Author Q&A

Ask the Author

Sue Wallman

Can you give our readers a little information about yourself?

I’ve always loved reading and writing. After university, I became a magazine journalist. I also worked for an American newspaper in Paris for a couple of years as a features assistant. Later on, I became a secondary school librarian. A year and a half ago I decided to write and do school visits full-time which was a big leap of faith.

You have had quite a varied work background, but (surprise, surprise!) I am really interested in your time working as a school librarian. How did this come about and what was your favourite part of the role?

After having three children, I was working part-time as a letters page editor and teaching children to type while trying to get published. I finally got a book deal but because it came at a period of my life where I needed more financial stability, I decided to find a job as a secondary school librarian and write before and after work. I love books and not only do I like teenagers, they’re also the target audience for my books so what could be more ideal?

The favourite part of the role was telling a new, keen Year 7 that no, they didn’t have to pay anything to take a book out of the library. I also loved the truly magical moment of seeing someone connect with a book.

Was your time as a Librarian the catalyst in your decision to write or was there always an author in you with stories that needed to be told?

When I became a librarian my second book was about to be published. I’ve always written stories. As I grew older, I really really wanted to be a published author. It was a long old struggle to publication. There was a moment when I thought, “Right, I’m going to do everything I can to get published.” It took eight years and four failed books from that moment to get a deal

What surprised you most when you entered the world of being a published author?

That I would have very little control over my covers.

If you could go back to before you had your first book published, what piece of advice would you give yourself?

I’d had such a lot of rejection before my first book was published, I’d learned that all I could do was work hard and do my best. And hope!

Your books are full of twists and turns. What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?

Sometimes before I start, I’ll read accounts (in books or online) of people who have gone through what I’m writing about, such as Rachel DeLoache’s book about her friendship with fraudster Anna Sorokin before I wrote Such A Good Liar. On the whole I tend to do research at the point I need to write about it, otherwise I can waste too much time. I know a couple of police officers who (off the record) will help me with questions. For Every Word A Lie, I downloaded Snapchat to see how it worked as I was writing about catfishing. I like social media but I never got into Snapchat and deleted it after I’d finished the book. For Dead Popular, I rang my electrician to ask if it was possible to electrocute someone via a light switch!

Can you give our readers a clue as to what your next book will be?

I can tell you about the book that’s fresh off the printing press, Watch Your Back. Kara’s best friend Eden has a new boyfriend and has ghosted her. As a result, Kara finds herself drawn into an uneasy friendship with Romilly, a girl who exists on the sidelines. The trouble is, the more Kara hangs around with Romilly, the more unsettling, creepy things start to happen. The book is essentially exploring friendship and trust.

The book I’m now working on now isn’t a thriller. I’m really enjoying learning about a different genre. I hope I can make it work.

Random Q&A!

Do you have a favourite novel that you feel is under-appreciated?

Good question. Silence is Also a Lie by Tracey Mathias. It was published first as Night of the Party then re-titled and jacketed just in time for Covid to impact sales. It’s a beautiful YA love story and dystopian political thriller.

Who would be in your dream reading group (dead or alive!) and which book would you choose to read?

E Lockhart (author of We Were Liars)

Anne Tyler (another writer I admire hugely)

Sophie, my 22-year-old daughter, who always has an interesting take on books

Michelle Obama

Reece Witherspoon

Graham Norton

We’d have wine and crisps and discuss the latest book by Anne Tyler – with the author there herself! We’d have a serious discussion but hopefully there’d be some laughter too.

Would you rather have written your favourite book, or to be your favourite book character? (Please name the book or character/book)

I would have loved to have written We Were Liars. The voice, the sparse prose, the plot twist. When I read it for the first time, it felt perfect.

Describe who/what you would be if you were a:

Animal: I’d be one of those dogs that lie down in protest at being dragged out into the cold and rain for a walk

Song: Beautiful Life by Ace of Base. Everyone has difficulties and set-backs in their lives including me but I’ve also been lucky and I’m grateful to be doing what I’ve always wanted to do

Chocolate: Cadbury’s Fruit and Nut. Nothing fancy but with an interesting inner life!

Colour: Pink is my favourite colour. Pink can be under-estimated. I’m quietly confident. I often think about the phrase slow and steady wins the race.

Which book is your guilty pleasure?

I don’t like to think of books as guilty pleasures. Reading is reading. If pushed to give an answer, I’d say I sometimes like to dip into autobiographies/biographies of people who I find fascinatingly repellent for clues of why they turned out the way they did.

Teri Terry (Winner of the 2022 Sue Harris YA Prize)

You seem to have an uncanny knack of identifying and writing about fictional scenarios that have since become our reality. In Slated (2012) the UK leaves the EU. In Contagion (2017) there is a worldwide pandemic. Is this just excellent intuition or is there some sorcery going on in the Terry household?

Well, some of my friends have started calling me Teridamus!

