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Dear Brody,
I was really curious about this book. I knew it was made into a movie that was popular. Typically, books are ALWAYS much better than the movie. This is because movies have to leave out a lot of the book, or the movie would be too long. This book is different from anything I've read. Things are puzzling. You can't figure out what is actually going on. You know things are wrong, and that something evil is going on, but you can't figure out what it is. This book leaves you wondering... I liked that the main characers were owls. I've always thought owls are mysterious. The setting, too, is mysterious ... There are several books in this series. I will read the others! Ms Hesse |
Just look at how many species of owls there are!!!! HERE
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AN INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR --Great Advice for Writers!!!
How did you become a writer?
As a child, I loved to make up stories in my head. I was a compulsive story maker. I say “story maker” because I never told anyone or showed anyone my stories. I first realized I could be a writer when I was about ten years old. I was with my family, driving at night in our car with the top down. The sky looked so interesting—you couldn't see the stars because of these woolly clouds. And I said it looked like a sheep back sky. My mom turned around and said, “Kathryn, you should be a writer.” When my mom said that, I thought, “Wow, maybe I will be.”
Where do you get your ideas?
This is the question I think that I am most often asked by people, and I mean all people—kids, the guy who cuts my lawn, the TV repairman, my doctor... It’s as mysterious to me as it is to all of you. I did read someplace that some famous writer (I forget who) said that a writer is not necessarily the smartest person in the room but the most observant. So I think I am just a good observer, and perhaps I see things and wonder about them in odd ways; and this means sometimes making up stories about them. Many Christmases ago, I saw a raccoon in our trash shed dragging away a gingerbread house I had made for my kids. Now, I have never written a story about a raccoon celebrating Christmas. But someday I might, because, for years, I have been thinking about that raccoon waddling out our yard and down the street with that gingerbread house. You get the idea—things come to me in weird ways. I must admit, also, that I read a tremendous amount. I read everything—novels, non-fiction, newspapers. Reading gives me a lot of ideas.
How do you name your characters?
Well, names just sort of come to me. I might hear a name I particularly like and say, “okay that might work for this story.” Since I write a lot of historical fiction, I often look for old fashioned names.
How do you think up the titles for your books?
My husband! My husband is the best title-maker going. Once in great while I’ll think up a title. The odd thing about that is, usually, a title is thought up after an author has finished writing a book. But, when I think of a title myself, I think of it when I first decide to write a book.
How long does it take you to write a book?
Anywhere from six weeks to six months. After I finish writing, it goes to the publishers who edit it, I do revisions, and they read it again. So, it takes at least another nine months to a year before it comes out.
What’s the best advice you can give me if I want to become a writer?
READ READ READ! And read widely. Read novels, read newspapers, read science, and read history. If you read, you learn how to build characters, structure a story, and handle a plot. So READ!
How did you become a writer?
As a child, I loved to make up stories in my head. I was a compulsive story maker. I say “story maker” because I never told anyone or showed anyone my stories. I first realized I could be a writer when I was about ten years old. I was with my family, driving at night in our car with the top down. The sky looked so interesting—you couldn't see the stars because of these woolly clouds. And I said it looked like a sheep back sky. My mom turned around and said, “Kathryn, you should be a writer.” When my mom said that, I thought, “Wow, maybe I will be.”
Where do you get your ideas?
This is the question I think that I am most often asked by people, and I mean all people—kids, the guy who cuts my lawn, the TV repairman, my doctor... It’s as mysterious to me as it is to all of you. I did read someplace that some famous writer (I forget who) said that a writer is not necessarily the smartest person in the room but the most observant. So I think I am just a good observer, and perhaps I see things and wonder about them in odd ways; and this means sometimes making up stories about them. Many Christmases ago, I saw a raccoon in our trash shed dragging away a gingerbread house I had made for my kids. Now, I have never written a story about a raccoon celebrating Christmas. But someday I might, because, for years, I have been thinking about that raccoon waddling out our yard and down the street with that gingerbread house. You get the idea—things come to me in weird ways. I must admit, also, that I read a tremendous amount. I read everything—novels, non-fiction, newspapers. Reading gives me a lot of ideas.
How do you name your characters?
Well, names just sort of come to me. I might hear a name I particularly like and say, “okay that might work for this story.” Since I write a lot of historical fiction, I often look for old fashioned names.
How do you think up the titles for your books?
My husband! My husband is the best title-maker going. Once in great while I’ll think up a title. The odd thing about that is, usually, a title is thought up after an author has finished writing a book. But, when I think of a title myself, I think of it when I first decide to write a book.
How long does it take you to write a book?
Anywhere from six weeks to six months. After I finish writing, it goes to the publishers who edit it, I do revisions, and they read it again. So, it takes at least another nine months to a year before it comes out.
What’s the best advice you can give me if I want to become a writer?
READ READ READ! And read widely. Read novels, read newspapers, read science, and read history. If you read, you learn how to build characters, structure a story, and handle a plot. So READ!
