All Rileyed Up

Happy Swallows Day! Today is the day we celebrate the return of the swallows to San Juan Capistrano. Parading and festivities to continue on through the weekend. Since not all of you will be able to join me for them, here’s a little online celebration.

Please meet Kathryn Fitzmaurice, a local author whose debut novel, The Year Swallows Came Early, is a work of middle grade fiction featuring Eleanor “Groovy” Robinson. Groovy is an 11-year-old girl with dreams of cooking school and a life full of (sometimes unhappy) surprises. Join her and her best friend Frankie as they take tentative steps into the world of parents’ mistakes, betrayed feelings, and the power of forgiveness. (There’s a more detailed story description on Kathryn’s site).

1. You were first inspired to write by your grandmother, a science fiction author. Have you ever penned any science fiction?

Kathryn Fitmaurice: I have never written any science fiction or fantasy. I always think that those science fiction/fantasy authors must be very talented in order to create an entire world. Just think of all the details they make up!

2. Your main character in The Year The Swallows Came Early, 11-year-old Eleanor “Groovy” Robinson, is named after your grandmother. Are there any personality quirks that your fictional Eleanor and the real Eleanor share?

Kathryn Fitzmaurice: The only thing they share is their name. But Groovy’s great grandmother, Eleanor Robinson, whom she is named after; her character is almost exactly how my own grandmother was. My own grandmother (the real Eleanor Robinson) had a porcelain owl collection, she wrote very late at night, and was interested in paranormal happenings. I tried to make the character in the book very much like my own grandmother. I did this to honor everything she had done to encourage me in becoming a writer. Of course she never got to read my book, but it still feels really special to me.

3. I love the article in the OC Register about your journey from inspiration to published book and your grandmother’s inscription in the Emily Dickinson book. Have you ever shown your grandmother’s box of unpublished writings to anyone else?

Kathryn Fitzmaurice: My family has seen them, and then I showed them to the photographer at the OC Register. My mother and I go through them sometimes, but no one else has seen them. Here is a photograph of a few of them in a pile:

These were from her short story collection. I really love reading them along with the detailed notes she wrote to herself about her characters and their personalities, etc.

4. How long did it take you to write The Year the Swallows Came Early?

Kathryn Fitzmaurice: It took me three years to write the story. Of course, a lot of it was done (revised) the last year, after I got an agent.

5. Your second book is about Groovy’s friends. Do you intend to write more books about these characters or are you going to stop at two?

Kathryn Fitzmaurice: The second book is about Frankie. It’s written from his point of view. I’m still revising it right now. He is more difficult to write about than Eleanor because he’s much more complicated. I’m not sure if I’ll write one about any of the other characters. I think it would be fun to write one about Marisol, though. She’s so bossy and talented at the same time!

6. You’ve woven a lot of food into your tale. Does food play a large role in the second book as well?

Kathryn Fitzmaurice: No, food does not play a big part in the second book because food is not really a part of Frankie’s day to day life. In fact, the only thing he really likes is cheese sandwiches!

7. Did you ever attend or want to attend cooking school yourself?

Kathryn Fitzmaurice: Well, here is where I admit that I completely can’t stand to not only make out a grocery list, but go to the market! I cook because I have to. I have two teenage boys who are always starving, but really, I don’t enjoy cooking that much.

8. How did you come to choose writing Middle Grade instead adult fiction?

Kathryn Fitzmaurice: Yes, it is considered middle grade fiction, for readers ages 9-12. I enjoy writing for this age because kids these ages are still so hopeful about their world and all the possibilities that may happen. And also, when I first started the book, my own boys were about this age, so I was reading (with them) a lot of middle grade novels.

9. What are some of your favorite Middle Grade (or YA) books?

Kathryn Fitzmaurice: I enjoy anything written by Kate DiCamillo, Debra Wiles, Sharon Creech, Susan Patron, Ann Martin, and Katherine Hannigan….I could go on for awhile here. There’s so many amazing writers today.

10. What is your writing schedule like, ie do you have a set time every day during which you write?

Kathryn Fitzmaurice: Usually, I write every weekday between the hours of 9am and 3pm. But that doesn’t always happen. I drink very strong green tea while I write and try not to answer the phone (unless it’s my mother!). My dog, Holly, sits with me in my home office. She is a very big help!

11. Do you find you spend more writing time with the computer keyboard or pen and paper? Pros or cons of either?

Kathryn Fitzmaurice: I always write the first draft on the computer, then print it and make revisions in pencil. I need to see it on the floor all layed out so I can cut and paste sections together. Then I retype it back on the computer, print it again, make more revisions, etc., until it is done. This usually takes SEVERAL times before it is ready to be read by my agent, who usually (luckily!) sends it back again for another draft. Then, once the publisher, Molly O’Neill at HarperCollins, sees it, she will also have suggestions to make it better. There is the copy editor, who looks at it after the editor and helps me find the discrepancies I may have overlooked. On one page of the manuscript, there could be up to ten sticky notes from the copy editor suggesting changes.

12. Though you grew up in Arizona, you now live in California and set your story in a California town. Do you find the California landscape/environment inspires your writing?

Kathryn Fitzmaurice: I have always loved living in California. I’ve lived in three houses since I’ve been here, all within a couple of miles from each other. But Arizona is really beautiful, too. I love the desert almost as much as I love the beach.

13. Anything else you’d like to say?

Kathryn Fitzmaurice: Thank you very much for interviewing me!

