Q&A with Claudia Mills

  

 

 

Claudia Mills is the author of the new middle grade novel Calliope Callisto Clark and the Search for Wisdom. Her many other books include The Last Apple Tree. She lives in Boulder, Colorado. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Calliope Callisto Clark and the Search for Wisdom, and how did you create your character Calliope?

 

A: For much of my adult life, I have pursued two different careers simultaneously. I was a professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado, and I was the author of many books for young readers.

 

As the years went by, my two careers began to become woven together. I sometimes used children’s literature to illustrate concepts in my philosophy classes; I often had my child characters ponder ethical dilemmas.

 

But I yearned to write a book where my main character would actually encounter some of the great works of the history of philosophy that I have loved for long and try to apply their advice to her own life. This was my inspiration for Calliope Callisto Clark and the Search for Wisdom.

 

As for how I created the character of Callie, I did something new for me as an author.

 

I wasn’t quite sure how to find my way into the story, so I just started free-writing, letting Callie start talking to me, explaining who she was, why she chose this new name for herself (Calliope Callisto Clark), and how she felt about the main people in her life: her grandparents, her best friend, her teacher, and of course her beloved dog!

 

I don’t usually write in first person, but as Callie poured out her heart to me, I knew I would have to let her tell her own story in her own words. A lot of that early free-write ended up on the cutting room floor, but quite a bit survived, especially the breathless enthusiasm of her voice.

 

Q: You write in the book’s author’s note about your fondness for the philosopher Epictetus--why did you decide to include him in the book?

 

A: Epictetus was the philosopher with whom I first fell in love, back when I was in high school, a few years older than Callie. So I thought the same words that thrilled me back then might thrill young readers now: “What say you, fellow? Chain me? My leg you will chain, but my will? Not even Zeus can conquer that.” So great!

 

I also think the wisdom of Epictetus was what Callie most needed, and indeed, what all of us desperately need. It is so simple – and so profound. There are things we can control, and there are things we can’t control. The ONLY things we should care about in life are the former.

 

And … this is the kicker: the ONLY thing we can control is . . . ourselves. In particular, NOT other people. Only our OWN thoughts, choices, and actions. I have trouble every single day of my life remembering this!

 

Q: How would you describe the dynamic between Callie and her grandparents?

 

A: Like many – or most? – relationships, it’s complicated. Callie’s grandparents love her, but they don’t understand her.

 

After all, they are raising her only because of the car accident that killed her parents when she was a toddler (just as many grandparents today take on childcare responsibilities when some tragedy leaves their grandchildren without other parenting).

 

And Callie is a particularly intense child, full of questions, bursting with powerful emotions, and overflowing with passionate responses to everything. They are old and tired; she is young with boundless intellectual and emotional energy. Making a life together is a challenge for all of them.

 

Q: The Kirkus review of the book called it a “love letter to seekers, as heartfelt as it is wise.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I love it! I love it, love it, love it!!! I couldn’t believe that the reviewer had so perfectly understood what I was trying to do with the book.

 

I wanted to invite readers to ask big questions, deep questions, the kind of questions that can’t be easily answered, but often just provoke even more questions,  until our brains are ready to explode, less with frustration than with the sheer exhilaration of this philosophical journey.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: My work-in-progress is a chapter book series for readers a bit younger than Callie, featuring a Little Free Library and the child who creates it and serves as its “librarian.” Along the way, mysteries arise over which books are left there and which books are taken, relationships are ruptured and relationships are healed.

 

If Callie’s story is a “love letter to seekers,” Livvy Lu’s Little Library (my working title) is a love letter to libraries and the communities that form around them. There is nothing in the world more magical than libraries, so I wanted to offer a tribute to them.

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Hmm. I think the thing I am most famous for in the children’s book community is my “hour a day” writing day system that allowed me to write 64 books while working a full-time job and raising a family.

 

I commit myself to write for an hour – just an hour – every single day (well, most days!), timing myself with a hand-crafted cherrywood hourglass.

 

There is something SO magical about turning over the hourglass and seeing the sand begin to flow; it makes my ideas start to flow, too; it makes my pen start moving across the page (I still write my books the old-fashioned way, with pen and pad of narrow-ruled paper).

 

I don’t set myself a target word count for each stint. All I ask of myself is to devote myself fully to the project for those 60 minutes (it’s perfectly fine to spend time just thinking!).

 

Usually, I can write a scribbled-over, crossed-out mess of a page during that time span. Not very much! But, as I tell kids during my school visits, a page a day adds up to 365 pages by the end of a year. Not too shabby!

 

Thanks so much for hosting me on this book tour, and for all you do to connect books with readers!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Claudia Mills. Enter this giveaway for the chance to win one of 10 signed hardcover copies of Calliope Callisto Clark and the Search for Wisdom. One grand-prize winner will receive two additional signed books by Claudia Mills, plus an unforgettable one-hour Zoom visit with the author!