Today I'm happy to welcome Sophia Bennett, author of Threads and the upcoming Beads, Boys & Bangles.
Sophia won The Times/Chicken House Competition 2009 with her debut children’s novel Threads.
The sequel Beads, Boys & Bangles will come out in may 2010. Let's learn more about Sophia, shall we ?!
Welcome to the Hill, Sophia !
How, when and why did you start to write?
I know I wrote a story called ‘Stanley the Horse’ when I was about 6, because I found it recently. Not my most original work. I first remember really writing when I was eight or nine and on a school trip. We had to write a diary of the trip and I wrote mine as a poem. Not a very good poem, but it rhymed and people were interested to see how I was going to keep it going.
I’ve always enjoyed words. My mother read a lot of poetry and nursery rhymes to me when I was little, so maybe it’s that. Books, and in fact any form of writing, have given me so much pleasure over the years, I just wanted to be a part of their world.
It took years of trying, though. Loads of competitions I didn’t win and manuscripts that didn’t get published. I had to keep going for literally decades until I found a style that worked for me.
Could you describe Threads in five words starting with a T ?
Trendy, teenage, thought-provoking, topical, tender
What inspired you to write this story?
The idea came to me suddenly of a mystery fashion student who turned out to be a talented twelve year-old (there you go – 2 more words beginning with ‘t’!). I was always clear that I wanted to write about ‘my’ fashion – the history, the craftsmanship, the joy and creativity of it. Not just whether pink goes with purple.
I lived with the story for four years, during which my fashion designer gradually acquired three friends and the story got some new themes: the dark side of celebrity and the difference between being talented and simply wanting to be famous. Then I learned about the Night Walkers in Uganda. I was absolutely shocked by what children in Uganda were having to live through at the time (and still do in other countries). I wanted to write about that too, but I only had time to write one story, so somehow I had to make my fashion story and my Uganda story mix. It was tough! But it’s what made Threads the story it is. As Crow, my fashion designer, became Crow, the refugee, the book became ten times more interesting. Now whenever I see a challenge in the plot or a character, I’m grateful for it.
How would you describe your relationship with fashion?
Complicated. I’m an amateur. I love fashion when it’s about creativity and self-expression – when it makes you feel good about yourself. I’ve been following it since childhood, and I’m fascinated by the way style has changed over the years and by the lives of the great designers.
It’s a very mixed relationship, though. I don’t like those parts of the fashion industry that don’t care if young girls are too thin, or are preyed on by older men, or if women are made to feel unnecessarily old or fat. But if fashion didn’t exist, or was outlawed, we’d have to invent it. In fact, I recently heard a story about a woman in a concentration camp who expressed her individuality by wearing a piece of clothing as a headscarf, even though that was punishable by death. That is extreme fashion for me. Fashion as a human necessity. So much more interesting than what length of skirt I’m supposed to be wearing this season. (It’s short, by the way.)
Which character do you feel closer to?What a great question. I suppose it must be Nonie, my narrator, because I’m talking in her voice, but she’s not me. She has more sartorial confidence than me, and more optimism and bravery. She shares my obsessions – fashion, celebrity magazines, family … – but she approaches them in a different way.
I also feel close to Edie, because she’s academic, as I was. And she manages to say the wrong thing without meaning to, which my husband tells me I do all the time. Jenny, my actress, is a completely made up character but once I invented her she ran away with lots of the plot! Crow is entirely herself. She lives in the world of her imagination and it’s hard to get to know her. I was extremely talkative as a child. But I’m fascinated by people who are quiet, uncompromising and passionate about what they want to do. I think Crow is slightly scary until you get to know her well, but if you knew her really well, you’d love her.
What inspired you to choose the characters’ names?
Another great question! I had to give my four girls names that meant something to me. Crow was always Crow, from the moment the original story came to me. In fact, the whole story was called ‘Crow’ until quite near the end, when I decided that as a title, it might give the wrong impression of the book – it’s not exactly fashion-y ! I think I might have been inspired by David Almond’s book Skellig, which is one of my favourites and which features an angel whom I imagine to be vaguely crow-like.
My narrator had to have a name that was very special to me, to ensure that I looked after her. So I named her after my mother’s mother (real name Joan), who I always called Noney. Except I spelled it Nonie and in my mind, it’s short for Fiona. It’s pronounced No-knee, by the way.
Edie is a slightly unusual name I’ve always liked. (And it’s Ee-die, not Eddie.) And then I realised I had three odd names, so I called Jenny something simple.
It didn’t occur to me until after the book was published that the names were so hard to pronounce. Sorry! I’ll try not to do it again. Not so much, anyway.
