One of the things that I really love to get the chance to do, is to interview an author, who I admire. Michaela MacColl recently graciously agreed to stop by my site to answer some of my burning questions about her novels. Hopefully they burn a desire for reading into you.
YA Book Shelf: In 2010, I read, reviewed, and interviewed you about your debut novel, Prisoners In The Palace. How was the writing experience different for Promise The Night, which is meant for a middle grade audience, from that of your teen novel?
Michaela MacColl: I actually wrote Promise the Night before I wrote Prisoners In The Palace. I tried to sell it, but it just wasn’t ready. After Prisoners, I returned to Promise and rewrote it. I had learned so much in the intervening two years and the final product was much better.
Although I deal with difficult issues in each book I find the difference between writing Young Adult and Middle Grade lies in the main character. Beryl has a very clear-eyed, even simplistic view of her world, so she’s rarely shocked the way other colonial girls are. Her best friend is a native boy named Kibii. Kibii tells her all about the male circumcision ritual he will undergo when he is 12. It’s just the way things are for him, so Beryl accepts that. When she tells her father’s housekeeper about the ritual, Beryl is surprised that the housekeeper is deeply upset. When I wrote my young adult novel, my main character is older and understands more the implications of what she sees.
YABookShelf: Ohh…that’s something I didn’t know, Michaela! What a great story of the perseverance and hard work needed to get Promise The Night on bookstore shelves. You characterize Beryl Markham as a feisty 11 and 12 year old, who resists every attempt to become a ‘proper’ lady. Do you think that part of her resistance relates to her mother’s abandonment of her and the pain that being like her might have caused?
MM: What a good question! I think it’s very likely that she associated proper behavior with abandonment. But I wonder too why her mother didn’t take Beryl with her? Maybe her mother recognized that Beryl was a wild child who belonged in Africa? Otherwise it’s hard to envisage a mom leaving her young child behind.
YABookShelf: Thanks! Glad you liked it. I agree – it is hard to imagine why her mother would’ve abandoned her in the first place; I’d love to know more about that part of the story, but I guess it’s not to be.
As ‘proper’ as Emma is, she too is acting in a way that isn’t ‘proper’ by living with Beryl’s father. How does Beryl denounce Emma’s actions, even as she resists the ideal of a proper lady?
MM: Beryl doesn’t understand, nor is she interested by, the impropriety of Emma’s relationship with her father. Instead, she attacks Emma for taking her father and influencing her father to discipline Beryl. If Beryl had been more sophisticated she could have wounded Emma so much more effectively!
YABookShelf: As a child, Beryl is fluent in English and Swahili. How did you learn enough Swahili to color your text? Can you pronounce the words you used correctly?
MM: Beryl uses some Swahili in her memoir, so I used a little myself. I found the words I used in memoirs of Masai warriors. Happily Google Translate will also pronounce the Swahili words for me!
YABookShelf: How did you learn about Beryl Markham’s story in the first place, and why write about her story rather than that of Amelia Earhart? Was the fact that she’s less well-known to a North American audience part of the appeal, so you had some opportunities to write in between the lines of the facts?
MM: The year my mom got her pilot’s license was the same year that West With The Night [by Beryl Markham] was reissued. I gave it to her to celebrate and that was my first introduction to Beryl. Fast forward 20 years, and I am telling my mom how my daughter needed to pick a historical figure to dress up as and to write a paper about. I am the least crafty/costumey person in the world, so I pushed for Amelia Earhart (even I could manage a bomber jacket!). My daughter didn’t get it though because five other girls picked Amelia. My mother laughed and said I should have had her do Beryl Markham instead.
Just the fact that Amelia is so popular is a good reason for me not to write about her. It is so hard to get a book published these days – why intentionally go into a crowded field? Beryl may not be as well known – but my book is the only one about her!
YABookShelf: How true! In the dedication of Promise the Night, you mention that your mom is a pilot and that she inspired this novel. How did her experience as a pilot help with your characterization of Beryl?
MM: There are parts of the book where I’m telling Beryl’s adult story as a pilot facing near-death above the Atlantic. My mom read an early draft and explained to me that I hadn’t made it nearly terrifying enough! I’ve flown with her in small planes and that was also useful. I know about the noise, the claustrophobic cabin and the overwhelming smell of fuel.
YABookShelf: Even though Beryl is accepted into the fold of the Nandi tribe, she finds herself at odds with their way of life at times. Did your understanding and expression of this “otherness” come solely from the factual record? If not, what inspired these aspects of the novel?
MM: When Beryl wrote about her childhood she makes no reference to the “otherness” you mention. But logically I knew it had to exist. And creatively, how could I not exploit the differences between Beryl and the Nandi? Or for that matter the differences between Beryl and the other colonial girls?
For example, one of my favorite scenes is quite a violent one. Beryl is attacked by a boy from the tribe who considers her a rival. My inspiration for this scene was based on one sentence in her memoir where she mentions being attacked. I took that line and made it a subplot with the boy that is woven throughout the novel. When she wins it’s a huge triumph not only for her but for her friend and champion within the tribe. But when her father and his friends come along and see her clothes torn and bloody they jump to a conclusion that leads to violent confrontation. At that moment, Beryl faces the fact that her time to pretend to be part of the Nandi tribe is limited.
YABookShelf: Agreed – that is a very important part of the novel, which really helps direct who Beryl can be for the rest of the novel – thanks for mentioning it. And, of course, thanks for stopping by my blog again. I had such a great time coming up with these questions and finding out how you’d answer them!
Hope you had a great time answering them!
Melissa has always been a voracious reader of fiction and has an M.A. in English Literature to prove it. Like many other adults, she got caught up in the young adult crossover fiction phenomenon. Now, one of her great joys comes from sharing her love of YA lit on this popular review site. Come with expectations of intellect, magic, and honest reviews, and you won’t be disappointed.
