People are so nice. Let me be more specific... Kirsten Miller, the author of Kiki Strike and my new virtual friend, is so nice. When we asked her to answer a couple of questions about her book, she said yes. The questions were posed by a group of 5th graders whose teacher is reading the book aloud in class. The answers are fabulous! Thank you, Ms. Miller. You are a very special lady! We wish you the best of luck with your next book. We'll be waiting.
What is your favorite color?
My favorite color is black. It matches everything, it makes me look mysterious, and I can spill an entire cup of coffee on myself (which I often do) and my clothes won't get stained!
Do you like BBQ chips?
I love BBQ chips. Aside from Salt & Vinegar, they're the only flavor of chips that I eat. (I'm originally from North Carolina, so I love BBQ anything. I even eat BBQ sauce on ham sandwiches and French fries.)
Do you have any siblings? If so, what # are you?
I'm the oldest-I have a sister named Darcy and a brother named Spike. (It's a nickname. His real name is Seth, but when he was a kid he would try to scare my grandmother by pretending to be an escaped criminal named Spike. It never worked.)
My sister is exactly two years younger than I am. She was born on my birthday, and my parents used to dress us like twins, which really drove me crazy. (I was quite short until I reached the 8th grade, so Darcy was the same size I was.) I'm over that childhood trauma now-even though my parents still insist on giving us the very same birthday presents.
What is your favorite book?
I'm not sure I have one favorite. I still love Half Magic, 21 Balloons, The Westing Game, all of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries, and anything with a good ghost in it. I also love Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy.
What other jobs have you done?
Ha! Good question. The following list is 100% true . . .
· Maid (Much like Cinderella except there were no little birds helping me.)
· Dentist's Assistant (I was the person who held people's mouths open and suctioned their spit. Really gross, I know. That job didn't last very long.)
· Waitress (One lesson I learned: always be nice to anyone who touches your food.)
· Advertising Executive (I worked on the Milk Mustache and got milk? campaigns.)
· Spy (Only on an amateur level, unfortunately.)
How old were you when you started writing?
I think I realized I liked writing when I was in the fourth grade. I would come up with stories, and my father would illustrate them. (He's a very good artist-a talent I definitely don't share.) If I recall correctly, most of my stories were about aliens. Don't ask me why. I was a little weird.
Do you have any pets? If so, what are their names?
I don't have any pets at the moment, but I would love to have a dog. I think I would pick a Jack Russell Terrier (because they're smart, feisty, and can do lots of tricks), and I would probably name him Trip (because that's what I'd teach him to do to strangers who bothered me).
Did the place where you wrote inspire you? What were your other inspirations?
I wrote the book in New York, and the city definitely inspired me. (See the next question for more on that subject.)
Other than the city itself, most of my inspiration came from my crazy family and things I've read over the years-not just in books, but in newspapers and magazines as well. You'll find there's some really strange stuff going on out there if you're willing to pay attention.
Why did you set the book in New York City?
I've lived in New York since I was seventeen, and it's my favorite place in the world. Bizarre things happen here everyday. Manholes explode. Giant craters appear in the middle of Fifth Avenue. Forgotten tunnels are discovered. Flocks of exotic parrots escape from the airport and set up house in Brooklyn. It's definitely never boring. (In fact, the hole that Ananka discovers in the first chapter of the book was based on a real event!)
But one of the most important reasons I set the book in New York is that the city is completely hollow. There are tunnels beneath the streets-and I'm not just talking about the subway. The Shadow City was inspired by real passages beneath downtown New York-escape tunnels and hideouts that were built more than a hundred years ago. Few people know where they are anymore. But I've heard that the ones under Chinatown are still being used-mostly by smugglers and various bad guys.
Where did you get the name Kiki Strike?
I wanted my main character to have a name that was cute and dangerous. Kiki was my nickname in school. (A friend of mine gave it to me-she thought it was very funny, since I didn't seem like a "Kiki" at all.) Strike was the last name of my best friend in fifth grade. I was always very jealous that she had such a cool and unusual last name. So when I got older, I stole it! (I think she would be very pleased-she had a lot in common with Kiki Strike.)
Why did you choose for Kiki to be an orphan?
I think all kids (even those who really love their families) daydream about what it might be like to be completely independent, with no one bossing them around all the time. Kiki can do anything she wants (and she does), but I think she also shows that being independent isn't all that it's cracked up to be. She'd probably prefer to have her parents back.
Which character do you identify with most?
I'm a little like all of the characters. (I can be bad tempered like Luz, scientific like DeeDee, and I love a good disguise.) But I identify most with Ananka. My parents worked a lot when I was growing up, and I spent a great deal of time in the library. At some point, I discovered the secret section with all the good books-the ones about sea monsters, aliens, and lost civilizations. I'm still fascinated by all the same things. (To prove it, I'm enclosing a picture of a giant squid that I took last year in Australia. The squid was frozen in a giant block of ice at the Melbourne aquarium.)
Were you like Kiki when you were 12?
A little, I suppose. I was very small and my hair was very light. (I'm still blonde, but now I'm pretty tall.) I also learned how to pick a variety of locks at a fairly young age. (My brother, sister, and I were constantly locking each other in rooms.) Plus, I always suspected that a few my neighbors were up to no good. My friends and I kept them under close surveillance for over a year-just to make sure they weren't causing trouble.
Why aren't there very many boys in Kiki Strike?
It's not that boys wouldn't make good Irregulars. I guess it's because Ananka tells the story, and since she goes to a girls' school, she doesn't know many boys. But there are a few in the next book-in fact one of my favorite characters is a boy.
Are there any secrets you can tell us about book #2?
It's all about the Irregulars, a mummy, a mansion that's haunted by a hungry ghost, three unusually large squirrels, and a boy genius who lives in Central Park.
Do you have any writing tips?
Step One: Get excited about something-whether it's a story, a character, or getting your revenge on an unpleasant classmate.
Step Two: Sit down and write-and don't get up until you have something good. Most people give up too soon. If you have patience, a great idea is bound to come along.
