Meet Paula Leyden, Author of The Butterfly Heart
What inspired you to become a children's author?
I suppose it was a mix of things - we moved to Ireland from Africa nine years ago and for the first time in a long time I found myself with spare time. I had, like most parents, told my children bedtime stories and they seemed to like what they called 'one of your own stories mum' so I started to wonder whether I could actually write down 'my own stories'. I had done a lot of writing in my working life. It was non-fiction but it came easily to me. I worked in the field of human rights in South Africa and had written a lot on the different issues raised through this. So I registered for a course here in Ireland called Write That Novel, run by Siobhán Parkinson (who later became our Children's Laureate) and I found that it suited me well.
How did you come up with the idea for The Butterfly Heart?
The first book I wrote was set in Ireland. It is not yet published but hopefully will be one day. When I finished that and thought 'what next' my thoughts went to Zambia. I think some of our most vivid memories are those that come from our childhoods. I grew up in Zambia, where The Butterfly Heart is set, and my memories of it are very strong. It is a beautiful country. A blot on my memory is of a girl I sat next to in school who was there one term and not the next. It took us ages to find out what had happened to her and when we did it shocked all of us. She had been married off to a man much older than herself and would never be coming back to school. She was around twelve years old at the time. Her face and her story has never left me and so the kernel of the story grew from that.
The Butterfly Heart has been shortlisted for the 2012 Children's Books Ireland Book of the Year. What does that mean to you as an author?
It means an awful lot to me. At first when Walker Books, my publishers, contacted me I could hardly believe it. Once the news sunk in I was thrilled. There are only nine books on the shortlist and there is such a wealth of writing talent in Ireland that I feel honoured that my book was one of those chosen. I also feel proud that a book set in Zambia, thousands of miles away from her, is on that list. On a practical level it generates interest in the book, and that is all good.
What do you think children will learn from your book?
Well, I hope that mostly they will take away from it a love of reading if they didn't have that before, a love of storytelling. Also, just a little bit of knowledge of one of the countries of Africa that they might never have visited or even known about. A school here in Kilkenny has been reading the book and when I entered the class recently they greeted me in chiBemba, one of the seventy languages of Zambia. That thrilled me. On the issue of child marriage which runs through the book I hope they will take away from it the sense of the importance of friends and family looking out for one another. Mostly though I hope they get pleasure from it and a good laugh now and again (which probably sounds funny given the issue, but there are laughs to be had!)
What advice would you give to a new author trying to get their book published?
I suppose it is to get your manuscript as tight and right as you can. Sloppiness will always prevent you getting in through the door. So, don't rush it. Also if you write from the heart, rather than trying to write something that you think the market will like, it will show. It doesn't matter if vampires or post-apocalyptic fiction are cool if it is not what comes to you naturally. Write what you like then polish it and polish it again before you decide where to send it. Also, and I know this advice has been given over and over again, but before you finish any manuscript read it aloud. There is no better way to expose the flaws in a piece of writing than to hear it read. You will find yourself cringing at the sound of some of it, especially dialogue. Fix it up there and then!When you do finally send it out, research your market well and this goes for agents and publishers alike. Find out what they like and what they publish, you will save yourself time in the long run. The stage at which you are approaching publishers is entirely different to any other stage in the process of writing. It is you putting yourself out there, putting your writing out there and trying to sell it. I was lucky in that my wonderful agent, Sophie Hicks, liked my first novel and took me onto her books. I now do not have to sell anything, she does that it for me, and this pleases me greatly! I know there is a lot of debate out there on the value of an agent, but from my experience they are invaluable. They free you up to do what you started out doing which is writing.
Are you currently working on other books?
I am. I have completed the sequel to Butterfly Heart and that will be out in May next year with Walker Books (still editing to do, but almost there!). I have also been writing for adults - I have completed a novella set on Death Row in South Africa (not an easy read or write) as well as a full length novel also set in South Africa. These are both with my agent. My partner, Tom O'Neill, (also a writer and the author of Old Friends, The Lost Tales of Fionn Mac Cumhaill,) and I are also writing a book together - an interesting experiment and going pretty well so far!
You can find out more about Paula Leyden and her book by visiting http://thebutterflyheart.net.
