You’ve worked as a librarian in the past – what prompted the move to writing?
It was actually a complete accident! I’d always wanted to be a writer, but didn’t think it was a realistic dream for an ordinary girl from small-town Tasmania.
After graduating from my librarianship degree, I got a job working in a private boys’ school and felt woefully unqualified
to work with children’s and YA literature (despite having always loved it). I enrolled in a Graduate Diploma in Literary Studies. One of the elective subjects was in creative writing – I enrolled “just for fun”. My lecturer liked my writing enough to encourage me to apply for a literary fellowship. I won the fellowship and my first agent contacted me and ... snowballs! So many snowballs!
I was very lucky. But I also loved being a librarian, working with kids. Maybe I’ll go back to it one day!
All of your works are, at least partly, set in your home state of Tasmania. Why is that?
Growing up, I never read books that reflected me, my experiences or my home. There were very few children’s or YA books even set in Australia and the ones that were, featured the big cities or the outback. I grew up in regional Tasmania – Melbourne or the bush might as well have been a different planet. I write books for the kid who didn’t see herself, so kids now can feel like their life and their stories matter.
Does your process change between writing a book series – like Juno Jones – and writing a standalone novel like Aster’s Good, Right Things?
Oh, absolutely! I’ve never thought of myself as a naturally “funny” person. The quirkiness of the Juno books definitely doesn’t come easily to me! There is definitely much more plotting and planning and refining when it comes to those books.
Also, Juno is nothing like me, so it takes a while to get into her very fierce shoes. Aster is much closer to home and to my own experiences, so the writing flowed much more easily.
However, because of the weightier themes in that book, I wanted to be especially careful about how I handled the characters and narrative, so the research and editing took longer.
Aster’s Good, Right Things is considered an #ownvoices novel. What experiences did you draw from when writing?
I’ve lived with anxiety (and other mental health conditions) for my whole life. I remember vividly being so incapacitated by it as a child that I withdrew from friends, could not complete schoolwork and hated social occasions. I went through long periods of insomnia and really quite severe depression. I was afraid of everything and I wished so hard that I could just be normal.
I didn’t see the problems I was having reflected in media or literature, so I thought I was the only one feeling like that. It’s really important to me now to show kids going through this stuff today that they are not alone.
Aster’s Good, Right Things deals with some complex themes – including mental health, family breakdowns, and bullying. Was it a challenge to write about these deeper issues for a younger audience?
It wasn’t a challenge to write, as ‘Child Kate’ still has a very loud voice inside me! But it was a challenge to ensure I did it all with sensitivity and care. It is incredibly important to me that this story doesn’t exacerbate any fears or problems young readers might already have.
Food features heavily in Aster’s Good, Right Things – both in the healthy food Aster is required to pack for school and the contraband treats Xavier always seems to have. What does food mean to you? How do you balance health with enjoyment?
What an interesting question! It’s made more complicated for me by the fact I have coeliac disease (which means I can’t eat gluten) and a severe lactose intolerance. So, food is tricky!
I also have a little girl and I want her to have a positive relationship with food. I teach her that no food is good or bad. If you eat a bag of jelly beans, that’s not great for you, but neither is eating a whole bag of apples! We work on eating food that makes you strong and healthy as she’s very active, but we also have lots of treats because they are good for your mental health.
Food is fuel but should be fun as well. We eat protein for muscles and fruit and vegetables for healthy immune systems ... and chocolate (lactose free for me) because it makes us happy and that’s part of health, too!
Aster fears being seen as ‘childish’ and avoids doing things that will make her seem less mature. Do you think many children struggle with this?
Absolutely! I have an 8-year-old – right on the cusp of being a “tween”. She vacillates wildly between wanting to be grown up and independent and still wanting to be my baby. I felt the same way, at her age. It’s such a hard thing, emerging from the protective nest. As parents, the need to keep our kids safe while also encouraging their independence is a tough balancing act and I think it is for kids, too. We’re all just feeling our way through!
...I write books for the kid who didn’t see herself, so kids now can feel like their life & their stories matter...
2020 was a busy year for you, with Juno Jones, Book Sleuth; The Heartsong of Wonder Quinn; and Aster’s Good, Right Things all released in just three months. How do you manage so many different projects at once?
With great difficulty, especially in 2020! I think all of our brains are a bit custard, right now. Having projects to cling on to is the only thing that has kept me at all solid this year—that and hugging my kid!
Can you reveal to us what you’re working on at the moment?
I’m working on book three in the trilogy started by The Heartsong of Wonder Quinn. I love diving deep into worlds and losing myself. It’s fun to revisit the characters and locations. There could well be another Aster book in the future!
Is there anything you would like educators to know about the use of Aster’s Good, Right Things in libraries and classrooms?
Teachers and librarians know what they’re doing with this stuff. Watch your kids, listen to them. You’ll know which ones this book is meant for. I really hope it opens up a conversation or two.
Are you available for virtual school visits?
Yes! I can be contacted via my website, kategordon.com.au