Interview with Frank Cottrell Boyce, Author of Millions, Framed and Cosmic

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Before writing Millions and Framed for young audiences, Frank Cottrell Boyce was already a well-known screenwriter, with scripts for Welcome to Sarajevo and 24 Hour Party People, among others, to his credit. But many people are glad he turned his pen to writing children’s books that are truly delightful for all ages. Boyce uses humor to help the life lessons sprinkled throughout the pages of his work go down easy, and his characters have a way of lingering in your memory long after the book is finished.

Boyce recently took time to answer questions in an e-mail interview for MotherDaughterBookClub.com. Here he talks candidly about writing, his characters, and new works to look forward to. (From an interview in April 2007)

How did you become a writer?

FB: How or why? I can remember the day that the decision was made. I was in year six (so I’d be 11) and we’d been given a piece of class work to do about Vikings. It was a lovely fresh February day and for some reason I decided that I’d make a bit of an effort with this piece of work. I put some jokes in and some nice adjectives and I illuminated the first letter making it look like the figurehead of a longboat. My teacher was a nice old nun called Sister Paul. She collected the work and the moment she picked it up I could tell she knew something was going on. After break she read it out to the whole class. I wish I could remember the jokes now but they must have been good because everyone laughed all the way through and that was a wonderful feeling. I imagine it’s the feeling you get when you win a race or something. If she’d asked me to read the piece out myself I probably would have wanted to become a stand-up comedian but there was something delicious about being able to sit back and watch her get the laughs. She was bright red by the end and her eyes were all twinkly. It was as though she’d briefly become one of the children, she was enjoying herself so much. I felt like a magician. And all I’d done was played about with the word order and thrown in a couple of unexpected metaphors. I’ve spent the rest of my life trying to regain the unexpected magic of that morning.

The main characters in both Millions and Framed are young boys. Why is that?

FB: Oohhh. I’m not sure really. In Millions it just worked out that way – it felt like a story about brothers. Then when I started getting letters and messages from people a huge number said the same thing – i.e. “my little boy would never read books but he read this one.” There is a problem in England about getting boys to read so I suppose in Framed I consciously decided to write something that boys would like but that wasn’t necessarily car chases and guns.

I believe you have seven children; how many are boys?

FB: Four.

Are you planning anything that will feature girls as main characters?

FB: Well I think Minnie is one of the best characters in Framed—she’s certainly taking up a lot of room in the screenplay.  And there’s a very vibrant girl called Florida Digby in my new book—Cosmic.

Do you talk to your children about ideas for your books?

FB: Yes. But they’re very harsh. I read my new book to them at Christmas and they hated it so much I had to start again. My ten-year-old son loves Millions and can more or less recite the first chapter.

Do you base your characters on people in your life?

FB: Not consciously but afterwards I recognize certain things about them. For instance Dylan is lonely for male company and my ten year old is just the same. He has three brothers but two of them are much older and one of them is a lot younger. So he has no one to play football with except me. So I guess there’s a lot of Dylan in him. Also because he has older brothers and sisters, he has a big vocabulary that he doesn’t necessarily understand. So I think a lot of Anthony’s talk about mortgages and tax relief etc. comes from that.

You wrote both the book and screenplay for Millions. Are you happy with the way the movie turned out?

FB: Well the movie took a lot more time that the book and we shot it over a glorious summer near my home in Liverpool. I’m in the film! I put so much of myself into the film that I can’t judge it at all. When I watch it now it’s like watching a home movie of a particularly happy time.

What would you do if you suddenly got millions of pounds?

FB: I would like to think I would be like Damian but I think there’s a bit of an Anthony in all of us. Seriously WaterAid is a great charity and some of the profits from both the book and the film go there.

The character Damian in Millions is a devout Catholic. Does religion play an important role in your life?

FB: Well I’m a Catholic too. I guess there’s a lot of me in both Damian and Anthony—I think if you add them up (or subtract one from the other?) you get me.

In Framed, Dylan unwittingly stumbles onto some of the greatest art in the world. Are you a big fan of art?

