An Interview with Kate Gordon

It is with great excitement I welcome you, dear reader, to the #JunoJonesWordNinja #blogtour! I had so much fun interviewing Kate. So strap yourself in for a great read. 

​Prior to becoming a writer, you worked as a children’s librarian and bookseller. Have you always written? Or did being surrounded by books all the time rub off on you?
Well, the answer to both of those questions is yes! My dad was a school librarian and I grew up in his library, in the back corner, on a bean-bag, with piles of books around me. And my house was very much a bookish one. Reading and writing stories was just … always a part of life. My dad writes, too, and wrote me stories and it just felt like … a thing people did? I never saw it as a viable career, though, so I did all the other bookish things I could think of, instead. When I actually became a professional writer, it was a complete (magical) accident.
 
Can you elaborate? How did this complete magical accident come about? 
I began a role as a school librarian and was encouraged to do a university course in literary studies, so I could specialise. One of the units was creative writing. The task was to write a short story, but I have always been terrible at writing short stories and two thousand words ballooned into fifty thousand. My lovely lecturer, thankfully, did not fail me and, instead, strongly encouraged me to apply for a Varuna fellowship, which I was lucky enough to be awarded. On the back of that, my first agent, Nan Halliday, took me on. She sent the story to Allen and Unwin, who didn't want to publish it but were looking for an author for the final book in their Girlfriend Fiction series. They asked me to have a go at writing one. They liked what I wrote and ... it just kept going from there! Ten years on (minus a gap of four and a half years while I was focussed on my young child), I'm still doing it! 

You’ve written five young adult novels. What drew you to write for a younger audience?
I have always wanted to write for younger kids but never quite found a way to do it – it’s much trickier than you might think (not that being a YA writer isn’t!). I still feel deeply connected to my inner kid (a blessing and a curse). It was having my daughter that finally made me work hard on writing for a younger audience – I wanted to write books that she could read NOW, instead of in five or ten years. It’s been lovely seeing her excitement at reading the books and sharing them with her friends. There’s no book fan like a six-year-old book fan!
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Can you tell me how Juno Jones Word Ninja came about? What inspired you to tell this particular story?
I always start with a character, and usually they pop into my head completely unbidden. I’m not one of those “woo” writers who believes I’m not in control of my story, but I do often get “visited” by characters who want me to write about them. The imagination is an incredible thing! Juno was one of those characters. She’s a bit of a combination of me as a kid (and the kid I wished I was) and my little brother, Richard, to whom this book is dedicated. He was the kid who was obsessed with ninja turtles and all the active things and thought reading was boring, until he discovered books like Animorphs and Goosebumps that sparked a life-long love of books. I hope that Juno Jones does for a kid what those books did for my brother!

How important is it to have humour in children’s books?
Well, it depends! It’s important in books that are meant to be funny! I love a funny book for kids – as does my daughter – but I also adore books that are serious and moving. There’s a place for every book and the right book will connect with the right kid at the right time. Sometimes, when I was a young reader, I really needed to read a book that was sad and deep and let me connect with deep emotions inside of me. Those books are hugely important. And sometimes you just need a laugh and an escape!
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Do you have any advice on writing humour and non-boring stories?
Golly, I wish I did! I was lucky that Juno just came out as a bit of a funny character. She has no filter and I think that can be hilarious. I have tried to write “funny” books and they’ve been terrible. I don’t think the other books I’m working on are funny at all. Juno just came out that way!

Does Juno, or any of her friends get scared in the book? If so, what do they do to overcome it?
Juno is pretty fearless, which is the “kid I wish I was” part of the story! Some of the other characters do experience a great deal of fear and anxiety, in particular Shy Vi. And it’s in Juno’s interactions with these characters that I think show that she is not all bravado and boldness. She is enormously empathetic and kind, when it comes to her friends, and this is my favourite aspect of her character. Shy Vi is able to cope with the help of her friends. Paloma also struggles with anxiety, and does not have the support of close friends to help her – at least in this book. I’m hopeful things will change for her in future books!

What’s next for Juno?
Juno has two more adventures forthcoming, full of mystery and intrigue and problems for her to solve. And the Alien Lizard men are always hovering in the background, threatening to destroy her school!

What else are you working on?
I have a few middle grade books in the works – aimed at a slightly older audience than Juno Jones (my daughter is growing up so quickly!). One is a contemporary middle grade, one is a magical school fantasy, and the other one – which I have been working on since my daughter was a baby! – is a book about a family of wicked sisters living in Tasmania during the first world war. And of course, there are more Juno books coming up, which is beyond exciting!

Three fun facts about Kate:

1. I have many obsessions, including Harry Potter, Game of Thrones and a singer from the United States, called Josh Ritter. I could talk for days on any of these topics. Go on. Try me. I’ll start with my thoughts on the Hogwarts houses (I’m Ravenclaw, by the way, with Hufflepuff rising) …
2. My favourite food is white chocolate.
3. I cry All. The. Time. Over All the Things. TV commercials. Songs. Paintings. Poems. Movies. I made the mistake of going to see Dumbo with my kid and she was so embarrassed by how inconsolable I was. It’s an issue. Is that a fun fact? I feel like I should add something else that’s more fun. Ummm … I still know all the dances to all the Spice Girls songs and my favourite one is the little-known classic Saturday Night Divas. That song is tragically underrated. 

Places to find Kate:
Her website: kategordon.com.au 
​Instagram: direleafhall
Twitter: @direleafhall

Check out the whole tour: