Spotlight/Interview with MG author Joanne Levy!

A few weeks ago I posted a review for the amazing middle grade title, SMALL MEDIUM AT LARGE (I trust that you have since read and enjoyed it).

Today, I'd like to shine a little spotlight on the author of Small Medium at Large. Joanne Levy was kind enough to humour me and answer a few questions for my readers. Enjoy!

1. In relation to Small Medium at Large and writing the story...I'm just curious how the CAUSE came about for Lilah's new ability. Was there a struggle for you to discover a way to give Lilah her new ability to communicate with ghosts? Or is this something that came to you right away...the lightning idea?

I first wrote the book many years ago and I honestly can’t remember if I struggled with the how of Lilah getting her new ability. But I can tell you that when I first wrote it, the book was intended for an older, YA audience. So in the first scene, Lilah was at her mom’s wedding and had stolen away with her new step-brother and was about to kiss him when she gets hit by the lightning. I thought that was a really funny scene and set the stage for a lot of almost-but-not-really incest jokes for the rest of the book. Obviously, that all had to go when I aged the book down a bit. I hated having to cut some of my ‘for a more mature audience’ jokes that were in the book, but still managed to come up with lots of opportunities for humour throughout.



2. I really like what you did with Dolly. Bully stories very seldom turn out the way this one does. I know bullying is not the major theme of this story, but it does play an excellent role in it. I would just like to hear your thoughts on how this whole thread in the story came about. I found it so fascinating that Lilah was able to be compassionate towards a person who's go-to action was repeatedly to be mean to Lilah and her friends. Was it hard for you to construct this aspect of your story...the heroine reaching out and rescuing her bully? Was it liberating? Any thoughts you would like to share would be awesome. I think you did an amazing job with this concept...it's a lesson your target audience could really benefit from. And yet you pulled it off in the least preachy way I've ever seen.

Thank you! Bullying is so prevalent these days in so many forms and although I didn’t want to get into really deep issues with this light book, I did want to accurately portray what it’s like for kids of this age. I remember when I was in middle school, there were some girls who seemed to go out of their way to chip at my self-esteem and try to make me feel inferior. I had been very okay with who I was and truly never had self-esteem issues until other people pointed out my failings. One girl, in particular, was relentless in making me feel not cool. I distinctly remember a moment in sixth grade when she said, “I bet you don’t even like Rick James (sadly, it was the 80s)!” Truly, I didn’t even know who he was, but I went out and bought his album (which I hate to admit, I kind of liked, even though the lyrics probably weren’t appropriate for me at that age). And even though there was no physical threat, it was still very hurtful in a different way.

As for making Lilah compassionate towards her tormentor. Well, she does have a few thoughts about revenge, which is natural, but in the end, she does the right thing. And I kind of modeled her on Elle Woods from Legally Blonde. Her character faces discrimination and vitriol at every turn, but she is only ever positive and helpful, even to those who try to trip her up and ruin her. I loved that about her—in the end she is loved because she never lets anyone really change her from a good person, even though it would be very easy for her to retaliate. That’s what I wanted for Lilah.  I wanted her to be human and have thoughts about revenge, but in the end, do the right thing and show that you can be a good person and turn things around.

 

3. You appear to be very busy with events to promote your book Small Medium at Large. Do you want to share a bit about how that feels? Are you getting fan feedback at events from those who have already read the book? Tell us a bit about your experiences on the circuit. (-:

It feels exhausting! I’ve been doing a lot of local signings and also participate in local networking events, which, on top of the day job, has presented challenges as far as finding time for new writing and you know, sleeping. For a debut, it’s hard to drum up big crowds at events, but I have had some Twitter friends show up at my signings and that has been amazing! I made a commitment to myself very early on that I wanted to do whatever I could to help get the word out about my book; the long term goal is to write full-time, so any investment into this first book is a big stepping stone towards that. I’ve learned a lot and am getting more comfortable in my own skin when standing at a table in a bookstore (a tough, tough thing to do for an introvert) but it’s necessary to get out there and talk to people if I want to sell books to more than just my family.

