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Back to Featured Interviews >> MEET KATHRYN FITZMAURICE
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| Kathryn Fitzmaurice |
I started writing stories when I was thirteen years old after spending a summer with my grandmother in New York. She was a science fiction author, and so after spending time with her, I decided it would be a lot of fun to be a writer because you got to make up things. She helped me write my first little chapter book, which was 38 pages long. Then she typed it up so I could have a real “book” like she had. When she passed away, she left an entire box of manuscripts of her unfinished work to me. This has been a huge inspiration to me through the years, and in fact, I even named my main character in my book, THE YEAR THE SWALLOWS CAME EARLY, after her.
When you were a child did you ever have moments when you decided thatyou were going to be a writer when you grew up?
Yes, I remember knowing after leaving my grandmother’s apartment that some day; I would give it a shot and try to write a book. It took many years and a few other jobs before I had the courage to do it, though.
Was your first book accepted immediately? or did you experience a number of rejections?
My first book took three years to write, and I collected many rejection letters over that time frame. Each year, though, the rejections became more personalized, and some were even almost encouraging!
What kinds of things inspire you to write?
The kinds of things that inspire me to write are little gestures or things that give people hope. For example, I know a young woman who recently immigrated to the United States from Mexico. She told me her mother used to pick these yellow wild flowers that grew by her house in the desert and put them on the table in their one room house. When she got here, she saw those same flowers for sale, but couldn’t afford to buy them. It took her several weeks of working before she had any leftover money to buy those flowers, but when she finally did, she put them on her own table, and it made her happy.
Where do you get your ideas?
I get ideas everywhere. I suppose most writers and illustrators are like that. I seem to be more open to ideas on days where I haven’t slept well the night before. It makes me more sensitive to little bits of beauty.
What are you working on now? When do you expect to start submitting it to publishers?
I am working on two middle grade novels. One is a companion book to THE YEAR THE SWALLOWS CAME EARLY. And the other is an historical fiction book about a baseball team in the 1940’s.
Do you write every day and do you have set hours that you work?
I try to write everyday from 9am to 3pm, but that doesn’t always happen. I always sit in the same place with my dog, Holly, who is a big help!