Harriet Whitehorn
About Author
Harriet Whitehorn is the author of the VIOLET books, a middle-grade detective series from Simon and Schuster. Titles include VIOLET AND THE PEARL OF THE ORIENT, and VIOLET AND THE SMUGGLERS. The books have been nominated for several awards, including the Waterstones Children's Book Prize and the Sainsbury's Children's Book Award.
Before becoming a full-time writer, Harriet worked in building conservation. Harriet lives in London with her husband and three daughters. harrietwhitehorn.com
Twitter @deedeederota2
Interview
THE COMPANY OF EIGHT
STRIPES
MAY 2018
THE COMPANY OF EIGHT is a pirate-filled, circus-fuelled adventure that takes place in a fantastic world of islands, icy cities and tropical jungles.
Cass desperately wants to be an acrobat and to join the Circus Boat; her guardian wants her to be a ladies' companion. So Cass runs away but ends up on board the Palace Ship instead of the Circus Boat and this is where her adventures with evil pirates, hidden identities and the mysterious Company of Eight really begin.
THE COMPANY OF EIGHT is aimed at readers aged nine years plus who love adventure stories. We asked author HARRIET WHITEHORN to tell us more.
Q: What was your initial inspiration for The Company of Eight?
A: I've always wanted to write an adventure story and also to tackle peer pressure as a subject, and how, as a child, you sometimes end up doing the wrong thing, and then coming back from that. But, as ever, in the process of writing the book, the characters and story took on a life of their own and although it still retains that element, with Cass and Enzo, I would say that the book has become more about Cass striving for and fulfilling her dreams.
Q: Why did you decide to set The Company of Eight in a fantasy world? How did the world develop - did any real places help inspire it and can you tell us about the period feel it has?
A: When I was about eight I was obsessed with ice skating, and one of my favourite daydreams was that I lived in a sort of Victorian / Georgian world where you skated everywhere rather than walked. So The Longest World grew from there really, taking on snippets of places I have been to, and again things that appealed to me when I was younger. And I think everyone loves the idea of island hopping and sunshine.
Q: What are your tips for making an invented world so realistic?
A: I actually have to credit George R R Martin, the author of Game of Thrones, for teaching me an invaluable lesson with fantasy writing, which is that less is more. He gives very minimal details of his world, and lets the reader build it up for themselves, and that is what I have tried to do. When I first started the book, I had a lot of long, boring passages describing the world in great detail, and it was only when I cut those, that it all started to come together as a book.
Q: Why have you focused on such strong female characters in this story, including your lead, Cass, and the female community in the Island of Women?
A: Well it's about time, isn't it! No seriously, as a reader I am probably more drawn to female protagonists and also as a woman, I feel much more confident in writing female characters. And I do also think that it is good for girls and boys to read about adult women in books who aren't mothers or wives.
Q: ...While many of the male characters are very poor role models. Are you reflecting on current world leadership through your story?
A: I would rather love to say yes to this but the truthful answer is no! I actually touch on more of those issues in the second book, which I am writing now, but actually I have made the despot a woman, so the balance is redressed a little bit!
Q: You have a large number of supporting characters and a big area geographically to cover, did that make the book harder to write?
A: No, I really relish all of that and often have to stop myself doing more, as I know it can become too confusing for the reader.
Q: Cass is a fabulous heroine, deciding to search for adventure rather than be cloistered as a lady's maid. Why did you decide to make her an acrobat rather than give her, say, magical skills?
A: Well the world of children's literature is not short of magicians! I wanted to give Cass a set of skills that could make her good at different things too, as it gives me flexibility with Cass's future. And I also think that that is more true to life for children reading the books too - you might love ballet and desperately want to be a ballerina, but then that may not happen, so you end up taking that discipline and skill and doing something different with it. And that's not failure, it's just life.
Q: Do you have a favourite moment in the book?
A: There are a few but I would have to choose when Rip and Cass are up in the crow's nest. And I am delighted that that scene has ended up on the back cover of the book.
Q: Cass travels around the different islands in her quest to reach the Circus Boat. If you could visit any of the places she visits, where would you go and why?
A: Hmm tricky - the obvious place is the Island of Women, but actually I would choose the town of Sedoor which is near the end of the book. In my mind it is all honey coloured stone buildings - beautiful in a crumbling sort of way, a little like somewhere in a Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel.
Q: If you could have one of the magical skills you describe in this world, what would yours be?
A: I think a form of mind reading, which I call trancing in the book, would be quite handy.
Q: Can you give us a glimpse into Cass's adventures in the next book - will we see more of the Company of Eight? How many Company of Eight books have you planned?
A: Well it starts off with Cass in the Islands fighting pirates, but then fate intervenes and Cass finds herself having an entirely different adventure from the one she envisaged.
And yes, the Company - or certain members of it - do feature prominently, as does magic. I have a lot of ideas for a third book but my contract so far is only for two books so we will have to see what happens there.
Q: How does your writing day go? Can you describe your dream 'writer's shed'?
A: Apart from walking the dog, going to supermarket etc, I write pretty much all day, every day during the week, and I try to squeeze a bit in at the weekends too. But I do vary where I work, moving between home, local cafes and a library.
For my dream writing shed, I rather fancy a room at the top of a tower looking out over a forest - rather like Rapunzel meets I Capture the Castle.
Q: Are there any authors who have particularly inspired you, either as a writer now or when you were a child?
A: Absolutely - I am constantly inspired by both the children's and adult books that I read. To focus on children's books, the writers who particularly caught my imagination as a child were Joan Aitken, CS Lewis, Tolkien, Shirley Hughes, Eve Garnett and Ursula Le Guin. And I am also a great admirer of many children's authors writing now - Frances Hardinge, Phillip Pullman and Sally Nicholls are just a few of my favourites.
Q: What is your favourite way to relax when you're not writing?
A: If I can find the time, I love to go to a museum or a gallery and, this the crucial bit, get an audio guide. I find that makes me totally switch off. But otherwise anything that takes me out of myself and hopefully makes me laugh - I was recently feeling stressed about something so I went off on a dog walk listening to a dramatisation of a Georgette Heyer novel. Honestly, it was one of the funniest things I have ever heard and my mood completely lifted.
The Company of Eight
