Interview with June Hur for The Silence of Bones

The Silence of Bones

by June Hur
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: April 21st 2020

Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Historical, Historical Fiction

Synopsis:

I have a mouth, but I mustn't speak;

Ears, but I mustn't hear;

Eyes, but I mustn't see.

1800, Joseon (Korea). Homesick and orphaned sixteen-year-old Seol is living out the ancient curse: “May you live in interesting times.” Indentured to the police bureau, she’s been tasked with assisting a well-respected young inspector with the investigation into the politically charged murder of a noblewoman.

As they delve deeper into the dead woman's secrets, Seol forms an unlikely bond of friendship with the inspector. But her loyalty is tested when he becomes the prime suspect, and Seol may be the only one capable of discovering what truly happened on the night of the murder.

But in a land where silence and obedience are valued above all else, curiosity can be deadly.

June Hur's elegant and haunting debut The Silence of Bones is a bloody tale perfect for fans of Kerri Maniscalco and Renée Ahdieh.

Can you briefly describe THE SILENCE OF BONES and its characters?

1800, Joseon (Korea). Indentured to the police bureau, sixteen-year-old Seol has been tasked with assisting a well-respected young inspector with the investigation into the politically charged murder of a noblewoman.

As they delve deeper into the dead woman's secrets, Seol forms an unlikely bond of friendship with the inspector. But her loyalty is tested when he becomes the prime suspect, and Seol may be the only one capable of discovering what truly happened on the night of the murder.

But in a land where silence and obedience are valued above all else, curiosity can be deadly.

Who would you say is your favourite character from the story and why?

Seol was the most genuine character I ever created, and I loved how she'd taken control of her story and had steered it in a totally different direction that the one I'd planned for her. But I enjoyed writing Inspector Han the most! I love writing about dark and tormented characters, so I got to project all my angst into him!

How did the story occur to you? Did you find inspiration anywhere?

For most of my life, I’ve known very little about Korean history, even though my parents are “very” Korean and even though I lived in Korea when I was a teen. Then in 2015, out of sheer curiosity, I read further into Korean history – and fell madly in love with it. I was fascinated by everything and was gripped by a terrifying desperation to write a Korean historical mystery. I hesitated for a while, wondering if I, a Korean-Canadian ‘diasporan’, even had the right to write about Korea, and afraid that no one would be interested in a mystery set in a non-western country. It was the #WeNeedDiverseBooks movement that finally gave me the courage to write.

At the very heart of this book is a more personal story inspired by my family, a family dispersed. I spent nearly half my life living with my siblings in Canada, far away from my parents, far away from my relatives. And so, while I was writing this book, I found myself wrestling with two questions that always haunted me: What will it cost to keep family together when things are falling apart? And where is home when you live far away from those who have loved you for all of your life?

If you could choose one song to describe your book, which one would it be?

Oh! I love this question. I actually only listen to soundtracks that have no lyrics, and the song I listened to on repeat while writing this book was Sweetwater by Ramin Djawadi from the TV show, Westworld.

If your book was going to be made into a movie, who would play your characters?

My dream is to see my book turned into a Korean drama, so this is a fun question to answer! I would cast Kim Go-eun as the heroine, Seol, and Jang Hyuk as the broody Inspector Han.

What drink and place do you think will go with your book to have a perfect book date?

For drink, I’d recommend a light white tea to balance out the heavy topics dealt within my book. And as for place, I’d suggest finding a secluded spot in the wilderness, where you can be surrounded by layers of misty mountains. 

Can you recommend your readers any other books in case they are left hungry for more once they finish THE SILENCE OF BONES?

Elizabeth Lim’s SPIN THE DAWN, Kerri Maniscalco’s STALKING JACK THE RIPPER, and William Ritter’s JACKABY

What would you say is the most difficult part of writing a book?

