Interview with Hannah Parry, author of Isabella Rockwell's War, and INT Giveaway!

Hello, readers! I'm thrilled to have Hannah Parry here today, the first author interview I've done in a while! She wrote the wonderful Isabella Rockwell's War, which is one of the best middle grade books I've read in a while. You should all give it a shot!

Goodreads Book Description: Raised in 1820’s India, twelve year old Isabella Rockwell can ride and shoot as well as any of the soldiers in her father’s regiment. These skills, however, are of no use to her when she finds herself on the frozen streets of London, orphaned and alone.

Tormented by guilt over the deaths of those who loved her, she vows never to be responsible for anyone’s life again. If she can scrape together enough money, she will return to India. But Isabella cannot shake the creeping feeling that something is not right; that something threatens not only her new best friend, but the throne of England itself. 

Having survived this far on her wits alone, will Isabella escape back home to India? Or will she stay with Alix, a girl whose fate seems to be tied up with Isabella’s own? A fate which will have consequences far beyond those Isabella could ever have imagined.

Winner of the Children’s 12+ Fiction Category at Winchester Writer’s Conference, UK. 2012.

My Rating: 4 Couches

My Review: Isabella Rockwell's War by Hannah Parry stars Isabella who is a courageous twelve year old in a bad position. She lives in India but because of terrible circumstances, she is forced to leave by herself to go to England, a cold, harsh place she's never known. Her choices as she arrives are thus: either become a street runaway and have independence or stick around and be sent to an orphanage where she'd work as a servant. She decides to run away and the group of kids she meets and a beautiful girl she saves changes her life forever.

I admit that I got behind on my reading and so I didn't pick up this book until a few days ago. I'm hitting myself, because this is one of the gems in the self publishing world. The tone of the book reminds me of a mix of The Secret Garden and The Little Princess. It's been a while since I read a middle grade book, but this is one that doesn't dumb down the story for its readers. The pacing is great, and I really liked Isabella as a protagonist, who carries the story with her spunkiness. The twists are great too-- I definitely didn't suspect the right person!

The only thing I would suggest is having us meet Alix a little quicker since she is even mentioned in the synopsis. Otherwise, I think this is a very strong debut.

Overall, a really great middle grade read that I'll definitely suggest to that age group to read. 

About Hannah

Hannah Parry was born in the United States, but grew up in the United Kingdom.  She completed a Masters Degree in Creative Writing at Birkbeck College, London in 2011.   Her short stories for adults, “The Chrysalis” and “For What It’s Worth”, have both been published, and her first novel “Isabella Rockwell’s War” won first prize in the 12+ fiction category at the Winchester Writers Conference in June 2012.

She lives in a field outside London, with her husband and daughter and too many pets.  She has just finished writing the sequel to Isabella Rockwell’s War, Fever Quest, for publication in February 2014.

Interview with Hannah 
1. Tell us a little bit about your story to becoming a writer!
I  always read a lot, but I didn’t really think about writing until I was in my thirties.  When I was in my twenties I used to scribble stuff (usually how sorry for myself I was feeling!) in the back of my address book, but I didn’t really appreciate what I was doing at the time.  When my niece, Isabella,  was born in 2002, I wrote her a little picture book story which no one wanted to publish, but one very kind agent wrote back to me and said ‘keep writing’.  So one day, I sat down and started to write the kind of book I would have loved when I was twelve, and it grew into Isabella Rockwell’s War.

2. Why did you feel drawn to write Isabella's story? And why middle grade?
When I was twelve all I really wanted to do was ride horses and run around, which is why I think this ended up Middle Grade rather than Young Adult.  I had a very soft spot for Zachariah and kept thinking something might happen between him and Isabella, but it just never materialised.  I just don’t think she was old enough.  It’s quite nice to have the possibility of a relationship lurking around in the background, though, – especially as I’ve just finished the second one and have a third in mind.

3. I love your characters. Were any of them inspired by people you know? Did you have a favorite character? Which one was the most unexpected? 
It’s not so much that the characters were inspired by people I know, more that as I created the characters they would speak and behave in a way I would recognise as being similar to someone I knew.  I didn’t do it intentionally and no, I’m not going to tell you who… 

Apart from Isabella, I am very fond of both Midge and Abhaya, Isabella’s nanny who doesn’t appear in person, just in Isabella’s thoughts.  I didn’t have to think about either one of them – they just talked their way in!   The most difficult to write was Zachariah, he was a real dark horse, but his past had been so troubled, I think he would always be the type of person for whom talking about his feelings would be hard. 
 

Prince Ernest is the one who taught me to listen to what’s going on with the book and not to force it into what I think it should be.  (Someone very famous said about writing that ‘the book’s the boss’ – I think this is what they meant.)

4. Which authors and books have inspired you?
I’m so thrilled you compared it to The Little Princess, as that is one of my all time favourites.  The author MM Kaye wrote two love stories set in India at the time of the Indian mutiny in 1857 – The Far Pavillions and Shadow of the Moon.  The Indians tried to depose the British who had made India part of the British Empire because of its wealth.  There was terrible bloodshed, and many thousands of English were killed, but what moved me the most was MM Kaye’s story  of Indian servants giving up their lives to save the children of the British families they served.  I kept thinking about why a person would be that self-sacrificing and this is where the book really started, with Isabella and Abhaya.

5. What words of advice do you have for aspiring writers?
If you want to write, you must read.  And then you must write.  And then you must show people what you have written (this is the hard part…)  I joined an online writing group, so no one could see me crying when they said my writing was rubbish (which it was).  But I got better, because those people taught me.  And I was happy to be taught, after I’d sulked for a bit.

6. What's next? Will we ever see Isabella and her friends again?
Yes, hooray – I finally finished the sequel to Isabella Rockwell’s War and it is called Fever Quest.  It is with an editor at the moment and I am hoping it will be out at the beginning of May.  The cover is being designed now which is thrilling.  It was harder to write than IRW, but the early readers seem to like it – I’m just hoping the editor does!  In the meantime I have bitten off all my nails…

 
Hannah, thanks so much for joining us today! And now, Hannah has generously offered THREE, count them THREE great prizes! Each winner will receive a signed copy of Isabella Rockwell's War + $20 Amazon GC!
 
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