FB: I think so. My Mum and Dad used to take me to the local art gallery a lot (it was free!) and of course since becoming a filmmaker I’ve really learnt to appreciate people who can tell a story with pictures. Except in a film you get 25 pictures per second to do it with and if you’re a great artist you can do it with one picture.

I understand that Framed is being made into a movie. Did you write the screenplay and when can we expect to see it?

FB: I’m writing the screenplay and hoping it will be shot next Spring for broadcast the following Christmas. (Note: The film debuted in Great Britain in December 2009, but no word yet on a U.S. show time.)

Do you prefer to write books or screenplays?

FB: Screenplays are a lot easier to write but the politics – the meetings, the money etc. – of filmmaking is horrendous. It’s much easier to publish a book than to write a film – partly because even a small film costs millions.

Who would you recommend read your books?

FB: Anyone and everyone! I think because the books are narrated by children, adults read them differently. I think adults find them funnier and children find them more moving.

What are some of your favorite books to read?

FB: Blimey. so many. I love E. Nesbit’s books—Phoenix and the Carpet, Five Children and It, Railway Children and The Treasure Seekers. She’s my hero really. But I’m reading War and Peace just now and it’s astonishing how good it is. I had no idea.

What’s the best part of being an author?

FB: Being able to work in bed. And also reading to children in schools.

What’s your next project?

FB: I’m working on the films of Framed and of Terry Pratchett’s Truckers. And I’m finishing my next book (Cosmic note: released in July 2008)

Is there anything else you’d like to say to readers in mother daughter book clubs?

FB: Keep it up. I think sharing books with someone can be really special. I’ve got a son who is living in rural Peru at the moment on a project for poor people. And I’ve decided to read all the books that he is reading – he took great big fat books with him because he has no phone, no TV, no radio and is living with a family. So once a week we email each other about where we’re up to. It’s hard to keep up with him but I’m loving trying.  That’s why I’m reading War and Peace. I don’t think we’ll ever forget doing that together.

Interview with Kelly Beatty and Dale Salvaggio Bradshaw, Authors of Firestarters

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Dale Salvaggio Bradshaw (left) and Kelly Beatty (right)

Kelly Beatty and Dale Salvaggio Bradshaw are the authors of Firestarters: 100 Job Profiles to Inspire Young Women. The book is a resource that can help girls see the possibilities of different careers and get an idea of the skills needed to work through a day on the job. It also helps them see the kind of educational background many professional women have. In a recent e-mail interview, the authors talked with MotherDaughterBookClub.com about what they hope to accomplish with the book, and the value it offers to young women as they think about their futures. (From an interview in November 2007)

How did you choose women to profile?

KB/DSB: When we first started, we wanted to show young women unique careers that maybe they didn’t know existed. So we sought out people with unique jobs. But we also wanted to show the power of networking, so we started with our friends and the contacts just snowballed.

Were you looking to represent a mix of careers with the women you included?

KB/DSB: Yes. We wanted to show all different kinds of careers that we didn’t know existed when we were younger. The idea was that if young women knew early about a career that interested them, they could find out more and be prepared (i.e. take the right classes in high school and college and know where to intern).

Did you know all the women profiled in the book?

KB/DSB: No. We knew several of the women, and they would give us recommendations, so one interview led to another.

Did you contact some of them specifically so a certain job would be represented in the list?

KB/DSB: Yes, we did seek out specific professions. For example, we really wanted to have a judge, so we contacted Debra Sasser, and Molly Rogers was sought out because we wanted to have a costume designer.

The format you created is great! The job description, day on the job, likes and challenges give a good snapshot of what it’s like to work in a position like the one described. How did you decide to present the jobs that way?

KB/DSB: With the fast-paced world in which we live, we knew that our format would need to be easy to read for teenagers to stay interested. There was so much information compiled from the women, and we wanted the format to be visually interesting and concise.

Why did you also decide to include the hobbies and interests for each woman?

KB/DSB: We thought it would establish a connection between the reader and the profiled women. It made the women in the book human, and the reader could see that a person is not defined by her job.

I noticed that some of the women profiled are working in jobs that are totally different from jobs they originally started their careers with. What do you think girls can learn by reading about that?