I’d say researching was the most difficult! Researching was intense and laborious. I have a background in history, and I spent all my years as a writer writing British historicals, so researching isn't new to me. But researching about Korea? English resources about pre-colonized Korea weren't that easy to find, and when I did find them, they were gems! But for the most part, when it came to niche details -- like information about the life of damos (female police officers) -- I ended up having to rely a lot on Korean articles. And that required laborious hours of translation. But to make things trickier, Korean scholarly articles about Korean history often use Hanja (Classical Chinese characters). So on top of trying to understand the Korean, I also had to spend more hours trying to understand a Chinese word.

What’s next for you?

My second book, a standalone YA historical mystery, is coming out in 2021. THE FOREST OF STOLEN GIRLS is about two estranged sisters who are forced to work together to find their missing detective father, who happens to be the greatest detective in Joseon Korea.

JUNE HUR (‘Hur’ as in ‘her’) was born in South Korea and raised in Canada, except for the time when she moved back to Korea and attended high school there. Most of her work is inspired by her journey through life as an individual, a dreamer, and a Christian, with all its confusions, doubts, absurdities and magnificence. She studied History and Literature at the University of Toronto, and currently works for the public library. She lives in Toronto with her husband and daughter.

Her debut novel THE SILENCE OF BONES (Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan, April 2020) is a murder mystery set in Joseon Dynasty Korea (early 1800s), and also a coming-of-age tale about a girl searching for home. It was recently selected by the American Booksellers Association as one of the top debuts of Winter/Spring 2020.

She is represented by Amy Bishop of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret LLC.

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Interview with Monica Hesse for They Went Left

They Went Left

by Monica Hesse
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: April 7th 2020

Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction

Synopsis:

Germany, 1945. The soldiers who liberated the Gross-Rosen concentration camp said the war was over, but nothing feels over to eighteen-year-old Zofia Lederman. Her body has barely begun to heal; her mind feels broken. And her life is completely shattered: Three years ago, she and her younger brother, Abek, were the only members of their family to be sent to the right, away from the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Everyone else--her parents, her grandmother, radiant Aunt Maja--they went left.

Zofia's last words to her brother were a promise: Abek to Zofia, A to Z. When I find you again, we will fill our alphabet. Now her journey to fulfill that vow takes her through Poland and Germany, and into a displaced persons camp where everyone she meets is trying to piece together a future from a painful past: Miriam, desperately searching for the twin she was separated from after they survived medical experimentation. Breine, a former heiress, who now longs only for a simple wedding with her new fiancé. And Josef, who guards his past behind a wall of secrets, and is beautiful and strange and magnetic all at once.

But the deeper Zofia digs, the more impossible her search seems. How can she find one boy in a sea of the missing? In the rubble of a broken continent, Zofia must delve into a mystery whose answers could break her--or help her rebuild her world.

Can you briefly describe THEY WENT LEFT and its characters?

Yes! It’s 1945. World War II has just ended, and 18-year-old Zofia Lederman is beginning to figure out how to put her life back together. She last saw her younger brother Abek three years ago, when the two of them were the only members of their family to be sent to the right, away from the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Everyone else in her family was killed. 

Now, Zofia’s journey to find Abek takes her through Poland and Germany, meeting others like her who are searching for their loved ones. But finding one boy in a sea of missing means delving into a mystery whose answer could break Zofia, or help her rebuild her world.

Who would you say is your favourite character from the story and why?

It’s hard not to say Zofia. She’s fragile but savvy, she loves fiercely, and she’s setting off on this impossible quest, even though she knows how small the chances are that it will end well. 

But I actually love all the characters in this book: Josef, who Zofia immediately feels attracted to but who is hiding secrets of his own; Breine, an heiress whose first fiancé was killed and who is now planning a wedding to her second—a man she’s known only for a few weeks. In a lot of ways, this book is about creating your own family, and I like all the members of this family.

How did the story occur to you? Did you find inspiration anywhere?

A lot of my books begin when I see a photograph that I can’t get out of my head. This one was of a young bride in a displaced persons camp in 1945. A few months before, she’d been a prisoner at Dachau; now, she was getting married and trying to have a normal life.

