Interview with Karen Healey



Photo sourced from author's website

Last Thursday at the 2010 Inky Awards Ceremony, I was lucky enough to catch up with gloriously quirky and friendly author Karen Healey. Observe her answers to my journalistic outpourings!

BC: For those who haven't yet read "Guardian of the Dead", could you please sum it up for them in just six words or less?

KH: Dark New Zealand young adult fantasy!

BC: One thing that I loved immensely about your book Karen was the rich vein of Maori mythology that you tapped into, laced with your own interpretations and adaptions of course. Was there any particular defining moment that sparked your interest in Maori culture and stories, and how did you go about researching the material you needed for the book?

KH: I'm Pākehā, and these stories aren't my cultural possession. But, like most Kiwi-born people of my generation, I grew up with these myths as a common story. New Zealanders tend to be familiar with the creation story and the stories of the trickster Māui at the very least. There was no particular defining moment - I've known these stories for as long as I can remember, and they're special to me because they're the first stories of my homeland. I've always been very interested in mythology in general, and I think the way New Zealand Aotearoa mixes the stories of many peoples is fascinating. I knew I wanted to write a book about the way stories shape us and our land, and there was never any doubt that Māori mythology would be central to that.
But of course, fuzzy childhood memories aren't good enough when you're dealing with other people's cultural treasures, so research was definitely called for. I did a lot of reading, trying to use the most credible translations, and I also approached cultural consultants for advice, seeking to be accurate and respectful.


BC: How does it feel having your book shortlisted for the 2010 Golden Inky Award?

KH: It's so fantastic! I think the Inkys are a really important award; it's so vital to have teen awards chosen by teens, that reflect the interests of actual teen readers. I love writing for young adults, because they're so engaged and interested.

BC: I must say that "Guardian of the Dead" kept me really engaged as a reader, in that I never quite knew what was going to happen next, so that I found myself not only caring about the characters but also eagerly relying on them to discover what could possibly happen next. Do you find that a story's plot has to be meticulously planned (to what degree?) or are you more of a "discover as you write" kind of person?

KH: I find that it changes for each book. Guardian of the Dead I discovered as I wrote. I got to the end of the rescue of Kevin, and went, hang on, this isn't the end of the book, is it? I have to do more stuff here! And I had left myself so many clues to what was really going on that it was pretty easy to pick up those threads and find the deeper story. The Shattering, my second book, had a much tighter structure from the beginning, but it was a largely character-based structure - I knew the secrets behind the mysterious suicides of Summerton's tourist boys - and it was a matter of how my protagonists were going to find out what was going on, and what they were going to do about it. The book I'm working on now has a strong event plot plan, but it's not as strong on character moments. I'm discovering those as I go, and that's great.

BC: I'm really interested in the fact that you are writing a dissertation on American superhero comics. Please discuss!

KH: I am afraid that, like every PhD candidate ever, I now have an allergic reaction to discussing my dissertation! But yes, it's on contemporary American superhero comics, and the topic is looking at them as something that's almost unique - a web of texts that is largely written by people who are already fans of what they're writing, using characters and situations that were originated by other writers. That's really very unusual in a professional context. Fans of Harry Potter can write as much Potter fan fiction as they want - I sure did - but they won't get paid for it, and it won't be official Harry Potter canon. Whereas people like Grant Morrison can write New X-Men, which is basically his spin on the work of Chris Claremont and John Bryne, using characters invented by Stan Lee, and dozens of other people, and he gets paid for it, and it's a legitimatised part of Marvel Comics canon. I find that really fascinating.

BC:  Lastly, what's next in store for Karen Healey?

KH: Well, I have to finish a dissertation. And a book. And then hopefully another book. And some more books, that would be terrific! But before that, I think it's going to be important to eat a lot of liqueur chocolates and perhaps watch some more Vampire Diaries.