Interview with Jeannette Bedard, Author of Hope is the Thing

What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write Hope is the Thing With Feathers?

I created the world of New Venus and it’s city of floating islands as a short stopover for another book, but the place stuck with me. It was a futuristic world where airships made sense—and I love airships. But what got me started on the story was reading a book of Emily Dickinson poems and stumbling upon ‘Hope is the Thing With Feathers’ at that point my main character, Stella, came into being and her voyage of hope began.

If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of Hope is the Thing With Feathers, what would they be?

I don’t have a theme song, but I did put together a colour palate for descending through New Venus’ atmosphere. The shades get darker and moodier the deeper the airship goes.

What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?

Science fiction is my default genre – I love exploring fantastical new worlds (most recently I’ve been looking for cozy mysteries set in space). However, I read a lot of fantasy as well.

What books are on your TBR pile right now?

I’m deep into Winter, the last book of Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronic

What scene in your book was your favorite to write?

When I was a kid, my grandparents had a book of fairytales. The book was old back then, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it dated back to the Victorian era. It had a couple of coloured pages in it—scenes from a couple of the stories. One was of a glass corridor under the ocean with a man looking up at the ocean life above. For some reason that image resonated with me, and finally in this book, I wrote my own take on it.

Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)

I’m heavily into notebooks and coloured pens. I have piles of filled notebooks of world building ideas, plot schemes and doodles.

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

Dory from Finding Nemo said it best – “just keep swimming.”

If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?

One of my aims is to create a wonder-filled alien world and I hope that readers take some of that wonder away with them.

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