KB/DSB: It’s good to know that nothing is set in stone. Once a person is in a career, she may find out that she’s not suited for it, or it sparks an interest in something else, or her life circumstances change. Don’t be afraid of change. It’s never too late to explore a path that leads in a completely different direction from where you started.

Is there anything that surprised you as you were compiling information for the book?

KB/DSB: We were completely surprised by how generous people were with their time. A lot of these women didn’t even know us, and yet they were willing to speak with us because they thought the book was important for young women. A lesson that young women can take away from this is that it’s o.k. to ask people questions, they want to help you figure it out.  They’ve been right where you’ve been, and they understand how daunting it can seem to decide what it is you want to do for a living.

What challenges did you come across as you conducted research for Firestarters?

KB/DSB: Most careers have their own language, and it was sometimes challenging to write about the careers in layman’s terms. It required a lot of time researching the jobs so we’d have a better understanding and could convey that in a way that our readers could grasp. For example, when we interviewed Holly K. Dressman, the assistant research professor who studies breast cancer, we had to educate ourselves further about DNA microarrays and gene expressions so that we could write about it correctly.

Why did you decide to feature women by first name rather than by last name or career?

KB/DSB: It made the women more real to the readers, and we thought this format would encourage them to read the whole book. They couldn’t just flip to the marketing section or the science section.

Was it difficult to work as a team? How did you divide your responsibilities?

KB/DSB: We thought it was a great way to expand on our relationship and we didn’t find it difficult at all. Our individual strengths helped propel the book. For example, Dale is the organized taskmaster and Kelly is the wordsmith. We literally split the work in half. Each of us did 50 or more interviews. After we wrote each profile, we would e-mail it to the other person and she would edit it. We could not have done this without e-mail because we live four hours away from each other. The other information in the book, the introduction, “words of wisdom” and the conclusion we also wrote together. One of us would get the ideas down on paper and through numerous e-mails and some weekends together, we were able to work together to finish those sections.

Are you planning more projects together?

KB/DSB: Yes. We have lots and lots of ideas. We have some other non-fiction book ideas, and we both also enjoy writing children’s stories and songs. So maybe we’ll explore those opportunities as well.

What are you each working on now?

KB/DSB: Dale is doing marketing for a medical services company part-time, marketing the book and of course, taking care of her two children. Kelly is mainly working for her new baby, but she also enjoys freelance writing interior design articles for a community magazine and marketing our book.

Do either of you have daughters?

KB/DSB: Dale has a daughter, Sophia. Sophia loves to read and Dale looks forward to starting a mother-daughter book club with her and her friends when she gets a little older.  When writing Firestarters, Dale was encouraged to know that her daughter might one day use the book as a resource and guide and be able to use some of the advice from these women.

Is there anything else you’d like to say to readers of Mother Daughter Book Club.com?

KB/DSB: There are so many opportunities for young women. We hope the book will allow the readers to look at their mothers and their friends’ mothers in a whole new way. Firestarters could start a dialog between mothers and daughters. Some discussion ideas after reading the book are: finding out what dreams mom had at her daughter’s age; discussing what careers the young women are interested in and if there are any networking connections in the book club to help them find out more; figuring out how to pay for education and talking about how important it is; what direction the daughter should take to learn about and start to prepare herself for a career that interests her. We want young women to know how lucky they are to live in a country where their dreams can actually come true, and we hope that our book can be a springboard that helps them explore their endless opportunities.

Book Review: Letter to My Daughter by George Bishop

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When her daughter Liz runs away from home on the eve of her 15th birthday, Laura decides to pass the excruciating hours waiting and hoping for her to come back by writing Liz a letter about her own troubled teen years.

Through her words, Laura reveals herself to her daughter completely: the difficult relationship she had with her own parents, how she resented her mother most of all, her relationship with a boy named Tim, and the consequences to her life because of that relationship. She talks honestly about her own sexual choices and why she rebelled against authority. And Laura is candid about her mistakes with Liz, and she makes a plea for understanding, saying parents don’t always know what they are doing when raising their children. They often get by doing the best they know how to do.