I suppose it was a mix of things - we moved to Ireland from Africa nine years ago and for the first time in a long time I found myself with spare time. I had, like most parents, told my children bedtime stories and they seemed to like what they called 'one of your own stories mum' so I started to wonder whether I could actually write down 'my own stories'. I had done a lot of writing in my working life. It was non-fiction but it came easily to me. I worked in the field of human rights in South Africa and had written a lot on the different issues raised through this. So I registered for a course here in Ireland called Write That Novel, run by Siobhán Parkinson (who later became our Children's Laureate) and I found that it suited me well.
How did you come up with the idea for The Butterfly Heart?
The first book I wrote was set in Ireland. It is not yet published but hopefully will be one day. When I finished that and thought 'what next' my thoughts went to Zambia. I think some of our most vivid memories are those that come from our childhoods. I grew up in Zambia, where The Butterfly Heart is set, and my memories of it are very strong. It is a beautiful country. A blot on my memory is of a girl I sat next to in school who was there one term and not the next. It took us ages to find out what had happened to her and when we did it shocked all of us. She had been married off to a man much older than herself and would never be coming back to school. She was around twelve years old at the time. Her face and her story has never left me and so the kernel of the story grew from that.
The Butterfly Heart has been shortlisted for the 2012 Children's Books Ireland Book of the Year. What does that mean to you as an author?
It means an awful lot to me. At first when Walker Books, my publishers, contacted me I could hardly believe it. Once the news sunk in I was thrilled. There are only nine books on the shortlist and there is such a wealth of writing talent in Ireland that I feel honoured that my book was one of those chosen. I also feel proud that a book set in Zambia, thousands of miles away from her, is on that list. On a practical level it generates interest in the book, and that is all good.
What do you think children will learn from your book?
Well, I hope that mostly they will take away from it a love of reading if they didn't have that before, a love of storytelling. Also, just a little bit of knowledge of one of the countries of Africa that they might never have visited or even known about. A school here in Kilkenny has been reading the book and when I entered the class recently they greeted me in chiBemba, one of the seventy languages of Zambia. That thrilled me. On the issue of child marriage which runs through the book I hope they will take away from it the sense of the importance of friends and family looking out for one another. Mostly though I hope they get pleasure from it and a good laugh now and again (which probably sounds funny given the issue, but there are laughs to be had!)
What advice would you give to a new author trying to get their book published?
I suppose it is to get your manuscript as tight and right as you can. Sloppiness will always prevent you getting in through the door. So, don't rush it. Also if you write from the heart, rather than trying to write something that you think the market will like, it will show. It doesn't matter if vampires or post-apocalyptic fiction are cool if it is not what comes to you naturally. Write what you like then polish it and polish it again before you decide where to send it. Also, and I know this advice has been given over and over again, but before you finish any manuscript read it aloud. There is no better way to expose the flaws in a piece of writing than to hear it read. You will find yourself cringing at the sound of some of it, especially dialogue. Fix it up there and then!When you do finally send it out, research your market well and this goes for agents and publishers alike. Find out what they like and what they publish, you will save yourself time in the long run. The stage at which you are approaching publishers is entirely different to any other stage in the process of writing. It is you putting yourself out there, putting your writing out there and trying to sell it. I was lucky in that my wonderful agent, Sophie Hicks, liked my first novel and took me onto her books. I now do not have to sell anything, she does that it for me, and this pleases me greatly! I know there is a lot of debate out there on the value of an agent, but from my experience they are invaluable. They free you up to do what you started out doing which is writing.
Are you currently working on other books?
I am. I have completed the sequel to Butterfly Heart and that will be out in May next year with Walker Books (still editing to do, but almost there!). I have also been writing for adults - I have completed a novella set on Death Row in South Africa (not an easy read or write) as well as a full length novel also set in South Africa. These are both with my agent. My partner, Tom O'Neill, (also a writer and the author of Old Friends, The Lost Tales of Fionn Mac Cumhaill,) and I are also writing a book together - an interesting experiment and going pretty well so far!
You can find out more about Paula Leyden and her book by visiting http://thebutterflyheart.net.
Stacie Theis / beachboundbooks@yahoo.com / copyright 2012