tall tales & short stories is thrilled to welcome Gregory Hughes to the blog. Gregory very kindly took some time out from his busy schedule to answer a few questions about UNHOOKING THE MOON which won the Booktrust Teenage Prize 2010.
The Booktrust Teenage Prize is a national book prize that recognises and celebrates the best in contemporary writing for teenagers. It is run with the support of The Reading Agency, which publicises the Teenage Prize in libraries across the UK, primarily through coordination with public and school library services.
Previous winners include Patrick Ness for The Knife of Never Letting Go (a tall tales & short stories book recommendation) and Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book.
Hi Gregory and welcome. Would you like to tell us a bit about yourself?
To start with I am 48. I am from a working-class background. I got in quite a bit of trouble as a kid: getting expelled from school, age fourteen, and getting into trouble with the police. The reason I mention this is because I want to point out that anyone can turn their lives around - it's never to late!
UNHOOKING THE MOON
'Where are you going?' asked border patrol.
'We're going to New York to see our grandma and the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty and everything. And our granny's going to bake us her very own apple pie.'
She sounded so convincing. Some days I wondered who the Rat really was.
Meet the Rat: A dancing, soccer-playing, gangster-wise prairie kid.
When the Rat's father dies, she decides to head for new York.
What can her older brother Bob do but follow?
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* What inspired you to write Unhooking The Moon? I’ve read snippets about some of your life growing up. Did your own childhood inspire your novel?
My own childhood was not unhappy. But it was in no way inspirational for writing the book. In fact I never really read until I was in my twenties! That said, when I did start reading I took to it with a passion. But I had a preference for books written in the first person. I would say my inspiration for writing the book came from my nieces and nephews and the great books I read.
* Unhooking The Moon is your debut nov
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