Magic in Her Imagination
An Interview with young fantasy authors SIA & DIA PATEL
Q: Hi Sia & Dia, thank you so much for joining us today and huge congratulations on publishing your very first book! That’s a big accomplishment. How are you feeling?
SIA: Thank you for asking, I’m feeling excited to talk about my book that I have written and I am looking forward on writing another fantasy story about Holly, Jessica and Annie.
DIA: Thank you, I feel amazing about having written my first ever book at 8 years old.
Q: We can’t wait to hear more about it. What’s the name of your book, and what is it about?
SIA: The title of my book is “The Adventure of the Mermaid Land” and its about two girls who go on an unexpected adventure underwater and make some special friends and unravel a secret that will change their life forever.
DIA: The name of my book is "the Butterfly Adventure", and its about two butterfly sisters who can talk, getting lost in a magical world, making unexpected friends and so many more fun experiences.
Q: That sounds magical! Where did the idea come from?
SIA: It all started with my uncle who used to give us stories and poem writing exercises often. Then one day he said we have really good imagination and we should write more in detail. At first, we never thought we will end up with a chapter book leave alone writing our first novelette. But it so happened as one idea led to another and kept on writing and writing and writing. The idea about Mermaid land came from a book about mermaids I read at my school in London and then I just used my imagination of how it’d be like if Dia and I ended up in such a place. That inspired me to write my own with my imagination and my characters.
DIA: Well, I got idea of two talking Butterfly Sisters from my love for butterflies. It was my Dad who first told both Sia and I to write my imaginary stories down. What started as a little story writing exercise about talking butterflies ended up in a long novelette of 16500 or something words. The magical world just pretty much built itself up in our little heads and we started writing it all down. As I got from chapter one to twelve my ideas kept rising and falling at different times.
Q: That’s amazing! What was the hardest part of writing the book?
SIA: The hardest part of the book was describing the part where the sea monster is right behind Annie. It was a bit difficult to write what the characters would say all the time because it was all “Annie!!! Look behind you!” and nothing much but then my uncle helped me a bit. He just asked me to spread the whole scene out into little events and what would all the characters be doing at the time when Annie is trying hard to swim away from the Sea Monster.
DIA: The hardest part to write was mostly in Chapter 6: The Big Trouble. Just so it happens it was a big trouble for me and the characters in my story. We used write story structures and chapters in Apple Notes and collaborate the notes with my Dad who used to review and give feedback. But one day I don’t know what happened and my whole story from Chapters 4 to 6 got completely deleted. We tried and tried but just couldn’t recover the notes. So I had to write those three chapters again. While for chapters 4 and 5 I had a solid structure in place so I could recover from my memory but Chapter 6 was the most difficult one to write again.
Q: Do you have a favourite part of the story?
SIA: My favourite part of the story is when they all return back home and meet their Mum and Dad after so many days away from them. It was such a relief writing every word of that part and it just made me feel like everything is back together. Something inside made me feel so happy for Holly and Jessica and their parents.
DIA: My favourite part of my story was when the butterfly sisters got home and so did Grace after spending so many days out there into the unknown. Mostly because I felt some kind of relief when they got to see their Mamma and Papa again. It was my characters of the story who got home but for some reason it was me who felt relaxed and happy within.
Q: Who is your favourite character in the book, and why?
SIA: My favourite character is probably Holly because she is a bit more adventurous than Jessica but she can also some times be a bit…crazy sometimes. I’m not going to tell you when or where in the book so you have to read it first to find out more!
DIA: My favourite character is Snowflake, one of the butterfly sisters. She’s kind of like me. Hesitates in some situations, but determined in all others.
Q: If you could visit one place from your book in real life, where would you go?
SIA: It has to be “Meridia Market” because it sounds like there are many unusual fruits than the real world and I would like to try some of them like the Dolphin Dale and Seadort and Jakwave. It has a nice villagey and markety feeling to the place. I could literall taste some of the fruits in my mouth while writing this chapter.
DIA: Honey-dew park. It would have the world’s best picnic spots and it just sounds like an incredible place to me. Colours everywhere and pretty flowers and full of nature.
Q: What was the whole process of writing the book like? Did you follow certain steps?
SIA: My uncle taught us a 5 act structure which we followed for the book. We had a beginning, build up, problem, resolution and ending. It helped me a lot in writing my book because then its all in to different parts and way more easier. After that I created a structure based on Chapters and started writing bullet points about what that Chapter is going to consist, how the story will move forward in that chapter or how will I explain the settings. And the chapters in my book, I already knew how many I wanted and what was going to be in each one.
