Interview with Morris Honoree Karen Healey
While the rest of the world is gearing up for the Golden Globe Awards next weekend, those of us in the world of children's literature are eagerly awaiting Monday morning's announcement of the American Library Association's Youth Media Awards! And as part of Mirth & Matter's ongoing (if sporadic) coverage of the dear-to-our-heart William C. Morris Young Adult Debut Award, today I'm happy to bring you an interview with 2011 Morris Honoree Karen Healey, author of GUARDIAN OF THE DEAD.
For the rest of the Morris Award Interview Series, tomorrow I'll be posting my interview with Barbara Stuber (CROSSING THE TRACKS), and L.K. Madigan's blog this week features interviews with Blythe Woolston (THE FREAK OBSERVER) and Lish MacBride (HOLD ME CLOSER NECROMANCER). Check them out!
First, give us the vital stats on GUARDIAN OF THE DEAD. What was the inspiration for the novel? How long did it take to write? Was this truly your first book, or are there secret manuscripts lurking in desk drawers or dark closets?
It's really hard to pin down the inspiration for Guardian of the Dead, but the biggest factor is certainly the Maori mythology - I really love the first stories of my homeland, because they're passionate, nuanced, and full of really compelling characters, like Hine-nui-te-po and Maui. Those stories are not my cultural possession, but they do form a part of my imaginative heritage, and I relished the chance to deal with them in a modern context.
The novel took about three months to write, and then fifteen months to rewrite - by my count, I did a substantial revision run eight times. There aren't any secret novels, but only because I cheerfully tell people that I wrote two awful novels, and co-wrote too much less awful (but currently unpublishable) novels before I wrote Guardian. And a ton of fan fiction. I sort of wrote myself into being able to wrote a novel.
--I'm excited by your use of Maori tradition in the story, which is something I think will be new to most North American readers. Can you tell us a little about bringing these legends to life?
Well, the first thing I want to stress is that there was no way I could cover everything. These are very important stories, and I could only really touch on them. But I do think they're fascinating, and certainly unusual to most NA readers. That's one of the reasons I tried to be as careful as possible to talk about them accurately and respectfully, and got cultural consultants involved in the editing process - I know New Zealand readers have access to other sources that Australian and American readers often don't, so I was very aware that for a lot of readers, this might be the first time they encountered Maori mythology. It was important to me to do it right.
--Can you describe your path to publication and your writing process? Has anything changed for you since your first sale? What's coming next?
Well, as a poor student in my day job, the money from the first sale was certainly welcome! Certainly, many things have changed for me, most of them related to my ability to refer to myself as "a novelist". Which is awesome, so I think I'll keep doing that as long as they let me.
My second book, The Shattering, is coming out September '11, and features three teenagers discovering the dark secrets behind the success of sunny Summerton, a town on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. I'm contracted for a third book, currently called When We Wake about which I can't say much except that 1) it's set in the not too distant future and 2) research involves listening to a lot of The Beatles.
--How did you hear about your nomination? Were you familiar with the award? How familiar were you with the other nominees' work?
I actually http://karenhealey.livejournal.com/912929.html">blogged about this! I'm afraid I was just as ungracious on the phone as it appears, for which I blame the (relatively) early morning. Darn time differences!
I knew of the Morris Award, but I never dreamed my work would be nominated - that was a complete surprise, and a huge honour. And while I have heard terrific things about my fellow finalists, I actually haven't read any of their work yet - I'm not even sure which tiles have been released in Australia - although I do plan to get my greedy hands on them after the award is announced!
--Tell us a little about the experience of being a first-time novelist. Has it been what you expected? Any wisdom or insights or surprises to share about the joys or challenges of life during and after the first book?
Mostly, my experience of being a first-time novelist is that my parents get to explain to their friends that their daughter wrote a book, and that I occasionally get to tell people where my ideas come from, which I mostly do by making up outrageous lies. I really didn't expect much at all, so things like starred reviews and the Morris award nomination have taken me by (delighted) surprise. I don't imagine I have much wisdom to share under those circumstances. Except! I made a resolution at the beginning of my debut year to be grateful to all those who helped me on the journey to publication and to remember that I earned it. That has proved to be a worthwhile resolution - I am, and I did, and so, I imagine, is and has every debut author of this year.
--And finally: How much do you love librarians?
SO MUCH. When I was a kid, my parents were always happy to buy me reasonable numbers of books, but my reading speed went past anything vaguely reasonable when I was about seven. After that, it was off to the library to supplement the pile beside my bed and in my schoolbag. Librarians were responsible for guiding my tastes, expanding my horizons, and ensuring I always had something new to feed my vast appetite for reading.
So now, hearing that librarians like my work, and are guiding a new generation of voracious readers towards it - it would be a dream come true if I'd ever dared to dream it. Instead, I'm just plain delighted.
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Thanks so much, Karen! And best of luck!