An Inside Look with Christina Collins
(Author of After Zero)
*During the summer of 2016, I added this feature to my blog which was called "Season #ONE". This first season ran from June of 2016 to March of 2017.
*I started up the interviews again in June of 2017. It was great to get back to Season #TWO. This season ran throughout the summer.
*Season #THREE ran during the school year of 2017/2018.
*I started up the interviews again in June of 2017. It was great to get back to Season #TWO. This season ran throughout the summer.
*Season #THREE ran during the school year of 2017/2018.
*It has been such an honor to connect with authors and "chat" about their novel, characters, and thoughts about the story.
*This is the EIGHTH interview of what I'm calling Season #FOUR.
*Thank you to Christina Collins for being the Fifty-Ninth author that I've had the pleasure of interviewing. I truly appreciate it.
*Here are links to the first Fifty-EIGHT interviews…
SEASON #ONE
SEASON #TWO
Interview#38 with Terri Libenson (Author of Invisible Emmie)
Interview#39 with Tony Abbott (Author of The Summer of Owen Todd)
Interview #40 with Rob Buyea (Author of The Perfect Score)
Interview#39 with Tony Abbott (Author of The Summer of Owen Todd)
Interview #40 with Rob Buyea (Author of The Perfect Score)
SEASON #FOUR
Interview #54 with Jonathan Auxier (Author of Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster)
Interview #55 with Sharon Creech (Author of Saving Winslow)
Interview #56 with Stacy McAnulty (Author of The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl)
Interview #57 with Kelly Yang (Author of Front Desk)
Interview #58 with Jennifer A. Nielsen (Author of Resistance)
*I was lucky to receive an ARC of After Zero this summer. I knew nothing of the story, but once I opened the book and began reading; I couldn't stop. It was such a unique and special story. I was drawn to the character and felt such compassion for her. I was thrilled to get in touch with Christina and even more happy when she agreed to an interview.
*Christina was kind, gracious, and giving with her answers to the questions. It is an honor to post her responses here on the blog.
*Here is a link to my review of After Zero...
*Thank you Christina Collins for writing this story for readers and taking the time to share her thoughts with us here...
After Zero
by Christina Collins (Released September 4, 2018)
How did you come to know Elise?
I came to know her first through my discovery of the Grimm folktale "The Twelve Brothers" and its variants (in one of which the heroine is actually named Elise), and then by reflecting on some of my past experiences in school. The folktale heroine merged with parts of my past self, and then somehow it was pretty easy for me to get to know Elise and find her voice. She felt like an old friend when I was writing her.
What do you think is Elise's most admirable quality?
She puts her all into everything she sets out to do, whether it's counting her words or running a race in track or uncovering the truth about a family secret.
Is there anything you wish Elise would have changed or done differently in her story?
I wish she could have spoken in all those situations where she wanted to or needed to. But sadly that's not how selective mutism (an anxiety condition that Elise suffers from) works, and there wouldn't be a story then, would there?
What do you think Elise can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what she went through?
Selective mutism is a lonely experience, especially when it's undiagnosed and unrecognized (as is all too common), and I think (or at least hope) that Elise's story can comfort kids like Elise, who are struggling with anxiety and speaking, and let them know that they’re not alone, that help is available, and that their silence does not define them—that they are so much more than a textbook term like “selective mutism” or a label like “quiet.”
Selective mutism is a lonely experience, especially when it's undiagnosed and unrecognized (as is all too common), and I think (or at least hope) that Elise's story can comfort kids like Elise, who are struggling with anxiety and speaking, and let them know that they’re not alone, that help is available, and that their silence does not define them—that they are so much more than a textbook term like “selective mutism” or a label like “quiet.”
Do you and Elise share any similarities?
Absolutely. Though she is different from me in many ways (her homeschooling and family background among them), I had a similar personality to her as a kid--introverted, highly sensitive, poetry-loving--and around Elise's age I struggled with unrecognized low-profile selective mutism, as Elise does in the first half of the book. (Luckily my selective mutism never progressed to the extreme point that Elise's does). Also, fun fact: I ran the mile race on my school's track team just like Elise.
What was the hardest scene to write about Elise?
The climax scene in which Elise is on the school bleachers in a threatening situation was certainly tough to write, just like it's tough for Elise to get through it. It was also hard to write scenes like the class discussion with Mr. Gankle and the encounter in the pastry shop, where Elise finds herself unable to speak in a social situation, because I had to relive those feelings of verbal paralysis from my past -- but at the same time it was also cathartic.
Who do you think was Elise's biggest supporter and why?
Probably her English teacher, Miss Looping. She never penalizes Elise for not talking, she encourages Elise's interest in poetry, and she reaches out to ask Elise if she is all right when she seems upset (while most others overlook her). It's no coincidence that some of my biggest supporters have been English teachers/professors.
What do you think Elise is doing at the present time?
I bet she's either reading or writing some awesome poetry :)
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