An Interview With Isa Pearl Ritchie
Thank you so much for sharing your book with me and agreeing to do a Q&A for my readers.
Thank you for inviting me!
Give us a quick summary of Awa and the Dreamrealm!
Awa is almost thirteen years old and struggling with anxiety over her parent’s divorce and having to move house and change schools when she starts having strange dreams. In her dreams she feels as if she’s awake. She meets Veila who is a small glowing creature who calls herself a dreamcharmer, and nothing is quite the same after that. Veila leads Awa out of the Rooms of Mind where people normally dream, into the magical and surreal Dreamrealm. Awa discovers she is a long-awaited Dreamweaver with powers that can help protect the Dreamrealm from attack by the dangerous fragments who are trying to take over. She needs to learn to center herself and trust her intuition in order to complete her quest.
What was the biggest hurdle you had to overcome in completing your book?
When I first started writing this book I felt a lot of extreme fear – it was terrifying. I’m not sure why, because I have written novels for adults before but this was the first one I’ve written for young people and the first fantasy novel too. I spoke to a few friends about this and more than one of them suggested that the fear must be part of the story and that I needed to channel the feal into the story through Awa’s experience.
Such a huge portion of your book revolves around dreams and the world of dreams. What inspired such a unique story concept?
I was going to sleep one night when I had a flash of inspiration – it was about this dream creature who visits sleeping humans and whispers suggestions into their dreams for a bigger purpose – the evolution of consciousness. I had to get up and write the ideas down before I forgot. It made sense that the story would revolve around lucid dreaming and bring together other interests I’ve had that I wanted to explore, like Jungian concepts around archetypes and the collective unconsious. I was also inspired to write a story for young people because I struggled with English literacy as a child and fantasy books really helped me overcome my difficulties.
The story opens with Awa dealing with her parents divorce, a relatable but difficult event in any person’s life. Was this a plot element that was inspired by your own life or a completely original experience for your main character?
I didn’t exactly have that experience myself (my parents were never together in the first place – I was a friendship baby) but it’s something that a lot of young people I know have experienced, and it made sense for the story and the character – how all the change that she’s going through pushes her further into the adventure through her dreams.
What is your writing Kryptonite?
The thing that I struggle with most with writing is this fear that I’m somehow doing something bad or wrong – that I will write the wrong thing and offend or hurt someone – that I’ll publish a book and it will be a terrible mistake and I will have to hide under a rock out of shame. Sometimes this gets in the way of my writing!
How long did it take you to get this book published, from its initial conception to the release date?
It took a couple of years from the initial inspiration, but I was also busy finishing another book in that time. I started actually writing the Dreamweavers books about a year before this one was published. I wrote every morning for a year and managed to write a bit faster than I have before.
Out of Awa’s fantastic conflicts in the Dreamrealm, she also deals with some very real-life struggles, including bullying and issues with her mental health. Why was it important to you that she have these real-world conflicts in addition to the fantastic ones?
I wanted the “real world”/waking life struggles to be both relatable to young people, and also to encourage awareness of things like bullying, mental health and racism because with those kinds of issues, it can be hard to understand them unless you have experienced them. One of the great gifts of reading novels is their ability to foster empathy and that’s such an important thing to learn.
This story takes place in Wellington, New Zealand, your hometown. Did you find it easier to set your book in a place you know so well or more challenging to make work for your story, compared to a made-up city?
Setting the book locally in the waking life of the character meant that I could focus on the world-building in the Dreamrealm and not worry too much about inventing a whole new city. I also like writing about local places because New Zealand is quite small, and even writers from here often set their books overseas. There’s something special about reading books that are set here, and I wanted kids in New Zealand to connect with the book in that way too.
What is the first book that made you cry?
The Hobbit. I was about 11 years old when I read it and I cried at the end when some of the Dwarfs were killed in the final battle. I was so invested in the world and the characters had been with me for the whole journey. I was so sad about that.
Many of my readers are trying to decide which avenue of publishing to pursue for their books. Since your book is published through a small press, could you share with us what you’ve enjoyed about this process?
One of the benefits of a small press is having a lot of input into the publishing process, including the cover design. That’s important for me because I want to feel really excited about showing my books to the world and I want the cover to sing! I enjoy the writing a lot more than the publishing though.
What advice do you have for aspiring writers looking to publish their first novel?
Research the kinds of publication available and think about what you think will work best for you and your books.
The writing is the most important part, but it’s only a part of the process. You have to believe in yourself and your work enough that you will be its champion because there are so many other books out there and even books published by big publishers only get there because their writers believe in themselves enough to keep trying, keep writing, keep re-writing.
Get comfortable with failure because it’s a big part of learning.
It’s also good to take a step back and separate the work from your own self-worth because quite often people get all twisted up over their accomplishments and their self-worth being interconnected.
And most of all: be kind to yourself!
What other books and authors inspire you?
I absolutely love the original Peter Pan and Wendy by JM Barrie. I had this book as a cassette tape audio book when I was very young and a lot of the language is permanently etched into my brain. Tolkien was also a big influence on me when I was younger, as was a local author called Gaelyn Gordon. As an adult I’ve very much enjoyed Margaret Atwood’s writing.
What is your favorite book to recommend to others?
This is not fiction, as such, but the best book I’ve ever read (and that I recommend all the time) is Women who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes. She’s a Jungian psychologist and storyteller and in this book she tells stories from around the world and then interprets the internal psychological journey of transformation through each story. This book is what showed me the power of storytelling and how it relates to us personally and on a societal level.
Awa and the Dreamrealm is already out and available for purchase. And the sequel, Into the Labyrinth came out just recently. What can fans expect in this new book?
In the second Dreamweavers book, Awa knows she needs to find the Labyrinth under the Dreamrealm in order to master her Dreamweaver powers before the fragments escape and threaten to destroy the Dreamrealm again. In her waking life she has to deal the trials of school camp and Felicity is up to her old tricks, meanwhile she’s struggling with feeling left out by her friends Ella and Evan. There are some familiar themes and characters from Awa and the Dreamrealm, and plenty of new things too.
What are you working on next?
I’m working on the third book in the series. I have had so many ideas for this that I’m not sure exactly how to tie them all together. One thing is certain: there’s plenty more of the Dreamrealm to explore!
