Susin's Favorite Picture Books
Susin's Favorite Middle Reader Novels
Susin's Favorite Young Adult Novels
Ten Questions with Susin Nielsen
WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION FOR -
Hank and Fergus?
Mormor Moves In?
The Magic Beads?
Word Nerd?
She is a cat person.
Her first cat was named Mississippi. Actually, she named her Missippi, but all the adults would say, "You mean Mississippi," and eventually she made the switch.
She always wanted to play "Anita" in West Side Story, but she couldn't sing and she definitely couldn't dance.
She is an optimist.
Her favorite ice-cream flavor is cookie dough.
Once she tried to feather her bangs and dropped a hot curling iron on her leg. She still has the scar to prove it.
She had her own set of magic beads when she was young. They were pink and plastic and were normally used for holding back the shower curtain.
She once owned a pair of "inside-out" pants, bought from the Sears catalogue, and nerdier than anything Ambrose from Word Nerd would ever wear.
She loves a fart joke.
Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Owen by Kevin Henke
Goodnight, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman
Stanley's Party by Linda Bailey
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbitson
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
Just Henry by Michelle Magorian
Stuart Little by E.B. White
The Narnia Chronicles by C.S. Lewis
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Age 13 ¾ by Sue Townsend
Finding Violet Park by Jenny Valentine
Alice, I Think by Susan Juby
I Am The Cheese by Robert Cormier
The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty
Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
Then Again, Maybe I Won't by Judy Blume
OB:
Tell us about your novel, Word Nerd.
SN:
It's the story of Ambrose, a 12-year-old self-described "friendless nerd," who moves around a lot with his single parent, overprotective mother. To top things off he has a peanut allergy and is a bully magnet. He winds up befriending their upstairs neighbor Cosmo, who's 25 and recently got out of jail for committing a string of b and e's to support a drug habit. The two of them wind up joining the local Scrabble Club together - each with their own motives - and through the course of the book they each find friendship and acceptance and, in Ambrose's case, a place he can finally call home.
OB:
Did you have a specific readership in mind when you wrote your book?
SN:
Well, I knew I was writing a YA book, but no, I didn't have a specific readership in mind. It was just the story I wanted to tell, and Ambrose really wanted to be heard!
OB:
How did you research Word Nerd?
SN:
I had quite a lot of fun. I love Scrabble myself, but I'm a 'kitchen player,' and not a pro by any means. So I met with Val Gallant, who runs the Vancouver Scrabble Club out here, and she a) turned me on to a great non-fiction book called Word Freak by Stephan Fatsis, about the world of competitive Scrabble, and b) let me come to her club meetings and a tournament they held while I was writing the book. I also saw a documentary about competitive Scrabble quite a few years ago. I don't remember what it was called. At Val's club I loved watching the games unfold but I never dared to play because they were all too good, even the beginners.
OB:
Describe your ideal writing environment.
SN:
Hmm. Unlike my TV work, which I do almost exclusively at my desk in my home office, I notice with my books that I like to move around the house. I need dead quiet, no music, radio, etc. I start out in my office, then I take a break and go to the gym, then I move into the family room and lie on the couch with the computer on my lap (this inevitably results in a nap), then I wind up in the living room in an arm chair for the final burst of energy of the day (but I don't really write more than a few hours a day).
OB:
What was your first publication?
SN:
My very first publication was Shane: A Degrassi Novel, I believe in the late 80's. I had been writing for Degrassi Junior High and they asked if I'd like to take a crack at one of their novel series. I really enjoyed the process and wound up writing 3 more. I've always wanted to introduce myself to Margaret Atwood as the author of "Shane," "Snake," "Melanie" and "Wheels."
OB:
What are you reading right now?
SN:
I am reading an absolutely wonderful book by a fellow Canadian, called The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway. I met him at the Winnipeg Authors' Fest, then again in Vancouver, and I was nervous to read his book because I thought it would be just too depressing. But it isn't. Despite its setting and the atrocities being committed, it is first and foremost a book about ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, trying to live their daily lives. It is exquisite.
In the YA vein I'm reading Finding Violet Park by Jenny Valentine, to my son. I'm finding it challenging because she is such a magnificent writer (it's also told in first person like Word Nerd) that I grapple with intense feelings of jealousy as I read. Seriously though, it is an incredible book.
OB:
If you had to choose three books as a "Welcome to Canada" gift, what would those books be?
SN:
Oh, I love this question!! Adult books:
1) Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler, because when it was the first CanLit book I read, after many that were bleak and depressing (albeit well-written), that made me realize Canadian writers could have a sense of humor, too.
2) DeNiro's Game by Rawi Hage. This does not even take place in Canada, but Hage is Lebanese-Canadian, and it's a great book, and it shows that our writers are as multi-cultural as our nation.
3) Mercy Among the Children by David Adams Richards, because even though it is bleak and depressing, it just blew me away.
Young adult books:
1) The Alice, I Think series by Susan Juby, just because it is so damned funny.
2) Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis; again it isn't set in Canada, but he is an incredible talent, it's a beautiful book, and for same reasons as number 2 above, Canadians don't just have to write about Canada.
3) Well, Word Nerd, of course!
OB:
What's the best advice you've ever received as a writer?
SN:
That it's not just about writing; it's also about rewriting.
OB:
Describe the most memorable response you've received from a reader.
SN:
My most recent favorite memory happened just last week at the Vancouver Authors Fest. Sheree Fitch and I did a reading together, and one young girl put up her hand and told us she was an avid reader, and that once she was done her books, the characters became her imaginary friends. She had over a thousand imaginary friends, and Ambrose and Minn (from Sheree's book, The Gravesavers,) were about to become the latest two. We were delighted, and told her so. Her teacher e mailed me later to tell us the girl was autistic, and that our positive response had meant the world to her.
OB:
What is your next project?
SN:
I'm working on another first-person story, this time from a girl's perspective. The tentative title is, Dear George Clooney: Please Marry My Mom.
When my son, Oskar, was much younger, he had an imaginary friend named Spoofus. Spoofus was a dog. One day Spoofus would be tiny and blue, the next day he'd be gigantic and purple. That was largely the inspiration for Fergus.
Also, when I was growing up there was a boy at my school with a large port-wine birth mark on his face. Nobody ever teased him about it, but I wondered if it ever bothered him. Somehow these two separate moments combined to create Hank and Fergus.
My husband is Swedish, and his dad - my son's farfar (father's father) died a number of years ago in Sweden. His mom (my son's farmor, or father's mother), never came to live with us, but I guess that event got my imagination churning. In the book there is a wonderful illustration where Astrid's mormor (mother's mother) is standing outside a toy store. The toy store is called "Ruben's Toys." Ruben was my husband's father's name.
A couple of times a year we bring donations of clothes, books, and other household items to a family shelter in our neighborhood. One day when I was dropping things off I noticed a sign on their fridge: "Please do not help yourself to snacks between meals." This is a very nice family shelter, but it got me to thinking. What would it be like to be a child and have your life uprooted like that? To have to leave your home and live amongst strangers in a different town?
I'm still not totally clear on where Ambrose came from. He is a self-described "friendless nerd." I did unearth an old diary of mine that helped answer some of the mystery. This is a quote from that diary, written at age 12:
"I've just moved to London Ontario about three months ago. I don't have any friends. Oh well, I don't mind. My cat's a friend, and so's my doll, Raggedy Anne. She's real to me. I have lots of stuffed animals. I have sea monkeys but they're not fully grown yet. I take piano lessons. I don't have a dad. My cat's name is Mississippi."
Mystery partially solved. I also love Scrabble, though I could never play competitively like Ambrose does!