Kathryn has graciously offered to give away one signed copy of The Year the Swallows Came Early. To enter the giveaway, please check out Kathryn’s site and leave a comment here by midnight Pacific time Wednesday March 25 (which happens to be my birthday) telling me why you want to read this book or what you enjoyed learning about Kathryn. The more entertaining the comment, the more appreciative I am…

US addresses only.

EDITED: The winner is Edj! Come on down!

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This post contributed to Thursday Thirteen.

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What favorite books from your childhood do you plan to introduce to your children? I’ve been thinking of this answer since the day I found out I was pregnant for the first time. Technically, I should say since the day after I found I was pregnant, because the day I found out I was pregnant was given over to a hysterical break down of hormonal proportions, followed by a cheeseburger. But, ah, the next day, when I thought to myself, I get to have a baby—a life to nurture, to raise, to love, and *yippity-skippity* to read to!

I looked at my bookshelves of all the books I’ve read and want to read, of children’s books I’ve been carting around forever and a day–the Beatrix Potter collection, the Roald Dahl books, the Dr. Seuss books, Alice in Wonderland, Shel Silverstein, every variety of myth, legend, and fairy tale you can imagine, but oh, nothing tops how much I look forward to sharing The Chronicles of Narnia with my kids—in the order that they were written and published, I might add, not this chronological order BS that they’ve been publishing them in since the 90s. I heard C.S. Lewis himself wrote a letter wherein he stated that he didn’t intend all the books when he started them, and agreed that they should be read in chronological order. It is one of my goals in life to find this letter and DESTROY IT.

“I will break you.”

So, yes, the Chronicles of Narnia, all seven of them, starting with The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. And after we’re done reading each book, we will watch ALL the movie versions — the most recent film, the cartoon, the BBC miniseries, yeah, I’ve got them all. And while we watch these entertaining works of cinema and television, we will be eating food from the world of Narnia. How will we do this, you ask? Why, with the help of my Narnia Cookbook– 

My photo. My cookbook. Mine.

The Narnia Cookbook is a rare collector’s book, and mine is in perfect condition—perfect for my kids to wreck, that is. I bought it on eBay for a price not worth fessing up to, but let’s just say it’s way less than the amount my uncle shelled out for an original printing of Alice in Wonderland.

This fascinating cookbook has page upon page of Narnian delicacies (which are, coincidentally, very similar in style and taste to the menu at my local British pub). The cookbook includes lovely illustrations, along with quoted passages from the various Chronicles that show where and when said food is eaten. Oh, what joys I will have with my children as we make… hmm, Porridge. Huh. What’s next? Bacon, eggs, and mushrooms. Okay, sounds exotic. Anything else? Everyday White Bread. I see. Seems that the Narnians weren’t too into the breakfast meals. What do we have for lunch? Pigeon Pie. Interesting. They provide the recipe for use with Cornish game hens, but according to the commentary, wild wood pigeons are made into pies in rural England and Ireland.
From The Silver Chair, “Sir, be pleased to take another breast of pigeon, I entreat you.” More like mistreat you! EEEEEEWWWWW!!!!! While we’re at it, why don’t we add a side of sewer rat? And sugar coated bugs. 

Just a spoonful of sugar helps the mantises go down.

Moving on. A section for afternoon tea? Whatever. I don’t do that. Guess that means I’ll miss out on the hot sardines on toast. What say you for dinner? Free your adolescent mind to wander with glee at the prospective jokes of this meal’s name: Cock-a-leekie Soup. Yeah. There’s also stewed eel. Mmmm, rubbery. Another favorite, Chicken Breasts Masquerading as Snipe. I’m sure it’s every chicken’s secret desire to be a snipe: 

Pigeons want me, and chickens want to BE me.

There are plenty of dessert recipes to choose from, but I am interested in only one. Turkish Delight. When I was in college, my friend and I were very excited to discover a tin of Turkish Delight at the fabulous Mona’s in New Orleans. He too was a big Narnia fan. We always imagined it to be only the most amazing taste experience ever, and well, surprise surprise, it was bad (understatement of the year). It was sticky and tar-like and not-at-all flavorful. I’d have been willing to forsake it for some pigeon pie. Time passes on, though, and I’ve decided to give Turkish Delight a second chance. Maybe, like the difference between homemade Italian food and Chef Boyardee, it’s all about the freshness, so I plan to make my own Turkish Delight. If it’s still gross, I can always fall back on some cock-a-leekie soup (I know, I’m so immature. If only there had been a recipe for spotted dick).I love my Narnia Cookbook. At least all the food in it, though slightly boring, is edible. Could you imagine if they came out with a Middle Earth Cookbook? I suspect the menu would read ever more esoteric than the menu at The Hobbit (wonderful restaurant experience in Orange CA). Indeed, I would be most disgusted to come across a cookbook that provided me with a recipe for “horseflesh.” I would, however, be delighted with a Middle Earth Drinking Guide:

1. Orc-Liquor –
“Ugluk thrust a flask between his [Pippin’s] teeth and poured some burning liquid down his throat: he felt a hot fierce glow flow through him. The pain in his legs and ankles vanished. He could stand.”

Hmm, Red Bull and Vodka?

2. Old Winyard -
“Old Rory Brandybuck, in return for much hospitality, got a dozen bottles of Old Winyards: a strong red wine from the Southfarthing.”

So definitely not this: