We recently had the pleasure of speaking to S S Johnstone about their children's book, Ada from the Blue Isle, a delightful story of a giraffe trying to find its way and meeting a very special person to show her. Continue reading to see the full interview!
- Hold old were you when you first wrote something substantial?
When I was 25, I wrote my Masters thesis and at 30 my PhD dissertation but had never written any fiction work until I envisioned Ada.
- Did you ever have aspirations to become a writer?
Sort of, I wanted to become a professor for the longest time, which involves a lot of academic research and writing, but after a few major life changes my dreams took a different direction.
- What is the best piece of advice you’ve received?
Don’t be afraid to look like an idiot if it gets you where you need to be in life.
- What advice would you give to an aspiring writer?
Persist, keep writing, keep editing, keep submitting
- What did you find easiest and hardest about writing?
The easier part was actually the illustrations, as I could visualise my characters clearly. The hardest part was editing the story to make it reflect exactly what I wanted to convey.
- Was it faster to write your book or to have it published?
To get it published definitely, I’ve been tinkering with my Ada story for ages.
- What was your favourite part of your book to write?
Again the illustrations, getting the look and feel of the landscapes and characters was really enjoyable.
- Do you have any plans to publish more work?
Yes! I intend to make my book into the first of a small series following my two main characters. I want to show more aspects of everyday life of an autistic child (of which the little boy is) to foster understanding for all autistic individuals, that has always been my main goal in writing about Ada and the little boy.
- If you could review Olympia Publishers in just a few words, what would they be?
Efficient! The process was far more straight forward than I had envisioned
