Rebecca Upjohn
Author of Lily and the Paper Man (Second Story Press)
Read the review here.
When did you start reading, and what did you like to read as a kid?
I don't remember exactly the age I was when I decoded my first book. I remember being read to by my parents from an early age and they continued to read to my brother and me until long after I began reading on my own. Two books I remember loving were Ferdinand by Munro Leaf about a bull who would rather smell flowers than fight in the bullring, and The Story of Ping about a duck who almost ends up as soup because he doesn't want to be the last bird climbing onto the boat at the end of the day and hides instead. My mother read Babar to us and the grand world he lived in intrigued me. I also loved the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, Little House in the Big Woods, etc. For a long time I wanted to be a pioneer and I learned to spin and weave when I was nine. I read a ton of Enid Blyton's books, The Famous Five, The Adventure Series etc. because I was keen on adventure stories and the kids did interesting things in her books like foil kidnappers and find gold ingots. I liked books with tons of drama. I also loved reading Spiderman in the weekend comics in the newspaper.
When you were growing up did you have books in your home?
I was surrounded by books. I think my parents saved on heating bills because there were so many books-they doubled as insulation. I grew up without a TV. We had one that blew up when I was about three and my parents decided not to replace it fearing watching too much TV might rot our brains or something. But they filled up the time with books and outdoor activities like going on canoe trips and odd pets, like the grackle we had for seven years because it's wing was broken and never healed properly. Also my dad worked as a book manufacturer. My mum studied literature in English, French and Italian. She also translated Tintin and Asterix comics from French and German into English for my brother and me. One granddad collected old rare books and ran a small private press in Toronto and the other grandfather was a publisher. I guess maybe having all those book people around had its affect.
When did you think about becoming a writer? Was there someone who got you interested in writing?
I think I decided I wanted to be a writer when I was about nine or ten and read Emily of New Moon. But I somehow didn't believe I could. I wrote lots of stories and poems but didn't think of doing anything too much with them. Then in high school, I was lucky to have two really fantastic English teachers. One introduced books and poetry and plays that challenged us and the other encouraged writing for the love of it. But still, I didn't think of being a writer with a capital "W" so I went on to become a photographer. Then one day I woke up and thought what am I doing? If I want to write then what's holding me back? So I started again and I haven't stopped since.
How do you write? Do you have a daily routine? What’s good about it? What do you hate about it?
I admit to being flaky with my writing routine. Sometimes days go by and the most I write is the grocery list but always in the back of my mind ideas are bubbling away. And then suddenly they're ready to go onto paper and I'll have days and days of writing. Usually I forget to do things like take a shower at that point and if my family members talk to me at the wrong moment I tend to shout at them. I love the creative process but it's hard to get that perfect, imagined, golden story onto paper so everyone else sees it that way. One day I feel I've done a fantastic job and the next I think it sucks. It makes me feel a bit unbalanced at times. Also those days or weeks that I'm not writing (even though I know ideas are simmering) I get very anxious and irritable. So I love the process and at the same time I wonder why I decided I needed to do this at all.
Any particular story to tell concerning the writing of this book?
It was inspired by my elder son, Harris, who at four was frightened by and then worried about a man we came across sleeping on the sidewalk. He suggested weeks later that we invite all the homeless people in the city to stay in our apartment while we were away. It made me realize that young children are brave and smart and compassionate and can put the rest of us to shame.
What’s some good advice that you’ve received concerning writing? What’s some advice that you could offer young writers?
Author Barbara Greenwood told me it takes a while to find your voice. So writing is one of those things you have to do a lot of. Also every author I've heard talk about writing says READ, READ, READ and then of course, WRITE, WRITE, WRITE. Author Tim Wynne-Jones says read what you want to write. If you want to write adventure stories you've got to read adventure stories. If you want to write about why hair grows in your nose then you have to read that kind of thing. Don't worry about getting published. If you want to write then put words on paper, everything else comes after that.
How did you find the publisher for this book? What has you experience as a publisher been like?
I spent a long time researching publishers. I sent away for publisher's catalogues. I read the books on their lists that I thought might be like mine to see if what I had written might fit. I went to the Canadian Children's Book Centre and asked the librarian for help and she gave me suggestions of which publishers in Canada to look at. Then I picked one (Second Story Press) and submitted the story. They took it :o) They have been fantastic to me. They treat me like gold.
What are you working on at the moment?
Two picture book stories. One mid-grade story and one YA that is in the bubbling stage.
What are you reading?
Diana Wynne Jones's Archer's Goon (I just finished Howl's Moving Castle. I love DWJ!) and The Giant's Toe, a picture book by Brock Cole. I recently finished Angeline by Karleen Bradford and Rebel Angels by Libba Bray. Reading Rocks! I still read with a flashlight if I can't sleep so I don't wake my husband up.
