Patrick Ness Interview - Piper at the Gates of Dusk ~ JeanBookNerd

Photo Credit: Stephen Daly

Born in Virginia and raised in Hawaii and the state of Washington, Patrick Ness is the author of seven novels and a short story collection. He has won the Carnegie Medal twice, The Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize, and the Costa Children’s Book Award. In 2012 his bestselling novel A Monster Calls became the first ever to win both the Kate Greenaway and Carnegie Medals. His books are published in more than 20 languages. He lives in London.

When/how did you realize you had a creative dream or calling to fulfill?
It’s the odd thing that in school, when I wrote a story, I was very surprised that people often responded how I hoped they would. They’d laugh or they’d be shocked or they’d like it. I can’t sing at all, but I imagine it’s how people who sing well feel when they sing. Maybe I might be good at this… It was a big surprise. I never expected it.

Tell us your most rewarding experience since being published.
Genuinely, all I ever dreamed of was holding a hardcover book in my hand that I’d written. I never thought it was possible, but I wrote a book anyway (see below for key advice!). And one day, the box came in the mail, and there was my book. Honestly, that was the peak moment. Everything since has been extra cake!

What advice would you give to someone who wanted to have a life in writing?
My advice is always: “Real writers don’t write, they write anyway.” You don’t think someone will ever publish your book? Write one anyway. You don’t think anyone will ever film your screenplay? Write one anyway. That’s truly how it works. Real writers write anyway. And that’s how the magic happens.

Has reading a book ever changed your life? Which one and why, if yes?
In high school, I read a book called JITTERBUG PERFUME by the author Tom Robbins (who recently passed away). I’d read all the books I was “supposed” to read growing up, plus a huge helping of stuff I liked to read and stuff I had to sneak (like Stephen King, lots of Stephen King). But Jitterbug Perfume was the first “proper” novel I read that dared to be playful and a little bit rude and clearly have fun with its story and its writing. That was a revelation. I thought, “We’re allowed to do this?” And I never looked back.

Can you tell us when you started PIPER AT THE GATES OF DUSK, how that came about?
I never expected to write more in the world of Chaos Walking. Honestly, I always said “never say never” but I kind of meant never. And then one day I got an idea about the Pied Piper story and about the kid who gets left behind. Kind of annoyingly, actually! Because I never intended to go back to Chaos Walking, yet there the idea was. Sometimes that’s just how it goes. And out came Piper at the Gates of Dusk.

What was the most surprising thing you learned in creating your characters?
That they can surprise you. If you get your characters talking or acting, then they can do things you never expected. It’s a real joy and real help for plot and storytelling. Let your characters be free. You’ll be amazed where they take you.

TEN RANDOM FACTS ABOUT PIPER AT THE GATES OF DUSK

1. The title is taken from a chapter in The Wind in the Willows called “Piper at the Gates of Dawn”. Pink Floyd used this chapter for the title of one of their albums, and I changed it from dawn to dusk because it’s book one: we’re entering the darkness…
2. Burly the Mayor may remind of certain Mayors that have already existed in the world.
3. Ben, one of the main characters, is named after another character in the Chaos Walking series (who also makes an appearance in Piper).
4. It’s the shortest Chaos Walking book so far, and the truth is, it’s harder to write a short book than it is a long book!
5. The next book in the trilogy, The Vault of Heaven, is a lot longer.
6. A certain horse you may remember from the original trilogy also makes a cameo appearance.
7. Jim Kay – the amazing illustrator of A Monster Calls – drew the incredible endpapers that you’ll find in the hardback.
8. The character Bessie Jaye got her name from the winner of an auction benefitting trans rights charities.
9. The battlemore is, and has always been, basically a battle rhinoceros. Rhinos are my favorite animal.
10. I stole the name Kilfoyle from a friend, because it’s just too good a name not to be used fictionally. They’re both teachers, but the similarity ends there.

What decade during the last century would you have chosen to be a kid?

I was a kid in the 70s and 80s. They were both okay.

What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning?

Try to be a happy person today.

What is your most memorable travel experience?

First trip to Australia when I was 21. Solo and amazing and mind-blowing. I wrote a short story based on it.

Have you ever stood up for someone you hardly knew?

I stand up for trans people all the time on my social media. I think it’s what anyone decent would do.

First Love?

My kindergarten teacher, Mrs Nishimoto. I loved her with a passion that only a five year old can muster.

What is your happiest childhood memory?

Basically anything involving Hawaiian shave ice (I live there as a kid)

What was your favorite subject when you were in school and why?

Math, because it was controllable, and I was an anxious kid.

Two-time Carnegie Medalist Patrick Ness makes a thrilling return to the world of Chaos Walking with this launch of the extraordinary New World trilogy, in a deluxe package with sprayed edges and endpapers illustrated by Jim Kay.

It’s been twenty years since the monstrous war that almost tore New World apart, and there’s a new generation on the planet. Todd and Viola’s sons Ben and Max have known only peace growing up on the family farm outside a bustling human settlement. They dream of the usual things, like school and adventure, until the nightmares begin . . .

A sudden sickness has infected the young people of New World with Noise in the form of their worst thoughts about themselves. Some suspect the Spackle, the indigenous people with whom humans have a very uneasy truce. Others wonder about a connection to a mysterious object looming in the sky. And then, one by one, the children of New World begin to disappear.
Ben, with his mother’s logical mind, and Max, with his father’s courageous heart, become caught up in separate quests for answers, journeys that will test their beliefs in their parents, each other, and in their very existence on the planet.

Patrick Ness makes a masterful return to New World in this timely work of science fiction, one that looks at the interplay of fear, power, and propaganda, and at the stories we tell ourselves.

You can purchase Piper at the Gates of Dusk at the following Retailers: