Interview with Chrissie Keighery author of Whisper

Whisper by Chrissie Keighery

I'm always trying to figure out what's really going on. Always having to fill in the gaps, but never getting all the details. It's like trying to do a jigsaw when I don't even know what the picture is, and I'm missing one of the vital middle pieces.
How do you know if your friends are talking about you behind your back or if a boy likes you? They could act innocent, but you'd know from the rumours. You'd hear the whispers. But what if you couldn't hear those whispers anymore? What if everything you took for granted was gone? Being a teenager is hard enough.
But being a deaf teenager?

Thank you Chrissie for answering some interview questions!

The Twitter version : Tell us about your book in 140 characters or less.

Post meningitis, Demi is profoundly deaf.

Suddenly, everything is different.

New school.

New friends.

New language.

Can Demi lean to love the person she has become?

How did you get the idea for the story?

In 2009, I was at a Writer’s Festival, launching my last novel for Young Adults, Outside In. The venue I was given was a noisy breezeway. It was very difficult to make myself heard to students milling about. It was ironic, then, that a group of deaf students accompanied by an interpreter, were the ones who actually ‘heard’ what I was saying.

After that, I felt very drawn to watching interpreters at other Author talks. Sign language is pretty beguiling visually.

Having a coffee with my Australian editor, Hilary started telling me about a family that fascinated her. Both parents were deaf, but both of their children, hearing. From there, we started to talk about the idea of creating a deaf character.

Which character would you most/least like to have dinner with?

I’d like to have dinner with Stella, but I’m not sure she’d like to have dinner with me! As a politically aware Deaf person, she is not inclined to trust ‘hearies’. But, if she would give me a go, I would love to discuss her approach to life in depth.

Do you have any other works in progress? Any teasers or release dates?

Funny you should ask. Myself and two author friends are releasing a new series next month (August). It’s for 10-14 year old girls and the series title is Girl Vs the World. Think Judy Blume modernized. Great fun and a bit saucy.

What book is your book’s cousin? (Similar set up or style)

My other YA book, Outside In, would be Whisper’s cousin. It’s also very character driven, though told from seven different perspectives rather than one. The cover is stylistically similar to Outside In too.

What are some of your favorite books? Do you still have much time to read?

I don’t have much time to read, but I still do!

For YA, I’m a huge fan of MJ Hyland, especially How the Light gets In.

Shift Em Bailey.

Silhouette Thalia Kalkipsakis.

Catcher in the Rye is ridiculously good. After all these years.

Fave Book (not YA) I read this year : Olive Kitteridge.

Do you need anything to write (music, coffee etc)?

I work with coffee…a constant supply. Hmmm. I don’t play music. Silence is the aim for me, but when I’m working from home (I have three children) that’s rarely the reality.

If you could have any superpower what would you choose?

I am an observer by nature, so I’d have to say flight. I would use it to hover above people and situations and see how it all seems from a unique angle. Is that creepy??

More about Chrissie (copied from goodreads) 

Chrissie was born in 1964, in Melbourne. She grew up, mainly in Doncaster and is one of five daughters. She is number four.
Now, she has a husband and three children of her own, with a couple of them bursting into young adulthood. The family lives in Fairhaven, overlooking the wild, windswept beaches.
It’s a great environment for writing, and Chrissie has definitely been busy doing just that. The Go Girl! series has been a runaway success, with Chrissie writing (to date) eleven of the titles, with two more on their way to publication.
When Chrissie writes for older children and adults, she uses the name Chrissie Keighery. In 2007, she was a winner in the ABC Radio National Short Story Competition, and Chrissie continues to spread her interest in writing for a broad span of ages.

How to find Chrissie on the web:

Her site

Goodreads

My question to you, my lovely readers:
Have you known anyone who is deaf?

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