And by the way, I ran out of inspiration when it came to surnames, so characters are usually named after roads near the libraries where I work, and one of them is an acronym on the back of the computer opposite me, spelled backwards.
If you were an actress like Jenny, in which kind of films would you like to act?
Well, Jenny was pretty miserable trying to act in her blockbuster, and I think I’d be the same. In a perfect world, I’d have a part like Carey Mulligan (nominated for an Oscar this year) did in ‘An Education’. She had to play a sixteen year-old learning about life, love and what sort of person she wants to be. She did it with absolute genius (and some very beautiful costumes). She’s since been compared to Audrey Hepburn, whose films I also love.
Which reminds me, I adore the films of Katharine Hepburn – a very different Hepburn. Kate played strong, intelligent, funny women against great male leads in the 1940s and 1950s. She probably had the film career I’d have liked. If I could act. Which I can’t.
And by the way, I’ve since met Carey Mulligan. SO EXCITING! I’m hoping to use her example to give me ideas for Jenny later on. (But Jenny doesn’t get nominated for an Oscar, so don’t get too excited.)
If you were a dress, what would you look like?
Oh, Charlotte – you are very talented at this question asking malarkey. I would be a black grossgrain Rodarte cocktail dress with black beading and possibly a hint of lace. Ostensibly very classic and demure, but totally contemporary and with more than a hint of rebelliousness and fun, and with an eye for craftsmanship and detail. I put one of my baddies in a Rodarte dress at a crucial moment, but actually they’re among the designers I admire the most.
Have you ever been to the London Fashion Week?
I hadn’t been before I wrote the book. In fact, while I was finishing it I went to a fashion show by my local boutique in South London, which took place in a nearby restaurant, just to get a flavour of how they work, and I based a lot of Crow’s show on that. I had to learn as much as I could from the internet, and there were a couple of useful interviews and diary entries that helped me out. Then I just let my imagination run away with me. And realised how much fun it would be to do the real thing. And how crazy and stressful.
After Threads was published, I was lucky enough to go to a show and check it out. And I’ve just been again – to the latest Matthew Williamson show – with the winner of the fashion design competition that ran on the
threadsthebook website late last year. It’s great, but being in the audience is nothing compared to what it must be like backstage. I’m a backstage girl, really.
Before coming to London, Crow was living in Uganda. Could you tell us more about Save The Children, and the cause you are fighting for with your books ?
A few years ago, the government in Uganda was fighting a group of rebel soldiers called the Lord’s Resistance Army. The LRA used to kidnap children from villages and force them to become soldiers, or be their slaves. The things they made them do are unimaginable. The war is over now, but so many families have been displaced, and children are living in camps where they don’t have access to proper healthcare and education.
Save the Children is one of the charities working to help them. Not just in Uganda but all over the world. It’s my strong belief that any child could be the next Einstein or John Galliano, if only they had the talent and the right resources and support. I really want to help the people who help children be the best they can be.
If you could interview yourself, what question would you ask? And what would be your answer?
I’d ask myself how autographical my books were. And the answer is very. If someone has read and loved Threads, that person will know my passions and obsessions very well. For example, I care who wore what to the Oscars, but I also care about how children are growing up in places like Uganda, Bosnia and India. However, I have an active imagination and I make a lot of stuff up. I enjoy writing characters who don’t think and react exactly as I would. So it might be a fun game to try and work out how my characters fit with my life, but it would be tougher than it looks.
Threads came out last year, and the sequel Beads, Boys & Bangles will be released in may 2010. Could you give us a glimpse of what to be expected...?!
Crow is becoming an established designer, with a successful high street collection. But there are rumours that it’s being made by slave children in India. Nonie, Edie and Crow have a big adventure in store before they can find out the truth behind the rumours. Meanwhile, Jenny has the chance to act in a small play in London. Exactly what she needs. But her old Hollywood rival is back in town, and that can’t be good. I had such fun writing this book! I only hope readers enjoy it half as much.
Quick Q&A
Favorite food : French bread and butter
Favorite place to write : Local libraries and coffee shops
Favorite place to read : Bed!
Favorite time of year : Autumn
Pen or Keyboard ? Keyboard
Coffee or Tea ? Cappuccino
Sun or Snow ? Sun
Dress or skirt ? Dress (less to think about)
My agent is the best.
Threads is a fairytale come true.
Love is the answer to everything.
Writing is essential.
I dream of writing more books. Just that.
I would never give up.
Do you have anything more to add ?
Ooh, I don’t think so! What a lot of questions. It was lovely to have the chance to answer them, but think I’d better get back to writing now.
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Sophia, thank you so much for your insightful answers !
Here are a few links to find Sophia Bennett on the web :
Threads website
Facebook Page
YouTube
And you can check out my review of Threads
here !
