Laura Baggaley is the author of our first novel for a teenage audience, a dystopian eco-romance Dirt.
Here’s our Q&A with Laura
What inspired you to write Dirt?
I was initially inspired by a particular chapter in George Monbiot’s book, Regenesis, in which he talked about looking at soil under a microscope. It described vividly the millions of tiny life forms in a single teaspoon of earth and the difference between living soil and dead dirt. I was really taken by this extraordinary world crammed full of unfamiliar creatures. I’ve been interested in farming and regenerative agriculture for a long time – and I love cooking, so the question of where our food comes from has always been close to my heart!
Why do you write for children and young adults?
It’s more exciting! It gives my imagination a different kind of freedom. The adult world can feel narrow somehow, because people have so often already made up their minds and have fixed ways of doing things. Kids love asking questions, and I think that’s exactly what we need in today’s world – children don’t assume the old ways are best. There’s also a positive energy about seeing things from a different perspective. In a book about kids and for kids, I feel I have free rein to be optimistic. I very much hope adults will read my books too!
Where do you write?
I have a little desk next to the window in a multi-purpose room in our busy family flat. I try to keep it from getting too cluttered, but I do have a collection of assorted objects on a shelf that are pleasing to the eye – a piece of driftwood, a ceramic pomegranate, a stone with holes in it that looks like an alien skull, a felt mushroom, and a fossilised Orthoceras!
What are your writing influences?
I think childhood reading has the strongest impact. The stories you read in those formative years get into your bones. I was obsessed with L. M. Montgomery and read the Anne of Green Gables and Emily of New Moon series endlessly. I can practically recite the Little House on the Prairie books. But I was also reading feminist fantasy books by the brilliant Tamora Pierce, and gritty young adult books like Rumble Fish by S. E. Hinton. I devoured huge quantities of historical fiction in my teens, and later developed a taste for thrillers, as well as reading all the classics for my English literature degree. So I’d say my influences are many and varied!
Do you have questions Book Clubs could use?
Yes! I visited a Young Adult Book Club at a community library just after Dirt was published and so enjoyed talking with the kids that I was keen to offer questions for other groups.
- Would you prefer to live in the town of Newbeck or Home Valley? Why?
- Who is your favourite character in the book? Why?
- How did Sam and Avril’s changing relationship make you feel?
- Did you learn anything new from reading Dirt? Did it make you think differently about anything?
- In Newbeck, they have a Library of Things. Have you heard of this before? Would you want to use one? Why do you think the town has set this up?
- In Home Valley, they use advanced technology for soil monitoring, among other things. What other roles do you think technology could play in agriculture and what do you think of this?
- Who would you choose to play Sam and Avril in a film?
What do you do when you’re not writing books?
I teach acting, drama and writing at an adult education college, City Lit, a lovely institution in the centre of London, and fit my writing in around all the courses I teach. For relaxation, I love reading and going for walks, and watching television with my family – whether we’re talking over reality programmes like The Traitors or scaring ourselves with Alien Earth! I’m also a keen cook, although my teenagers don’t always love my experimental vegetable-based offerings!
Are you working on a new book?
Several! I have two complete manuscripts that are at the editing/polishing stage, which will be coming out soon. I’m also in the early stages of plotting a new young adult novel, which I’m excited to be working on.
Do you plan a sequel to Dirt?
A few of the bloggers who reviewed Dirt said that they wanted more, which did get me thinking! One of them wrote “I just wish it had been a bit longer because I’d happily spend more time in this world – fingers crossed there’s more to come!” and another one said, “I could see there being further stories involving these characters, particularly as Avril and Sam grow up. I would love to see more come from this.” So I am starting to think about returning to the world of Dirt – although I have another book to write first!
Is there anything else you’d like to tell our readers?
I’m keen to spread the word about Bending The Arc, an online magazine publishing stories, poems and essays that bend the arc of the possible towards a thriving future on earth. I’m on the editorial team and we have a new edition launching later this month – you can subscribe for free now!
Finally, if you enjoy reading young adult fiction, or have young people in your life, do join the mailing list at my website for monthly book updates and reading recommendations!