Interview With Author Pam Withers
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve written 23 young-adult novels and 3 nonfiction books (including many bestsellers and award winners). They’re all about outdoor adventure or extreme sports and are particularly popular with teen boys.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Cave-In
I was originally inspired both by a Kartchner Caverns tour in Arizona and time spent wriggling through Upana caves near Tahsis, B.C., the town on which the book is based.
The town’s website states that “Tahsis is without a doubt Canada’s ecotourism caving mecca! Cavers from all over the world come to explore the more than fifty kilometres of passages found so far in the mountains around town.”
I was intrigued to learn that a church was swallowed by a sinkhole in that region many years ago (but not with anyone inside). In my novel, the church is packed…
I was also sobered by PBS’s Nova documentary, “Sinkholes: Buried Alive.”
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I talk to my cat while writing.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Farley Mowat, Gary Paulsen, Willard Price, Robin Hanbury Tenison and Will Hobbs.
What are you working on now?
I write dozens of book reviews per year on the not-fot-profit site YAdudebooks.ca. Also preparing for a tour of school presentations when Cave-In comes off the press later this year.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I also belong to dozens of YA teacher-librarian websites.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read, read, read. Write, write, write. And remember that you have your own unique voice and life experiences, and that’s more important than being a perfect writer.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
When you’ve completed your first paragraph and are happy with it, you’re half done with your novel.
What are you reading now?
Bad Bot by Pierrette Dube
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m working for two websites doing author interviews and book reviews and I find that very fulfilling.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Anything by Farley Mowat and Michael F. Stewart.
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