Julie A. Swanson is the author of the new middle grade novel North of Tomboy. She also has written the young adult novel Going for the Record. She lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Q: What inspired you to write North of Tomboy, and how did you create your character Jess?
A: North of Tomboy is a semi-autobiographical story. Like Jess, I was "north of tomboy" as a kid and got a doll that I turned into a boy. I made him talk and act things out and he became sort of like my little alter ego. After a while, I ditched the doll and just talked and acted like he did.
Mickey, as I called him, became like another member of our family, and when he was "on" it was like he replaced me. He was great fun!
I wasn't funny, brave, or clever (before Mickey), so it was exhilarating to suddenly be funny and having people laughing, to have quick comebacks, to be able to speak my mind and not worry what people thought of what I said (because I could just blame it on Mickey). I felt so empowered when I was Mickey.
But unlike Jess, I "was" Mickey for many years. As I got older, I knew that was kind of weird, and I found it fascinating that my family bought into it like they did.
I wanted to tell that story, and to understand better why I disliked being a girl so much, why I created Mickey, and why he became the complex thing that he did.
I also wanted to make Jess be braver than I was as a kid (to make her do what I should've done at her age) and have her realize some things that it took me a lot longer to, things I hope other kids can take away from the story as well.
Q: The writer Skyler Schrempp said of the book, “Reminiscent of Judy Blume’s work, this coming-into-one's own story is both universal and searingly specific.” What do you think of that description?
A: Oh, I love it! How flattering. Judy Blume was one my favorite authors as a kid. I loved Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret, and my kids loved her Fudge series. They listened to the Fudge stories (on cassettes) every night before bed, over and over for a couple years.
It surprised me, though, that Skyler would liken my story to Judy Blume's work; I never thought of myself as writing like Judy Blume. ...Although--oddly enough--the next book in this series, which starts just before Jess's 12th birthday and ends about a year later, well, I can see how that story might be compared to Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret. But Skyler would've had no way of knowing that.
Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?
A: I wrote about a dozen different versions of this story over the years, so there were changes along the way, but in general, yes, I knew how it would end.
Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: Since I've written various versions of this book (starting in 1990!), it's gone by several different titles. North of Tomboy was my most recent idea.
I'm not sure how or exactly when it came to me, but the setting (in the northern part of Michigan's lower peninsula) plays such a strong role in the story that the idea of "north" and "true north" kept cropping up. Leelanau County is a remote, rural place, cold and snowy in the winter, and people who live south of it refer to it as "up north."
I drew endpaper maps for the book, and one of the back endpaper maps has a compass with the four directions N/S/E/W indicated, too, so the book just has a "mappy," outdoorsy, northern vibe to it (the wonderful cover art by Mary Ann Smith does, too).
Then there's the double entendre aspect to "north" in North of Tomboy--not only has Jess's family moved up north and settled there, but she's this extreme tomboy who's more than what one would normally think of when picturing a tomboy, more uncomfortable with her gender than most tree-climbing or athletic little tomboys are. She's a misogynist.
Gender-wise her issue is more than just being a tomboy; it's more distressing to her than that. So when the idea came to me, I thought "North of Tomboy, how perfect--she's north of tomboy, more than a tomboy. And it suggests 'up north' to the reader!"
I just thought the title would very concisely give people an idea of what the story might be about--someone who's more than a tomboy and from a northern place.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: Right now I'm working on getting North of Tomboy out into the world and on making an audiobook version of it, but I'm also polishing up the next book in the series (of which North of Tomboy is the first).
This next book starts just before Jess's 12th birthday and ends about a year later. I have a bunch of ideas--even partly or mostly written stories--for other books in the series as well.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: I have another published book, also set in northern Michigan, a YA novel, Going for the Record (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, first edition 2004, second edition 2021).
It's about a rising high school soccer star who finds out her dad is dying of cancer right as she's about to realize her dream of playing for a US National team--and the difficult choices she has to make as she realizes where her real priorities lie.
Loosely based on the beautiful but painful experience of witnessing my dad's own inspirational death, I'd say it's appropriate for middle grade readers as well. Kids as young as third grade have told me they've read and enjoyed it.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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