Author and avid woodswoman, Hilary T. Smith |
When I discovered that my new anonymous best friend also offered manuscript critiques, I asked my husband to get me one for Christmas. He obliged, and I handed my first YA novel to this mysterious young woman who appeared only as a blur of shaggy hair in her blogger photo. Somehow, I knew to trust her. And it was the best instinct I ever had. Her critique was the "aha!" moment I desperately needed—a turning point in my growth as a writer that ultimately led to my success in finding an agent and publisher.
In November 2011, INTERN's YA debut sold to Harper Collins' Katherine Tegen Books, and real actual hilary (Hilary T. Smith) was unmasked. She continues to blog about her experiences as a writer and nomad. Her novel WILD AWAKE will be released into the wild on May 28, with much anticipation from her fans, friends and one very grateful pen pal.
Hilary kindly agreed to answer a few questions here on my humble blog:
A:
I had a
conversation with a friend about halfway through the writing
process that sums
it up nicely. The conversation boiled down to this:
Most if not all creative
people undergo at least one major alienation
experience in their formative
years that permanently thrusts them off
a mainstream path. Whether it's mental
illness, psychedelic drugs,
meditation, a wilderness encounter, or a traumatic
event like the
death of a friend, it causes you to see reality in a sharply
different
light and feel "apart" from society in some profound way.
Another term
for "alienation experience" might be "underworld
journey."
What I set out to do with WILD AWAKE was to show how one such
underworld
journey could take place—how a teen headed in a more or less mainstream
direction could have her entire reality shaken in a
terrible, but ultimately
beautiful, way.
Q: What was your
favorite part of the novel writing process? What was your least favorite?
A: My favorite part of
the writing process is definitely line editing. I
love poring over each
sentence, tinkering with words—how the tiniest
change can illuminate a
sentence or revive a wilted paragraph.
The hardest part was despairing over
the ending. There was a horrible
month-long period where I started to wonder
if I was even capable of
finishing the book—I felt so ashamed, and so afraid.
It wasn't that I
couldn't write an ending—I wrote dozens—but there was
something
eluding me. Luckily, I have an editor with a knack for exuding
supreme
calm. Her quiet certainty that the right ending would bubble up in its
own time was proved correct a few months later, when for no apparent
reason,
it did.
Q. Of the places you
visited on your travels, which would make the
best setting for a novel?
A: In Morocco, my
boyfriend and I stumbled on a tiny village one day when
we were were hiking
around. It's not on the map and cannot be Googled,
and the only outsiders who
normally go there are surfers who keep its
location a closely guarded secret.
In recent years, a few of the
village families have started renting rooms to
surfers on an
unofficial, bare-mattress-on-the-floor basis. We ended up
staying with
one of these families for a month. It reminded me very much of a
Virkram Seth novel—"change comes to the village.” Here is this place
where
most families are still raising chickens and goats and getting
their water
from a communal well, but now some people are putting
plastic chairs outside
their houses to create "restaurants" or
painting the word
"Hotel" on their front wall. The village is very
traditional, but
now these "hotels" are harboring young Westerners who
like to drink
beer, smoke hash, engage in premarital romances, and do
other un-Islamic
things. Travelers also consume water and electricity,
and create garbage—none
of which the village was equipped to deal
with. You could practically see the
lines of tension forming—money and
jobs on one hand, and the breakdown of the
cultural and environmental
ecosystem on the other. It's great novel
material—conflict, drama,
emotional impact, romance, tough questions...
Q. Favorite books of
the year?
A: The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain — I had never actually read Huck Finn—I
know, I know—but I picked it up
in Portugal because it was one of the only
English-language books I
could find, and fell in love.
The Way of Zen by
Alan Watts —
I tend to be high-strung and nervous. Alan Watts has a way of
convincing
me that everything is actually okay. *deep breath*
I and Thou by Martin
Buber
— Martin Buber is Techie Boyfriend's favorite philosopher. I and
Thou is
a surprisingly readable book about...well...existence?
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
— Favorite YA read of the year! I howled with tears for
hours after
finishing it, which literally never happens.
Q: How will you spend
book release day?
A: I don't even know
which part of the country I'll be in on May 28th,
but my fantasy book launch
for WILD AWAKE would involve a midnight
bike ride around Vancouver, followed
by yam fries with miso gravy at
the Naam, and perhaps a bonfire and skinny dipping
at Wreck Beach.
Thank you, Hilary. I hope you get your WILD AWAKE dream date!
*Also, you fall in love, but not with Lukas.
Thank you, Hilary. I hope you get your WILD AWAKE dream date!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
ABOUT WILD AWAKE:
In Wild Awake, Hilary T. Smith’s exhilarating and heart-wrenching YA debut novel, seventeen-year-old Kiri Byrd has big plans for her summer without parents. She intends to devote herself to her music and win the Battle of the Bands with her bandmate and best friend, Lukas. Perhaps then, in the excitement of victory, he will finally realize she’s the girl of his dreams.
But a phone call from a stranger shatters Kiri’s plans. He says he has her sister Suki’s stuff—her sister Suki, who died five years ago. This call throws Kiri into a spiral of chaos that opens old wounds and new mysteries.
Like If I Stay and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Wild Awake explores loss, love, and what it means to be alive.
Book Description
Things you earnestly believe will happen while your parents are away:
1. You will remember to water the azaleas.
2. You will take detailed, accurate messages.
3. You will call your older brother, Denny, if even the slightest thing goes wrong.
4. You and your best friend/bandmate, Lukas, will win Battle of the Bands.
5. Amid the thrill of victory, Lukas will finally realize you are the girl of his dreams.
2. You will take detailed, accurate messages.
3. You will call your older brother, Denny, if even the slightest thing goes wrong.
4. You and your best friend/bandmate, Lukas, will win Battle of the Bands.
5. Amid the thrill of victory, Lukas will finally realize you are the girl of his dreams.
Things that actually happen:
1. A stranger calls who says he knew your sister.
2. He says he has her stuff.
3. What stuff? Her stuff.
4. You tell him your parents won't be able to—
5. Sukey died five years ago; can't he—
6. You pick up a pen.
7. You scribble down the address.
8. You get on your bike and go.
9. Things . . . get a little crazy after that.*
2. He says he has her stuff.
3. What stuff? Her stuff.
4. You tell him your parents won't be able to—
5. Sukey died five years ago; can't he—
6. You pick up a pen.
7. You scribble down the address.
8. You get on your bike and go.
9. Things . . . get a little crazy after that.*
*Also, you fall in love, but not with Lukas.
Both exhilarating and wrenching, Hilary T. Smith's debut novel captures the messy glory of being alive, as seventeen-year-old Kiri Byrd discovers love, loss, chaos, and murder woven into a summer of music, madness, piercing heartbreak, and intoxicating joy.