I felt like a lot of books I’d read about World War II all finished in the same place: the end of the war. But, the war ends—and then what? Holocaust survivors had been sent to camps hundreds of miles away from their homes, with no idea what happened to their families, in an era before email or cell phones, when even the postal system was broken. And if they eventually got back to their homes, that sometimes meant living next door to neighbors who had supported the Nazi regime. The war ended, but survivors’ stories were only really beginning.

If you could choose one song to describe your book, which one would it be?

When I’m working on a historical book, I like listening to the music that would have been popular that year. In 1945, there were two songs in the top ten that really resonated with me. Doris Day sung “Sentimental Journey,” which is about setting off on a long voyage and reflecting on the past. And “I’ll Buy That Dream” is usually sung as a duet between a young couple imagining the life they’re going to have in the future. I’ll choose those songs, because they represent what Zofia needs to do: dream about the future while coming to terms with what happened to her in the past.

If your book was going to be made into a movie, who would play your characters?

Oh, that’s every author’s favorite fantasy question. For Zofia, someone like Sophia Lillis or Maya Hawke has the right quality of being both fragile and wise beyond her years. For Abek—maybe Noah Schapp from “Stranger Things”? For Josef, Alex Wolff—or Alex Wolff’s doppelganger, at least—is who I was picturing through most of the book.

What drink and place do you think will go with your book to have a perfect book date?

This is definitely a cozy-place book. A read-at-home-in-your-favorite-chair book. I think it would pair well with cookies and milky tea, but I think everything pairs well with cookies and milky tea. Zofia’s favorite dessert is chocolate babka, and I think a warmed slice of that would be pretty perfect, too.

Can you recommend your readers any other books in case they are left hungry for more once they finish THEY WENT LEFT?

My other two YA novels are also set in World War II, so if you want to stay in that time period, pick up Girl in the Blue Coat or The War Outside!

What would you say is the most difficult part of writing a book?

…All of it?

Nah. For me, personally, the hardest part is the part that’s unique to historical fiction. You want to tell a compelling story that readers will race through. But you also need to honor the truth of the time period you’re writing in. You have to get your facts right; you’re writing about events that could have happened to someone’s grandparents.

What’s next for you?

As a matter of fact, I did just start on my next book! It’s my first historical work that’s not in World War II. I love it now, but if I say anything more, I’ll jinx myself out of loving it.

Monica Hesse is the New York Times bestselling author of Girl in the Blue Coat, American Fire, and The War Outside, as well as a columnist at The Washington Post writing about gender and its impact on society. She lives outside Washington, D.C. with her husband and their dog.

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Interview with J. Albert Mann for The Degenerates

The Degenerates

by J. Albert Mann
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Release Date: March 17th 2020

Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction

Synopsis:

In the tradition of Girl, Interrupted, this fiery historical novel follows four young women in the early 20th century whose lives intersect when they are locked up by a world that took the poor, the disabled, the marginalized—and institutionalized them for life.

The Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded is not a happy place. The young women who are already there certainly don’t think so. Not Maxine, who is doing everything she can to protect her younger sister Rose in an institution where vicious attendants and bullying older girls treat them as the morons, imbeciles, and idiots the doctors have deemed them to be. Not Alice, either, who was left there when her brother couldn’t bring himself to support a sister with a club foot. And not London, who has just been dragged there from the best foster situation she’s ever had, thanks to one unexpected, life altering moment. Each girl is determined to change her fate, no matter what it takes.

Can you briefly describe THE DEGENERATES and its characters?

THE DEGENERATES takes on disability in the United States circa 1928.

At the turn of the 20th century, eugenics – a false science – was used to cast people with disabilities (physical, mental, intellectual, and “moral”) as having “undesirable traits” which needed to be wiped out of the human condition through segregation. In other words, the U.S. government (for the “health and safety” of the non-disabled population) institutionalized people with disabilities for life.

The novel is told in the voices of four young women inside what was first called The Massachusetts School for Idiotic and Feebleminded Youth founded in South Boston. Diagnosed by doctors as idiots, morons, and imbeciles (actual medical terms of the day), Maxine is gay, Alice has a physical disability, Rose has Down Syndrome, and London is poor, unmarried, and pregnant. Together, they endure the harsh conditions of the institution while continuing to live deeply meaningful lives.

