Aug. 4, 1792: Percy Bysshe Shelley born.
Saturday, August 4, 2018
Friday, August 3, 2018
Q&A with Edward J. Delaney
Edward J. Delaney is the author of the new novel Follow the Sun. He also has written the novels Broken Irish and Warp & Weft, and his work has appeared in The Atlantic and other publications. A former journalist, he teaches at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island.
Q: How did you come up with the idea for Follow the Sun?
A: I came into fiction writing out of journalism. A lot of
the stories come out of news items [or combining various items]. There was a
case of missing fishermen that was never solved, and that was the beginning of
it.
Q: Can you say more about your experiences with both journalistic
writing and fiction writing?
A: People who come into fiction writing from journalism tend
to write as observers than our own experiences. There’s very little of my
experiences in my writing.
It’s always fascinating to observe and try to understand
people. There’s a sense that as a journalist you suspect what motivates
someone, but you can’t write it because you can’t prove it. Fiction gives us a
chance to expand outward….
Q: The novel focuses at least in part on the relationship
between two brothers. What got you interested in that theme?
A: That’s the part of combining stories into one. I was
friendly with a couple of brothers—one was a lobsterman. The book is not
necessarily based on them—it was interesting to see two people go in two
trajectories in their lives but they stay close.
Q: In the book, you tell the story from several characters’
points of view. How did you decide on your point of view characters?
A: It’s always interesting to make a choice between first
and third person. In my stories that did well, I used third person. I’d written
a fair number of first-person stories, but they didn’t get published.
I started an early version of the book with Christine as the
first-person narrator. She was telling her story while the other two [her
father and uncle] were told from the third person. It eventually went back to
Christine in the third person, with a strong sense of first person.
Q: How was the novel’s title chosen, and what does it
signify for you?
A: I always struggle with the title. With my previous novel
with Turtle Point, we did a last-minute title change—another book came out with
the same title. It was the last title suggested to me by my publisher.
With this one, it’s out on the ocean. The movement you have
is that of the natural environment. You follow the sun from east to west, like
a path across the water. I made a list, and picked the least objectionable.
Q: Did you need to do much research to write the book?
A: I did. As someone who worked in journalism, it’s an
enjoyable aspect [of writing books]. And with Google, it’s so easy. As a
journalist, doing research was always a pleasure. In this case, it was online reading,
books, YouTube videos…
Q: The novel is set in New England and the Pacific
Northwest. How important is setting to you in your writing?
A: Very. I like in a town that’s similar to the two the book
is set in. My first novel was very much set in my hometown, but nowhere in the
book do I name the town. I’m familiar with the town—you see all kinds, and you
get an idea of who they are.
With the Pacific Northwest, the idea was how far could [my
character] go to change and hide. I’ve been to Seattle a few times. It just
seemed such a counterpoint to here, and the fishing community is strong as
well.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: Short stories. I have a group set in the West—I spent
almost a decade in Colorado. I had a great job where I could travel around the
West. I would go on trips, a la Charles Kuralt and On the Road. I got to meet a
lot of people.
I have a group of stories—all of them have been published. I
think I’m going to blend it into a novella in the book.
Q: Anything else we should know about Follow the Sun?
A: One of the things that’s always interesting to me is what
is a mystery and what is not a mystery. Aren’t all books mysteries? It wasn’t a
mystery in that it isn’t a whodunit with clues. It’s a story that has the
movement of someone trying to make a change…
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
Thursday, August 2, 2018
Q&A with Helaine Becker
Helaine Becker is the author of the new children's picture book Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13. Becker's many other books for kids include A Porcupine in a Pine Tree and You Can Read. She lives in Toronto.
Q: Why did you decide to write a children's picture book
about the mathematician Katherine Johnson?
A: I was working on another book about space for National
Geographic when I stumbled across a brief snippet on line about Katherine
Johnson. This was well before Hidden Figures came out, so there was almost
nothing out there about her. I was smitten. I wanted to make sure everyone else
out there knew how amazing she was!
