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This month The Edge of the Forest talks with children's author
Patricia Malone about her writer's life.
The Edge of the Forest: First of all, Patricia, thanks for agreeing to talk with
The Edge of the Forest for our A Day in the Life series. To begin with,
please tell us what type of writing you do, and how long you've been doing it
Patricia: My books, The Legend of Lady Ilena and Lady Ilena: Way of the Warrior, are both
historical fiction for Young Adults. I began my first YA book about 30 years ago. My publisher lists the books as 12 and
up, but I have adult fans and many readers who are younger than 12.
The Edge of the Forest: What attracted you to children's literature and writing for children?
Patricia: Stories for people in their early teens are the kind of stories I like to read—a strong plot, an
appealing character, and usually an interesting setting. I taught students that age for most of my career as an educator
and thoroughly enjoyed sharing literature with them. I attempted to write adult short stories, literary pieces,
and—briefly—some genre fiction before realizing that YA was what I read, love, and want to write.
I don’t think of myself as a children’s writer particularly, since my education as a writer has been—and continues
to be—in the area of adult fiction. Writing for young children takes special abilities that I lack. Picture books
especially confound and amaze me. I love them but haven’t the first notion how to go about one.
The Edge of the Forest: Tell us about a typical writing day. When do you write? Where do your write? And why?
Patricia: I write early in the morning—sometimes in the middle of the night. I’m not as disciplined as some
writers when I’m between books, but once I have a plot roughed out, I write for several hours a day until it’s finished. And
finished means countless revisions of course.
I wrote The Legend of Lady Ilena and another book by writing from 5 AM to 7 AM before I went to school, and then
revising and doing research in the evenings. Now I have the luxury of entire days to devote to writing, and I tend to sneak
in a few too many games of solitaire.
I write in my office which is just off of the living room. My desk is right beside large glass doors that lead onto a
balcony. I need to see out a window when I write—preferably into trees or a garden.
One of my favorite spots to write is in a condo at the beach in Florida. I sit at a table looking out over Santa Rosa
Sound and write all morning before joining my family on the beach.
The Edge of the Forest: Some writers prefer penning their stories in a busy café. The places you’ve described are
quite the opposite.
Patricia: I need a certain level of peace and quiet to write. I can come up with ideas in a busy place, but actually
choosing and putting down the words requires concentration that I only have when I’m alone.
The Edge of the Forest: Some writers work in long hand. Others write on a laptop. How do you work? How does
this technique inform your creative process?
Patricia: I always write on a computer. Before I had a computer, I had an electric typewriter and before that a
portable Royal typewriter. I’ve always used a keyboard and love my computer. It’s hard to get stuff down as fast as the
ideas come sometimes, and my handwriting gets illegible pretty fast. Of course the amazing features of a computer—erasing,
replacing, moving text, finding/replacing a word, saving, printing—make editing and revising a lot easier.
I have an ideal setup now. I have a wonderful little laptop with lots of power, space, and features. I’ve attached a nice
big monitor and a comfortable large keyboard and mouse. I can carry the laptop around whenever I want to but have the
advantages of a large desk top machine for most of my writing.
The Edge of the Forest: Some writers write for very personal reasons, using their art to help make sense of the
world. Others feel the need to share their joy of language with young readers. Still other write because their characters
won’t leave them be until they put pen to paper. Why do you write?
Patricia: All of the above. I’ve always made up stories to work through life issues—How brave am I? Do loyalty
and courage really pay off? What would it feel like to face death? Stories are what make us human.
I also love language. I’ll search a long time for the exact word and will even change an entire scene if I can’t get the
right words to describe it exactly the first time around.
As for characters nagging to get their stories down, mine wake me up in the middle of the night with thoughts that have
to be written down at once. I’m amazed at where my characters lead me, and I go through a real grief process when I
finish—or put away—a book.
The Edge of the Forest: Writers find inspiration in many places. Who or what inspires you?
Patricia: History, myth, folk tales, religion, people I’ve known. I love the old stories because they are
eternal—we are still wrestling with love, fear, danger, evil, loyalty, courage, family issues, politics, immigration,
sex scandals, when to go to war, and so on.
When I read the stories of Arthur or other ancient heroes, I want to know what really happened. I like to take what we
know of history, the old stories themselves, and archeological evidence of the era to develop a story that might really have
happened.
One of my best sources of inspiration is to walk around the sites where my books are set. When I stand in the remains of an
ancient Celtic hillfort in Britain, I can almost see and hear the warriors gathering to defend their families. When I
wander around the stones that still mark the homes and farms, I can almost smell the cooking fires and the stables and pens
for the animals. I like to close my eyes and imagine what it would be like to be on watch at night and see the enemy camps
in the distance.
Of course I’m inspired by other writers too. I’ve had some great teachers, and I learn something from almost every book I
read.
The Edge of the Forest: Writing can be a lonely and isolating avocation. Where do you find the support you need to
survive the process?