One of the funniest things has been the running joke about helping people find the bathroom in bookstores. My husband and I were joking about it, but then at my last event, I actually did have to help 3 separate people find the bathroom. Hey, at least I’m useful in the down times. ;-)


4. What are you reading? Want to share some awesome reads you found over the summer?

I wish I had more reading time, but over the summer I read and adored Jennifer Nielsen’s THE FALSE PRINCE, (fellow Canadian) Jocelyn Shipley’s HOW TO TEND A GRAVE and Lynne Kelly’s CHAINED. I highly recommend all of these books. And I’m just about to get into Lisa McMann’s ISLAND OF SILENCE, the second book in THE UNWANTEDS series and am eager to start (also Canadian) Vikki VanSickle’s WORDS THAT START WITH B.



5. What are you writing now? Can your readers expect to see another book coming soon? If so, could you share a little bit about your next book--or the one you are working on now?

I have a lot of balls up in the air right now, but nothing concrete just yet. I’m hoping to continue Lilah’s adventures in a sequel to SMALL MEDIUM AT LARGE and I’ve written another MG about a boy who gets lost in the woods when his family’s camping trip goes very wrong. Also, I’ve been tinkering with some other ideas, but with the first book coming out over the summer and all the marketing/events I’ve been doing, I haven’t been actively writing for a while. Things should calm down after November and then I plan to really hunker down and will hopefully have a clear idea of what I want to work on by then. Keep an eye on my website joannelevy.com and Twitter @joannelevy as I’ll post any news there.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions, Joanne! I’m sure your readers will appreciate your thoughtful responses. So interesting to hear how Small Medium at Large began, now that we can see the finished version. And I’m sure those who read Small Medium will be thrilled to learn that Lilah’s adventures will continue. Lilah is a great character for middle grade kids to sink their teeth into—thoughtful, intelligent and humourous. We’ll be sure to keep our eye on your website and twitter feed! Thank you so much!

You can find SMALL MEDIUM AT LARGE ON GOODREADS

And ON AMAZON & CHAPTERS INDIGO

 

An Interview with Allison Baggio - Summer Reading Series

Time for the next Summer Reading Series instalment! I'm thrilled to have ALLISON BAGGIO visiting us today. She's going to talk about the books she's passionate about. I'm going to tell you where you can find Allison's books! She is also an author.

KC: What book are you reading right now? And what are your thoughts on it so far?


ALLISON: I am usually reading a whole pile of books at once. I keep them at different places in my house and when I'm there I'll pick them up. Sometimes a book will really catch my attention and I will carry it around with me--then I know I've found something really special. So, I'll pick one for you--The Last Hiccup by fellow ECW author, Christopher Meades. It just happens to be on my nightstand so I usually read this one for a bit after I put the kids to bed. The book is about a young boy in 1930s Russia who comes down with a chronic case of hiccups and how this infliction changes his life. This is not the type of book I would usually pick up, however, Christopher has officially drawn me into his quirky little world. I am so impressed with the quality of writing in this book . . . one of the blurbs on the back says "Each sentence is a tiny masterpiece" and it is definitely true

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KC: That sounds like a book I NEED to read! Thanks for the rec. As a writer, you most likely spend a lot of your time editing. Do you find it hard to turn off the internal editor when you are reading for pleasure? Do you ever find yourself being drawn out of story because you know there’s a better way to write the last sentence you just read? Or are you able to turn the writer/editor off when you are reading for pleasure?


ALLISON: Funny you should ask this. I just took a book on vacation with me. A pretty popular book. Well, okay, I'll just say it, Wild by Cheryl Strayed. I love a memoir that involves any sort of adventure so I knew I would love this story (and I did!), however, I found myself overwhelmed by the large number of unnecessary adverbs in the book. "Elegantly, hesitantly, unglamourously, awkwardly" -- I think she used everyone possible at least once, and sometimes many in the same sentence!

