An Interview with Kersten Hamilton
Kersten Hamilton was born in High Rolls, New Mexico. From the time she was 6 years old, she knew she wanted to be a writer, a poet in particular. She wanted to make word magic and tuck it inside the covers of a book. During her exciting childhood, she accompanied her parents as they tracked caribou and arctic wolves across their homestead in Alaska, caught tree frogs in the swamps of the Pacific Northwest and chased dust devils and rattlesnakes in the desert of New Mexico. Before settling down to have her own children, she worked as a ranch hand and archeological surveyor among several other jobs. She is the author of 28 books for children and young adults, as well as musicals, poetry, short stories, and articles!
(From Children’s Literature)
Just a short insert from me here, can I please say this is a lovely photo? 🙂 I asked Kersten to send me one she liked and I think she chose extremely well! (Now back to her.)
1) How did you get the idea for Tyger, Tyger?
I like the dark, old tales and heroic themes Celtic mythology. I knew I wanted to work them into novel. But I am one of those writers who cannot really plan a book — I start writing about a character and see where it takes me. Teagan and Finn’s love story surprised me many times!
2) Is this your first Young Adult novel?
Sort of. I did a series of ‘older MG’ for a publishing company called Mission City Press some years ago. The books were based on Millie Keith, a character created by Martha Finely in the 1800’s. They are historical fiction, and although they were sold as MG, Millie is twenty six in the last book!
3) Did you always want to write Fantasy?
Always! But I love writing historical fiction, contemporary fiction and all kinds of nonfiction as well!
4) Where is your favorite place to write?
I have a laptop, so I write everywhere. I write in coffee shops and bookstores where I can eavesdrop on the people at the next table. I write in libraries when I want quiet. I sometimes take the Tram to the top of the Sandia Mountains and sit on a rock to write with the whole world spread out around me. And sometimes, I close myself up in my tiny closet of an office and write for hours on end.
5) Any favorite authors you can’t live without?
George MacDonald falls into that category. And Neil Gaiman. And Ellis Peters. I cried hard when I found out that Ellis Peters was dead, and there would be no more Brother Cadfael books. She had been dead for years, but I was late in finding out about it. And Jane Austen and G.K. Chesterton and Dorothy Sayers and Suzanne Collins and…I could go on forever. I love books, and so I love authors. Lots and lots of authors!
6) What book are you dying to recommend?
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork. I love that book.
7) Do you have a favorite snack while writing?
Salted peanuts in the shell. I like to crush their little bones when I am frustrated with a scene I am writing!
8) What are you working on now? Can you tell us anything about it?
I am finishing the second novel in the Goblin Wars trilogy. It is called In the Forests of the Night, but I can’t say more about it until the galley’s go out next year!
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Thank you so much Kersten for your interview! Your answers were truly heartfelt and I greatly appreciate it!
