Ask the Author: Pamela S. Turner
Answered Questions (4)
Pamela S. Turner
Thanks for the question, Isabela! The most important thing to do if you want to be an author is to read. Read, read, read, especially the sort of books you would like to write. When I was first starting out I would take a book that I particularly liked and looked very closely at how it was written. How was the story structured? What sort of word choices created the emotion I felt? How did the author create mystery or drama? I looked at very specific things. The biggest mistake that people make is to think they can just type something out without learning the craft. Nobody would ever say, "Hey, I think I'll make furniture" and grab a saw and think they are going to spit out a china cabinet over the weekend. But some people think they can do that with writing. So...read, read, read, study writing, write, read some more, write...and you will have the training you need to be an author. I hope that's helpful.
Pamela S. Turner
Hi Rayleigh,
I have nothing planned right now, but maybe in the future. Korean history also deserves to be better known in the West--I wish someone would write that book for me!
All best,
Pam
I have nothing planned right now, but maybe in the future. Korean history also deserves to be better known in the West--I wish someone would write that book for me!
All best,
Pam
Pamela S. Turner
When I was a teenager, I was fascinated by stories about King Arthur. I read every version of his story that I could get my hands on. (And watched, because there are musicals and movies about him too.) Many years later my family moved to Japan. We lived there for six years, and I wanted to learn more about Japan so I started reading some of the classics of Japanese literature. One work (The Tale of the Heike) is based on 12th-century Japanese history. Yoshitsune was one of many characters but he really stood out to me. I thought Yoshitsune's story was a lot like King Arthur's--he is raised in obscurity, grows up to become a hero, and finds that his greatest enemy is someone in his own family. But Yoshitsune's story is true. Years later, when I was back in the U.S., I started practicing kendo (Japanese swordfighting) with my son Connor. That made me think about Yoshitsune again and how hard it must have been for him to learn samurai skills after being raised to be a monk. And one day I thought, "There really should be a book about Yoshitsune in English for young people," followed by the thought, "Well, I could write that." And after quite a bit of research, I started writing.
Thanks for your interest in SAMURAI RISING!
Thanks for your interest in SAMURAI RISING!
Pamela S. Turner
Thank you, Shirin. I'm so happy to be able to bring Yoshitsune's saga to life for English readers. But it's a special treat to know that Japanese and Japanese-American families are sharing and talking about SAMURAI RISING. You and your students just made my day!
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