We interviewed children’s author Anne Cassidy, as featured in the latest issue of PaperBound, all about her new book The Drowning Day. Read on below to find out more.
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Can you tell us a little about your book, The Drowning Day?
The Drowning Day is a story set in the future. Jade, Bates and Samson are living in a dangerous world. There are floods which make their lives precarious but the society they live in is divided and harsh. Jade finds out that her sister needs her help and she and her friends need their courage to help her. It’s an adventure. Three young people trying to make things right in a broken world.
The Drowning Day is set in a dystopian future thirty years from now. What inspired you to tell this story?
I had been watching dystopian pandemic drama based on television and enjoyed the idea of people surviving a disaster and trying to make a decent society again. It seemed that the biggest danger wasn’t so much the disease but what the other survivors were like. Instead of creating a good society they looked after themselves. I wondered what it would be like to be children in this kind of world.
Friendship and found-family is a huge theme throughout the whole book. How important do you think friendship is when it comes to writing, and real life?
Friendship is probably the most important thing after family. In all the books I’ve written for teenagers friendship has always been crucial to the plots and the themes. Friends can become as close (if not closer) than family members and the plus is you get to choose them for yourself. In The Drowning Day families are split up because of the need to work, poverty or death. Finding a new family among friends is very important. Jade, Bates and Samson find this connection during the events of the book.
Global warming, environmental issues and natural disasters are also at the forefront of this book in a very real and impactful way. What advice would you give to young people who want to help save our planet?
I wouldn’t give advice to other people because I think it’s important for people to come to their own conclusions. All I would say is look around, listen to the arguments and think about what is right for the future. Then make your mind up and see what things you can do tomorrow to help.
Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?
I have two tips. Read a lot; books, comics, newspapers, online blogs or forums. Write a little every day (15 mins) – a diary, journal, poem, opinion piece, letter, beginning of a story. Think of writing a bit like being an artist. They have sketchbooks and are always drawing or painting. Little and often.
Can you tell us about any new books you might be writing, or are on the way?
Currently I’m writing an adult book. This is new for me so it’s trial and error – but I’m enjoying the challenge. It’s a crime novel.
Anne Cassidy worked in a bank and as a teacher before she was a writer. She has written over ninety books for children and teenagers. She lives in East London and has two dogs.
The Drowning Day is out now and published by UCLan Publishing.
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