I often found myself reading out the heavily adverb-ed sentences to my husband in shock, and that really took me out of the story. Instantly. And unrelentingly. Usually I am able to shut this sort of internal editor off, but since I just finished the final edits on my next book, I was really stuck in that mindset. I think this problem is getting worse the more editing I do, and the more obsessive I get about my own writing. Undeniably.


KC: Great answer! (-: Top 5 Favourite Novels?


ALLISON: Oh gosh, let's see. Top of my mind:

• Room by Emma Donoghue 
• A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews 
• The Romantic by Barbara Gowdy 
• Far to Go by Alison Pick 
• The Lovely Bones by Alice Seybold

KC: I was blown away the first time I read A Complicated Kindness. I think that book may have changed my reading habits. Do you have a favourite autobiography? If so, tell us about it.


ALLISON: How about Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda. In it, he tells his life story of growing up in India and his experiences with meditation and yoga. I read most of this book on my honeymoon ten years ago and still intend to finish it. No, really! I will say that it probably influenced some parts of my first novel, Girl in Shades.


KC: I love that answer more than you’ll know. That book was a bible for me in the late 80s early 90s. I adore it! Any recommendations for books on writing?


ALLISON: I think Stephen King's On Writing is one of the best ones out there and I actually have had a recent desire to re-read it (I've just remembered one of the quotes from the book: “The road to hell is paved with adverbs” hmmmm). Also, writers should pick up Work Book: Memos & Dispatches on Writing by Steven Heighton--it is like no other writing book I've read and gives some very poignant insights into how to make sense of the writing life.


KC: Who were your favourite authors as a child? Your favourite books?


ALLISON: I was a big Judy Blume fan. All her books.


KC: Your favourite authors as an adult?


ALLISON: Miriam Toews, Barbara Gowdy, Brian Francis--all the other great Canadian authors I've connected with who are out there writing what they have to write and not giving up.


KC: Book covers seem to be getting a lot of buzz these days. In Twitterverse, there are Cover Reveals almost daily. I think it’s safe to say we’re in an age where it is more common practice to actually judge a book by its cover. Do you have any favourite covers? Do they have any pull on your decision to read a book?


ALLISON: I am quite fond of the covers they have given to my own books so far, and I think that is a good thing to feel because yes, people DO judge books by their outsides. I'm surprised at the number of times someone will post a just cover and someone will respond, "That looks really good. I want to read it." But it's true. People do feel more drawn to covers that appeal to them, so we shouldn't give up on designing great covers!

One interesting cover that comes to mind is the one for The Carnivore  by Mark Sinnett. I like that the story is about a hurricane and there are rain drops infused into the cover. Very neat.

Ohhh, and I did love the cover of Brian Francis's Natural Order

I am definitely more prone to pick up a book if I am attracted to the outside.


KC: I LOVE your book covers. I think they're both stunning(ly) beautiful! Do you have favourite genres/markets?


ALLISON: Usually adult literary fiction, and some more commercial stuff.


KC: Your 3 desert island books?


ALLISON: Have to go non-fiction for this (I don't re-read fiction books that much):

• A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
• Home With God: In a Life that Never Ends by Neale Donald Walsh
• Beyond the Horizon by Colin Angus (loved it!)

KC: As a writer, do you ever copy down favourite quotes and pin them up in your writing space for inspiration? If so, what are some of them?


ALLISON: YES! I do this all the time. Right now on my bulletin board I have "Pursue Excellence, Ignore Success". I think Deepak Choprah said it. I'm also always writing out, "Allow What is To Be" - Eckhart Tolle


KC: I was hoping for that reaction. I too get pretty passionate when I find a golden nugget in something I’m reading. (-: What’s the next title you plan on reading? What drew you to it?


ALLISON: The next book I am planning to read is Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain. I definitely fit the mould of an introvert, and was drawn to this book because, well, I hope to get some more insight into myself (always up for that!).