DIA: Right at the beginning my Dad showed us the two different structures for story writing. The 3-act structure and 5-act structure. At first when my story was still developing in my mind I started with just a simple 3-act structure which has a Beginning, Problem and Resolution. But as the story began to take shape inside my head I had to expand it to a 5-act structure. After that we created Chapters and started writing down basic ideas in bullets points. Once all that hard work was done then it was easy as I picked up one chapter at a time and started creating that picture in my mind with the bullet points I had. After months and months of doing that I ended up with 12 Chapters at the end. It felt so amazing.
Q: How long did it take you to write the whole book?
SIA: It took me about 1 to 1.5 years to finish the book. It was quite challenging for me but then I managed.
DIA: It took a really long time, but it wasn’t because we stopped writing. We were in middle of moving houses and we had just moved ourselves from UK to India. So a lot of time got lost in that.
Q: Did you write every day, or just when you felt like it?
SIA: I always try and write when an idea has just popped in my head because my uncle said that good ideas don’t last long and we need to appreciate that and write it down as soon as possible. So I don’t wait till the ideas go away and I like to write it all down while it is still fresh in my mind.
DIA: Well, I tried to write everyday, but for some reason I just kept losing track at times. But my Dad would always find a way to get me back on track. He says if you feel stuck with one idea then go back to a blank page and start again. I did that and suddenly new ideas start coming in my mind.
Q: What did you do when you got stuck or couldn’t think of what to write next?
SIA: I would draw for a while and then I would ask my uncle to help me with what I am stuck on. He said I am having what the Authors call a Writers Block. So we just sit and talk about characters and settings and it would take the whole afternoon or maybe a couple of days sometimes, but it was worth it.
DIA: Normally, I just sat in a space I liked and worked on a small part of the story, part by part, I finished a chapter. Or sometimes that didn’t help me get ideas and I just took a long break from writing (only 2-3 days) and did some things not related to story writing. My Dad said its called Writers Block.
Q: Did anyone help you edit the book or give you ideas?
SIA: Yes, my uncle helped me edit my book and help me when I was stuck. My Older brother helped me proof read it.
DIA: Yes, my Dad helped me edit the book. Like correcting some of my mistakes in the story that didn’t make sense, helping me tie loose ends and fixing my silly grammar mistakes as well. He also helped with ideas like a few scenes and settings in the book.
Q: What did it feel like the first time you held your printed book in your hands?
SIA: My uncle designed the cover and showed us on his laptop how it would look like. But when we actually saw the book, it felt amazing! The smooth cover was just like a new teddy bear (but not furry). I couldn’t believe that it was my book and I was now officially an Author!!! YAAY!
DIA: My Dad had showed Sia and I how the covers would look and since that I just couldn’t wait to see it with my eyes how the book would look. When finally I saw it, I remember the cover felt so smooth and soft and exactly how I imagined. It felt out of this world to hold my own book in my hands.
Q: Where do you get most of your ideas — dreams, books, movies, or just your imagination?
SIA: I normally get ideas from other books we are reading or movies or my dreams which are all fantasy edition and some times I get it whenever I get it, randomly. In school, while eating breakfast or even the school bus.
DIA: I got most of my ideas from my dreams. I dream of crazy things like rabbits doing handstands, floating waterparks, and many such more crazy things. Talking butterflies was born in that way and also because of my love for butterflies :)
Q: If your book became a movie, who would you play from the characters in your book?
SIA: I would want to play as Holly and I would really want to see how my own character would feel through the whole mermaid land adventure.
DIA: I’d like to be Grace for one simple reason that I cannot act as either of the Butterfly Sisters (haha). I would love to be Ariah but she only comes in the middle off the book and is a pixie!
Q: Do you listen to music or have snacks when you write?
SIA: I normally have snacks when I write because when I’m hungry I can’t focus and when I can’t focus I end up writing very silly sentences. It becomes very hard for me when I am hungry to best describe a scene or a character.
DIA: No, I don’t always have snacks, but I do like listening to music. I love nice and soft music playing in the background when I am writing or even drawing.
Q: Can you describe your writing space or where you like to write the most?
SIA: I like to write on my desk I have in the library. Its full of books so when I’m stuck I can grab a book, read it for a while and take down some quick notes on how other writers have described a particular setting or some scenes in their books.
DIA: Anyplace is fine for me, as long as its not a small, tight and squeezy place. I like my desk clean and free from all the things that don’t belong there.
Q: What’s your favourite book (besides your own!) and why do you love it?
SIA: My favourite book is Harry Potter series because its full of magic and mystery and potions and spells and all sort! My dad even brought me a “Hermione Granger” costume for fancy dress day in school!
DIA: It has to be J K Rowling because the way she writes the details of characters and settings is amazing. I also like all the books by Sophie Anderson. My favourite book of her is The Girl Who Speaks Bear.
Q: Are there any authors you look up to or who inspire you?
SIA: Yes, J.K Rowling, Jack Ryder and Enid Blyton have all written amazing books, I’m not saying other authors haven’t but these are my favourite authors and I really do love the way that they have written their books.
