Kim Hood

Kim Hood

About Author

KIM HOOD grew up in British Columbia, Canada. After earning degrees in psychology, history and education, she wandered through a few countries before making the west coast of Ireland home.

Her eclectic work experience in education, therapy and community services has presented endless opportunity to observe a world of interesting characters. She has always had a passion for trying to understand life from the perspective of those on the fringes of society.

Interview

FINDING A VOICE

PUBLISHED BY O'BRIEN PRESS

SEPTEMBER 2014

This is an astonishing debut by Kim Hood that explores what happens when unhappy teenager Jo befriends a severely disabled boy, Chris, and together each discovers their true voice. Woven through the storyline are issues of inclusiveness, bullying and coping with mental illness, although the novel is never laboured and the issues are treated with a light touch. Recommended for readers aged 11+.

We spoke to Kim about her novel, which is published by O'Brien Press.


Q: How long have you been writing and what is your 'day job'?

A: I started writing stories as soon as I was able to write sentences. But I was nearly 40 years old before I decided it was the right time to be 'a writer'. I'd always wanted to be an author, but I got side tracked by other interesting jobs along the way. I have worked as a teacher, a therapist and other odd jobs like picking olives and washing dishes. Right now my 'day job' is supporting people with intellectual disabilities and autism to live in their communities.


Q: Why do you write for teenagers?

A: I didn't mean to write for teenagers. I wasn't even sure that this book was for teenagers until it was written. I actually write for myself more than anyone - and while I have always loved reading, I think reading helped me most of all, to navigate life, when I was a teenager. It was a time when I read everything and anything, sampling all kinds of books. So as a writer, I feel more freedom to write what I want for this age group.


Q: What was life like for you as a teenager? What would you tell your teenage self if you could go back in time to meet her?

A: I really hated being a teenager most of the time - especially in school. I was so unsure of myself and didn't know where I fit in. It seemed like everyone around me had a group to belong to and I just couldn't figure out how to get into one of these groups.

I would love to go back to my teenage self and tell her 'Don't worry so much about fitting in! Just be yourself and hang in there for a couple of more years. This is NOT your whole life and it is going to get so much better after secondary school.'


Q: Your book is about young people who are on the 'periphery' of society, people who we might not meet in everyday life or whose reality we might never get to know. What made you want your story to be about their lives?

A: I'm interested in people who don't fit (maybe because I've never quite fit myself!). I think in a strange way, if you can understand life from the perspective of someone who has a very unique experience or world view, then you can understand yourself better as well. What I have found is that no matter how foreign someone else's reality seems, there are probably more similarities than differences between his or her reality and your own. It all just might be more amplified with someone on the 'periphery' of society, more dramatic.


Q: How do you cover issues like depression, disability and yet keep the tone of the story light
- are there techniques you use?

A: This probably comes from my experience working with people with mental illness and often quite complex disabilities. Really, believe me when I say, for the most part life is normal, and sometimes really funny, even when you are dealing with big challenges. So it would be misleading to write these kinds of issues in a very dark tone. It wouldn't reflect reality.


Q: Did people you know or particular incidents help inspire characters or moments in the story?

A: In particular, there was one moment, years ago which always stayed with me - and inspired an incident with Chris in the story. I don't want to give too much away, but there is a key scene in the story where Chris keeps kicking Jo, and at first she thinks it is just spasms that he can't control. This happened to me when I was a counsellor at a camp for kids with disabilities and I have never forgotten it. I wanted to write about misconceptions - particularly about someone who has a disability.


Q: Why did you write the book in the first person?

A: I wrote nearly a whole first draft of Finding a Voice in the third person - and it just wasn't working. I found myself just one step away from Jo's emotions when I wrote in the third person and it wasn't strong enough emotionally. It took me a while to decide to try rewriting it in first person, but when I did, suddenly it was so much easier to convey how she felt!


Q: Do you feel that communication (the story is about two young people finding their own voice) is particularly difficult during your teenage years?

A: Absolutely! I think you are forming so many new, often very strong, ideas and values and opinions - and it sometimes it is difficult to sort out how you feel about it all, never mind trying to communicate that to others. It's even harder because adults can be quite condescending and dismissive of teenagers (if you are a teen, don't let adults tell you they have life figured out; they don't!).


Q: When do you write?

A: When I was writing Finding a Voice I wrote almost every weeknight, after work and after my toddler was in bed, from 9pm until about 1am - or whenever my head hit the keyboard. My biggest challenge was staying awake.

I've since been very fortunate to have a manager at my 'day job' who has allowed me to change jobs to one with less responsibility - where I work evenings and weekends. This lets me write more during the mornings, which works so much better for me!


Q: What are you writing now?

A: I've finished a draft of a story that alternates between a city in North America and a fictional village in the west of Ireland. The main character in the story is a teenage boy - which is a challenge for me.

Now I'm starting on a first draft of a story set in the future. I'm at the fun stage of just getting to know the characters and letting the writing take me in any direction. The hard part will be when I actually have to plot it out - digging out the story from under the rubble of my words!


Q: You live in Ireland but grew up in Canada - where is the best place you have ever lived?

A: I've been lucky to live in a lot of beautiful places in Canada, but north County Clare is home to me. I'm not sure I can tell you why that is. I love hot climates - and much of the time it's cold, wet and windy where I live.

I love mountains and trees - and there are is a lack of these in north Clare too. I think, maybe, it is a magic mix of quirky people, haunting music, wild seas, ever changing weather, a sense of community and yet absolute aloneness if you want it.

It is hard to pinpoint what the secret ingredient is; I just know that when I am away for long, this ache in my chest starts, and it keeps growing until I'm home again. And no, I don't have any Irish heritage.


Q: Where do you go to escape?

A: If I am feeling overwhelmed by obligations, or just generally in a bad mood, getting out for a hike or a wander along the ocean always puts everything in perspective. Even half an hour outside, paying attention to everything around me, instead of what is in my head, helps me remember that the world is not imminently falling apart around me.


Q: Who are your favourite authors?

A: This is the question I dreaded! I have so, so many favourite authors, and the more books I read, the longer the list grows. Some of my favourite authors of adult literature include Barbara Kingsolver, Margaret Atwood and John Irving.

Listing my favourite children and young adult authors is even more difficult! A couple of my newest favourites are Patrick Ness and Meg Rosoff. I would die happy if I could ever write as well as either of them.


Q: What do you do to relax when you're not writing?

A: Unfortunately I don't have much time to relax lately. Writing and working and raising my daughter and helping my partner to build a self-sufficient farm from scratch, means every moment has to be productive. It can be amazingly relaxing to clean out animal shelters and weed gardens though! Also, I sneak in reading by calling it 'research'. And sometimes my family pull my hands from the laptop and force me to go for a hike because they know it will be good for me!

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