#TuesdayTalk with Gabrielle Prendergast. Gabrielle’s forthcoming novel, The Frail Days, launches this April and is part of the Orca Limelights series for kids who love the performing arts.
Gabrielle, how did you first know you wanted to become a writer?
I started my first novel when I was ten (I still have it!). For a long time I thought everyone made up stories the way I do, but now I know that’s not true.
Where do you get your story ideas from?
A better question would be where DON’T I get my story ideas from? My high school years inspired Audacious and The Frail Days, dreams inspire other stuff, funny things my daughter says, news stories.
What one place in the world are you dying to visit?
I’d love to go to the flooded forests in the Amazon.
What do you look for in a good story?
I look for emotional depth and jeopardy. I want characters to be in danger of having their heart broken or breaking hearts, not just romantically but in any way–by losing a parent or friend, by discovering something terrible about themselves or the world.
Do you have any unusual hobbies?
My husband and I are eclipse chasers. There’s a whole community of people who travel around the world to observe solar eclipses. We’ve been to the coast of France, Central Turkey and the Australian Desert and met some amazing people along the way.
Favourite board game: go!
Scrabble. NO contest.
Gabrielle Prendergast is a UK-born Canadian/Australian who lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, with her husband and daughter. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia. A part-time teacher and mentor, Gabrielle is the author of the verse novels Capricious and Audacious, which was shortlisted for a CLA Award. Gabrielle blogs and rants at www.angelhorn.com and www.versenovels.com