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Back to Featured Interviews >> MEET ROBERT SAN SOUCI
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| Robert San Souci |
Read, write (when old enough), produce backyard plays with my friends, and play baseball.
What books influenced you most when you were growing up?
GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES, HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN’S FAIRY TALES, ANDREW LANG’S RAINBOW FAIRY BOOKS, AND THE WIZARD OF Oz (probably more than most).
Did you write stories when you were growing up? at school? Or at home as a hobby? As a young child, or as a teenager, or both?
Both.
When you were a child did you ever have moments when you decided that you were going to be a writer when you grew up?
I always wanted to be a writer.
What audience did you have in mind for your career as a writer - adult or children?
Adult at first – children when I began first collaborating with my brother, Daniel, who is an illustrator.
When you went to college, were you already pursuing a writing career? (or a career in illustrating? or just art in general?)
Yes. By college, I had already published a number of articles, stories, and reviews in newspapers and journals.
What was your first job when you graduated from college?
Clerk, then manager, in a bookstore.
How soon after that was your first book published?
About eight years.
When was it published?
1978.
Was your first book accepted immediately? or did you experience a number of rejections?
I had COUNTLESS rejections before I had a manuscript accepted.
What are the topics are some of your books?
Retellings of folktales and fairytales from around the world, original fantasy, and loads of scary stories for younger readers. I do some nonfiction for book publication and for magazines in the Cobblestone Publishing Group.
Do you focus on fiction or nonfiction? Which do you prefer? Do you find one easier than the other?
I publish more fiction, but enjoy both. Neither is easier, since both present their own sets of challenges in finding and presenting material that will appeal to young readers.
Do you do other types of writing - for example, educational, nonfiction, magazine work?
Occasionally, I write for educational publications and literary journals.
Where do you get your ideas?
From travel (I tend to visit schools, colleges, conferences, and so on, throughout the academic year, and all across the country), from constant visits to the library, and exploring the internet.
What gave you the idea for SISTER TRICKSTERS?
I’ve always loved the stories about Br’er Rabbit and his cronies. Some years ago I discovered a collection of nineteenth century folktales that featured the “female of the species” – Molly Cottontail and her friends.
What really triggers your imagination?
Old stories that beg for a fresh retelling, interesting encounters during my travels, and other good books and good writing.
Have any of your books earned special recognition?
Both THE TALKING EGGS and THE FAITHFUL FRIEND were Caldecott and Coretta Scott King Honor Books. CUT FROM THE SAME CLOTH: AMERICAN WOMEN IN MYTH, LEGEND, AND TALL TALE, and THE HIRED HAND won Aesop Awards from The American Folklore Society. THE FAITHFUL FRIEND and THE HIRED HAND both won The Commonwealth Club of California Silver Medal. THE FAITHFUL FRIEND, THE SECRET OF THE STONES, and THE TWO BEAR CUBS have been choosen for 21 of the California Collections.
Do you enjoy researching or do you prefer working totally from your imagination?
I love the research almost as much as the writing, but spinning a whole story from the imagination is a pleasant change of pace.
Do you work on more than one book at a time?
I’ve always got somewhere between four and six books in process.
Which of your books did you most enjoy writing?
THE TWO BEAR CUBS: A MIWOK INDIAN LEGEND FROM CALIFORNIA’S YOSEMITE VALLEY, illustrated by my brother Daniel. We grew up spending many vacations visiting Yosemite Valley, first heard the story from a Miwok storyteller in a meadow near El Capitan (the mountain featured in the story), and got to indulge our love of nature and Native American lore recreating this tale.
What are you working on now? When do you expect to start submitting it to publishers?
I’m working on a new series of scary stories for younger readers that I have just signed contracts for.
Do you write every day and do you have set hours that you work?
I try to write something everyday, but the hours vary, depending on considerations of travel, speaking, and other efforts in support of my books.
Do you like to include humor in your stories? Or adventure? Or mystery?
I try to include humor whenever possible. I try to keep the stories exciting and, when possible, suspenseful.
When you do school visits, what question do children ask you most?
”What is your favorite book you wrote?”
What do you most want the students to get out of your school visits?
An increased sense of the rewards of reading and writing. If they also get to know my books a little better, that’s also a nice bit of fallout.