Today we are very excited to share an interview with author Deborah Hopkinson!
Read on to learn more about the author, the book, and a giveaway!
Meet the Author: Deborah Hopkinson
A native of Lowell, Massachusetts, Deborah Hopkinson’s more than 70 children’s books include picture books, middle grade historical fiction, Little Golden Book biographies, and long form nonfiction. Her titles have won the Oregon Book Award, the SCBWI Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Text, the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, and the Green Earth Environmental Award. Other awards include a Sibert honor, a Carter G. Woodson honor, NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor, and Boston Globe/Horn Book honor. Deborah received a B.A. and a master’s degree from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and worked in academic advancement prior to writing full time. Deborah currently lives in Oregon.
About the Book: The Plot to Kill a Queen
From award-winning author Deborah Hopkinson comes an utterly charming, deftly crafted mystery about an intrepid young girl’s quest to foil a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I.
Emilia Bassano is a girl who relishes the music of words. Although she plays the lute and writes poetry, Emilia nurtures a dream: to hear her words come alive on stage. Emilia wants to write soliloquies for heroes and kings and queens of old, fashion fierce villains to make audiences howl, and try her hand at comedy and romance. Most of all, she wants to create unforgettable women characters.
On one of her trips to the theater, an unfortunate series of events leaves her penniless, with no way of watching the show. That is until a boy by the name of Will Shakespeare helps her sneak in to see the play. They realize they’re both aspiring playwrights and Emilia convinces Will to join her in her efforts to win a playwriting competition at the palace of Queen Elizabeth I.
However, when Emilia accidentally uncovers a plot to kill the queen, she is given the job of traveling to the castle where Mary Queen of Scots is being held captive, to discover who is responsible for the plan to murder Queen Elizabeth—and to thwart it! Can Emilia and her friends stop the plans of a disguised murderer on the loose?
This delightful mystery is a marvel of incisive wit and extraordinary craft from the beloved, award-winning author Deborah Hopkinson.
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~Author Chat~
YABC: What gave you the inspiration to write this book?
THE PLOT TO KILL A QUEEN may be the book closest to my heart. As a girl, I wanted to write and was also fascinated by spy stories and just about any book set in a creepy old castle!
Also, I’ve read a lot about Tudor and Elizabethan England. I was fortunate to be part of a group of seven authors who collaborated on FATAL THRONE: THE WIVES OF HENRY VIII TELL ALL. As Katherine Parr (wife #6) I did some research into her stepdaughter Elizabeth, later, of course, Elizabeth I. I’ve also worked for a nonprofit community theater. These interests converged when I first read an article speculating on theories linking Emilia Bassano Lanyer (or Lanier) to William Shakespeare.
YABC: Who is your favorite character in the book?
Emilia, the protagonist, is my favorite character, though I also have a soft spot for her dog, Mouse, inspired by my own spaniel, Rue (named after Rue in THE HUNGER GAMES). I admit, it was a little intimidating to imagine the eighteen-year-old Will Shakespeare (who has a walk-on cameo role), but one of the best things about historical fiction is that one can have fun with history. I also enjoyed writing the book in the form of a play and sprinkling in lots of tidbits about the theater and plays. And, of course, the book includes a one-act play free for students to perform. I had a lot of fun writing that!
YABC: What research did you do to write this book?
I wish I could have visited Sheffield Castle, where much of the book takes place. Sadly, it’s long gone. But I read as much as I could about efforts to excavate its ruins, and also researched life in a medieval castle. I was able to read biographies of other characters in PLOT, including Queen Elizabeth’s spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham.
I think the most fascinating research find was the discovery of an absolutely incredible research effort by Marion E. Colthorpe accessible at the Folger Shakespeare Library. It’s a compilation of known facts of Elizabeth’s court day to day. I find it absolutely incredible that we can know things that happened at court in 1582!
And so while the play competition that motivates Emilia to write her play, “The Princess Saves the Cakes,” is imagined, we do know for sure that courtiers enjoyed masques and performances during the holiday season.
YABC: When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
Like my protagonist, Emilia, I wanted to be a writer from an early age. Actually, though, I spent many years also working full time in grant writing and fundraising for colleges and universities, as well as nonprofit organizations like the Manoa Valley Theatre in Honolulu. I’ve only been writing full time for less than ten years.
So I always tell students when I visit schools or libraries that you shouldn’t give up on what you love. You may not end up in Hollywood or in the Olympics, but if you love acting, singing, sports, or music, it can still be an important part of your life.
