H. B. Homzie's Adorable Aliens
I interviewed a children's author. I remember feeling all tingly, almost like being in love, and I knew--right then and there--that hard news wasn't for me. I had to be in some other world, doing something that involved the storytelling part of my brain. However, it took a few years to figure out how to get there. For some time, I did sketch comedy in New York, which was a great training ground but the subject matter often felt wrong. I kept on gravitating towards child-centered projects, such as a stint with a touring theater company catering to young adults, and my best auditions were at places like Reading Rainbow. Finally, a friend of mine, the adult writer Mei Ng,said to me, " Hillary why don't you take a course in children's writing at City College?" I did (with Children's writer Pamela Laskin), and I never looked back! It felt right. In terms of my career, I had finally found a home. Of course, it took another ten years to break into book publishing biz but I loved the whole writing process, learning the technical tools of children's writing, and talking to anyone who would listen about children's books. I had found my bliss.
2.SR: What were some of your favorite books as a child?
HH: I couldn't get enough of the Grimm's fairy tales or Edith Hamilton's Greek Mythology. I loved the Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, All-of-A-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor and The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare. When I became a tween, I gravitated towards fantasy books by Anne McCaffrey and Ursula K. LeGuinn, and I loved Paul Zindel, Richard Peck and Judy Blume, although her books seemed as much about wish fulfillment for me as McCaffrey's books since I never, in real-life, had any of those early boy-girl experiences. For comic and easy reading relief, I'd turn to Peanuts and Archie comics. But,perhaps, my ultimate favorite author as a kid was Madeleine L'Engle. I read every book she ever wrote.
3.SR: Please discuss your recently released chapter book series, "Alien Clones from Outer Space" and how you decided to write it in easy reader style.
HH:As the title suggests, The Alien Clones From Outer Space chapter book series is about nine year-old twins, Barton and Nancy Jamison, who discover that they have alien clones from Outer Space. The twins live every
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