Interviews
An Exclusive Interview with Alice Hoffman
Barnes & Noble.com: Where did the idea for Indigo come from? Did you intend for this book to "feel" similar to Aquamarine? Both books rely heavily on water imagery and beings (mermaids, mermen...). Do you have a personal connection with water?
Alice Hoffman: Growing up on Long Island, I spent a great deal of time at the beach as a child, and water imagery is always important to me on many levels -- especially as a reflection of our dream lives and of the unconscious. I do think of Aquamarine and Indigo as sister-and-brother books; they reflect each other. I'm also a Pisces, drawn to the water by my nature.
B&N.com: Your books are described as fantastic and magical...and they all resound
with elements of magic. Do you believe in magic? How does magic figure in your own real world?
AH: I think that magic has always been a part of literature. As a reader, I began with fairy tales, folktales, and my grandmother's Russian stories, so it is a natural way for me to tell a tale. I have always incorporated magical elements into my work -- often from the natural world. A mermaid is an incredible being, but so is a firefly.
B&N.com: The characters in both Aquamarine and Indigo rely heavily on their friendships -- which are strong and significant -- for getting through difficult situations, and healing. Were any of your own childhood friendships the inspiration for this? Did you -- like the characters in both books -- ever have to come to grips with your best friend(s) moving away?
AH: I'm always surprised when I read books in which the characters have no friends or when friendship doesn't matter in a novel. It's a theme I'm interested in, and it's also important in building a character. My friendship with my oldest friend, Carol -- we met when we were both three years old -- was the model for the girls in Aquamarine. Carol did move away to Maryland when we were in high school. Though it was traumatic, we have maintained our friendship to this day. Both Aquamarine and Indigo are about the importance of friendship and deal with the ways in which love and friendship continue even in the face of loss, whether it be a move to another state or a death.
B&N.com: Is Martha Glimmer anything like you were as a child? She's certainly experienced a lot of loss in her young life. Where did you find her voice?
AH: I wrote Indigo soon after the loss of my mother. Writing the book was a healing experience and allowed me to relate to Martha's loss. Like Martha, I think my friends very much helped me through, reminding me that we have to live in the present, while bringing the past with us in our hearts.
B&N.com: Do your own kids influence your writing?
AH: I began to write children's books because I wanted to include my children in my work and share the process with them. My youngest son is now 13 and is a great reader and editor. My oldest friend, Carol, has a daughter, Allison, a senior in high school, whom I always go to for advice on teenage issues.
B&N.com: Do you find it more difficult or easier to write for young people as
opposed to writing for adults?
AH: I actually think there's not much difference in writing for young readers or adults. I might avoid certain subjects that wouldn't be interesting or appropriate for a certain age group, but the heart of a book is still the same.
B&N.com: Were you a storyteller and/or writer as a child? Did you always want to be a writer?
AH: I was more of a reader than a writer, although I think all writers begin that way. My Russian grandmother was a storyteller, as was my father, so stories were important to the people I loved. I never imagined that I myself could be a writer -- so I feel lucky when it comes to that.
B&N.com: Do you have plans to write more books for young people? Are you working
on anything right now?
AH: I love writing books for young people, and have just finished a
postapocalyptic fairy tale called Green Angel that has to do with love and
loss and being young. For me, a book like this works if it is as meaningful for a child or teenage reader as it is for an adult reader.
B&N.com: What are some of your favorite children's books?
AH: My favorite books when I was growing up were the wonderful magical books of Edward Eager, one of the inventors of suburban magic. Magic or Not, Magic by the Lake, and Half Magic were my absolute favorites. I was also a big Lassie and Lad fan. I also adored Mary Poppins. I read a great deal of science fiction and fantasy, and loved the brilliant Ray Bradbury. Later on, I read adult books that I found on my mother's bookshelf, including Catcher in the Rye and anything written by Shirley Jackson, especially We Have Always Lived in the Castle. I've always believed that what you read as a child influences you forever,
not just as a reader but as an integral part of the person you grow up to become. The way you experience the world is, in part, formed by what you read as a child. I think that's why the books you love as a child stay with you more than any others. They're a part of your childhood...a part of you.
