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Welcome to the Tuesday Author Interview with Christina Boyd for the Who, What, When, Where, and Why.
CHRISTINA: Though an author of four decades and over fifty books, Nancy Springer only came on my reading radar when I saw Henry Cavill was to star in the film adaptation of her novel Enola Holmes. And we all know what a fan I am of Henry's. But I digress. In 2020, I saw her in an interview with Soumya Guntoor of Jane Austen Society India on Facebook. And I have been following her social media ever since. I really love her art selections and commentary, too.
When did you first think you had a book to write and how did you start?
NANCY: From the time I turned adolescent, I was haunted by daydreams. Maladaptive daydreaming disorder, they call it these days. I don’t know what they called it in 1960 – probably nothing! Anyway, half the night, and whenever I could during the day, I would daydream about a pair of heroes, one mystic and moody, one empathic and steadfast, who were comrades in the fight against evil. I told no one, least of all my parents, about these daydreams, because I knew there was something wrong with me, so no one could know. When I was in my twenties, I would lie in bed until noon daydreaming, and I felt I had to do something about me, so I started offloading the daydreams on paper in an attempt to get rid of them. That’s how I wrote my first novel, which was eventually published as The Silver Sun, and all else followed.
CHRISTINA: That is probably the most fascinating introduction to writing I have heard yet. How fortunate you were able to turn your daydreams, this potential roadblock, into something productive that would set you on the journey of a lifetime.
If you could tell your 21-year-old self anything, what would you share?
NANCY: I would tell me to have a lot more confidence in myself. I would tell me that I would do very well on my own, that I didn’t have to get married in order to be valid, that I would be perfectly all right renting a room, holding a job, living in my college town, making friends, and that life itself was an accomplishment.
CHRISTINA: Strange how we are in such a rush as young people to settle down.
How has the publishing industry changed since you first started in the business?
NANCY: The publishing industry has changed hugely! When I began, in the 1970s, a real writer wouldn’t be caught dead paying to be published; that was called “vanity press.” Competition to be accepted for commercial publication was tough but not impossible; there were lots of publishers. I wrote my first five books longhand in notebooks and typed them up in triplicate, using two sheets of carbon paper and striking the keys on my heavy old Royal typewriter really, really hard. Getting a manuscript ready to mail in for submission took months. But then came word processors! And computers!
And in my thirties and forties, I found myself on a steep learning curve, buying new computers and printers all the time, buying a modem, and learning my way around the World Wide Web. By then, I was well established as a professional writer, and this was a good thing because larger publishers had bought out smaller publishers until there were way fewer well-paying markets than there used to be. Still, there were plenty of small press markets, so why were people getting sucked into paying for publication? I didn’t understand it. Still don’t.
CHRISTINA: I don't think I could even imagine how technology would evolve since the 1990s even. I think back then I was thinking the future would look like the Jetsons but had no idea how that might happen.
Do you put people you know, or their characteristics, in your book?
NANCY: Of course I do! In different ways. First of all, family, the people who have shaped my loves and my hangups, inform my writing deeply; they provide conflict, and they shape the bones of the stories. Secondly, many of the other people I meet provide quirks and traits, which I scatter gleefully as I write. The woman who eats so many carrots her skin turns orange, the one who makes pets of box turtles and decorates their shells, the guy who
collects light bulbs, draws faces on them, and gives them names, the one who built a miniature but functional piano out of popsicle sticks – these people give me zany details when I need them. And third, don’t forget that I am in my novels, too! Many of my characters are facets of me.
CHRISTINA: I love knowing that you are also in your characters. Now I’m going to look for you in your books.
What makes you get up in the morning? What do you love?
NANCY: I get up because I have to put the dog out! But of course, I love the dog, and my cats, and my hubby, and there is so much to love. I am crazy about horses. And white birds flying, and clouds, flowers, trees, sunlight, moonglow, swamps, pumpkinseed sunfish, bright pebbles, my car to take me on the country roads, toads, lizards, snakes – there is so much to revel in! Quirky fonts on the computer, the wee wooden birds I painted, my watercolors, my music, good food, all sorts of things! I am getting old, and my life has very much narrowed; I can no longer kayak or go horseback riding, but there is still so much.
CHRISTINA: So many authors tell me how they get up for the dog! You are in fine company. I especially enjoy your love of nature and art that you share on your Facebook.
Best advice for new writers (ahem, me)?
NANCY: Advice? Sure. First, accept that you will write badly, that’s a given, because it’s necessary to learn how to write well. Second, a good way to do that is to join a critique group – but here’s the thing: don’t listen to advice, not from those inexperienced people! If you do, you will end up with something written by a committee, and that’s dreadful! Be nice, have empathy, but don’t listen! The critique group will glom onto whatever is unique about your writing and try to get you to stop it. Don’t.
So, what are you there for? To critique other people’s work, because doing so will crystalize your own thoughts about writing, will help you find out what may work for others but is not for you, will push you to figure out what are your priorities as a writer (“Get published” alone is NOT a helpful priority). You will end up becoming a more polished writer, not by some magic formula, but just by being tumbled like a rock among other writers. Plus, you will make friends, but don’t listen to them either. Later on, you can listen to editors and agents. Sometimes.
CHRISTINA: I love that advice. Rather empowering. Thank you.
If you weren’t a writer, what would you be?
NANCY: In reality, I’d probably be clerking in a library, or I’d be a teacher’s aide, something like that. In my dreams, I’d be a singer. I’ve sung in a lot of choirs, and in my hippie youth, I sang folk music and played guitar. I even wrote a few songs. I wasn’t bad, but I lacked confidence and ended up singing and playing guitar exclusively for my children. However, all my life I’ve tried to make music with words, to sing through my writing.
CHRISTINA: You have an impressive backlist that proves you really do sing through your writing. Thank you for taking time for this interview. And I appreciate the sound writing advice. I look forward to more Enola Holmes mysteries and film adaptations and will check out your other releases, too.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The award-winning author of The Books of Isle fantasy series, the Enola Holmes mystery series, and a plethora of other novels. Nancy has been named as winner or nominee of multiple awards for Juvenile, Young Adult, and Adult Literature including the Edgar Allan Poe Award two years in a row, winner of the Carolyn W. Field Award, the Hugo Best Short Story, and also winner of the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature for Best Novel. You can connect with Nancy via her website and social media.
Oh my gosh! Nancy is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITES. I love this interview!
loved this Q&A.