|
|
Lazy Lion
|
An Interview with Terri Farley |
|
|
What made
you first want to write? I've loved reading as long as I can remember and when my mother gave me her old electric typewriter, I immediately started writing. Where did the idea for the series originate? Two places. Part of was born in that old Selectric. My parents claim the first story I wrote was called Pagan, the Wild Stallion. The second, more immediate place was in Nevada's Black Rock Desert. Working as a magazine reporter who specialized in gritty stories, I went on a ten day cattle drive. I discovered I loved to lag behind the herd and daydream. Luckily I was riding a savvy little cow horse who noticed when a cow split off & he went after her. The little cow horse was the real Ace. What do you think is it about Sam and The Phantom that connects with so many children? Taming a wild horse is a mythic and wide-spread fantasty -- before Pegasus, I'm sure. Having a friendship with one is even better. Especially if you are the only one and you're a kid! In my books, the weakest and least likely win through intelligence, intuition and kindness. What is your favorite book that you've written? Answering this would be like choosing between my children! Just can't do it. I will tell you that my mom's favorite book so far is DARK SUNSHINE and there's a scene in GIFT HORSE (book 9) which made me cry when I read it during rewrite. What do you like best about writing? Writing fulfills my wildest dreams. I get to go anywhere I want and do what I want. And I love hearing from my readers. It's the perfect intersection of all my goals --writer, teacher and mother -- when I hear from readers who can't put the book down or who talk about my characters (human and equine) as if they're real. What's the most asked question you get from the readers of your books? The most asked is --when I'll be at their school or neighborhood bookstore and that's tough, of course, because I'm so busy writing and teaching, I can't do many tours. I LOVE school visits, though and work in as many as possible. Who are some of your favorite contemporary children's book authors? I love Joan Bauer. Her quirky heroines touch my heart. My other two favorites qualify the same way Bette Green's SUMMER OF MY GERMAN SOLDIER and Harper Lee's TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (I love Patty and Scout --brave and honorable young women). For horses, you can't beat formerly jockey Chris Platt, author of WILLOW KING ! What things that you have accomplished in your life are you proud of? I'm proud of my readers' reactions to this series and of the praise I've received from librarians, booksellers and teachers. I'm proud of my teenage children who are principaled people with great senses of humor. And, oddly, I'm very proud of the part I played in saving an orphaned sea lion ! When did you first begin to ride? I began riding the minute I talked my dad into driving me to a stable ! In Los Angeles, where I grew up, that's just about the only way it's possible --legally. The illegal part, I tell about in one of my presentations and yes, I did get caught. Was the barn fire in book three inspired by your own brush with one? Yes, a fire started in a neighbor's barn and burned close enough to crack the glass in our windows. My family (except my husband, a volunteer fire fighter, who stayed with a garden hose, awaiting the fire trucks) and both dogs were evacuated safely --just as we'd practiced. I'm an eternal advocate of family fire drills. I am very intrigued by the training methods and "horse psychology" employed by Jake. Where did you learn about these training methods? This is a combination of reality and reading, of watching people who work well with horses, my own experiences and writer/horsemen such as Monty Roberts and Gawani Pony Boy. I love the relationship between Jake and Sam….I think many young girls have similar relationships, where they’re always dancing the line between friend and something more with a close male friend they trust. As the two get older, will you let them get closer? This may be my third most frequent question! Jake has a huge fan club of his own. Many readers --a lot of them boys --want Jake to have his own series. About a romance...for now Jake and Sam are just friends. Their relationship has lots of ups and downs , they drive each other crazy and I love writing their squabbles. Did you make a concerted effort to keep your books real, even on tough subjects? For example, Sam is very aware of the fact that her family is not financially secure due to the inherent hazards of ranch life. Do you think most kids worry about such "adult" issues? My books will always be honest. I've taught for over half my life and I know kids are aware of the conflict, unfairness and worries around them. Even though Sam and Jake come out ahead emotionally in every book (because caring adults have taught them how), they have disappointments, too. This ties in with the dominant theme in all my work: There is no safety on the edge of the frontier. That frontier could be the first time you ride alone or your first day in high school, but you can always stumble into trouble which is not of your making. How you deal with it is the story. Is there really a HARP program? Have you done any work with it as research? The HARP program only exists in my head, but I've heard from people involved in similar cooperative efforts. One of them is the Urban Farm's "Just Say Whoa" program. Is there any advice you would give to would-be children’s writers out there? Write what you would have loved as a child and don't try to fit into a niche. I've been lucky that HarperCollins wanted to publish what I wanted to write. but that "luck" took over ten years to happen. My first agent took a look at the first three chapters of WILD ONE and sent it back to me, but I loved the idea and kept making notes. It was a good thing, because when the first books were successful, my publisher wanted more. I don't think the books would appeal to kids if I was faking it. This
interview was conducted by email 3/31/03. |
|