KC: Is there ONE book that made you decide, ‘This is what I want to do…I want to write!’? Or were there many?


ALLISON: Hmmmm, trying to think back. My need to write bubbled up around grade five when I started to write short stories. I think it was more a need to tell stories, than one book that inspired me.


KC: If you could travel back in time and put your name under any novel title in existence, which one would you choose? Why?


ALLISON: Oh gosh, this is hard. Of course there are books I admire, but the idea of me having written them is a strange one. I just find that creative inspiration is such a personal thing, I can't imagine having written anything besides what I myself was inspired to write. I think I've answered The Time Traveller’s Wife to a similar question. So.... The Time Traveller’s Wife by Allison Baggio. (No, I just can't get my mind around that.)


KC: As a writer, who do you write for? Anyone/Anything in particular?


ALLISON: I guess I have to say, me. I write for the pure joy I feel while I am doing it, and the satisfaction I feel afterwards. I hope I can always write for me, because I think that the process of thinking about what people will think of what you write, has probably ruined many a good author.


KC: Okay, since you are published yourself…I’m going to be linking your books below for my readers. Besides these two titles, are there any other works in the hopper? Anything you’re working on that you want to talk about?


ALLISON: I am currently revising a new novel that I am very excited about. It takes place during and shortly after World War 1 and is a fictional story around an actual un-solved murder that happened in 1914. I haven't received any serious feedback on it yet, so I am still in that "new love" stage with it--which is a nice place to be for now.


KC: Sounds intriguing! I was going to say amazingly and incredibly intriguing…but those lys are just background noise. (-: Can’t wait to read it! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts today. I enjoyed your responses. We have a lot of suggestions here and you’ve reminded me of more than a couple of books that I’m passionate about. Maybe it’s time to revisit them. Thank you!


ALLISON: Thanks, Kevin!

You can learn more about Allison’s books and visit her online at any of the locations below:

Website: AllisonBaggio.com 
Twitter: allibaggio
Facebook: GIRL IN SHADES and IN THE BODY   
BOOKS:  ECW PRESS - GIRL IN SHADES and ECW PRESS IN THE BODY 

An Interview with Author Swati Avasthi

 SWATI AVASTHI

I am so thrilled to have Swati Avasthi as a guest on Try This Book today! I discovered Swati's novel Split last year, thanks to Twitter. Split quickly became a favourite of mine. And I love sharing my favourite books, with anybody who will listen.

I hope you enjoy my interview with Swati Avasthi, a writer I'm sure you'll be hearing a lot more about in the future!





 

KC: Jace Witherspoon is one of the most authentic characters I’ve come across in a long while. He’s a shell-shocked teen who knows what it’s like to live in an abusive home. Every action and reaction he had was authentic. Can you tell us a bit about the research you underwent to make Jace so incredibly real?

SA: Thanks for having me and for the kind words! I do two types of research: 1) getting to know the characters and 2) getting to know their situation.  Getting to know Jace was the best research I’ve done. I did “interviews” with him, wrote exercises to discover memories and exercises to discover his desires. I tried to keep everything in first person so I could get a feel for his voice. Once I even grocery shopped as him. Twinkies are tasty.

The other kind of research didn’t start out as research at all; it started out as my job. Long ago, in another life, I coordinated a domestic violence legal clinic. At the clinic, I listened to thousands of victims who needed orders of protection, thousands of incidents of abuse. I didn’t take any of their stories, but I understood the dynamic by the time I sat down to write SPLIT.

KC: I’m quite familiar with the first type of research you mention. The second type must have been simultaneously rewarding and difficult for you. Christian and Jace’s dynamic relationship—It really kind of takes the reader’s breath away. Family members in an abusive environment have an unspoken code of silence and shame. You played this so incredibly well between Christian and Jace. You did an amazing job of depicting the brother relationship and all it entails within an abusive situation. Can you tell us why you chose two boys—brothers—for your main characters?

