Kim Harris Thacker: Writer

My dear friend, talented writer Sharon Himsl, tagged me in The Next Big Thing Blog Hop, and I am so excited to talk about one of my works-in-progress! Thanks for tagging me, Sharon!

What is the working title of your book?

Quill

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I’ve been fascinated by Mother Goose nursery rhymes since I was a tiny child, and about six years ago, I decided I wanted to write a work of historical fiction about the young woman who became “Mother Goose.” I knew, at the time, that what we commonly think of as the Mother Goose rhymes were actually the works of more than one person, but I didn’t realize, until I started seriously researching the nursery rhymes, just how many people “could have been” Mother Goose. Rhymes are attributed to individuals who lived in many different countries at many different times under many different political structures, and some of the rhymes really have no identifiable origin, since they were a part of oral tradition for centuries at the time someone thought to write them down.

At any rate, I decided that in order to write a book that got at all the interesting politics and people that inspired our real Mother Goose nursery rhymes, I needed to have the freedom to create my own world with my own political and religious structure. However, some of my real-life research was just too fascinating not to include! For example, I learned that some Mother Goose rhymes have been attributed to Charlemagne’s mother, whom some historians refer to as “Bertha the Goosefoot.” When I learned this, my brain exploded with possibilities. I decided to create a young woman with a webbed foot to “star” in my novel. This works perfectly, because Mother Goose is traditionally portrayed as a witch, and hundreds of years ago (not even that long ago, in some places) many people thought that if a person had a physical trait that could be called “animalistic” at all, then that person was more than likely a witch. I love it when things come together for me when I’m writing.

Since my novel is a work of fantasy, I also got to create my own nursery rhymes for the book. I studied various rhyme structures and modeled my verses after those from tradition (for the most part).

What genre does your book fall under?

Fantasy

What actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Ooo…this is fun. But before I drop names and show you photos, let me explain that all of the actors that I have chosen as “face inspiration” for my characters are actually too old to play my characters in a movie rendition (for the most part). However, they look, to some degree, how I imagine my characters to look.

This is my main character, Quilla (Quill): Felicity Jones. I wanted someone with dark eyes, but Ms. Jones’s are blue, I think. She is lovely, but she is also unique-looking, and I imagine Quill to be both of those things.

Quill’s brother, Pendry (Pen): Ben Whishaw

Quill’s and Pen’s guardian, Scribe Henry Black; also Henry’s brother, Max: Ioan Gruffud.

Cleric Hollywell:  Patrick Stewart

Cleric Locke: Michael Wincott

Vestor Marchant: Eddie Redmayne

I’ve got a large cast of characters in my book, but that’s enough photos of people, I think!

But before we quit entirely with the photos, here’s one more that inspires me when I think of my setting of “Heath Gate Temple” (This is actually Khao Luang Cave Temple in Thailand, as photographed by Craig Ferguson):

Gorgeous, right?

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

When seventeen-year-old Quilla Black–a ward of Heath Gate Temple who is ostracized by her community because she has a webbed foot–learns that her life is in danger and that her only hope for surviving the impending witch hunts rests in the hands of a rebel political group, she offers to help the rebels in their efforts to band together by inserting coded meeting times and locations into the simple children’s rhymes the king requires her to write. Whew! That’s a loooooooong and convoluted sentence. I’m gonna have to work on that.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I plan to have this book published traditionally.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

It took me about a year (total–I took many breaks) to write my first draft, which is vastly different from the draft I’m working on now (which has also taken about a year). I’m a stay-at-home mom, and my children are my priority, so it does take me quite a while to complete a project. However, I know this about myself, and I’m very disciplined, so I don’t even feel like I’m taking “too long.”

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

My book is full of political intrigue and has a healthy dose of romance, like Megan Whalen Turner’s “The Queen’s Thief” series; but my book is also about a character who is getting to know and accept herself, like Shannon Hale’s character Rin in FOREST BORN. Like Rae Carson’s THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS and Lena Coakley’s WITCHLANDERS, religion (a made-up one) plays a major role in my story.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

In my book, the main character, Quill, struggles with her identity. In an effort to understand the world around her and her place within the world, she writes “creation myths” that explain these things. These myths also serve other purposes, such as explaining the religious and political structure of the culture. Because Quill learns more and more about herself and the world throughout the course of the book, she constantly revises her creation myths with this new information. Writing these myths has been the highlight of writing this book. I love the formal language and the scenes such language sets. I also really enjoyed writing my own politically-charged nursery rhymes.

If you’re interested in learning more about creation myths or in reading some for yourself, try Virginia Hamilton’s Newbery award-winning collection, IN THE BEGINNING. It’s remarkable and fascinating, and I love it.

I have tagged writer Alexa Barry, and you can learn more about her and her work-in-progress by clicking on her name (above) sometime after Monday, March 18. Of course, I’d click on her name right away, if I were you, since her website is highly enjoyable, and you’re sure to go back for more, anyway!