Patricia: Visiting schools is truly inspiring. The enthusiasm students show for my books and their interest in my
writing process energize me. My family is very supportive, and they are my first readers. A friend who is an artist is a
big help; we’ve been amazed to realize how much alike our creative processes are. SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers
and Illustrators) members provide a network that keeps us from feeling alone.
The Edge of the Forest: Tell us about your favorite growing up book.
Patricia: I remember The Three Musketeers, by Alexander Dumas. I must have read each book in that series a
dozen times each. We couldn’t afford books when I was a child, nor was there any place to buy them. It was a long drive to
the nearest library so I had to make each book last in my mind until we could go back again. I remember making up
additional scenes to continue the plots in my head.
My grandparents had kept all of my mother’s and aunt’s books, and I spent a lot of time at their house in a large leather
rocking chair, for some reason with my head down and my feet up over the back, reading my way through ancient stuff like
Zane Gray’s westerns and the Tarzan books.
Movies weren’t much more sophisticated. I was allowed to go to “the show” alone or with friends on Saturday night. There
was always a western—I still can’t figure out how Gene Autry could ride a horse, play a guitar, and sing all at the
same time—with, of course, his six shooter near at hand. I also admired the way a hero would escape by leaping out a
second story window and landing on his horse’s back—headed the right way no less.
The Edge of the Forest: What's your current read, and what’s on your to-read list? And since Halloween is approaching,
do you have any favorite ghost stories to recommend?
Patricia: Such a difficult question! I have books going in several areas all the time. For Adult Fiction I just
finished The Hummingbird’s Daughter, by Luis Alberto Urea, and Suite Francaise, by Irene Nemirovsky. In
children’s literature, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, by Kate Dicamillo, and Avi’s Crispin at the
Edge of the World. All of those are excellent. My myths and legends pile includes Priestesses, by Norma Lorre
Goodrich, which I’m reading as of last night. Ms. Goodrich is a tremendous writer and researcher. Her books on Arthurian
matters have been a great help to me in my own writing.
As for a to-read list, those spill out of my purse and pockets; it’s a constant battle to even keep track of the lists I
make, let alone actually acquire and read the books. For adult fiction, I’ve realized that I haven’t read anything on the
National Book Award or Booker shortlists. And I’ve probably entirely missed some other important lists and don’t know I’m
behind on them. I’ll try to catch up or at least get the winners.
In children’s literature, I have a list of 16 must reads here on my desk at the moment. I also spend an hour or so browsing
the YA section of the public library at least once a month. (It’s a healthy walk to the library from my condo and an even
healthier walk back with a couple of bags of books.)
I read a lot of poetry and have Dave Etter in my radar at present. Somehow I’ve missed his work and look forward to getting
some of his books. (Anderson’s Bookshop is also a healthy walk from my condo.)
As for ghost stories, I prefer them told rather than on the page. I do read and reread some folk tales from Scotland and
Ireland that certainly work as ghost stories.
The Edge of the Forest: Time to role play. You're sent to a remote island for a year, and allowed to take one book.
What would you take and why?
Patricia: There ought to be a law against asking a writer/reader that question. The mere thought of such
deprivation sends me into mind-churning spasms of possible choices. I think that for most of us the obvious answer is the
central book of our own religion. Certainly the Bible for me would be important. Besides its religious meaning, it includes
more history, poetry, literature, and practical advice than anything else I know of.
However I cannot live without the Oxford English Dictionary. I can get by with the “shorter” version which is only two
huge (2000 or so pages each) volumes. But if I ever get rich enough to actually own the real one—twenty volumes, though I
believe it will be more in the next edition—it will have to go wherever I go.
And of course I’d smuggle my Oxford The Complete Works by William Shakespeare in my luggage somewhere. Could you
give me a GPS for the island? I’ll contact FedEx at once.
If I ever get down to fiction, I’d want The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and The Complete Tales of
Winnie the Pooh and Wind in the Willows.
The Edge of the Forest: Do you have a favorite quote that inspires you?
Patricia: "There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are."—W. Somerset
Maugham
The Edge of the Forest: What advice do you have for aspiring writers?
Patricia: Read. Write. Read like a writer. Write like a reader.
The Edge of the Forest: Can you tell us about your most current project?
Patricia: I have, as usual, more than one current project. I’m wandering around in a third Ilena book; yes she
will find happiness, love, and honor. I’m also working on a novel about a young woman in the Bronze Age who defies the
authorities to save her little brother. And I’m thinking about a story set in the Midwest in the thirties. And then there
are the two books that I revisit from time to time in hope of finding just the special bit that they need to come alive.
The Edge of the Forest: Anything else you want to add?
Patricia: Thank you for interviewing me. The process always produces much useful soul searching.
Patricia Malone is the author of:
Lady Ilena: Way of the Warrior, Delacorte, 2005. ISBN: 0-3857-3225-2.
The Legend of Lady Ilena, Delacorte, 2002. ISBN: 0-3857-2915-4. (Paperback edition: Laurel
Leaf, 2003. ISBN: 0-4402-2909-X.)
To learn more about Patricia, her books, and creative process, visit her website at:
www.patriciamalone.com
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