SA: Domestic violence (DV) is typically framed as a women’s issue, but frankly, I think it’s a men’s issue, too. After all, men are a key component of the relationship. Whether he is a victim or a perpetrator, we make the guys who are in DV situations invisible—which silences victims and subtly gives a free pass to abusers. So I wanted to think about the effect that DV has on boys. And, since people respond so differently to abuse, I wanted to show the range in the boys’ responses. Contrast often makes for good fiction.

SPOILER ALERT We know that while most abusers are men, most men aren’t abusers. In my view, it’s those male allies who have the best chance to stop abuse, which was why it was critical to me that: 1) Jace had to change himself (no woman could do it for him) and 2) Christian had to be the one to give him some of the tools to change (running).

KC: Not to give away any Split spoilers, but I found it fascinating when Christian discovered the secret that Jace was harbouring about his girlfriend. Christian’s reaction was palpable. It was the one thing that could tumble the house of cards he built against the abusive past that he escaped. It must have been hard to write this aspect of Jace. Did you ever worry that the reader would turn against him?

SA:  Yes, I did. Early on, the second reader I showed a scrap of chapter one to told me she hated all the characters and wouldn’t keep reading.  I restructured the book and chapter one became chapter twelve, and a secret was born.  While it gave me the space I needed to let me connect the reader to the characters, it also gave me a tough problem: how was I going to do a reveal in first person present tense? I dove into books to find the solution modeled for me in INVISIBLE by Pete Hautman—a book worth reading.

SPOILER ALERT AGAIN: The cool thing that happened when I restructured the book (and I wish I could say I had structured the book this way because I ‘m soooo narratively brilliant) is that it’s structured like an incident of abuse. We get to know Jace as a sympathetic, charming guy first and then we see his dark-side, after we’ve invested 100 pages into his life. And then he’s so sorry, so remorseful. Do we forgive him or not?

KC: That was quite the stroke of luck (brilliance) that came from the restructuring. So true that the reader likes and is sympathetic of Jace. When readers come across a new favourite author, they tend to wonder what that author likes. What their favourites are. So, this part of the interview is a multiple question survey. What does Swati Avasthi feel passionate about? Can you tell us a few of your favourite things?

SA: I love traveling, how it frees you beyond your responsibilities, beyond yourself --how you pay attention to the earth, the water, the sky better. I love seeing different ways of living, thinking, being. I’m also a sucker, obviously, for books. As I write this, I realize these two things might be related. :-)

KC: Who are your favourite authors now? And who were your favourite children’s authors when you were growing up?

SA:

Now: Laurie Halse Anderson, Pete Hautman, MT Anderson, Salman Rushdie, Toni Morrison, Emily Bronte.

Growing up: Laura Ingalls Wilder, Harper Lee, S.E. Hinton. I still love these authors.

KC: What are your favourite movies? Actors?

SA: Huh. Well. I don’t watch that many movies anymore (lack of time) and a lot of what I watch is animated (have kids). So a lot of them will be older . . .

Apollo 13; Meet the Robinsons; How to Train your Dragon; Totoro; Goodwill Hunting (shocker, I know!); Shakespeare in Love; Amelie; The Road Home; Moulin Rouge; Kinky Boots; Gross Pointe Blank; Once; I.Q.

Meryl Steep; Edward Norton; Robert Redford; Heath Ledger; Johnny Depp; Anne Hathaway; Natalie Portman; Gary Oldman; Matt Damon; Tim Robbins; Gwenyth Paltrow; Nicole Kidman; Renee Zellweger; Kate Winslet; Kathy Bates

KC: Do you have a favourite writing place? Is it in your home, or in the wild?

SA: The wild atmosphere of Starbucks, stalking the best comfie leather chairs and coffee. If I’m at home, I have too many distractions. I don’t have any games on my computer, so I pretty much stick myself where either I’m bored or I’m writing.

