As a teenager I read mostly science fiction. My favourite authors were Robert A Heinlein and John Christopher. There were two Heinlein books that particularly stood out for me — Time for the Stars and Citizen of the Galaxy. And Christopher’s Tripods trilogy was probably my favourite set of books as a teen. I re-read then many times over. In fact, I read them again last year for the first time in many years. They still hold up pretty well — a little old fashioned in term of style, but still an exciting read.
I also read a lot of Doctor Who books. I was, and still am, a huge Doctor Who fan.
Would you say your reading as a teenager has had a distinct influence on how you write fiction now, and why
Yes, my teenage reading has had a significant influence. Although an avid reader as a teenager, I was a reluctant reader as a younger kid. It was not until I discovered science fiction that I really took an interest in reading. Science fiction was what I loved reading as a teen, and science fiction is now what I now love writing for teens.
What did you do before you became a published teen/young adult novelist, and how did you come to write your first teen/young adult novel and get it published?
For many years I worked an office job as a project officer. I then went freelance in web development. Going freelance gave me the freedom to spend more time writing. Slowly, I increased my writing income until I could eventually chuck in the consulting.
My first book was a YA short story collection, Life, Death and Detention, published by Margaret Hamilton Books (a division of Scholastic) back in 1999. It’s not a science fiction collection, although it does contain one science fiction story and a second story about a group of science fiction fans. This book was the result of sending the right story to the right publisher at the right time.
I sent a short story called “Life, Death and Detention” to Margaret Hamilton Books and it was accepted for a YA anthology of stories about high school. I was so excited by the acceptance that I promptly sent a whole bunch of other stories to the publisher. I then didn’t hear back from them for well over six months. I was convinced they must have hated the new stories and that I had destroyed any chance of publication. But I finally got a call from them. The anthology had fallen through. But they liked my stories and wanted to publish a collection. So I ended up writing a few more and the collection was released as Life, Death and Detention.
It’s long out of print, but is still on the Victorian Premier’s Reading Challenge booklist. And I still get a fair bit of interest in it when I do school visits. I live in hope that I may one day find a publisher to re-issue it.
It was then ten years till my next YA book, a novel called Gamers’ Quest. In the mean time I had been writing books for the primary school education market, with the occasional short story for YA anthologies. The education market is what allows me to make living out of writing… but writing for teens is what I love doing!
How would you describe your style of teen/young adult fiction or your approach to writing teen/young adult fiction?
My approach to writing teen fiction is to simply write about the things that interested me as a teen. As a teen I was interested in science fiction and I loved playing computer games… so I’ve been writing a series of novels set inside a computer game world.
As a teenager I spent a lot of time wondering what sort of person I would be when I grew up. And I craved the perceived freedom I would have when I finally finished school. I also spent many hours pondering the bizarre notion that I, and everyone else in the world, might just be pawns in some game controlled by a higher power. So I wove the themes of reality and identity through both Gamers’ Quest and Gamers’ Challenge. And with the second book I added the concept of freedom. One character even asks “What do you do with freedom when you get it?”
Who is another author whose teen/young adult fiction you admire and why?
I really admire Australian author Richard Harland, whose books include Worldshaker, Liberator and the Heaven and Earth trilogy. Aside from the ability to write a cracking good science fiction adventure, he creates the most wonderfully bizarre and intriguing characters.
How would you summarie one of your teen/young adult novels in one paragraph?
Well, my latest is Gamers’ Challenge. So here goes…
If computer game characters lived their own lives … if they believed their virtual world was real … what would they do when they finally discovered that they were actually inside a game?
How does that sound? Does it make you want to rush out and buy the book?
How would you describe the appeal of this novel to teen/young adult readers?
I’ve structured the novel like a computer game — fast-paced, quick scene changes, one challenge after another. I’d say: “If you love playing computer games, give this book a go!”
How would you summarise a chapter from this novel in one paragraph?
Chapter 1: Zyra
Throwing the reader straight into the action, Zyra confronts and is then pursued by a deadly ball of static. Narrowly escaping her pursuer, she takes shelter in the Temple of Paths where she laments her current situation.
How would you describe the contribution this chapter makes to the novel?
This chapter is the set-up. We find out what has happened to Zyra and Tark since the end of the previous book, Gamers’ Quest. We are introduced to the mysterious balls of static that are pursuing them, and find out that the Temple of Paths seems to be the only place they are safe. So, lots of questions are posed… waiting to be answered as the novel progresses.
To what extent would you say fiction written primarily for young readers is different from fiction written primarily for adult readers?
The main difference is the age of the protagonists. Most adult novels don’t have teenage heroes. The other thing, I guess, is a sense of discovery. The teenage years are the formative years, when you start to question who you are and what you will be. It is the experimental period of life. And that tends to be reflected in YA fiction.
Author website: http://georgeivanoff.com.au
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