- BN ID: 2940016452401
- Publisher: Rocking Horse Publishing
- Publication date: 6/26/2013
- Format: eBook
- Pages: 285
- File size: 159 KB
INTERVIEW WITH DEBBIE MANBER KUPFER
P.A.W.S.
Debbie welcome to my blog! And congratulations on your debut novel being published.
Thank you!
Tell us a bit about the new novel.
10-year old Miri is given a silver cat amulet on a chain by her grandmother
Celia on the day before she dies. Her grandmother tells her it's important that
she keeps it with her always. She is sent to live with her uncle and aunt in
St. Louis who not really wanting children ship her off to a private boarding
school where she's bullied by her classmates. One day a group of bullies chase
her up into a tree and then something unexpected happens . .
Where did the idea for the novel come from?
Ever since I read the third Harry Potter book, The Prisoner of Azkaban I’ve been fascinated by the idea of Animagi and I knew that if I had the power to change into an animal it would be a cat. Miri’s story came to me in a flash last October and I’m indebted to my daughter Broni who encouraged me to write it.
It seems like the YA genre is on fire.
What about the genre made you interested enough to write a YA novel.
What about the genre made you interested enough to write a YA novel.
Well I love reading YA/Crossover books myself. Some of the most
interesting stories of the last decade, such as The Hunger Games, Inkheart and
the Golden Compass have come from this genre. Saying that,
I didn’t set out to write a YA book – just to tell a story that was burning
inside me and I hope that readers of all ages will enjoy it.
Now convince this adult only fiction lover that she’d enjoy
it.
While the initial focus of the story is Miri’s tale, the backgrounds
and motivations of the adult characters in the book are explored in depth. The
book also deals with some tough subjects including how sometimes we get trapped
into abusive relationships and fool ourselves that we have no other choice.
Debbie you’ve lived all over the world including Israel and
the UK. How did you ever end up in St. Louis?
I grew up in England and moved to Israel after I completed college and entirely expected that this was where I would live my life, but fate had other ideas. I met my husband, who is a St. Louis native, in Jerusalem in 1992 and after traveling back and forth for three years in 1995 we finally decided to get married and I moved to the States.
Can you tell us your personal journey to becoming an author?
I’ve always written from when I was a child. I’ve even started other novels – most of which are buried in notebooks somewhere in my basement. I wanted to finish those novels, but I never felt I had the time. Then two years ago I discovered I had a lump in my breast and went into cancer treatment. Today thanks to the wonderful staff at the Missouri Baptist Cancer Center I am cancer free, but having had cancer makes you understand that if you truly want to do something you need to make it happen.
I knew about National Novel Writing Month (http://www.nanowrimo.org) as I had some other friends who I had participated, so when the story of Miri came to me I set about recording it during NaNoWriMo last November. The deadline of a month helped keep me on track and for the first time ever I actually finished a novel.
Will there be another novel in your future?
Oh yes! I have a whole world of P.A.W.S. in my head and plan to begin
my second novel in July at Camp NaNoWriMo!
Debbie are you planning any signings or events to celebrate
the release?
We are planning a big release party at All on the Same Page bookstore in Creve Coeur on June 22 and I hope there will be other events in the future.
Thank you for answering my questions and good luck with the
novel!
It was my pleasure, and thank you!
Great interview, I came to read the YA genre the same way as Debbie, really because of my daughters and some have great cross-over appeal. Now I read from YA, NA and Adult fiction and love it
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Kim :)
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