Letter to My Daughter by George Bishop is a great book for mother-daughter book clubs with girls in high school to read. Daughters often tend to think their mothers can’t possibly understand what they’re going through, but this book encourages girls to see their moms in a new light. Pre-book club discussion may be even more valuable, as moms and daughters may talk candidly about the mom’s formative years and how it affects her parenting now. It could also prompt conversation about the daughter’s world, and pressure she may feel from her friends or boyfriend.

When I started to read Letter to My Daughter, I was skeptical that a man could write well about a mother-daughter relationship. But that concern quickly went away as Laura’s strong voice brought me into her story. It’s a story that doesn’t include details about the years between her teen life and this letter, but that focus on a specific time period helps define the era she lived in as well as the circumstances she faced. I found it totally engrossing, and I highly recommend it as a mother-daughter book club pick.

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Interview with Loretta Ellsworth, Author of In a Heartbeat

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Loretta Ellsworth

Years ago, author Loretta Ellsworth gave up her job as a middle school Spanish teacher to write books for young adults. Her newest to be released is called In a Heartbeat, a story about a young organ donor, the girl who receives her heart, and how one small everyday action can have ripple effects. I reviewed In a Heartbeat yesterday, and announced that I’m giving away a copy of this book to one reader who comments on my post. Now here’s an interview with Loretta that will help you learn more about the author and her books.

How did you become a writer?

LE: I always loved to write but never considered it seriously until I worked part-time at a local library—being surrounded by books can do that to you. I started out slowly, writing articles for magazines and taking classes in fiction writing. My first article was published when I was 30. It took more than 10 years after that to sell my first book.

Tell us a little about how you spend your time writing.

LE: I try to write every day, but I’m very flexible about when I write. With my first two books I had four teenage children and a teaching job, so I had to write whenever and wherever I could; at soccer practice, doctor offices, etc. I usually start with an idea or character and go from there—I never know where the story is going; that’s part of the fun of writing, to discover the story as I go. It also means quite a bit of revision, though.

Has your life been affected by an organ transplant, either through a donor or recipient?

LE: I started this book shortly after my mother died of congestive heart failure and my nephew was killed in a motorcycle accident. We were surprised to find out that he had signed up to be an organ donor on his license— he’d never told his parents about his decision to do that. Although they couldn’t save his heart for transplantation, many of his other organs were donated. These two events happened within a few weeks of each other, and for a while I couldn’t write. When I did start writing, I felt compelled to write about an organ transplant and I wanted to include the donor’s voice. I think it started out as therapy for me; a way to write through my grief.

What kind of research did you conduct to write In a Heartbeat?

LE: I read books and hospital websites, and did a lot of research on organ transplants, talking with doctors, nurses, transplant coordinators, and recipients. I also conducted research on skating, since none of my children were skaters. I spoke with coaches, moms, and competitive skaters, and spent time at the rink.

Did you consult with organ recipients? Did you talk to families of donors? What about doctors or other experts?

LE: I spoke with two different recipients, who were both kind enough to share their experiences and feelings. I also spoke with doctors, nurses, and transplant coordinators.

What do you feel is the most important message of In a Heartbeat?

LE: I don’t write with a message in mind—message-driven books are often heavy-handed, and teens don’t want more lecturing. In this book I just wanted to explore character and relationships while creating a compelling story.

This book is as much about the relationships between mothers and daughters as it is about organ donation. What were you trying to convey through Eagan’s mom and Amelia’s mom, who both seem to have very different approaches to mothering?

LE: Someone I know lost her mother when she was young, during her turbulent teenage years, and they didn’t always get along. After going through those years with my own mother, and now with my daughter, I realize that if her mother had died when she was older, after they’d gotten through those difficult years, it would have been so different for her— this was how I approached Eagan’s mom. Having a child with disabilities and medical problems, I’ve often felt that I had to be strong enough for both of us, to keep my child going when he’s down. I think this was how I approached Amelia’s mom. Both mothers have their strengths and frailties– it just comes out differently.

What other books have you written?

