have
been in the news lately: the global problem of illegal fishing and how in some
places in the world it is still legal to capture (or kill) wild dolphins and
whales.
In addition, while in Grand Cayman doing location research
for the book, I visited Stingray City with ocean advocate, painter, and
scientist Guy Harvey.
He told me a story about how several years ago stingrays
went missing from Stingray City. They had been tagged during an annual survey
and were later discovered in a local marine park. The kidnapped stingrays were
released and in Grand Cayman it is now illegal to capture or kill sharks and
stingrays. For potential readers of Stingray City - that’s not a spoiler!
Q: As a marine scientist, can you say more about the issues you
try to make young readers aware of in your Tristan Hunt books?
A: In addition to highlighting many of the absolutely
amazing animals in the sea and marine habitats, I try to bring real-world ocean
issues into the stories. These are serious problems that impact the ocean today
and will continue to do so into the future.
Young readers can have a powerful voice now with their
parents, peers, and teachers and they will have to tackle problems such as
overfishing, marine pollution, coral reef destruction, climate change, and
wildlife smuggling well into the future.
Q: How did you initially come up with the idea for your character Tristan Hunt, and did you know from the beginning that you’d be writing a series about him?
A: When parents and educators starting asking me for an
ocean-oriented book targeting middle graders (8 to 12 years old), I did my
homework to see what kids that age like to read. The results were very clear -
fun fiction and preferably a series!
With that in mind, I began writing the Tristan Hunt and the
Sea Guardians series. The main characters, including Tristan, are based on some
of the typical emotions and insecurities we all have, but that are especially
heightened as a young teenager. I also added to these characters and others in
the stories personality traits of people I know or have met.
Q: You’ve written for various age groups. Does your writing
process differ depending on the age of your reader?
A: Definitely! However, more than age, the real difference
in my writing process comes if I am writing fiction (Tristan Hunt and the Sea
Guardians series) versus non-fiction.
In every case I try to stay focused on my audience: What
they are interested in? What can they relate to? And what level of
understanding I am writing for.
In writing fiction, I enjoy being more creative and
showcasing my sense of humor. I tend to use storytelling in both non-fiction
and fiction, but I thoroughly enjoy being able to “make things up” while
writing fiction and include sarcastic humor (my favorite part along with the
adventures and sea creatures). I also like coming up with villains that have a
humorous slant.
Some of the adventures the characters have or situations
they find themselves in are loosely based on my own experiences.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: Right now I’m busy giving talks, visiting schools, and
trying to find sponsors for some of my ocean education and outreach work that
doesn’t fit traditional funding models for science. I’m also working on a book
that may be the first in a new series for middle graders.
And I continue to work with Celebrity Cruises as the science
advisor and consultant to their three ships in the Galapagos Islands (they
recently purchased two small ships in addition to Celebrity Xpedition, which
has been operating in the Galapagos for years).
I feel incredibly fortunate that I get to repeatedly go to
the Galapagos and work with our local crew to showcase the amazing wonders of
the islands in an environmental-award winning program.
I am also headlining some Caribbean cruises, which is a
fantastic way to reach broad audiences and make ocean science understandable,
relevant, and entertaining!
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: While I am very proud of the traditional jobs I’ve had in
science including doing research, teaching, and in administration, the response
of young readers, parents, and educators to my middle grade fiction series has
been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career.
With a small publisher, getting the word out about the
Tristan Hunt series has been difficult and it has yet to be profitable, but it
remains a labor of love!
I look forward to continuing my efforts to find new and
effective ways to bring ocean and earth science to people of all ages and make
it relevant, engaging, and understandable!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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