Sue Lawson Interview

having read the review of Sue Lawson's latest novel Pan's Whisper you people are lucky enough to get an interview with her! any of you who've read my other Sue Lawson Reviews will know just how excited i was to have this oppurtunity.

Hi Sue, welcome to Cherry Banana Split. Make yourself at home. I really loved Pan’s Whisper, as well as all your other books.
Thank you so much for answering me questions: D

Thanks Anna. I’m so glad you enjoyed Pan’s story, and it is lovely to drop in on Cherry Banana Split.

The thing I love most about your books is the characters. They’re so realistic. How do you develop or get to know your characters?

Thank you. I’m thrilled you enjoy the characters. They become like real people for me, which I guess makes me rather strange. I spend most of my planning-time working on characters, creating collages and profiles, so I understand not only who these characters are, but what their motivations are.
I don’t use most of the stuff I gather about my characters, but nothing is wasted. Every detail makes the character more rounded and real for me.

You seem to love dramatic endings; they work really well for you. You build tension to have things ‘explode’ at the right moment, and then reveal everything.
Is there a reason you like this technique or does it just work well for you?
Yeah, I guess I am a bit of a drama queen when it comes to endings. I’m glad they are working for you. I must admit, I like to have an idea – a very rough idea – of how the story will end before I start writing. That way it helps me trickle out information to the end, so the ‘explosions’ aren’t deliberate, but just how my books pan out.

It is hard not to use the ‘dramatic event’ as a cop out to solve the problems or as an excuse for character development?
I guess by knowing where I am headed, I avoid the cop out situation. The development occurs along the way, rather than in that dramatic moment. I think my characters, like Pan, cope with the event because they have grown and changed through the course of the book.

Memories are really important in Pan’s Whisper. Could you have told Pan’s story without using Pan and Morgan’s memories as a story telling device?
I don’t think so. Morgan is as important as Pan, and gives us a much better understanding of Kylie’s character and her issues and so why Pan is as angry and mixed up as she is. Having access to Morgan’s memories as well as Pan’s helps the reader build a more rounded understanding of Pan and of the truth.

I love Hunter and Pan’s friendship, can you tell me a bit more about that?
I’m so glad you enjoyed Hunter and Pan – I love Hunter ( not in an old lady pervy way!) He was initially a bit character, but I realised his experience was integral to Pan facing her truth. His friendship, despite Pan’s efforts to chase him away, sparks the biggest leap of faith for her.
I’ve noticed in life people who have been through trauma and tragedy, even if the events are markedly different, often gravitate and have an intrinsic mutual understanding of each other’s situation. They ‘get’ each other’s situation without having to explain, which is why I decided Hunter could recognize pain and loss in Pan.

Do you use music when you write?
It varies. When I am editing I tend to prefer silence, but when I am writing, I usually have a CD playing, but never one I know really well. (Otherwise I’d become distracted and sing – no Powderfinger, Whitlams, The Police, Queen, or Midnight Oil when I write!) While writing Pan, I listened to ABC Digital radio station, Dig Music, relaxation CDs, the soundtrack from the movie Mongol (LOVE that soundtrack – very intense and emotional!), Pete Murray, and South African street music.

If you could befriend one of your characters who would it be and why? What would you like to do or talk about?
I guess I already have befriended them all. While I am writing and editing, I’m ‘talking’ to them the whole time, about how they would react in certain situations, what cards/clothes/stuff they would buy in shops etc.
I sound crazy I know, but the more I do this, the better I know them and the ‘easier’ it is to write about them and understand their situations. I actually miss my characters when I finish writing!

What’s your favourite Australian kids or YA book?
That is a REALLY tough one. Can I pick more than one? Please??
In no particular order…
Jackie French’s A Rose for the Anzacs, Julia Lawrinson’s Bye Beautiful, David Metzenthen’s Black Water ( And Jarvis 24 and Tiff and The Trout – in fact anything by David.) Cath Crowley’s Graffiti Moon and Karen Tayleur’s Six.
OOOH! most of those are my favourites too.

Thank you so much for having me Anna and for the sensational questions. What a great way to finish off a rewarding and fun blog tour!

thank you Sue for an amazing interview :D

Interview With Jaclyn Moriarty!!!

I'm so sorry we haven't been posting, but guess what!!!!!!!!!!! We have our very first interview with the amazing author Jaclyn Moriarty!!! She wrote lots of awesome books, including Feeling Sorry For Celia (reviewed here) and Finding Cassie Crazy (here). So, without further ado, here it is! (The questions in pink are by me, and Anna's are blue!)

What character from your books would you like to write letters to most and why?

- Actually, I'd like to start a correspondence with Mr Garcia, the History/Drama teacher from 'Dreaming of Amelia'. I've got a crush on him. I'd like to hear from Lydia too, but I think she might get sharp with me.

If you could, which of your books would you transform into? And what would you tell the characters?

- Maybe 'the Spell Book of Listen Taylor', in the part where there's snow in Sydney. And I would tell the characters how unhappy and lonely Listen is, and that they should rescue her, and also that the grown-ups should all grow up and stop cheating on each other. Also, I might steal the book of spells and bring it back to the real world with me.

Or else 'Dreaming of Amelia', I guess, so I could follow up on my correspondence with Mr Garcia. Maybe go get a coffee with him.


Have you ever wished you could turn your books into movies? Which one, and who would play the main character(s)?

- Just about every day I wish that someone would turn my books into movies. I would be happy to see them all as movies, but especially 'Finding Cassie Crazy' and 'Dreaming of Amelia'. I like Ellen Page and Michael Cera a lot; they are both very welcome to be in the movie. Actually, I'd also like to see 'The Spell Book of Listen Taylor' as a movie, and I'd like Joan Cusack in it, as Fancy Zing, and Jennifer Anniston as Marbie Zing, and Dakota Fanning as Listen, and Johnny Depp as Nikolai Valerio.


I thought "Dreaming of Amelia" had a much darker tone than the other Ashbury books, why so?

- I think that each Ashbury book gets a little darker than the one before, so it made sense for the final one to be the darkest. There are gothic elements in 'Finding Cassie Crazy' and 'Bindy Mackenzie' and I wanted to draw them out for the ghost story. I think it's important to look at the shadows as well as the light, and to keep changing the perspective all the time. I hope it is not too dark though, I wanted it to be funny and bright as well, and I think that the ending is bright and hopeful.

Is there a reason your books are written in a varying, scrapbook type style of letters, post-its and school assignments? what made you show Elizabeth's lack of confidence through letters from herself?

- I like to approach a story from as many different angles as possible, so that the truth is always slipping out of reach. I think that a collection of different genres takes us closer to shifting perspectives, and I'm especially drawn to the mystery of the spaces in between documents. The idea of showing Elizabeth's lack of confidence through letters to herself came directly from one of my teenage diaries-- I was re-reading it and saw that I had written whole passages in the second person, saying things to myself like 'You are such a loser!' and 'You are so ugly!'. It was as if somebody else was attacking me, and it made me think about how powerful the critical voices in your own head can be. They're right there so you believe them.


What was your favourite Australian book when you were younger. if you can't think of one,
what was your favourite book as a teenager?

My favourite Australian books were 'Seven Little Australians' by Ethel Turner, and 'Playing Beatie Bow' by Ruth Park; and then I fell in love with everything that John Marsden has written.