Jess Butterworth
About Author
Jess spent her childhood between the UK and India, and grew up hearing stories about the Himalayas from her grandmother. She's lived in India and even met with the Dalai Lama.
She studied creative writing at Bath Spa and now lives between Louisiana and the UK.
Interview
WHERE THE WILDERNESS LIVES
ORION CHILDREN'S BOOKS
APRIL 2020
The discovery of a safe by a group of siblings leads to a chase, an adventure and unexpected new friends in JESS BUTTERWORTH's new book, WHERE THE WILDERNESS LIVES. The book explores belonging, difference and bullying, and respect for the environment through a wonderful cast of characters and adventure-packed pages.
We asked author JESS BUTTERWORTH to tell us more about WHERE THE WILDERNESS LIVES:
Q: What brought you into writing for children? What, for you, makes a stand-out idea for a book?
A: When I was ten-years-old, my school participated in a writing workshop with author Philip Pullman. It was the first time I had met a real life author. I already loved creating stories and using my imagination, so I decided there and then that I wanted to be an author, just like him.
I wanted to write for children because the books I read when I was a child are the ones that have stayed with me my whole life.
A stand out idea for me has characters and themes I care about, nature and animals, and a fast-paced adventure plot.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about Where the Wilderness Lives? Was there something in particular that inspired the story?
A: Where the Wilderness Lives follows five characters who, after finding a locked safe in the canal, are forced to flee into the deep Welsh wilderness because there's someone else after the safe, too.
The book's filled with British landscapes, adventures, and friendships. It's inspired by outdoor places I loved growing up in, my relationship with my siblings (I'm the oldest of four and the youngest are twins), and my passion for caring about our environment.
Q: Your previous books have taken us to many different parts of the world. What brought you to Wales for this story? Is the area you write about somewhere you know well?
A: My aunt, uncle and cousins live in Wales and throughout my whole life my family would visit them regularly. I used to love walking along the cliffs and over Angel mountain, the mountain in the story, and remember not wanting to leave.
Q: Alongside the main story about a family, you weave in a legend about Gwyon; why did you want to have that element as part of the story and as the lead in to each chapter?
A: I've always been fascinated by the relationship between a place and the stories, legends and folklore that are set there. Growing up, one of my favourite books was Holes by Louis Sachar because I enjoyed the way different story threads from different time periods in it were woven together.
The legend in Where the Wilderness Lives is inspired by Welsh folklore and I wanted readers be able to spot the links between Gwyon's story and the chapters connected to it.
Q: The story begins with the children finding a safe in a canal. Why did you decide to make what they found a safe?
A: I loved the idea of a safe because there could be any number of things inside. The only thing for certain is that the object must have been important enough to someone to put inside a safe in the first place! I also remembered reading a news article where a safe really was pulled out of a canal.
Q: The family you feature in the book live on a narrow boat - is this something you've done and would you do it again? What are the highs and lows of boat life?
A: I lived on a narrowboat from the age of 19 until I was 23. I used to love cycling and walking along the towpath, watching all the ducks, swans, and the occasional fox and badger, and sitting on the roof of the boat on a sunny day. The lows include the canal freezing one winter, and slipping and falling into the canal on more than one occasion!
Q: Cara, your main character, is bullied feels excluded at school partly because living on a boat makes her 'different'. Why did you want to explore the impact that bullying can have?
A: When I was Cara's age I was also bullied and felt excluded by my friendship group. I think because for so much of this story I was thinking back to my own 12-year-old self and my wants and fears at that age, it felt natural and important to include these moments and draw from my own experiences.
Q: One of Cara's brothers, Enzo, is deaf, which brings in the wonderful support dog, Willow. Why did you decide to include a child who is deaf in the family, and how do you feel that strengthens the siblings' bonds?
A: My brother-in-law and father-in-law is deaf and my husband's family use sign language. When developing the characters in the story, I spent time thinking about different sibling bonds, including my husband's wonderful relationship with his siblings, and Enzo quickly became a clear character in my mind.
Q: Who is your favourite support character, and why?
A: That's a tough question! I love Willow the dog because she is giant and lazy but saves the day more than once!
Q: There are lots of stand-out scenes during the events in this story, which did you have the most fun writing?
A: I adored writing the scenes set in the Celtic rainforest in Wales because I love the nature setting and the animals in it, like the adorable dormouse. I also enjoyed writing the survival scenes when the characters are lost in the wilderness, as well as a scene when they're all on the roof of the boat, watching the stars.
Q: Where do you prefer to write, and what are you working on now?
A: I'm working on another standalone novel called Into the Volcano, set between Britain and Yellowstone national park in the States. I begin my books in a notebook, then when I have a clear idea of the story I start writing on my computer.
Q: What are your favourite escapes from writing - in normal times, and now?
A: Reading! And normally I like to spend time outside, especially walking and hiking, and spend time with friends and family. At the minute, I'm trying new ways of being creative inside like drawing, cooking and making music, and being active with dance and yoga.
Q: Do you have three recommended reads we can share with our members?
A: Definitely! I'm currently loving The Infinite by Patience Agbabi, The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Rauf and The House of Light by Julia Green.
Where the Wilderness Lives
Swimming Against the Storm
When the Mountains Roared
Running on the Roof of the World
