Mary Thompson was born and raised in Cottage Grove and Eugene, Oregon. She was a practicing attorney for more than seven years, including almost five years in the U.S. Navy, before she moved to New York City to write full time. The following is a complete transcript of her interview with Cracking the Cover for her latest book, “Evil Fairies Love Hair.” Visit her website at marygthompson.com.
Have you always wanted to be a writer? Why?
I didn’t consider writing as an actual career path until about seven years ago, but as a kid I was always writing “books.” I probably started writing because my dad was a reporter, and he was always talking about book ideas. So I though being a writer was cool.
Why do you write for young people?
The first book I ever actually finished writing was for adults, but soon after that, I wrote my first middle grade manuscript, and I never looked back. I just felt more connected to the story about kids. I found it much easier to empathize and think up situations with kids in them. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to understand the adult world well enough to write about it! I’m not planning on growing up.
Where do your ideas come from?
Thin air! They literally just pop into my head. I know people want a better answer, but there is no plan. There is no database of magical creatures and silly plotlines. I can’t explain how my brain works!
Specifically, where did the idea for “Evil Fairies Love Hair” come from?
The title popped into my head while I was on the subway. I knew love meant eat because there’s nothing better than eating gross food. But don’t worry, when you eat hair for magical reasons, it tastes like whatever food you love!
Your treatment of the subject matter (fairies — i.e., divvy-imps) is a departure from most of the books on the market. Why did you decide to go in this direction?
I don’t like to base my characters on existing mythology. I took the idea that there are little magical creatures in the world and tried to create something new with it. These are magical creatures that originated on the beaches of Oregon! They are new world imps!
Hair. Why hair? 🙂
Hair is fun and gross and weird and loveable. It’s known to have special power in various mythological traditions, but to be honest, the acknowledgement of that in the book came later. I just thought it was funny!
If you could have one wish granted, what would it be?
Like Ali (the protagonist), I would wish to be smarter. You can never be too smart, and if you’re smart, you can think up a way to get the rest of the wishes.
What were the challenges writing “Evil Fairies Love Hair”? The highlights?
The challenge was turning the title I thought up on the subway into a full story, and creating the backstory of the fairies. The highlight was writing the humor, because this is my first book to focus on that. I laughed a lot while writing this.
Why do you think your books appeal to young readers?
Kids are free to use their imaginations. Adults might scoff and say, “that’s weird!” like that’s a bad thing. But kids haven’t lost that ability to let their minds go to interesting places.
Looking back, how has your writing evolved?
Well, my first book, Wuftoom, was very dark and emotional. There wasn’t a single joke in that book. My second book, Escape from the Pipe Men!, was a sci-fi adventure with some humor, but it was mainly action. Evil Fairies Love Hair is all about the humor. So I guess you could say I’ve become less dark and more fun. Then again, I’m working on some teen stuff that goes back to the dark side, so overall, I would say that I’ve become more versatile. You might see me doing any of these things in the future.
What are you working on now?
I have many irons in the fire! I’ve recently written a teen fantasy and a teen contemporary, and I have some more middle grade stuff in the works. Watch this space (http://marygthompson.com/blog/)!
Is there a book from your own childhood that still resonates with you?
I love anything by Diana Wynne Jones. Archer’s Goon and Witch Week are two of my favorites.