KC: Another Starbucks writing junkie! Which 3 books would you pack to take to a deserted island?

SA: To Kill a Mockingbird, Speak, and an unabridged Shakespeare.

KC: Pantser or Plotter? Do you like to outline your novels, or do you just write off the cuff? OR, do you do a bit of both?

SA: Bit of both. I know one big obstacle I’m going to throw in the path of my protagonist; one character epiphany, whether false or true; and my starting line. (I wrote “Now I have to start lying” Split’s opening, about three months before I wrote anything else-like a whisper of the voice to come.)  Other than that, I let the characters lead.

KC: I love your story about Split’s first line…almost as though you percolated on that line for those months. When did you know you wanted to be a writer? What is your first memory of actually sitting down and writing?

SA: I decided to be a writer when I was five and read Little House in the Big Woods. After all, I was like Laura. (I’m secretly a 19^th century, white pioneer!)  She was a writer so obviously I was too. I started writing shortly after I read that. Sadly, my memory stinks—I remember fiction better—so I don’t remember sitting down and writing anything until I was 12, though my mom’s stack of embarrassing files say otherwise.

KC: Can you take the reader through the journey you walked with SPLIT, from concept to shelf?

SA: The concept started long before the book. One of my clients came in with her two kids and when I found out that they watched this brutal incident of abuse, I got mad at her, which surprised and embarrassed me; I knew better than to victim blame. But I felt protective of those two little kids. It bothered me for years – my response, my confusion, so I gave the problem to a character.

Author and professor Mary Logue said that if you write one page a day, you could have a novel in a year. I gave myself one year to write it and one year to revise it. And that helped tremendously.

The publication process was so unusually easy that I hesitate to talk about it –I found an agent in a month (the wonderful Rosemary Stimola) and she sold the book at auction three weeks later. My editor (the also wonderful Nancy Siscoe) had a few notes; I made the changes and voila! A book on the shelves.

But, at some point, you always pay the piper, she says, 4-years, 14-drafts, and novel no. 2 later. The second novel, now titled CHASING SHADOWS, was the payment. With interest.

KC: What a great story! Thanks so much for sharing it. I can see why Split was such a quick sell, both for an agent and a publisher. Congratulations! A writer’s dream journey to publication. (-: CHASING SHADOWS (once tentatively titled Bidden)! If your readers are anything like me, they must be dying for its release. Could you tell them what to expect with this book? What it’s about? When they will get it in their hands? Talk about Holly, Corey and Savitri, the cast of Chasing Shadows!

SA: This is the blurb I’ve been playing with:

Before: 18 year olds Corey, Holly, and Savitri turn Chicago concrete and asphalt in a Freerunner's jungle gym, ricocheting off walls, scaling buildings, and even leaping from rooftop to rooftop.  But acting like a superhero doesn't make you one.

After:  Holly and Savitri try to move on.  But sometimes -- when justice can't be found, and reality keeps sliding out of reach -- sometimes moving on isn't an option.  How do you hang on to what was? How do you hold on to a shadow? Part prose, part graphic novel, CHASING SHADOWS is about how far we stretch for our friends.

Fall, 2013!

KC: WOW! That sounds so incredible. Can’t wait for fall, 2013! For your fans who are also writers, do you have any tidbits of advice you would like to share?

SA: My advice to writers is always: Writing is no place for cowardice. Be bold; be brave; write every day you can.

KC: Excellent advice! Thank you. With Split, you built a big fan base. I find that most readers who discovered it are very passionate about it. They want to know there’s more where that came from. Do you have any other writing projects in the hopper…other than Chasing Shadows?

SA: I can neither confirm nor deny any new writing projects. :-) I’ve learned the hard way that my job at the early stages of any writing project is to protect whatever might be coming to light. And for me, even talking about it is revealing it to harsh elements. I remain silent.

