Kersten Hamilton is the writer of many children and MG books and how she's tried --and succeeded-- with YA as well! Tyger Tyger (her debut YA novel), which I reviewed here (link at the bottom) is coming out in October and it is absolutely fantastic! Like seriously, pre-order it and mark it on your calender! Do something! This is a book to watch out for!<----- There it is! h
Interview:
h1. Welcome to Harmony's Radiant Reads, Kersten! Now, I heard that before you wrote Tyger Tyger, you had written many children and MG books. What made you decide to write some YA?
h
There was a story – the story of Teagan and Finn – that I really, really wanted to tell. And since Teagan was sixteen, and there was a sizzling romance in the midst of the action, it just had to be YA!
h
2. Your childhood was a crazy and exciting one! Caribou, typhoons, and rattlesnakes! How'd that help you grow as a writer?
h
If you want to be a writer, highly recommend having a crazy childhood. It gives you so much grist for the writerly mill. The way the sound of a rattlesnake makes your skin tense in anticipation, the sight of the northern lights undulating over a frozen lake, the carnivorous cow-bone monster in your closet, it’s all research. All of it. The best books aren’t really made out of stacks of words. They are made out of wonderful whirlwinds of life.
h
3. I dont' think I ever wanna hear a rattlesnake! Tyger Tyger combines a lot of Irish myths and Celtic lore. Did you always have an interest in it and how much did you research for it?
h
My own roots are Celtic. I have always been so drawn to the folklore, spirituality and music of the Celts that I wonder if there isn’t some truth to the theory of racial memory. I did spend a lot of time researching both before and while I was writing Tyger Tyger.
h
4.Tyger Tyger is so full of wonderful world-building! Did you create the world already in your head or did you make it as you went along?
I made it up as I went along. For me, world-building involves characters interacting with their environment. We experience our environment through friends, technology, history, science, art, music — all of these helps us connect to and make sense of the world around us. I try to let my readers experience the worlds of my books in the same way.
5. And of course, I have to ask about Finn. He was a breath of fresh air. I loved him so much. He was gorgeous but gallant and protected Aiden and Teagen at all costs. Do any of your characters remind you of real people in your life? Family members, friends?
I can’t conjure characters from thin air. I use stolen slivers of real people to animate my characters. Finn is very like my husband Mark. He’s my hero. J But I could never write someone who was exactly like Mark, because Mark is real, and real people are infinitely complex. The more you know about them, the more there is to know. Finn has bits and pieces of other people in him as well. In fact, I use bits and pieces of different people in every character I create.
A tiny bit of me creeps into most characters as well. Two of the characters in Tyger Tyger (I won’t tell you which ones. I’ll let you guess!) are very, very like me.
6. Finally, I heard about your love of rhyme. How about one before you go?
Oh, my! People should never, ever ask me to rhyme!
The Polar Bear
By Kersten Hamilton
A polar bear’s
a solar bear.
He soaks up sunlight
with his hair*.
It warms his hide
From tail to snout —
and keeps the arctic
shivers out!
h
* Polar bears have specially adapted hollow hair. It absorbs energy from the sun, and transfers it to the bears skin to help him keep warm.
h
Thanks for interviewing me, Harmony!
h
My own roots are Celtic. I have always been so drawn to the folklore, spirituality and music of the Celts that I wonder if there isn’t some truth to the theory of racial memory. I did spend a lot of time researching both before and while I was writing Tyger Tyger.
h
4.Tyger Tyger is so full of wonderful world-building! Did you create the world already in your head or did you make it as you went along?
I made it up as I went along. For me, world-building involves characters interacting with their environment. We experience our environment through friends, technology, history, science, art, music — all of these helps us connect to and make sense of the world around us. I try to let my readers experience the worlds of my books in the same way.
5. And of course, I have to ask about Finn. He was a breath of fresh air. I loved him so much. He was gorgeous but gallant and protected Aiden and Teagen at all costs. Do any of your characters remind you of real people in your life? Family members, friends?
I can’t conjure characters from thin air. I use stolen slivers of real people to animate my characters. Finn is very like my husband Mark. He’s my hero. J But I could never write someone who was exactly like Mark, because Mark is real, and real people are infinitely complex. The more you know about them, the more there is to know. Finn has bits and pieces of other people in him as well. In fact, I use bits and pieces of different people in every character I create.
A tiny bit of me creeps into most characters as well. Two of the characters in Tyger Tyger (I won’t tell you which ones. I’ll let you guess!) are very, very like me.
6. Finally, I heard about your love of rhyme. How about one before you go?
Oh, my! People should never, ever ask me to rhyme!
The Polar Bear
By Kersten Hamilton
A polar bear’s
a solar bear.
He soaks up sunlight
with his hair*.
It warms his hide
From tail to snout —
and keeps the arctic
shivers out!
h
* Polar bears have specially adapted hollow hair. It absorbs energy from the sun, and transfers it to the bears skin to help him keep warm.
h
Thanks for interviewing me, Harmony!
link to review: http://harmonyradiantreads.blogspot.com/2010/05/day-in-which-i-sing-tyger-tyger.html
h
Well I hope everyone enjoyed that because I loved interviewing Kersten!
Comment! Discuss! Happy Reading!
-Harmony B.
h
Well I hope everyone enjoyed that because I loved interviewing Kersten!
Comment! Discuss! Happy Reading!
-Harmony B.