LE: My first book was The Shrouding Woman, a story set in the 1870’s in Caledonia, Minnesota. It’s about a girl whose aunt is a shrouding woman—someone who prepared bodies for burial. It’s a time-honored tradition that dates back thousands of years. My second book was In Search of Mockingbird, a story of a girl who travels by bus to Monroeville, Alabama, with the hope of meeting of her favorite author.

Are you working on anything now?

LE: I’m working on two stories right now— one is about a boy with a perfect memory, and the other story, set in the 1960’s, is about a girl looking to make her mark on the world.

Is there anything else you’d like to say to members of mother-daughter book clubs?

LE: What a great way to connect and communicate! I wish I had belonged to one when my daughter was young—now that she’s in her twenties we share books back and forth and she has become one of my first readers. And I also have two daughters-in-law who are both avid readers, so we all read the same books and discuss them—we’re currently reading The Hunger Games series (by Suzanne Collins).

(Note: Book giveaway is closed. See the previous post for winner info.) Don’t forget to comment about Loretta or her book on yesterday’s blog post for a chance to win a copy of In a Heartbeat. The contest is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada, and I’ll choose a winner from entries posted before midnight (Pacific Standard Time) on Friday, February 12.

You may also be interested in checking out other blogs where Loretta has appeared this month as part of the blog tour for the release of her book. Here’s where you can find her:

Bildungsroman: http://slayground.livejournal.com

Elizabeth Dulemba: http://dulemba.blogspot.com

April Hamrick: http://aprilnichole.com

Library Lounge Lizard: http://www.libraryloungelizard.com

Butterfly Book Reviews: http://butterflybookreviews.blogspot.com

Lauren’s Crammed Bookshelf: http://laurenscrammedbookshelf.blogspot.com

Books by Their Cover: http://booksbytheircover.blogspot.com

Shelf Elf: http://shelfelf.wordpress.com

Read This Book (coming February 13): http://readthisbook.wordpress.com/

Book Review: In a Heartbeat by Loretta Ellsworth

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In a Hearbeat by Loretta Ellsworth

Eagan is a figure skater. She’s athletic and talented and headstrong. Amelia’s world is limited by her failing heart. No longer even able to walk up and down the stairs of her home, she is homeschooled and spends a lot of time in her room drawing horses. In a Heartbeat by Loretta Ellsworth opens with Eagan’s story. We know immediately she dies after hitting her head on a board while making a jump in competition. Amelia is the girl who receives her heart.

The storyline goes back and forth between Eagan, who is caught between life and death, and Amelia who is learning to live and experience new sensations every day because of the strong heart beating in her chest. We learn about Eagan’s life through her memories of the times before her death. Amelia starts to suspect that some of her post-operation dreams and her new interests may be those of the donor.

In addition to the stories of the two girls, In a Hearbeat is also about Eagan’s and Amelia’s relationships with their mothers. Eagan feels her mother is too controlling and too invested in how she performs on the ice. She wants time to skate, but she also wants to pursue interests off the rink. Amelia is totally dependent on her mother, who has gone to great lengths to care for her while she waited for a new heart. Now she wonders how she can start to assert her own independence.

Even if you have not known someone who has donated or received an organ, you will be moved by this story of life for one that is not possible without loss for the other. The book never falls into a preachy tone advocating for organ donation, but instead takes a look at what it means from the human and emotional point of view. And it does a good job of showing the different perspectives that teens and parents may have about life and death.

While the focus is mostly on the girls, since it’s told from their perspective, Ellsworth does a great job of showing the ripples of impact on both families and friends. There are many things for mother-daughter book clubs with girls 13 and up to talk about after reading In a Heartbeat. It should certainly open a dialogue between moms and daughters about organ donation and all it entails for both sides—feelings of hope, grief, guilt, and the possibility of a connection between donor and recipient.  I highly recommend it.

Book Review: The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

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A diamond is stolen from the English country estate of Lady Verinder and the renowned Sergeant Cuff is brought in from London to help solve the case. The diamond, said to bring bad luck to its owner because it was stolen from a temple in India, was given to Lady Verinder’s daughter, Rachel, on her 18th birthday. It was bequeathed to Rachel from her uncle (who stole it when he was a young soldier) on his death. The story unfolds through several narrators, all of whom know a piece of what happened. As each of them writes his or her side of the story, the reader gets just a little more information that helps to solve the mystery.