Who would you say is your favourite character from the story and why?

I waffle when it comes to my favorite character.

I adore Alice’s inner strength and unending patience. I’m in awe of Rose’s propensity to take life as it comes. London’s ability to act is amazing. And Maxine’s willingness to continue to dream against all odds is not only moving but extraordinarily powerful.

But I hold a special place in my heart for Thelma Dumas. She’s lived a long and difficult life, yet her natural inclination is to continue to open her door and help.

How did the story occur to you? Did you find inspiration anywhere?

All my life I’ve played a what-if game—relocating myself to other moments in history. For example: What if I had been born in a hunter-gatherer society? As a woman, I’d have been a gatherer. This always makes me happy because there is nothing I love more than a long walk with a purpose.

I began writing THE DEGENERATES by playing this very game. What if I had been born during the height of the eugenics movement in the United States? As someone born with an orthopedic disorder causing extreme body difference, I might very well have been institutionalized for life along with Alice, Maxine, Rose, and London.

If you could choose one song to describe your book, which one would it be?

Skwod by Nadia Rose. Rose’s lyrics are bold and unapologetic, and her take on female empowerment—surrounding herself with her Skwod—is as lovely as it is strong and sure. THE DEGENERATES is told in four voices because none of us overcomes institutionalized ableism (racism, sexism, gender binarism) alone. We need our Skwods. 

If your book was going to be made into a movie, who would play your characters?

People with disabilities are the most underrepresented group on screen. And when we are represented, this representation is often by non-disabled actors. My only wish for casting THE DEGENERATES is for the diversity of disability, race, and gender identity which exists in the novel (because it exists in history) be represented by those with these lived experiences.

What drink and place do you think will go with your book to have a perfect book date?

There is no place more perfect for a book date than your very own couch. Add a warm cider and your slippers, and they’re sure to make the descriptions of the cold institution incarcerating my characters a little less harsh.

Can you recommend your readers any other books in case they are left hungry for more once they finish THE DEGENERATES?

For readers hungry for more, let me suggest some fabulous non-fiction starting with Erving Goffman’s Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates. It sounds a bit heavy, and it is. But it’s also absolutely fascinating as Goffman likens being committed to an asylum to those working for large corporations and government institutions. Another classic read would be Angela Davis’ Women, Race & Class. It’s thirty-seven years old, and sadly incredibly relevant. Finally, I’d suggest James Trent’s Inventing the Feeble Mind: A History of Intellectual Disability in the United States. This slim read is a complete eye-opener, and one you won’t be able to put down.

What would you say is the most difficult part of writing a book?

Let me start with the best part of writing a book—the research. I love it! I’m in my happy place when I’m digging into gloriously written non-fiction. Sketching my characters is another fun moment in the writing process. Drafting and revising is where I begin to sweat. I equate it to the headache/stomach ache dilemma. When I have a headache, I’m like, “Headaches are the worst!” And when I have a stomach-ache, I can’t help moaning that I had no idea what I was talking about when I had that headache. Bottom line, I’m a fickle lover: when I’m drafting, I’m in love with revision, and when I’m revising, I’m in love with drafting. But I’ll commit. The most difficult part of writing a book (for me) is the end of revision where I’m so bound to every word on the page that I can feel the fear of making even the smallest of changes pulsating in all 100,000 of my hair follicles!

What’s next for you?

My next novel—FIX—is a young adult contemporary fiction from Little, Brown. It’s the story of a friendship between two teens with physical difference whose relationship is stretched to the breaking point by their own ableism.

J. Albert Mann is the author of six novels for children, with S&S Atheneum Books for Young Readers set to publish her next work of historical fiction about the Eugenics Movement and the rise of institutionalism in the United States. She is also the author of short stories and poems for children featured in Highlights for Children, where she won the Highlights Fiction Award, as well as the Highlights Editors’ Choice Award. She has an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults, and is the Director of the WNDB Internship Grant Committee. 

Jennifer is represented by Kerry Sparks at Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary Agency.

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