Author Interview & Giveaway: Hillary Homzie

Hillary Homzie is a successful children's book writer with several titles to her credit. I recently read The Hot List, one of Hillary's middle grades novels and fell in love with the characters as well as Hillary's writing style. I often think Middle Grades Lit doesn't get as much attention as YA so I was really happy to see some great stuff written for that age group. Hillary was nice enough to do an interview with Reading Lark AND to offer up 5 copies of The Hot List for our readers to win.


Check out my review of The Hot List.



Andrea: What inspired you to become a writer?


Hillary: Ever since I can remember I’ve been enchanted by stories. As a child, I loved being read to by my mother who used to regularly take me to the library. And then once I learned how to read at six, there never seemed to be enough time for books. I also loved make-believe. Whether it was animating the shovel and pail in my mind as I played in the sand box, or dressing up and pretending I was escaping from a witch, creating stories was a joy for me. I was a shy and socially awkward child, however, when it came time to telling and acting out stories, I lost all inhibitions and immersed myself in the telling. When I was in second grade, my teacher, Mrs. McCrone, had an in-class newspaper where she would publish our stories and, above her desk, she kept a stuffed animal snake named Sidney with whom we could share our stories. I remember that year as being heavenly because of the emphasis on storytelling. When Mrs. McCrone wrote on my worksheet that I was a writer, I began to internalize that identity. Later, my sixth grade teacher Ms. Casey wrote above her photo, “to Hillary, a future writer.” Those words were powerful and I started to more fully identify myself as a writer. Later, I was amazed by the idea that one could keep on making up stories and get paid for it!



Andrea: Why focus on middle grades lit?


Hillary: I think it’s because my memory is the most acute during the years depicted in middle grade literature. I actually remember what it was like to be eleven or twelve more than, say, twenty-two. It may be that my short-term memory isn’t so hot, I’m not sure—I can’t remember.  


I’ll try to get serious for you. Perhaps, I’m emotionally arrested and writing books for middle grade is a socially acceptable way for me to write out my feelings . As a child, I was definitely on the sensitive side and easily bullied. I remember always feeling like an outsider looking in, and, subsequently, became very observant. A trait that is helpful for a writer. 


Andrea: I loved the characters in The Hot List. Are any of these characters based on real people? If not, what inspired you when you were creating them? 


Hillary: Oh, I’m so glad that you enjoyed the characters in The Hot List. None of the characters are directly based on anyone that I know, although I certainly took some inspiration from those around me. For example, Squid shares some qualities with my second son (I have three boys) in that he’s exuberant, quirky and good at gymnastics and especially twisting his body into unusual positions. However, Squid is unique in that he revels in his quirkiness and considers himself most happily a geek. My son, while quirky, is definitely at that age where he cares what others think of him (especially his hair). I think he could use a little of Squid in him. We all could. 


Andrea: Will we get to see more of Sophie, Squid, and the others in any future books?


Hillary: Probably not. However, I’m fast at work on a new middle grade also aimed at tween girls. And while Sophie and Squid and the gang won’t make an appearance, I’m cooking up a whole new cast of characters that I’m hoping you’ll also really enjoy spending time with . 


Andrea: Can you tell us a little about your other works?


Hillary: Sure, in 2009, I wrote a book called Things Are Gonna Get Ugly (Simon & Schuster/Aladdin Mix Books), which is about Taffeta Smith who moves to California from Virginia and changes her name from Ernestine to Taffeta and does everything she can to fit in with the popular sixth grade girls. Essentially she loses her true identity. She’s judgmental, concerned with appearances, and afraid to show her intelligence.  By 8th grade she’s one of The Girls, the name of the elite clique of girls at La Cambia Middle School. However, Taffeta can feel her status fading away. Her parents divorced and took jobs that are not as well paying, and she’s going to have to move to an apartment. Her mom can’t really afford the birthday bash she has planned either. Taffeta has been so focused on keeping up with The Girls that she’s really let her academics slip and cheats off Winslow Fromes, a quirky geeky boy, in order to do well on her social studies test. Her teacher, Mr. Drabner, catches her cheating and offers Taffeta a fresh start. She takes it. However, she doesn’t realize that the fresh start involves turning her into Ernestine again. It is as if she never made that decision to change into one of the Girls. Suddenly, Taffeta has to be be-friend all of the outcasts and nerds that she’s ever snubbed over the past two and a half years! I don’t want to give away the ending, but let’s just say the name of the middle school is Cambia, which means change in Spanish so Taffeta/Ernestine changes quite a bit in this book. It’s funny, speaks to middle school girls who are losing identity, and there’s even a little unexpected light romance in it.