Considered to be the first detective mystery, The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins offers a glimpse into the times it was written—the 1860s.  It was published serially, with new pieces of the story unfolding one section at a time for around six months. It reveals the understandings held about English ladies and gentleman, especially the thought that no well brought up young man or woman could ever commit a crime. It touches on a common occurrence at the time, the looting of jewels by English soldiers from temples in India. And, it’s fun to read once you get into the rhythm of Collins’s writing style (writers at the time were paid by the word, so you won’t find sparse descriptions and conversations here).

Each narrator brought a different perspective and style that was refreshing, and each break kept the story moving in unexpected ways. My daughter and I both found it fun to guess what had happened the night of the theft and in the days following it. My guesses were invariably wrong, but that didn’t stop me from developing new theories as the story progressed. My daughter’s guess about the culprit was right, although neither of us anticipated some of the twists and turns The Moonstone took before the mystery was actually resolved.

The Moonstone makes for longer reading in mother-daughter book clubs, but it is easily divided into two separate sections that can be discussed at two different meetings. Groups could read The Loss of the Diamond, then gather to discuss their theories about what happened. They could also write predictions down and compare them to what actually happened during the rest of the book when they meet again. I recommend The Moonstone for reading groups with girls aged 14 and up.

Mother-Daughter Book Club Meeting—Lesser Read Classics

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Last night my daughter Catherine and I went to our first mother-daughter book club of the year. We had read The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, who was a contemporary of Charles Dickens. The book was challenging—it was nearly 500 pages and written in the style popular in the 1860s when writers were paid by the word and published their books by installments in magazines. Because of the length, two of the mother-daughter pairs had not finished it. But whether we finished or not, we all liked what we read, and we had a great discussion of how the book was first published and how excited people were to buy the magazine each time a new installment came out.

Our group also talked about how this book is among the forgotten classics—books from long ago that have stayed in print but for some reason have not made it onto the list of must-read classics. We decided to create our own list of favorites that may fall under this category, and here’s what we came up with:

Lesser-Read Classics

  • A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain (14+)
  • The Adventures of Pinnochio by Carlo Collodi (9-12)
  • The Call of the Wild by Jack London (14+)
  • Five Children and It by E. Nesbit (9-12)
  • I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (14+)
  • The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks (9-12)
  • Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling (9-12)
  • Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett (12+)
  • The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas (14+)
  • The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (7-11)
  • Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (14+)

While many of these titles are well known because of the movies made from them, they’re not commonly recommended for reading. I have read many of these to my daughters outside of book club, and I’m looking forward to reading others now that we’ve talked about them. Do you have a book to add to this list? Post a comment below to tell us about it.

Working Moms and Mother-Daughter Book Clubs

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I’m often asked how working moms can fit being in a mother-daughter book club into their already busy schedules. It is a challenge, but it can be done and I believe the rewards are well worth the effort. Most of the moms in my two book clubs work full or part-time. And most of the moms I interviewed for Book by Book: The Complete Guide to Mother-Daughter Book Clubs work as professionals too. Here are a few tips to make sure book club doesn’t become just one more thing to stress about.

  • Get the book soon after it’s assigned. If the library doesn’t have a copy in, you can put it on hold and have it sent to your local branch. If you prefer to purchase your books, buy it as soon after you know what you’ll be reading as possible.
  • Make reading your book club selection part of the time you spend with your daughter. If you read out loud to her, it lets you schedule time in your busy day to connect one-on-one with your daughter.
  • If you host book club at your house, enlist help to get ready. Even if your daughter is young, it’s likely she can help you tidy the house or put food out.
  • Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it. Do you have other children who will need looking after while you’re at your book club? See if you can arrange a regular sitter to help out on meeting nights. Do you need to drive straight from work to be at the meeting? Ask if someone else in the group can bring your daughter.
  • Set a regular meeting date, like the first Monday of the month or the third Thursday. This will help you plan around other events you need to schedule.

If being in a book club with your daughter is a priority, finding ways to make it work will be easier for you.

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