Author of The Boy from the Snow and The Veiled Wolf Maria Johnson has taken a seat on the sofa and shared some insights.
When did you first
realise you wanted to be a writer?
I honestly can’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing – I
think I was scribbling down stories from when I was very young. I remember in
primary school an author came to visit. After a quick Google, I’ve realised it
was a children’s book called ‘Come Back Hercules’ written by Rob Lewis and
published in 1998. Sadly today it’s out of print, but I still remember thinking
how cool it was to be the one who wrote the stories. Perhaps the seed of
becoming an author was planted then!
Then, in Year 9 English, at the school year my teacher set
us homework at the beginning of the year, asking us questions about ourselves
and what we might want to do after school. I think I must’ve been particularly
brave that year, because I wrote I wanted to be an author and shyly admitted to
a short story I’d written.
Then, when I got the homework back, it was covered with a
big sticky note with a smiley face on it. She wrote comments on it, telling me
how interested she was that I’d written a story and told me to pursue my love
of writing. I’ve never forgotten her encouraging smiley notes.
What do you like to do when you're not writing?
As well as my love for writing, I enjoy swimming, walking, spending time with friends and a good cup of coffee. I’m also a Christian and a minister’s wife, so I love being involved with my local church family and with wider Christian organisations.
What was your favourite book as a child?
I’ve had a few favourite books over the years! I loved ‘Black Beauty’ by Anne Sewell, ‘The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett’ and ‘Treasures of the Snow’ by Patricia St.John
What was the first book that made you cry?
Good question- probably Black Beauty. I loved Black Beauty as a child and the author, Anne Sewell, writes so well that you are really gripped by Black Beauty’s journey and really connect with his emotions. There’s a couple of really dark, sad moments in the book that are so well written, with such honesty and pain, that I couldn’t help but cry along with him.
What was your
inspiration for ‘The Boy from the Snow’?
I’ve had the main character of ‘The Boy from the Snow’ since
I was a child. When I was about 7, my brother got Lego. He would be off
building amazing structures, but I was more fascinated with the Lego
characters, particularly a soldier character. I used to take the yellow Lego
characters to my room and make up stories with them. That’s where my main
character, Daniel was born and the main plot idea for him, as well as the
characters King Cedric and Princess Evelyn, who also feature heavily in the
book.
How long did it take
you to write it?
Writing ‘The Boy from the Snow’ was a gradual process that
took quite a while. First of all it was in my teens, when I realised the story
I’d made up when I was 7 with those Lego characters had not really left me. I
started writing about him in my late teens and again in my early twenties- this
was a very old first draft, simply called ‘Daniel’ and it didn’t have the
Celtic historical context that would develop later.
It was when my husband and I went to Oak Hill College in
London, where my husband studied for ministry, that I realised again, Daniel
and his story had never really left me. It was also the first time in a few
years I had a bit more free time to write, as I’d decided to get involved with
college life rather than work full time. During my first year at college I set
about rewriting it and did some research to place him in the Celtic period,
before finally submitting it in August 2016.
What was one of the
most surprising things you learned while you were writing The Boy from the
Snow?
I’m not sure how much this surprised me per se, but I really
loved doing the historical research for ‘The Boy from the Snow’. After deciding
that post-Roman Celtic Britain fit Daniel the best (there was a lot of rival
kingdoms and warring kings during this time, which was an important aspect of
the book), I really enjoyed the process of setting Daniel in this wider world.
Although the Kingdoms of Gaeson and Klumeck mentioned in the book are
fictional, the wider kingdom of Rheged (a Celtic kingdom spreading across
Cumbria and parts of Cheshire and Lancashire) really existed.
Some people might find the word ‘research’ boring, but for
me it was anything but – rather, every fact I read added that bit more colour
and detail to Daniel’s world. I particularly enjoyed the aspect of Daniel
interacting with kings and historical figures that really existed, for example
King Urien who was perhaps the most famous King over all Rheged.
How many hours a day
do you write?
Since moving to Cheshire, I’ve decided to write as my main
job – I’m so humbled and privileged that I get to do what I love and especially
that I have such a wonderful husband who is in complete support of me writing
rather than looking for other paid work and squeezing writing into my evenings
or weekends.
In a typical day, I can write between 4-6 hours, usually a
block in the morning and a block in the afternoon. This can vary, as I’m also
involved with other church activities during the week.
Do you hide any
secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
My book does have a few spoilers, but these are all
particularly obvious! There aren’t really any secrets I can think of that then
aren’t revealed in the book, however there are some plot threads I haven’t
resolved because they then are picked up in my next novel, ‘The Veiled Wolf,’
the sequel- out 30th May.
Do you believe in
writer’s block?
Interesting question! Yes, I believe it can happen, that
words can sometimes struggle to flow. If it happens to me, it’s quite niggly
stuff, like how to get from the start of a scene to an end of a scene.
What did take me a while though was trying to finish my
third novel (I finished the first draft about six weeks ago). I had gotten to
the point where I had written all the scenes, but there were over 20
highlighted sections where I’d said ‘link to next scene’ ‘expand this bit’ ‘finish
chapter’ etc. It took quite a while to finish those bits, to ‘connect the dots’
as it were, without writing ‘the next day…’ repeatedly. I eventually got there,
though. I’m now currently letting my first novel sit a bit (I’ve been editing a
young adult fantasy novel, called ‘Lottie’s Locket’, that I’ve been working on
in the meantime), but I’m looking forward starting to edit the third novel
soon.
Twitter- @MariaJauthor
And don't forget to read her books:
No comments:
Post a Comment