Today we are very excited to share an interview with authors Rebecca Lim and Kate Gordon!
Read on to learn more about the authors, the book, and a giveaway!
Meet the Authors: Rebecca Lim and Kate Gordon
Rebecca Lim is an award-winning writer, illustrator, and editor and the author of over twenty books, including Tiger Daughter (a Victorian Premier’s Literary Award-winner), The Astrologer’s Daughter (a Kirkus Best Book and CBCA Notable Book) and the bestselling Mercy.
Kate Gordon grew up in a very bookish house, in a small town by the sea in Tasmania. After studying performing arts and realizing she was a terrible actor, Kate decided to become a librarian and a children’s author.
About the Book: The Mailbox Tree
With sea-levels rising, and the land deforested, over-mined, and affected by bushfires and drought, Tasmania is increasingly marooned, its people abandoned. Nyx’s father wants them to leave while they still can, but for Nyx, West Hobart is all she’s ever known and where her mother is buried. She seeks solace in the single surviving tree near her home–an 80-foot pine that has defied all odds. Bea, too, finds solace in the tree, and facing a move to the mainland herself, leaves a despairing note, wedged into a hole in its trunk. Nyx finds the note and writes back. But Nyx and Bea don’t realize how special their tree truly is…
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~Author Chat~
YABC: What gave you the inspiration to write this book?
Rebecca: The urgency of the climate crisis for everyone, but especially for young people. I also love writing with Kate Gordon, who is a mystical Tasmanian who lives and works on the lands of the palawa people in Tasmania. And we both love writing paranormal books.
Kate: My children! I have two daughters, aged two and twelve. I feel such a sense of guilt for how our generation and previous generations have failed them. I wanted to write a book with a sense of urgency, but also hope and the knowledge that they’re not alone and “grown-ups” are here to help them. The problem is not solely theirs to fix but they do have the power to make change.
YABC: Who is your favorite character in the book?
Rebecca: I love all the characters – but kunanyi/Mount Wellington, a mountain near where Bea and Nyx live is a pretty special character in itself.
Kate: I have to second Bec! I have a huge soft spot for my adopted home city (I grew up in the north-west of Tasmania, in a small town by the sea, but I’ve lived in Hobart since my early twenties). I feel like this book is a love letter to my home and I’m thrilled people from all over the world are going to learn more about the place I love.
YABC: What scene in the book are you most proud of, and why?
Rebecca: Possibly the moment where Nyx realises how miraculous it is that she’s actually made a new friend in Bea.
Kate: I love the ending scenes, when we discover that all is not lost and that real change can be made, with friendship, family, community and working together. And that we should always listen to and believe young people!
YABC: Which was the most difficult or emotional scene to narrate?
Rebecca: For me, when the people around Nyx are in terrible, physical danger and have to save themselves based solely on a belief that Bea has come through with something she’s promised to do – there’s no concrete evidence that Bea has done what she said she would do, but the small group of travellers set off anyway, basing their actions on hope and trust.
Kate: The initial scenes of Bea, when we see her loneliness, isolation and hopelessness.
YABC: What is the main message or lesson you would like your reader to remember from this book?
Rebecca: No matter how hopeless things seem, people making real connections and pulling together can save each other and do tangible things to help our planet.
Kate: That young people should be listened to and believed. This world belongs to them.
YABC: What’s a book you’ve recently read and loved?
Rebecca: The Burrow by Melanie Cheng. It’s about grief and family, but also a small rescue rabbit. As the mom of two rescue rabbits, I loved it. The rescue rabbit has whole chapters to itself in a literary novel! I loved it.
Kate: I have a two year old so I spend most of my day reading board books with her. My current favourite is But Not the Armadillo, by Sandra Boynton. I love its message that it’s AOK to opt out of the crowd and go your own way. I also really loved The Rebels of Mount Buffalo, by new Australian author, Helen Edwards. I’m always a sucker for a time slip narrative and this one was excellent, and a fascinating look at an awesome woman from Australian history.
YABC: What would you say is your superpower?
Rebecca: Taking things or ideas that seem hard or complex, and hopefully breathing life and interest into them for readers.
Kate: Hugs. I’m really, really good at them.
YABC: Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned as a writer from then to now?
Rebecca: Just keep at it. If you want to be a writer, it’s almost 99% hard work and never giving up.
Kate: That approaching every project with kindness and the will to make the world a little bit better with everything you write is much more important than following trends.
YABC: What advice do you have for new writers?
Rebecca: Read as much and as widely as you can – it will help you play with, or break, the rules of writing.
Kate: Patience and persistence. This gig really is about playing the long game. Nothing good happens quickly … and almost nothing happens quickly in the writing industry!
~ Giveaway Details ~
Five (5) winners will receive a copy of The Mailbox Tree (Rebecca Lim and Kate Gordon) ~US Only!
*Click the Rafflecopter link below to enter the giveaway*
