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BIO
Shannon's mother says she was a storyteller from birth, jabbering endlessly in nonsensical baby-talk. Once she could speak, she made up stories and bribed younger siblings to perform them in mini-plays until, thankfully, an elementary school teacher introduced her to the wonder of written fiction.
At the age of 10, she began to write books, mostly fantasy stories where she was the heroine. She continued to write secretly for years while pursuing acting in television, stage, and improvised comedy. After detours studying in Mexico, the UK, and a year and a half as an unpaid missionary in Paraguay, Shannon earned a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Utah. She was finally forced out of the writers' closet when she received her Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Montana. Currently Shannon and her husband live in Salt Lake City, Utah where she is working on a second Bayern book.
THE GOOSE GIRL, Shannon Hale's powerful debut in the world of children's fiction, has been chosen by the New York Public Library for their annual 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing list of children's books.
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AUTHOR TALK
 August 2005
Q: What are your favorite children's books and why?
SH: I have so many! Here are just a few:
MANIAC MAGEE: for thrilling me and being the first book to reach my non-reader little brother. THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: for creating a world where I needed to be. (Has anyone besides me found a walk-in closet, closed the door, and cried when their hand hit against a wall instead of a pine tree?)
CORALINE: for being creepy cool. THE HERO AND THE CROWN: at last, a red-headed heroine! THE SECRET GARDEN: a masterwork of storytelling. GOODNIGHT MOON: reading this book to my 2 ½-year-old niece is one of the choicest experiences of life
Q: Who are your favorite children's authors and why?
SH: Ursula K. Leguin: genius.
Robin McKinley: creates stories where I want to be.
Karen Cushman: her heroines and innovative storytelling.
Joan Aiken: knows exactly what an eleven-year-old girl wants to read.
Roald Dahl: funny, creepy, surprising, legendary.
Lloyd Alexander: introduced me to Fantasy.
C.S. Lewis: did I mention I sobbed when I couldn't get to Narnia through my parents' closet?
Q: Who or what was your biggest influence in deciding to become a writer?
SH: My fourth grade teacher Mrs. Spackman was the first person who got me writing poetry and stories. Up until then, my stories were limited to making up games with my friends and enacting homemade plays at home. It was so liberating to have that literary outlet. I have to give credit to my mom, too, who saw how much I loved to write and always encouraged me.
Q: What inspired you to write your latest book?
SH: THE GOOSE GIRL was inspired by my favorite tale by the Brothers Grimm. I find most people don't know the story of the goose girl, but, growing up, it was the beloved of my sisters and me. I always thought it deserved to be fleshed out into a novel.
Q: What's the best thing you've ever written?
SH: I'm tempted to say whatever I'm working on at the moment, because that's what's sucking at my life force and demanding the most brain space. But to be honest I guess I'd have to say the notes I used to leave on my parents' pillows when I was little, or the love letters to my husband, because they mean the most.
Q: Is there any particular ritual involved in your writing process (favorite pen, lucky charm, south-facing window)?
SH: My writing process isn't nearly so transcendent as to require a ritual. Mine would just be sitting my butt down at the computer every day and making myself do it, and anxiously resisting playing computer solitaire whenever the sentences stop flowing.
Q: What is your favorite color?
SH: I like every color, but when looking at clothes and fabrics and paint and such, the color I'm drawn to most is green.
Q: What is your favorite food and worst?
SH: I love crab and other fish/shellfish, and chocolate, and ice cream, and sour cream & onion Pringles, and Indian food (chicken makhani --- mmm). I'm not a fan of anything resembling "mystery meat," i.e. processed globs of various animal parts. Ick.
Q: Do you have a pet?
SH: Our family's Animal of Honor is a small, plastic pig we keep on the mantle. We are, however, looking into adopting a hairless cat. They're cool.
Q: What subject did you enjoy most in school...and least?
SH: Drama, reading, writing, art --- anything interactive and creative. I truly, deeply wanted to love math and science, but I must admit I struggled. I believe, though, that a good teacher can make any subject exciting and interesting. Go, Teachers! Rah, rah!
Q: What is your favorite film?
SH: Lately, the prize goes to the Lord of the Rings movies, but there are many, many candidates. My husband and I love a good flick.
Q: What music do you like?
SH: When I'm writing, I like classical. When I'm driving, I like rock n' roll. And I always like the down-home sounds of bluegrass, especially a good banjo. (My dad just happens to be a world class banjo picker.)
Q: If you hadn't been an author, what would you have been?
SH: An actress, if I'd been good enough. I enjoy teaching, and in an alternate reality I could be a high school English teacher or college professor. I still work as an Instructional Designer, writing and producing web-based training courses. I supposed I should say something exciting, though --- OK, how about a lion and bear trainer for Hollywood stunt animals?
Q: How long does it take you to write a book?
SH: Depends. I can write a bad book in a month. THE GOOSE GIRL was conceived in 1999, and I finished editing in 2002, with many breaks in between. I would guess my books take about 12 months of actual full-time writing.
Q: How long have you been writing books?
SH: I started writing books when I was 10.
Q: Where do you get your ideas from?
SH: That's the great mystery, isn't it? Where do our daydreams come from? When you pick up a crayon, how do you know what to draw? I guess it's all a mix of what I read, what I've seen, what I've done, who I know, and what I imagine.
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