The DMS was lucky enough to interview Kristin Levine. Lizzy reviewed The Lions of Little Rock, and it was great to share our thoughts about it and hear yours! We're excited to learn a little bit more about her story. So, without further ado... take it away, Kristin!
What
inspired you to write The Lions of Little
Rock?
When I was in
elementary school in the early 1980s, my mainly white neighborhood was paired
with a mainly black neighborhood to create two integrated elementary schools,
one for grades K-3 and the other for grades 4-6. When I asked my parents why I
had to ride the bus to school, instead of just going to the school nearest my
house, they told me it was a great opportunity for me to go to school with
people who were different from me, by race, social class, religion, etc. They
said it was only fair that the busing be shared by both neighborhoods. Their
enthusiasm for the pairing of our schools made a huge impression on me.
In addition, my
mother grew up in Little Rock. When I started asking her about her childhood,
the very first thing she told me was about listening to the lions roar at
night. Something about that detail stuck with me. Because of my personal experience
with integration and my mother's family history, 1950s Little Rock seemed like
an obvious choice of time and place for my second book.
How
long did it take you to write The Lions
of Little Rock? What was your research process like?
The Lions of Little Rock took me around three years - a year
researching, a year writing, and a year revising with my editor. I was actually
planning to write a book set during 1957-58 when the Little
Rock Nine were integrating Central High School. But when I went to Little Rock
to do some interviews, everyone I talked to had much more to say about 1958-59,
the year when the schools were closed.
I had never
heard about schools being closed to prevent integration. It seemed like such a
drastic thing to do - cutting off your nose to spite your face. But as I did
more research, I realized this had happened in other places as well, including
in my home state of Virginia.
And in some
ways, more people were affected by the events of 1958-59. Nearly everyone had a
sibling, friend or neighbor who was affected by the four public high schools
being closed. Also, the events of the Little Rock Nine have already been
written about by those who were there. I eventually decided I could add more to
the discussion by writing about the "lost year."
What
are some of your favorite books from childhood? Were there any specific authors
who inspired you?
When I was
eleven years old and in fifth grade, I was having a hard year. I'm not sure
exactly why - changing friends, puberty, feeling like I didn't fit in, etc. At
one point during that year I read Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain series (The Book of Three, The Black
Cauldron, The Castle of Llyr, Taran Wanderer, The High King) and I loved
them so much, I started carrying around all five of them in a bag with me at
all times, just in case I wanted to read part of them again.
You would think
this unusual behavior would have caused me to become even more isolated, but it
actually had the opposite effect. I started loaning out my books, and pretty
soon, everyone in the fifth grade was reading them. Eventually, the cutest,
most popular boy in school came up to me and asked to borrow the first book in
the series! So those books have always maintained a special place in my heart.
More
recently, The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis was
probably the biggest influence on my books.
I love Curtis' mix of humor and history, and just adore what a loving
family he portrays in that book, despite all the conflict and drama.
Where
did you come up with the characters:
Liz and Marlee?
Marlee was kind of based on my mother,
Marlene. My mom worked at IBM as a computer programmer in the 1960s, and so I
knew I wanted to portray a shy girl who was interested in science and
technology. I was also good
at math like Marlee, and I think I shared her sense of wanting to do what was
right, but otherwise, I don't think I was too much like her as a child.
The
idea of Marlee being so quiet came from my editor telling me I needed to work
on Marlee's "voice." I think I took her a little too literally, but I
started thinking about a girl I had known when I was in junior high who almost
never spoke. Once I tried briefly to be friendly to her, but when she didn't
respond right away, I went back to simply ignoring her like everyone else. I've
always wondered what would have happened if I'd tried a little harder.
Liz came about as more
of a foil to Marlee. If Marlee was so shy, I started thinking about what kind
of a person she would need as a friend. I wanted to create someone who could
pull her out of her shell, and also someone who could learn something from her
as well.
If
you could befriend a character from any of your books, who would you befriend?
Why?
Probably Dit from my
first book, The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had.
He was so outgoing, and good at being friends with everyone. He was good at
sports too, and I never was growing up. I like to think, at least he could have
taught me to throw a baseball!
Where
do you like to write? Do you listen to music while you are writing?
I do a lot of writing
at home at my dining room table, or at the island in my kitchen. Sometimes I write
at the library or at a local coffee shop. There really isn't one special spot -
I've trained myself to write anywhere. I usually don't listen to music when I
write because I find it kind of distracting. The only exception is if I'm
typing in a scene I have previously written down by hand. Then I find that
sometimes music helps me concentrate.
If
you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? Why?
Vienna,
Austria. I actually did live there for a year once. Between high school and college
I took a year off and lived in Austria, working as an au pair. It was fabulous!
I especially loved all the music. When I was there (1992-93) standing room at
the opera cost $1.50 and a movie ticket cost $9. I've never since been able to
afford so much live music!
Are
you currently working on a book? If so, can you tell us a little bit about it?
My third book, The Paper Cowboy, is coming out in
September. It was (very loosely) based on my dad's life growing up a suburb of
Chicago. You can read more about it here.
*Fill out the rafflecopter form below and enter the giveaway for your chance to win a signed copy of this new middle grade book!
Read the reviews!
Giveaway ends Sunday, September 7th
Open to US and International
Enter the Book Giveaway:
1) Follow Fairday's Blog with GFC or Bloglovin
2) Leave us a comment:
2) Leave us a comment:
What school memory sticks out in your mind?
3) Fill out the Rafflecopter form below Giveaway ends Sunday, September 7th
Open to US and International