KC: Now that is an intriguing answer. As a fan, I’m going to take it as confirmation that there is something in the hopper. Thank you so much for this opportunity! I’m always thrilled to share my favourite authors with others. I wish you the best of success with your future endeavours.

SA: The pleasure’s all mine. Thank you!

Now that you've become more familiar with Swati Avasthi, it is time to go out and get a copy of SPLIT. Online, you can purchase Split at Amazon...both in print and in ebook formats.

SPLIT EBOOK

SPLIT PAPERBACK

   

Swati Avasthi can be found online at her website, or on Twitter.

(My review of SPLIT)

An Interview with VOICELESS Author - Caroline Wissing

Caroline Wissing, with Canadian author Wayson Choy.

I recently finished reading and reviewing a new Canadian Young Adult novel, VOICELESS, by CAROLINE WISSING (Thistledown Press). I loved it! I thought I would ask the author for an interview, so I could further share her with my TTBOFS readers.

Voiceless was a compelling read for several reasons, but what really drew me to it was the fact that the narrator did not speak. I was eager to see how the author would conquer this challenge. After reading Voiceless, I do believe Wissing nailed it.

Voiceless is a story about overcoming our less than stellar beginnings. Annabel (Ghost), the non-speaking narrator, will leave a solid impression on you. You can check out my review HERE.

Please continue on to read my interview with the author, CAROLINE WISSING.

KC: Whatever made you come up with the idea of having a non-speaking narrator for your debut YA novel VOICELESS?

CW: Wow, that’s a good question. Temporary insanity, maybe? I love quirky characters; normal is boring, and I delight in giving my characters challenges and obstacles to overcome. I don’t recall the exact moment when I decided to make Ghost non-verbal, so I can’t tell you my thought process. Maybe she just came to me that way. Sometimes characters seem to appear fully formed and there isn’t a lot a writer can do about it.

KC: That’s very true! Did you find that narrating through Annabel (Ghost) was challenging? Was there ever a time when you thought to yourself, “What am I doing?”

CW: Yes and yes. My narrative choices for Voiceless were sometimes limiting but, I found, also very rewarding. I fell in love with Ghost’s voice and really enjoyed living inside her head for the duration of the novel. She has a super heart and a lot of courage, and exploring that made for a great journey. I also love how she sees the world and observes the people in it.

KC: Voiceless is, essentially, a story about lost children. I sensed a passion for the underdog in its pages. There are so many lost children in today’s society. I will be including some Kid’s Help info at the end of this post. Did you explore this theme out of a personal empathy for kids in this position? Do you have any words for teens who are suffering right now? Teens who may not be orphaned or homeless, but just having a hard time?

CW: I dislike social injustice in all its forms, and find social injustice crops up as a theme in a lot of my writing. Homelessness is a national shame and should be everyone’s concern. In terms of teens, I was one and I remember how difficult it was to manage my emotions. I’m now parenting a teen and a preteen and I see how much they struggle with the pressures and choices that they have to make. I find teens need a parent, or at least a positive role model, more at this age than they did when they were younger, although they don’t seem to know it.

Without a stable a home, teenagers are terribly vulnerable. I think they want the same thing we all want: to feel safe. I’m not qualified to give advice to struggling teens, but it helps to remind them that these are probably the toughest years of their lives, of anyone’s life. Anyone who tells a teen that these are their best years is doing more harm than good.

KC: Wonderful response. Your passion definitely comes through in the pages of Voiceless. Whenever I discover a new writer, I become quite curious about the things that brought them to the point in their journey in which they happen to be at that moment. So, this question has a few parts to it. I like to know what an author’s favourite things are. Caroline, do you mind answering the following favourites list?

Who are your favourite authors now? And who were your favourite children’s authors when you were growing up?

CW: As an adult, I love writers who inspire me to be a better writer. Miriam Toews’ writing blows me away. I had the character from A Complicated Kindness, 16-year-old Nomi, in my mind a lot as I wrote Voiceless. I enjoy novels that combine humour and pathos. It’s a delicate balance, but when it works, it really works. A Prayer for Own Meany by John Irving is another contemporary favourite of mine.