I re-read the Contagion series while we were on lockdown which was a real eye-opener, as suddenly a lot more of the science(y) things made more sense and things like the deployment of the army and closing of borders was a real eye-opener. On my first read it felt like artistic licence but now living with Covid-19, I can see how easily something like that could actually happen. How did you research the storyline?

I have a degree in Microbiology, so have a long-standing background and interest in epidemics and pandemics. It had been in my mind for a while to write about one, but the two triggers for me were the West African Ebola epidemic (2014-2016), and the Zika virus epidemic in South and Central America (2015 to present day). It struck me that people in Western countries like ours with good access to health care seemed to think nothing like that could ever happen here. The idea was ‘othered’ to the point of being somebody else’s problem, something we need not be concerned about. This made me want to write about something that happened here, to make readers think about it in more personal terms – and also to promote compassion for people suffering in other parts of the world.

Of course, being a microbiologist by training I knew there will always be more pandemics, and they can happen anywhere.

There have been pandemics in the UK. The Spanish flu pandemic is estimated to have infected a third of the world’s population at the time in four waves from 1918 to 1920, and killed at least 50 million people worldwide. Centuries earlier, black death is estimated to have killed over half the population of Europe – and up to 200 million worldwide.

Before Covid 19, many environmentalists had been predicting for years that there would be another global pandemic. Habitat destruction and intensive farming practices make zoonosis – pathogens caught by humans from animals – more and more likely.

Your new book, Dark Blue Rising was a real on the edge-of-your-seat mystery thriller. On one hand it was a true reflection of the life of a teenager as they navigate through life, friendships and family issues. But it also has that dark element that fans of your books love. The book has so many interesting characters and plot twists that it seems inconceivable that it was all contained in a single book. How did you keep track of all the storylines that are interwoven in the book? In my head I have an image of you constructing a CSI type notice-board with lots of pictures and diagrams making connections between events and characters (please let it be so!)

Alas, no! I hold a lot in my head, write notes in a notebook, and sometimes get terribly confused and go wrong. Somewhere during the writing process I usually make a table with chapter numbers and a few lines about what happens in each chapter, with a blank column next to it where I put notes about things that are missing or have been repeated too much, ask questions of myself so I don’t forget to check things, and so on. I really love plotting on the go, as I’m writing – it’s more fun for me that way – but do sometimes end up with things in knots that need unravelling. I do occasionally make big mind maps with different coloured pens, though that is usually when I can’t figure out something out. Laying it out like that can help see connections I’ve missed or forgotten.

In Deep Blue Rising as well as your other books you tackle a lot of topical issues such as surveillance, government distrust but this book has a firm focus on the important issue of climate change. If you were put in charge for one day what would be the first thing you would do to try and reverse the effects of climate change?

I’ve read widely on this, but I’m not an expert of any sort. Things that strike me, though, are how much deflection and distraction major oil and gas interests use to stop us from focusing on what is important. Disinformation campaigns discredit the science about both climate change and its link with burning fossil fuels. It’s great if we can all do our bit by buying local, travelling less, consuming less, throwing away less and so on, but putting the focus on individual efforts distracts us from the fact that these huge corporations have been making unimaginable sums of money, that they have been poisoning the earth, the atmosphere, the water, and they’re not being held to account for it. It’s wrong. It also leads to infighting and ridiculous purity tests against anyone who dares to put up their head and protest about environmental issues: focusing on the individual and their choices, as if they need the right credentials to even have an opinion.

How to fix this? Governments around the world have the power to take control, to change to clean energy and to force corporations to clean up their mess. Why don’t they? It seems like the insanely rich have more power over our elected representatives than we do … but they don’t! We have to demand change, and vote accordingly. If we are being distracted, deflected and lied to, we’ve got the wrong leaders.

Itruly believe young people have the power and will and understanding to change the world. Think Greta Thunburg to know that one person can make a difference! But ultimately we also need collective action. *jumps back down from soap box*

Random Q&A!

Do you have a favourite novel that you feel is under-appreciated?

How about The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E Pearson? Though I’m not sure it qualifies as under-appreciated.

Who would be in your dream reading group (dead or alive!) and what book would you choose to read?

Confession: I’ve never actually been in a reading group! Now and then there will be a book that provokes a reaction in me – good or bad – and I’ll nag one of my friends to read it to have someone to talk to about it: most recently that was Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough (I love the crazy ending, but it’s a bit marmite for some). If I was going to be in a reading group it would be my friends I’d want to be in it with, as their opinions are the ones that are important to me.

Would you rather have written your favourite book or be your favourite book character?

I’m so contrary – neither! My favourite characters always have such a hard time, and I’ve never wanted to have written somebody else’s books – just my own.

Q: Describe who/what you would be if you were a:

Book character: Hermione.

Song: Mark Knopfler, Let it all go.

Chocolate: Dark chocolate salted caramel.

https://teriterry.jimdo.com/

@TeriTerryWrites

C. G. Drews

Can you tell our readers a little about yourself?