DIA: I like the author Sophie Anderson because I like the way she writes in present tense instead of past, and sometime writes in first person. Which makes me feel like I am the main character right there in that situation.
Q: Do you prefer reading fantasy, mystery, adventure, or something else?
SIA: I prefer fantasy and thats why I have now written a fantasy book. I feel free to imagine a completely different world when reading fantasy books. It would be a great if one day some of the fantasy worlds came to life! (Haha)
DIA: I like reading all types of books, as long as they have some kind of twist or little excitement and mystery.
Q: If you could meet any character from your book, who would it be?
SIA: I would want to meet Annie because there can’t be an adventure without Annie and I think that if I meet her then I could go on an adventure with her.
DIA: If I could, I would love to meet Ariah personally from my book because she can do magic, and it would be sooo amazing to see a real life pixie fairy do magic in front of me.
Q: What do you think makes a really great story?
SIA: I think a best story should have your imagination, every story is the best with your own world, characters, places, words and worlds!
DIA: In my opinion, making a book good or even amazing, mostly needs one thing. Detail. If you detail every single thing in a story, then you can make whoever is your reader feel like they are there in the setting.
Q: If you could have a magical pet like in your story, what would it be?
SIA: A bubble dog. They are made of bubbles and that would be cool. Imagine that a bubble dog come to wake you up in the morning!
DIA: If I had a magical pet, most likely, I would love to have a pet cat with butterfly wings, because I think cats are really cute and furry animals, and butterflies are super cool, they can fly, they have really nice patterns on their wings and they can be in soooo many colours. I would like a white really furry cat with blue and purple butterfly wings.
Q: Do your family or teachers know you’re a published author? What did they say?
SIA: Now they do. It was a well kept secret between My Uncle, Dia and I for so long. We had to come up with so many excuses while we were working on our books. But now that everybody knows about it they all are congratulating us non stop. My teachers at school are proud of what I have done at the age of ten and the rest of my family are feeling out of this world.
DIA: So far only my Dad, Sia and I knew that we are writing this book. This whole project of ours was a secret between us. Not a single person knew what we were upto. But now that they all know the secret about this Book writing project they are super happy and excited like we are. I told a few of my friends at school that I have written a book which is being purchased now by many people. I’m not sure if they believed me earlier but after our Book Launch at school I guess everybody believes us.
Q: What do you like to do when you’re not writing or reading?
SIA: I like to watch a movie from where I can get ideas for my book or maybe even just to relax. I love to listen to music a lot and also playing on piano. I am slowly getting fluent with some of the songs on piano but its still early stage.
DIA: I like sketching, listening or playing music and watching movies. These are all fun things that I do time to time and of course I really enjoy doing them. But writing is one thing that relaxes me. Just letting all the thoughts on the paper (I mean laptop)
Q: Have you shared your book with your class or school yet?
SIA: We have shared the book with our school and it’s there in the library. We also shared our books with our previous schools where we used to go.
DIA: We had a huge Book Launch at school, which was a surprise. We feel so proud to see our books in our school libraries. Whenever we go to a new school the first thing we check is the library and now when we go to our school library we feel amazing when we see other kids look at our books.
Q: If you could give your younger self (like 6-year-old you!) some advice, what would you say?
SIA: I would say that, when writing a book, do not keep going on the same thing over and over like describing a character or a setting, as the reader would soon be bored in no time and don’t be afraid to be more creative with the ideas.
DIA: I don’t really want to say anything to my younger self, I think that she is good just the way she is and good at most things that she did. I would tell her that keep your imagination wild and creative and down ever stop writing.
Q: What do your family and friends think about your book?
SIA: They were so surprised when we told them. They never thought that it would be this big and now that it is everywhere in the world I feel so proud of what I have done.
DIA: They are feeling super excited and are proud of what we have achieved at this age. We want to keep on writing though and imagine lots of different worlds.
Q: That’s so inspiring. What would you say to other kids who want to write a book but aren’t sure if they can?
SIA: I would say: “Make a story out of anything. If you get an idea even in class just write points or a sentence about it and you can draw a picture if you like but just don’t let your ideas go to waste. You never know!”
DIA: I would just tell them, “Hey, you can do it, don’t doubt yourself. If you think that you want to write a book, then go ahead by all means. Start with noting down your ideas, make characters the way you think about them, make places the same way. Just believe you can do whatever you set your mind to”
Q: One last question: Do you plan to write another book?
SIA: Yes I do, and its about another fantasy adventure
DIA: Yes, I’m actually planning to write more. The book I am writing currently is a totally unique idea as my Dad said. I am not giving away anything about it yet.
Q: Thank you so much, Sia, for sharing your magical world with us. We’ll be keeping an eye out for your next adventure!
SIA: Thank you! Really happy you liked it!
DIA: Thank you! I’m really happy you liked it!