I was a big reader as a kid. I was shy and introverted and books let me escape into more interesting lives than my own. Not surprisingly (and if you’ve read Voiceless you understand what I mean) I loved horse stories. I read and re-read The Black Stallion series, Black Beauty, My Friend Flicka and Man o’War. But the novel that really “got” me was Marian L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time. I got it from the school library and it completely blew my mind. I’d never read anything like it in my life. I checked it out and read it so many times that I was worried they’d ban me from checking it out again.

KC: What are your favourite movies?

CW: I love movies! I like films with smart writing and quirky characters, so the Coen brothers’ films are big hits with me. Fargo is such a complex study of human strength and human failings, coupled with that wonderful dark humour, it’s definitely a favourite of mine. I also like classics, like To Kill a Mockingbird, Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and Paper Moon. I could go on and on.

KC: Your favourite quote from a novel?

CW: I love the idea behind Dr. Seuss’s line in Horton Hears a Who: “Don’t give up! I believe in you all. A person’s a person, no matter how small!” Every one of us can make a positive difference to someone, and, no matter how insignificant it might seem, it counts.

KC: Do you have a favourite writing place? A place you escape to, to let the muse run wild?

CW: I write mainly on the computer, only rarely jotting things in notebooks when inspired, so my space is wherever my laptop is. I also like to write in silence, so my home office is the peaceful, dedicated spot I need for my writing.

KC: What 3 books would you take with you to a deserted island?

CW: This is a tough one. So, I’m going to cheat and say the Harry Potter series, the Riverside Shakespeare (complete works), and The Norton Anthology of English Literature. There are so many great books to read out there that I don’t tend to re-read books, even if I love them. My answer serves to maximize the reading material (and provides great reading too!).

KC: Pantser or Plotter? Do you like to outline your novels, or do you just write off the cuff? OR, do you do a bit of both?

CW: I’m definitely a pantser. When I first started writing novels, I’d heard about writers using outlines and thought I was doing it wrong, so I tried to force myself to outline. It was a disaster. For me, everything flows much better when I allow myself to make it all up as I go along (although I always know the ending). Every writer should use the process that works best for her, not what works best for someone else.

KC: When did you know you wanted to be a writer? What is your first memory of actually sitting down and writing?

CW: I’ve always wanted to be a writer. I was a precocious reader (thanks to my diligent stay-at-home mother) and don’t remember ever not being able to read. Reading and writing have always been part of me. I was that weird kid in high school who couldn’t wait to get her essay back from the teacher. One of the stories I wrote in kindergarten ended up getting published in the school yearbook. It was about a pair of kittens and their adventures. I clearly remember writing that story at age 5.

KC: That’s awesome! I think that makes you the youngest published writer I know! Can you walk us through the journey you took from concept to finished book with VOICELESS?

CW: As a pantser, my process is very fluid. I know only where I’m starting and where I want to end up. The general concept for the novel came from a book I read about a woman in the States who rescues abandoned, abused and unwanted horses and gives them a place to live out the end of their lives in peace. Yes, there are generous, big-hearted people out there who do this. I was moved by her stories. And then I thought: what if those rescued horses were teenagers? So I made them human, gave them a past and a personality (and those quirks I love) and put obstacles in their way. The story grew from there.

KC: Do you have any other writing projects in the hopper?

CW: I’ve written five novels to date and am working on number six. Voiceless was the second novel I wrote. I’m hoping to interest my current publisher in at least one of those completed projects. Otherwise, I’m off to pound the pavement wearing a mortarboard advertising my wares!

KC: I, for one, can’t wait to read more! I wish Caroline Wissing the best of success with the rest of her writing journey. In Ghost, she certainly gave me a character I will cherish for a long time to come. Thank you, Caroline!

As promised, here is the contact for Kids Help Phone Canada & Kids Help Line