Interview with Jackie Morse Kessler: on HUNGER

HUNGER is the first title in Jackie Morse Kessler's new series for teens. The four books will focus on problem teens and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, with a portion of the proceeds going to relevant charities. HUNGER goes on sale October 18. Catch my review of HUNGER next week.

I love what you've done with HUNGER. It feels like you've opened yourself up with this one, and I think you're brave for doing so. I can't wait to hear what teens think of it. 

JK: Thanks! I don’t feel brave. I’m an author with a story that I very much wanted to tell, for many reasons, for many years. I’m so grateful that my agent convinced me to write the book, and that my editor and entire team at Harcourt were so supportive. And oh, that cover! **grin** I’d love to hear what teens think about the book.

How did the idea for Hunger come about? How did the idea for this story start and how did it develop into the final product?

JK: I’ve wanted to write a story about an anorexic teenage girl who becomes the new Famine, of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, for years. I’ve had lots of influences about the Horseman aspect along the way, from Marvel Comics to Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett to Piers Anthony. What I wanted to do, more than focus on the Four Horsemen, was use the Horsemen—specifically, Famine—to tell the story of Lisabeth, who’s 17 and anorexic.

It took me a while to find the right beginning, and the right protagonist. But once I had those things in place, and once I understood the purpose of the Horsemen in the world I was creating, then the story flowed. Actually, it came flooding out in four weeks. Okay, to be fair, HUNGER is a short book. And I’d been thinking about it for ten years.

In Hunger, Lisa's friend Suzanne calls her anorexic. What names were you called when you were a kid?

JK: To be fair, Suzanne isn’t trying to hurt Lisa. She’s trying to get her to see the truth. But Lisa doesn’t take it very well. War calls Lisa “mouse.”

What was I called? Fat. “Thunder thighs” remains a sore spot. Other names, too, like “Jerky Horse” instead of “Jackie Morse.” 



I think we've all been called names at one time or another. How did you deal with it? 


JK: Usually, I bit back my answer and ignored the taunts. At the time, those names defined me. But now, years later, I couldn’t even tell you who said what, or when. Whoever called me those names aren’t in my life anymore — and I’m doing just fine. **grin**

I loved the scene where Lisa fights War. It's a great fight scene. Do you have a favourite scene in the book? 

JK: Thanks! I liked many scenes, like when Lisa goes to Egypt, but I think my favorite scene is when Death is waiting outside of Lisa’s house. His steed and Famine’s steed are together, and mosquitoes are buzzing around the horses—and then the mosquitoes fall to the ground, either starving or dead. **grin**

Death is a fun character. I can easily picture him as you described-- a Kurt Cobain look-alike-- and his scenes were always fun. Do you have a favourite character(s)?

JK: Hee, thanks! Death is definitely my favorite. I still don’t know why he looks like Kurt Cobain. It just happened that way. (Well, okay, now I have a reason for it, but when I first created the character, he simply had to look, sound, and sing like Kurt Cobain. I wasn’t even into Nirvana at the time!)

How did you mentally prepare for the tough emotional subjects of this story? What was it like to sit down and write every day?
 

JK: I write every day, anyway, so that wasn’t a change. As for preparing for the tough subject...this story wanted to be written for a long time. Slipping into the eating disorder mindset so that I could write Lisa’s character wasn’t difficult (which is a little upsetting all by itself. I wonder if that Thin Voice ever really goes away). Writing the book was actually very cathartic. 

Why the Horsemen of the Apocolypse? What drew you to that mythology?

JK: Like I said above, I had many influences for the Horsemen aspect, especially Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s bookGood Omens. I’m not the first person to write about an anorexic teen becoming someone called Famine — Marvel Comics did it back in the 1980s. The notion stuck with me for a long time, especially after my own struggle with bulimia. I wrote a short story, also called “Hunger,” that was published by the online magazine Byzarium many years ago. That was a very different sort of story, even though some of the same themes from the book HUNGER are explored in there.

For me, the Horsemen of the Apocalypse symbolize how we choose to destroy ourselves...and how we can save ourselves as well.  

HUNGER is a quick read, and I would have liked about twice as much story. (You left me hungering for more! *g*) Why is the story so short? I'm assuming it's due to constraints of the YA genre. What aspects of the story would you have liked to develop more if you could have?   

JK: Heh, yes. It’s short. That’s intentional. I could have added more world-building to HUNGER to really get into the mythology of the Horsemen, whether there will be an Apocalypse, flesh out the other Horsemen. But all of that would have taken away the focus from Lisa and her struggle with anorexia. Because ultimately, that’s what HUNGER is about: Lisa’s struggle. 

We’ll see a little more of the background of the Horsemen in the next book, RAGE, and even more in the third book, LOSS, which is Pestilence’s story. The fourth book, BREATH, will focus on Death, who is the only one of the Four Horsemen that’s the original, so it’s safe to say there will be quite a lot of stuff in that book.

Jackie Morse Kessler

What inspires you? What recharges you?

JK: Inspires me—you mean, to write? I have to write. It’s in my bones. Sometimes, I have to walk away from the writing for a few days and stop wrestling with scenes if they’re not working. But I always return. Usually, with chocolate. **grin**

What do you do in your spare time? 

JK: “Spare time”? What is this “spare time” of which you speak? **grin** When I’m not writing, or doing writing-related things, or working on my full-time day job, or doing things with my husband and two sons, or in tae kwon do class (testing for my green belt at the end of October!), I’m probably reading, watching previous episodes of The Daily Show, or grabbing a movie. (I know. Very exciting, no?)

What are you reading for pleasure?

JK: At the moment, I’m reading Rick Riordan’s The Red Pyramid; my eldest son is waiting for me to finish so we can discuss it. (Rick is his current favorite author.) I’m eagerly awaiting A.S. King’s new novel, Please Ignore Vera Dietz, which comes out on October 12. I’ve inhaled Heather Brewer’s Vlad Tod series and am itching for the first book in The Slayer Journals. Just finished Battle Royale by Koushun Takami, which was phenomenal. (And uber violent.) I’m about to do a ton of Robin Hood research, so I’ll probably be living and breathing that for a while.


THANK YOU for joining us, Jackie! For more information, please visit Jackie Morse Kessler's website. 


Up next week: Review of HUNGER. 


Jackie Kessler also writes urban fantasy for adults.