I have also written a comedic chapter book series, Alien Clones From Outer Space (Aladdin/Simon & Schuster) under the name H.B. Homzie. The first book is Two Heads Are Better Than One and it’s about twins Barton and Nancy Jamison who discover that they have alien clones from outer space. The twins use their clones to get out of annoying things, such as chores, but the clones, who are completely clueless, also get them in big trouble. In the first book, Barton uses Beta, his clone, to play baseball for him. Of course, when the coach tells Beta to “go home” he gets awfully confused! The series was bought by a Hollywood Production company to become an animated series, and I had a chance to work as a creative consultant on the show, which was really fun!

Andrea: What's next for you writing wise?


Hillary: I’ve been writing two new middle grade novels. One is younger, more upper elementary school and the other is another middle school book. I’m enjoying both of them in different ways. I’ve also been working for a while on a young adult novel, which has been slower for me but I’ve really been enjoying the challenge.  


Andrea: Out of all The Hot List kids, which one were you most like in middle school? Why? 


Hillary: Oh, wow. That’s a great question. I think I was probably the most like Sophie in that I was content early in middle school to have one really good friend. The idea of managing a whole group of close friends seemed awfully daunting to me.  I didn’t like to multi-task and that went for friends as well. At the same time, like Sophie, I might have tried something out of my comfort range in order to impress. Wow, I’m sounding an awful lot like Sophie right now. I think Sophie was actually a bit cooler than me. A little more stylish and athletic. Sophie isn’t geeky but she isn’t cool. I think I was more bookish and clueless than Sophie. 


Andrea: What are you currently reading?


Hillary: I’ve been reading the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas, an American Slave, which was written to persuade readers that slavery was a corrupting institution and needed to be abolished. One hundred and fifty years later, his words bring me to tears. And before that I read the middle grade novel The Kind of Friends We Used to Be by Frances O’Roark Dowell, which is a fantastic book about identity and redefining friendship that is written with such true emotion and a gorgeous lyrical style. 


Andrea: Any words of wisdom for all the aspiring authors out there?


Hillary: My advice is to write the kind of book that you want to read and not what you think you need to write. Also, try to write on through to the end without stopping, and then go back and edit, edit, edit. It can be really easy to get trapped in the cycle of re-writing the first three chapters over and over and over again. I know because I’ve been there. Just call me Sisyphus. 


Also, read. Read. Read. Find a critique group so you can be supported in your writing process and join professional organizations like the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, which will help you with networking. I found my first acquiring editor from a notice in the SCBWI Bulletin.


Andrea:  I'm trying to start a new author interview tradition here at Reading Lark. What's your favorite bird? Why?

Hillary: I really love Brown Pelicans. I remember when I was a child so many of the pelican eggs were being ruined by DDT, and the young were becoming literal scrambled eggs. When DDT was banned, the population began to increase to healthier numbers. When I see the Brown Pelican, I’m reminded of an important environmental victory for the environment and I smile.

Now onto The Hot List Giveaway! 


The Hot List Giveaway will run from August 9-12. Winners will be announced on August 13.

To Enter You Must:

* Be at least 13 years old OR have parental permission

* Live in the U.S. 

* Be a Reading Lark Follower

Click Here to Enter The Hot List Giveaway!