Hello! My name is C.G. Drews and I’m the author of A Thousand Perfect Notes and The Boy Who Steals Houses. I live in Australia (and yes! I do have kangaroos in my backyard) and I love to write surrounded by my rainbow bookshelves with a hot chocolate nearby.

You have been blogging about books since you were a teenager. Did you always want to be a writer or was this a natural development from your prolific reading/blogging as Paper Fury?

Being a writer actually came first! I started writing seriously at fifteen and, because I was such a voracious reader, book blogging naturally filled in the gaps. Blogging was a way to build my platform as an author…and to find a really thoughtful and amazing community to befriend! I found a literary agent at nineteen, and then my book deal happened when I was twenty-one.

Staying with your blog, you are reading on average over 200 books a year, how on earth do you manage to read so much as well as write books?

Look, maaaaybe a little dark magic is involved? Just a smidge. (Although truly, I am lucky to be a fast reader, but I’m also just hungry to devour as many stories as I can. I’ve been busy this year though, so I expect I won’t reach 200, though it is a fun goal to aim for!)

There was a recent thread on Twitter when someone suggested that all aspiring writers should try and read at least one recently published book. She was totally trolled by people who disagreed with her, as successful writer how important is it to you to read new books and why?

I saw that and I was pretty shocked that it was a controversial take. We wouldn’t front up to a bakery and be comfortable eating there only to find the baker never never ate anything they cooked. (Suspicious!) If you’re a writer, I wholly believe you should be a reader. Not everyone can read 200 books a year, but you should still be reading something. It’s vital to read because: (a) you want to know what’s selling so you don’t end up working in a trend that’s dead, (b) you want to know what’s resonating with readers currently, (c) you need to keep your own creative well full! It’s hard to output creativity if you don’t take it in, and lastly (d) it’s important to learn from other authors. The best way to learn to write is to read.

Many of our readers were introduced to your writing when ‘The boy who steals houses’ was shortlisted for the BBA. The book was also nominated for the Carnegie Medal. How does it feel to have international success so early on in your career?

It’s definitely an honour and I feel humbled, quite honestly! Getting published wasn’t easy, so I still pinch myself that my books are even out there, on shelves and in libraries and tucked into readers’ lives. Knowing my books have been loved enough to be nominated for awards is mind blowing.

Your writing deals with some quite heavy subject matter, ‘A thousand perfect notes’ had some scenes which were quite difficult to read and ‘The boy who steals houses’ just had me in tears. What did you find was the hardest scene to write?

One thing that was really important to me when writing the darker scenes in both my books was: being as real and raw and vulnerable as possible. Capturing emotion in writing is hard! I wanted my readers to feel what the characters did, to care about them, and to be right there with them as they got off the ground and kept going.

The boy who steals houses is one of my top reads from last year. I found the whole concept both original and emotional. How did you develop the whole idea of ‘stealing’ houses?

That is such an incredible compliment, and my heart is so full to know that! I spun the story from a variety of inspirations, but the top two were:

(1) it’s a loose Goldilocks retelling, since Goldilocks also sneaked into houses to eat porridge and nap (I mean, priorities).

Also (2) I love to go for long walks and I always passed lots of empty houses. It sparked this idea of a homeless teen who wanted to steal a safe place, and could they do it without ever getting caught?

The characters in both of your books are so believable and I completely fell in love with their vulnerability and strength. Like many other readers I have been through the ‘I wonder what happens next’ phase. Are your books going to remain standalone, or do you think you will revisit the characters at some point?

I would love the chance to revisit The Boy Who Steals Houses and write a sequel! I’m not sure it’ll be able to happen, but we can dream?!

Can you share what you are currently working on?

While I don’t have another book coming out yet, I am working on a draft about a boy who sees monsters!

The following questions are just a fun way to get to know some random facts about the author. I will be asking the same questions to all the authors I interview!

What’s your favourite under-appreciated novel?

I completely adore Sick Kids In Love by Hannah Moskowitz!

Who would be in your dream reading group (dead or alive!) and what book would you choose to read?

I’m really indecisive so I’d make someone else pick the book haha! But it would be amazing to discuss books with some of my favourite authors, like Maggie Stiefvater or Alice Oseman or Holly Black!

Describe who/what you would be if you were a:

Book character: I think I’d make a great Hobbit to be honest. (Likes comfy homes and cheese and being barefoot. Sounds PERFECT.)

Song: I admit a deep love for all of Beethoven’s music!

Chocolate: Ooh salted caramel. I can definitely be both sweet and a bit salty.

Would you rather have written your favourite book or be your favourite book character?

Writing my favourite book! Usually my favourite characters are off doing something grand and epic, never resting while they get things done…while I prefer to lie around daydreaming. (“C.G. come save the world!” Me: I literally just sat down.) Whereas I’d love to be the author of an incredible world-changing novel, so that would be a pretty neat thing.

https://paperfury.com/

@PaperFury

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