Interview with Sylvia Engdahl

www.sylviaengdahl.com

When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer?

Not until I was in my early 20s, and then for many years, I was too busy with my computer programming job to write anything.

Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?

I left programming in 1967 to serve as companion to my elderly mother, which gave me a lot of time free for writing. I wrote Journey Between Worlds first and then Enchantress from the Stars, which I thought was too long and too unusual to be published as a Young Adult book in the market as it was at that time. However, I submitted it to Atheneum because after I finished it because I couldn’t bear not to have it read by anyone, and to my surprise it was accepted. Then Atheneum accepted Journey Between Worlds also. And to my much greater surprise, Enchantress was chosen as a Newbery Honor book. All my YA novels were first published between 1970 and 1981, and now they have all been republished in the 21st century.

Tell us a little bit about either your latest or upcoming release. If you could only tell your readers one thing about the story that had to convince us to buy the book, what would it be?

A new paperback edition of This Star Shall Abide was published in January 2010. This is part of the Children of the Star trilogy, which is now out of print, and I decided to make it available because it’s much more enjoyed by younger readers than the other two books, which are of interest mainly to older high school students and adults. Many people over the years have told me that they were influenced by This Star Shall Abide as young teens. It’s science fiction about a boy who rebels against the repressive society in which he lives.

What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?

My belief that humankind’s future depends on expanding our civilization beyond a single planet, and that therefore what new generations think about space, and how they feel about it, is very important.

Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!

My mother published some books for teens shortly before I did. She was happy when my books were first published, and I wish she could see their new editions. But she died in 1987 at the age of 90, and I have no family now.

Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?

Dark chocolate and enchiladas (not together!)

What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?

It’s afternoon by the time I wake up because I can’t sleep at night and so usually don’t go to bed until about 6 a.m. -- I work at my computer until at least 4 a.m. When my day does start I put on my glasses, put on a bathrobe, and feed my two cats.

If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise me the most?

That one person living alone could have accumulated so much stuff over the years.

Everyone asks the question about “if you could be a tree, which tree would you be?” so I want to know: If you could be a color, which color would it be, and why?

Blue, because it makes me think of the sky and what may lie beyond our sky.

Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?

My favorite strip was “For Better or for Worse” until it was discontinued -- none of the characters were like me, but they were like real people I’d enjoy knowing. I don’t care for most cartoons and I no longer see any, as I don’t read newspapers now that I can get all the news from the Web.

If you could beam yourself to anywhere in the world (“Beam me up, Scotty!”), during any time in history, where and when would it be—and why?

To a space colony a hundred years from now, to see how the future turns out.

So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while you’re writing?

Film scores, some New Age, some classical -- and pop from the pre-rock era (which reminds me of my youth). But while writing, I need silence.

Do you have any favorite T.V. shows? Movies you watch over and over again? What was the last movie you saw at the theater?

I haven’t been to a theater for many years, but I rent DVDs from Netflix several times a week. I watch mostly drama, both movies and old TV series, especially some of the BBC productions. My favorite recent TV show was “Lost,” which I was sorry to see end.

You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?

Don’t be taken in by pessimistic predictions about Earth’s future. I have lived long enough to know that fears about imminent doom are always exaggerated, and that human progress, although slow, does occur over time. The world is not in worse shape than ever before -- it seemed that way in every era to the people who lived then. But enough of them worked toward positive goals to make a difference.

One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?

I don’t currently have any more ideas for stories, and I’m fully occupied with freelance editing work. My two most recent novels are for adults (they deal with controversial issues and would not interest teens because the protagonists are in their 40s or older). If I ever do write another novel, it will probably continue that series.

Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!

Thank you for the opportunity! Being in touch with my readers via the Internet means a lot to me.