Shannon Hale on Books, Writing, and Seeing Her Stories Adapted

by Janine Sobeck, dramaturg [caption id="attachment_3705" align="alignright" width="238"]

Award winning author Shannon Hale
(Photo credit: Jenn Florence)[/caption] Shannon Hale is a native Utah writer who has taken the YA fiction world by storm. From her debut novel Goose Girl, to her popular Ever After High series, to her graphic novels, and more (including her popular adult adult fiction book Austenland - now a major motion picture), Shannon has entertained millions of readers with her wonderful characters and fascinating worlds. Her books have also garnered critical acclaim, landing her on the New York Times best-selling author list and winning many awards (including the prestigious Newbery Honor for Princess Academy). In honor of BYU's theatrical adaptation of Princess Academy, I reached out to Shannon to hear a little about about her writing process, what books excite her, and how she feels about seeing her work transformed for the stage. I'm delighted that she took some time out of her busy book tour schedule (the third book in the Princess Academy series was released in March!) to share a bit about her world. Janine Sobeck: What books were influential to you as a child? Shannon Hale: In 3rd grade, my favorite book was THE TRUMPET OF THE SWAN. My 4, 5, and 6 grade years were especially fruitful reading years. My favorite authors were Robin McKinley, CS Lewis, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Joan Aiken, Lloyd Alexander, Anne McCaffrey, Patricia McKillip. JS: Could you describe your writing process? SH: As a mom, I've learned to write whenever I have free time and space. I can't get too fussy. As long as I have my laptop and no one's talking to me, I can write. I write every weekday as long as I have a babysitter or my younger kids are in preschool. When the babysitter is sick or school is out, I can't work. "Writer's block" is a fancy way of saying "writing can be hard sometimes." The best way to get past it is to give myself permission to write badly today and just keep writing.
JS: What is your favorite part of having your work adapted to a different medium (such as the theatre)? SH: When I tell a story, I'm only doing half the work. The reader does the other half of the storytelling inside their own mind, but I never get to see their version. Seeing a movie or play based on one of my books is like getting to peek into a reader's mind to see how they interpret what I've written.
JS: What are some of your favorite activities outside of writing and reading? SH: When I'm not writing, my world is my family. We like to go on walks and hikes, play games, have dance parties, eat together and talk together.
JS: What books/stories are you excited to share with your children? SH: I'm already getting to share so many great books with my kids. I love it when they share with me their favorite books. Recently my son had me read THE UNWANTEDS, his favorite book, and my daughter had me read WAYSIDE SCHOOL, her favorite book. Don't miss your chance to see Shannon's Princess Academy come to life on the BYU stage. The show opens May 29th and tickets are available here.

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[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="376"] Margaret Roper[/caption] Margaret More Roper: Scholar and Daughter by Adam White, dramaturg Thomas More was a family man; he was married twice and had four children with his first wife, Jane Colt. After being married for six years, Jane Colt More died, leaving More with four children: Margaret, Elizabeth, Cecily and John. However, More quickly remarried to the widow Dame Alice Middleton, marrying her within a month of his wife’s death. While many of his friends resisted the rapid nature of the arrangement, More went through with it. Thomas and Alice More would raise the four children Thomas More had with Jane, as well as Alice’s daughter from her previous marriage and a foster daughter. Certainly, More valued his family and the welfare of his children. More also valued the power of education. He insisted that his daughters be educated through rigorous schooling, and this was unusual in 16th-century England, as society at large believed women unfit for scholarly pursuits. Despite cultural and institutional norms, Margaret More, the eldest of the More children (and More’s favorite, some would argue), would grow to become one of the most educated people in all of England, a woman of great scholarly knowledge. Margaret More Roper was tutored at home and became well-known for her studies, particularly for her adeptness in Greek and Latin. Her skill in writing and speaking Latin would impress the clergy of England. This specialty is reflected in a scene in Bolt’s A Man for All Seasons where Margaret and King Henry VIII engage in a bit of Latin language sparring. She would also become the first woman who was not of royal birth to publish a translated book. In October 1524, Roper published an English translation of a book called ‘Precatio dominica’ written by Thomas More’s good friend Erasmus. This book was based on the Lord’s Prayer. Instead of translating the book directly from Latin to English, Roper would use her extensive knowledge of both languages to construct the themes and the meanings Erasmus had written in to the treatise with her own words. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="291"] Erasmus, Dutch humanist and good friend to Thomas More[/caption] It was Margaret who would visit the imprisoned Thomas More the most often. They were very close, writing letters to one another regularly the duration of their relationship. It was in a letter to Margaret that Thomas More confided, “I do nobody harm, I say none harm, I thinke none harm, but wish everybody good. And if this be not enough to keep a man alive, in good faith I long not to live.” We have good reason to believe that Margaret More Roper very well understood what would be her father’s fate. After Thomas More’s execution, Margaret More Roper and her husband William Roper would continue to carry on his legacy in their own ways. William Roper would write the first biography of Thomas More, a glowing and gracious document that would influence our understanding of More’s personality for hundreds of years to come. Margaret More Roper actually kept her father’s head after his beheading, pickling it to preserve it from decay. While many of us may find that historical tidbit a tad macabre, I would like to believe that Margaret More Roper had deep admiration for her father; perhaps it was out of this feeling she kept his head. Please stay tuned to the 4th Wall Dramaturgy Blog to catch clips of my interview with Mallory Gee, the actress who will portray Margaret More Roper in BYU’s A Man for All Seasons. Bibliography: Abernathy, Susan. "Margaret Roper, Daughter of Sir Thomas More." Early Modern England. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2014. Duerden, Richard. "A Man for All Seasons." Telephone interview. 31 Jan. 2014. "Margaret Roper." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Sept. 2013. Web. 02 Oct. 2013. "Sir Thomas More Quotes and Quotations." Sir Thomas More Quotes and Quotations. Luminarium. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.

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Shannon Hale on Books, Writing, and Seeing Her Stories Adapted

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