Authors for Indies is only one month away and we couldn’t be more excited! We recently interviewed our special guest author Sandra Bradley. Sandra is the author of the acclaimed children’s book Henry Holton Takes the Ice and she’ll be at Backbeat from 1-3 pm on Saturday, April 30th. You and your kids won’t want to miss out on this fun event! Sandra will be doing a special kids’ storytime and recommending books while she’s here. There are lots more details to come, but in the meantime, let’s get to know Sandra a bit better…
Backbeat: What motivated you to participate in Authors for Indies?
Sandra: I see Authors for Indies as a great chance for writers to give back to Canada’s fantastic independent bookstores.
Backbeat: What three items would you want with you if you were stranded on a deserted island?
Sandra: That’s a tough one. If I was being cavalier about it, I’d have to say a good book, a surf board, and a private chef with survival skills.
Backbeat: Where do you most want to travel, but have never been?
Sandra: I’d love to visit Peru . . . first, because my mother lived there and always entertained us with stories of jungle adventures, and secondly, because of Paddington, one of my all-time favourite characters.
Backbeat: How would your friends describe you?
Sandra: It would depend which one you asked . . . I imagine most of them would include the word ‘chatty’.
Backbeat: What is your favorite bookstore-related memory?
Sandra: My favourite recent bookstore memories are of lovely afternoons spent at local bookstores with my children. When my oldest son was a baby we lived within walking distance of a bookstore and we would often take a stroll with the promise of finding another Caillou book.
Backbeat: Who is your favorite author?
Sandra: I admire so many, but I think if I had to pick just one I’d say Roald Dahl.
Backbeat: What does your perfect day look like?
Sandra: When I had small children, it would have included a nap; now that they’re older, it would be a summer day on the water with my husband and kids.
Backbeat: Did you always dream of being a published children’s author?
Sandra: I dreamt of this when I was a child and then when I grew up I forgot about it for a while. Once I had children of my own, I remembered the absolute joy of kids’ books and I quickly reclaimed the dream of my stories becoming actual books.
Backbeat: What is your favorite book?
Sandra: Another tough one. Again, if I absolutely had to pick, it would be Danny the Champion of the World.
Backeat: What is the one thing that should be taught in school that isn’t already?
Sandra: I wish they spent more time helping children discover classic children’s books; but then, the teachers have enough on their plates teaching large classes of children with such diverse needs.
Backbeat: Were there any parts that you edited out of Henry Holton?
Sandra: Not many. The biggest changes from the original manuscript were additions. My very wise agent told me it needed more humour and she was correct!
Backbeat: Have you had the opportunity to meet the illustrator of Henry Holton Takes the Ice, Sara Palacios?
Sandra: I haven’t, but I’d love to. Writers and illustrators rarely meet. I greatly admire Sara’s work and think she did a fabulous job of bringing Henry to life.
Backbeat: Pick up the book that’s within closest reach of you now. Turn to page twelve. What is the first line?
Sandra: ‘Petunia thought about them and their kind . . . He couldn’t see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on.”