YABC: What type of scene do you love to write the most?
I absolutely love writing suspense and action scenes. THE PLOT TO KILL A QUEEN opens with a “teaser,” a scene where Emilia and Mouse (or Mousekin as she is called sometimes) are escaping from Sheffield Castle on a cold, foggy morning, trying to outrun their pursuers and hoping not to fall in the moat! When I write scenes like that I try to imagine that I’m there and it’s happening to me. And I often do the imagining at odd times of the day—even grocery shopping! So if I forget something on my list, it’s usually because in my head I’m in a completely different time and place.
YABC: What is your favorite writing space?
My office is the converted dining room of our house, and I use an old, large table as my desk. The best part is that my “research assistants,” Rue and Daphne, are usually snoozing right beside me. That was especially helpful when I needed inspiration for Mouse in PLOT – I could just look over at my dog.
YABC: How do you plan to celebrate the launch of your book?
I’m very excited to be launching THE PLOT TO KILL A QUEEN at an event on November 2 here in Portland at Annie Bloom’s Books with other authors, including my friend Rosanne Parry and her fabulous new middle grade, A HORSE CALLED SKY.
YABC: What hobbies do you enjoy?
I love gardening but I’m not always successful. This summer I tried to grow a fairytale pumpkin in honor of my picture book, CINDERELLA AND A MOUSE CALLED FRED, which features an author’s note about a French heirloom variety called fairytale pumpkins. Maybe there will be one small pumpkin on some enormous vines!
YABC: What kind of animal would your main character be and why?
It’s funny that you ask that. My dog Little Rue has appeared in fiction before, as Little Roo (LR) in HOW I BECAME A SPY: A MYSTERY OF WORLD WAR II LONDON.
But this year I published my first picture book with talking animals called CINDERELLA AND A MOUSE CALLED FRED, which has absolutely amazing art by Caldecott Medalist Paul O. Zelinsky (Anne Schwartz Books). And though it’s a story about Ella, I am very fond of her mouse friend Fred!
I’m also excited about my new intermediate series, Adventures of Trim (Peachtree). TRIM SETS SAIL and TRIM HELPS OUT are out in October, followed by TRIM SAVES THE DAY and TRIM SAILS THE STORM in 2024. The books are inspired by a real ship’s cat named Trim, who in the early 1800s became the first cat to sail around Australia – along with his owner, British explorer Matthew Flinders. Kristy Caldwell’s art is delightful.
The TRIM series includes a number of non-human characters. There’s the ship’s dog Penny, Jack the Parrot, and even Princess Beatrix, the ship’s rat. Beatrix is named after my own pet named Beatrix—only she’s a cat! I have several canaries, including one called Tyrion, but haven’t figured out how to write about them yet.
YABC: What other age group would you consider writing for?
I love to write for a wide age range. Along with the books just mentioned, this fall I have a new picture book that I think educators and students alike will appreciate. It’s called SMALL PLACES, CLOSE TO HOME, with art by Kate Gardiner. It’s a child’s version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, first championed in the UN by Eleanor Roosevelt. It’s being released in honor of its 75th anniversary in December 2023.
YABC: What’s up next for you?
In 2024, I will return to nonfiction with a book I hope will appeal to both upper elementary and middle school students. It’s called THEY SAVED THE STALLIONS (Scholastic), and it’s about the WWII rescue of the famous dancing white horses of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna. In the spring of 1945, at the tail end (no pun intended) of World War II in Europe, horse lovers from opposing sides formed an unlikely alliance to save Austria’s prized Lipizzaner stallions and mares from almost certain destruction. I think horse-lovers and fans of WWII nonfiction will enjoy this inspiring story –and seeing some great photos of these beautiful horses.
Title: The Plot to Kill a Queen
Author: Deborah Hopkinson
Release Date: October 17, 2023
Publisher: Scholastic
Genre: Historical Fiction
Age Range: 8-12
*Giveaway Details*
Ten (10) winners will receive a hardcover copy of The Plot to Kill a Queen (Deborah Hopkinson) ~ US Only
*Click the Rafflecopter link below to enter the giveaway!*
Great cover!
Fantastic and creative cover, plunges us immediately into the mystery mood
Lovely cover!!
I like the expressive cover and this sounds exciting to read.
This seems like it’ll be a very great and thrilling read!