Interview with Bethany Walker, author of Olly Brown, God of Hamsters -

Delighted that the lovely Bethany Walker has come out of her shell today to talk to us about shyness, and how this characteristic is expressed (and overcome!) in her brand new children’s novel – Olly Brown, God of Hamsters. There are some great tips for shy kids (and grown ups), too.

What made you decide to become a writer?

Until I had my own children, it had never dawned on me that I could be a writer. I always loved writing at school and would often write in my spare time – anything from letters to made-up newspaper articles. I studied History, which involved a lot of essay writing, and then worked in museum education. My days were spent sharing stories with people (mainly children and young people) about objects in the collections and I had a desire to write a children’s guidebook but never had the time. I loved my work but sadly, due to funding cuts, I lost my museum job. Happily, it coincided with me having children and being immersed in reading children’s books. Suddenly, I realised I didn’t need museum objects to tell stories and I didn’t need to write a book that was a museum guide book – I could write my own stories! I now feel very lucky that I’ve had the chance to build a second career that I love.

Your middle grade book, Olly Brown, God of Hamsters, has just come out. Can you tell us a little bit about how it came to be?

Olly Brown, God of Hamsters is about an 11 year-old boy, Olly Brown, who wants nothing more in the world than to have his own hamster to look after or, failing that, be allowed the class hamster home for a weekend. Unfortunately, Olly’s dad is completely against having any hamsters in the house. When a strange new hamster turns up at school, Olly takes his opportunity to look after it – but he soon realises it’s not just one hamster but hundreds, and they all appear to be worshipping him!

This is my third middle grade book with Scholastic,illustrated by the fantastic Jack Noel. I love writing funny books so am always on the lookout for funny ideas – the funny ‘What If?’ My ‘what if’ for this story was what if a child was mistaken for a god? It was inspired in part by Red Dwarf, my favourite comedy series from the 1990s. A storyline in that series was about the main character being considered the god of a race of evolved cats and I wondered if there was a possibility of transplanting that idea into a children’s story set on Earth. It is very strange where the inspiration for ideas comes from!

Olly Brown’s key characteristic is shyness – was it challenging to write a ‘quieter’ character?

I love quieter characters! So much of writing is about ‘show, don’t tell’ and loud, confident people can often express themselves so well that they basically ‘tell’ the reader what they’re feeling. A shy character says far less and experiences plenty of inner turmoil, so describing that state involves lots more ‘show’. Of course, authors are the creators of everything about their stories – everything is a choice. I could have chosen to have a confident protagonist who enjoyed being centre of attention – there would have been lots of fun to be had. However, by making Olly Brown shy, I felt there was more opportunity for the character to be challenged, and for them to find the situation uncomfortable (which can be funny) and to force themselves into situations they would normally avoid like the plague! Most importantly, shyness is much closer to my own life experience and so I had plenty to draw on when creating Olly’s character. So many cringe-worthy, stomach-churning experiences!

What advice would you give to children who would like to overcome shyness?

I think what you learn most as you grow up is that people are not as scary or confident as they appear to be. Realising this really helps makes it far less intimidating to, for example, approach new people or speak up in public. Having said that, I don’t think shyness is something people should feel they have to overcome as it isn’t a bad thing in its own right – it is only a negative if it stops someone from fulfilling their potential or meeting their ambitions. It is easier to get over shyness once if you have a good reason to do it. Olly Brown in my story finds his confidence to speak out and make an impact because he knows the hamsters are relying on him. When I was growing up, my mum forced me into many awkward situations (like Olly’s dad does in the book) to try to get me over my shyness but that was just horrible and did NOT work!

What are the positives to being shy?

That’s an interesting question. Shyness if often considered a negative trait and something for people to get over, but the world would be an awful place if it was only full of extremely confident people! Shy people are good listeners and are often great at observing the world.

Are you shy? If yes, how does this affect your work as an author?

I definitely was shy as a child. My mum used to despair! I absolutely hated being picked on to answer questions and, like Olly Brown, I would take steps to avoid having to speak in class (or, to be honest, to any group of more than about five people). As I grew up, I tried to do things to help myself. I even became a door-to-door salesperson for a summer, but I was absolutely terrible at it and felt sick whenever I approached a door. It became easier when I was working toward what I wanted to be – which was, at first, working in museums. In order to give tours of the museum, I used to write scripts that I would practise until they became second nature. In the end, I gave tours to all kinds of people, from school groups to adults – and even some celebrities. Had I become an author without my museum experiences of tours and workshops, the public event side of being an author would have been hell. Thanks to my museum experience, I’m far more comfortable – delighted even – to be in front of audiences. (Don’t tell anyone but I will always have prepared and practised some kind of script beforehand!) My shyness was always rooted in the fear that I would stumble over or forget words. It is one of thebiggest reasons why writing is my much preferred method of communication – it gives me the time and space to express myself exactly as I want.

Can you give us a glimpse / hint at your current WIP? (I can bribe you with cake!)

Well, I do love cake! But I can’t possibly divulge the details of my WIP. Argh, I’m so conflicted. Must. Resist. Cake. SOB!

Did we forget anything?

I don’t think so – but I can always be found on Twitter @Bethanywwriter for follow-up questions and further offers of cake bribes (my willpower won’t hold out forever).

Thank you for having me and I hope readers enjoy Olly Brown, God of Hamsters as much as I enjoyed writing it. I had a blast!