Monday, December 7, 2020

Q&A with Hayley Chewins

 


Hayley Chewins is the author of The Sisters of Straygarden Place, a new middle grade novel for kids. She lives in Johannesburg, South Africa.

 

Q: How did you come up with the idea for The Sisters of Straygarden Place?

 

A: It started with an image of sisters, asleep in a bed. But it took me a long time to find out which story the sisters belonged in. 

 

Q: The Publishers Weekly review of the book calls it a "vivid, otherworldly tale of family and secrets, with a gothic setting that serves as a character in its own right." What do you think of that description?

 

A: I mean, I’m really glad Publishers Weekly called it vivid and otherworldly! It’s definitely a book about family and secrets—the secrets we keep from others and the secrets we keep from ourselves.

 

Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?


A: No, I never know how my books are going to end before I start writing them. I usually begin with an image, texture or tone, and I aim for that as I write. I have to trust that I will find the right ending—or that it will find me. 

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the story?

 

A: I tend not to think about that, just because I think every reader gets something totally different from every book, and I never write with a goal or lesson in mind—except to evoke an atmosphere or feeling. 

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m writing another middle grade fantasy book with strange magic and secrets in it. It’s a joyful, colorful book, and I’m enjoying every moment of it!

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: One of my favorite parts of writing is coming up with names for characters, plants, and animals. I had a lot of fun with that in Straygarden.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb

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