Leisa Stewart-Sharpe joins Ian Eagleton in The Reading Realm today to talk about her new book MERMAID OF THE DEEP, which is illustrated by Khoa Le!
Before we settle down in The Reading Realm for a chat, what’s your drink and snack of choice?
Ian, I’m not going to lie, I’m on my third double espresso of the day. Tell me if I’m talking too fast. And as we’re coming into autumn, there’s a bowl of satsumas on the desk so that I’m not tempted to raid the snack drawer.
Tell us about your book in three sentences and then three words!
My picture book Mermaid of the Deep with Khoa Le is based on the epic adventures of ocean explorer Dr Sylvia Earle, who I’ve admired for years. Sylvia is absolutely astounding – she not only lived underwater for two weeks but was the first human to walk untethered on the deep ocean floor. And all this at a time when there were barriers to women entering science!
Curiosity, courage, hope!
If one of your characters could come to dinner, who would you invite and what would you cook them? What do you think you’d talk about?
I’d love to have Sylvia around for tea. We’d have something vegetarian (I make a mean veggie lasagne) because after spending thousands of hours underwater and fighting to save the seas, Sylvia naturally follows a plant-based diet. I read an interview with Sylvia where she said: “I never eat anyone I know personally”. She’s been lobbying for years to change the language around the ocean’s creatures, from calling them seafood to marine life. I like that idea that fish are friends! For dessert I’ll make my world-famous pavlova – I’d have a shot at winning Bake Off with that bad boy.
What’s the funniest word you know that always makes you laugh?
Can I cheat and please have three? I’ve never not giggled at blue-footed booby.
What’s the silliest or strangest thing you’ve ever researched for a story?
Many of my books are non-fiction stories about wild things, so my research leads me down weird and wonderful wormholes of discovery. From spiders that twerk to fish with suction caps on their bellies!
Do your characters ever surprise you?
Absolutely. You start off with a careful plan of how a story should unfold, and before you know it, a squirrel is having a terrible tantrum, or every character has decided to dive into the pool. Very unpredictable. Very badly behaved.
If your writing desk could speak, what would it say about you?
Dust me!
Did you like reading when you were a child? If so, what?
I loved it. When I was in primary school, I read a lot of books about yetis and the Loch Ness Monster and other unexplainable things. As I grew, that fascination led me to scarier books – nothing beats a good fright!
What’s your favourite book that isn’t yours?
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak is perfect in every way.
What book do you wish you could read for the first time again?
The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien. I really relate to Bilbo Baggins, especially when he says: “I miss my books, and my arm chair, and my garden. See that’s where I belong; that’s home.” Many of my stories centre around home and protecting it.
What’s the funniest thing a child has said to you?
“You look younger in your picture.”
If you weren’t an author, what would you be?
Let’s be honest Ian, we all have the same dream, right? To run a bookshop, slash florist, slash coffee shop where it’s always autumn.
What BAD advice would you give to someone who wants to be a writer?
Don’t read.
SPEED ROUND:
Cake or biscuits? Cake.
Dinosaurs or unicorns? Dinos.
Pirates or astronauts? Pirates.
Museums or theme parks? Museums.
Cats or dogs? Dogs.
Summer or winter? Winter.
Aliens or robots? Aliens.
THANK YOU Leisa for joining us in The Reading Realm today!