Throw in the mix that I am a staunch feminist and sick and
tired that women's accomplishments - minorities too - are continuously
erased from the record. I wanted to set the record straight.
Q: How did you research the book?
A: Katherine Johnson was 96 years old at that time. It
wasn't easy to find her - she didn't have a blog, or a Facebook account, or a
public email. But I definitely wanted her blessing for this book, and the
chance to interview her too!
It took some deep diving into the bowels of the web to
triangulate and find a snail mail address I thought might be hers. I sent off a
letter, and was delighted when I got one back about a month later!
I interviewed Katherine by phone, and met and interviewed her daughters at an award ceremony at the National Women's History Museum, where Katherine was being given a de Pizan Award for lifetime achievement. I also did research on the NASA website and read technical articles so I could understand exactly what Katherine did in her job.
I interviewed Katherine by phone, and met and interviewed her daughters at an award ceremony at the National Women's History Museum, where Katherine was being given a de Pizan Award for lifetime achievement. I also did research on the NASA website and read technical articles so I could understand exactly what Katherine did in her job.
Q: What do you think Dow Phumiruk's illustrations add to the
book?
A: There wouldn't be a book at all without Dow's stunning
images. Her pictures are not only beautiful, but smart, and subtle, and deep.
Q: What do you hope kids take away from Katherine Johnson's
story?
A: One - that injustice is real, and that we all must fight
against it to insure everyone has equal opportunity to achieve and contribute.
And two, that you - YOU - can do wonderful things too if you are willing to
work hard and be persistent.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: You know I'm always working on a million things at once!
I'm excited that my sweet picture book, Sloth at the Zoom, will be published this month by Owlkids. This is another story of persistence. I wrote the first
draft of this story about mindfulness in 2004. It took 14 years to bring to
life!
I also have four more biographies about astonishing women in
the pipeline. And a couple of books about dinosaurs!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Helaine Becker.
Wednesday, August 1, 2018
Q&A with Jeff Giles
Jeff Giles is the author of the new young adult novel The Brink of Darkness, a sequel to The Edge of Everything. He was the deputy managing editor of Entertainment Weekly, and his work has appeared in Rolling Stone and The New York Times Book Review. He lives in Montana.
Q:
How did you decide on the plot of your new novel?
A:
The first book in the series, The Edge of Everything, was very much about Zoe—a
Montana girl who’s just lost her father when she meets a young man from another
world who seems to be in even more pain than she is. During the course of that
book, Zoe not only helps him but confronts a lot of painful stuff about her
family’s past.
So
I knew that I wanted the new novel to be a kind of parallel story for the young
man, who she calls X. I wanted him to return to the underworld he was raised in
and, inspired by story’s example, search out the parents he’d never known.
Q:
Do you think your characters have evolved from the first book?
A:
Yes, I hope they’ve evolved a lot. At the beginning of The Brink of Darkness,
Zoe has a much surer sense of who she is and what she wants, and she’s helped X
let go of a lot of the shame he carried around for having been born in what’s
basically hell and for having had no true family.
Q:
This time around, did you know how the novel would end as you started writing,
or were there some surprises along the way?
A:
Because it’s the second (and last) book in this story, I knew that I wanted Zoe
and X to reach some kind of peace and I had a vague sense of what that would
looked like.
But
even though I had an outline of the whole book, I barely even looked at it and
I found my way as I wrote. The biggest plot point in the book—a shock choice
Zoe makes to help X—just occurred to me after I’d begun writing.
Q:
Will you consider continuing the story of Zoe and X?
A:
I don’t plan to, but that could always change. I certainly love the characters
enough and have enough ideas for them to write about them a long time. But
right now, I’m trying my hand at something very different.
Q:
Can you say more about your new project?
A:
I don’t want to say much yet but it’s a very realistic love story set after a
cataclysmic event. It’s like the fantasy books only in that I’m writing it and
it’s a book intended for young adults.
Q:
Anything else we should know?
A:
Just that this was fun—and that I’m grateful for the chance to talk about my
books! Thank you so much.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Jeff Giles.
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