INTERVIEW WITH ADRIENNE KRESS...

[image via Tim Leyes]

You're so young - how did you get started writing your upcoming childrens book?

Well I've been writing stories and stuff from a young age, and in university I got really into playwrighting.  But what happened with Alex was as close to an accident as is possible in the writing world.  That is to say, you can't just walk down the street and suddenly find you have a completed novel in your hands, but still . . .Alex was a total surprise. 

I am a big fan of children's literature.  I've been reading it my whole life, heck even in my last year of highschool I wrote a thesis comparing Alice in Wonderland to Peter Pan.  I am a massive Harry Potterphile, love A Series of Unfortunate Events etc.  But I had never really considered writing a children's novel before.  I was much more focussed on writing plays, and always had some detective mystery in the works on my computer. 

Then I went to the country one weekend and was going for a walk and I suddenly thought to myself, "I bet I could write a children's book."  Not because it was easy, but because I already was a writer and I knew that genre so well.  So I started writing a children's novel.  I put in everything I like, pirates, art deco party trains caught in time loops, those sorts of things.  I had never had any intention of publishing it, but as the months passed I realised that I hadn't given up on the story yet.  I'd never finished a novel before this one you see.  I kept writing and writing, worked through the tough bits, and then one day I was like, "Well I wonder how one goes about getting published." 

I'm an actor as well, so I am used to the concept of agents, and more importantly, of rejection.  And I didn't consider it would be that much of a risk looking into a literary agent.   Worst thing they could do was say no.  So I did a fair amount of research, perfected my submission packages and sent them off.  Then things just sort of steamrolled.  I got an agent very quickly (and after all the effort that went into getting an acting agent, I was shocked at just how quickly - it is definitely not an easy thing to get an agent of any kind), and then a contract with Scholastic followed on just as fast. 

I was very lucky.  And sometimes I still can't get over that all this has happened to me.

What has some of the feedback been already?

The feedback has been amazing.  I've been getting really terrific reviews.  My very first "review" I suppose was the blurb that the internationally bestselling author Eoin Colfer (the Artemis Fowl series) gave me.  "Blurbs" are those quotes publishers put on the covers of books.  It was a huge honour to have him blurb my book.

Also I've been hearing from a lot of kids and that is just the coolest.  They really seem to like Alex, and that's what matters most of course, seeing as they kind of are the audience I was going for (and also because kids aren't shy in telling you if they don't like something).

Not everyone of course loves it, one blogger mentioned they wanted to hit me over the head with a flower pot, which I took to mean they didn't quite enjoy the novel.  But you can't please everyone (okay it is a lot easier to say considering that the general response has been really positive, lol!) and if you try to please everyone, I think you can wind up taking fewer risks in your work, and where's the fun in that? 

My favourite thing about the reviews I have been reading is that everyone cites different favourite passages.  I don't think a single passage of my book has been quoted twice, and I just love that!  It shows, I think, that there is a consistency to the work, that it is entertaining throughout.  Or at least, that's what I like to tell myself!

Tell me a little about what the new book is about...

Alex and the Ironic Gentleman is about a ten and a half year old girl, Alex, and her adventure to rescue her grade six teacher, Mr. Underwood, from pirates.  That's sort of it in a nutshell, but it's also a bit of a modern Alice in Wonderland in that she meets some interesting characters on her journey, and finds herself in strange situations (like on a train stuck in a time loop and in a hotel in the middle of nowhere).  It's also an hommage to the children's book authors I've always loved, Roald Dahl, Lewis Carrol, J M Barrie, AA Milne etc.  But the voice is pretty original and that's the hardest thing to describe.  It's definitely the one element that gets mentioned most in reviews. 

Whatever, forget all that stuff. . . it's about pirates, and pirates rock.

How long did it take to write?

Alex took just under a year to write.  But I wasn't doing it full time.  I started it in February of 2005, and then in the summer I was in the middle of doing a play, so I basically just stopped writing for that time period.  Then I sent out my submission of the first three chapters to agents in January of 2006, having not yet completed the manuscript but under the impression it would take at least 4 - 6 weeks for the agents to get back to me (thought it would be a good incentive to finish the book).

The next day an agent called for the full thing. So I finished the last 30 000 words or so in three days. I like to say it took me eleven months and three days to complete.

Is it hard for a Canadian to get global attention for one of their novels or to break into the book scene?

I'm not really the right person to answer this question as my situation was rather unique.  I was living in London England at the time of writing the novel, and so I submitted to UK agents.  Alex was first sold to Scholastic UK (which also included the commonwealth and so Canada).  Then my agent sold the book to several countries in Europe.  In the fall of 2006 the Americans (Weinstein Books - formerly Miramax) bought the American rights.  I actually didn't meet or talk with my Canadian editor until after I moved back home to Toronto.  So my book was already international before it came out in Canada. 

I have also been very lucky, as a first time author, to get the sort of support I have been having.  Scholastic Canada had me featured as one of their fall titles to watch out for, and got me television interviews as well as ad placements in various newspapers.  Weinstein Books in the states has sent me on tour, placed ads on the radio and in the New York Times Book Review.  I was also sent on a tour in the UK.  This is not always the norm, I can tell you, for a first time author.  I've been very fortunate.

I'd have to say that getting attention for one's book and breaking into the book scene is, in general, rather difficult, and not just the providence of Canada alone.  I have been very lucky, ridiculously lucky, in my publication story.  Most people spend years just trying to land an agent.  I have a good friend, Lesley Livingston, who, after a decade of trying, has just now landed a two book deal with Harper Collins.  The key thing is to never give up.  Not if it's your passion.  No one said it was going to be easy, but if you love it, and want it, you can do it.

What are your plans & goals for the future?

Hazy at best.  Well that's not entirely true.  I definitely plan to keep writing, I enjoy it, why would I stop (the sequel to Alex - Timothy and the Dragon's Gate - comes out August 2008 in USA)?  And I continue to pursue my acting career as well.  I've never really been the sort of person who had a ten year plan or anything, never thought I should be at a certain point in my life by the time I was thirty or whatever.  Right now, as long as I am pursuing my passion I'm happy.  I hope for great things, but I'm going to live in the moment. 

(though I really think it would be cool to be in a Peter Jackson movie)

Where can people get a hold of your new book?

Oh it's pretty easy.  It's at Indigo/Chapters across Canada, and at Barnes and Noble and Borders in the States.  If all else fails, it's listed on Amazon.com (amazon.ca as well).

Is being a busy writer getting in the way of your love life?

You know, that's the most perfect excuse!  Thank you! 

Yes, yes it is.

If you could date one celebrity who would it be?

Only one?  Well, I'm newly crushed on James McAvoy who was just nominated for a Golden Globe for his amazing performance in Atonement.  The teeny bopper in me loves Ben Mackenzie from the OC (yes, I was so into the OC when it first aired!).  And Hugh Jackman is just . . . perfect. 

But my ideal male celebrity would have to be Kermit the Frog.  Wait!  Let me explain.  He's sensitive, creative, confident and vulnerable, very talented and funny, but still the man (or, I guess, frog) in charge.  He also has ambition and goals, which are very important.  And he has his own theatre, and I'd love to meet a man with his own theatre.

Explain to me (in writers detail) your ideal guy...

Well aside from those attributes perfectly demonstrated by Kermit . . . nope, basically those attributes perfectly demonstrated by Kermit.

Check out her website @ www.adriennekress.com