Drawing by artist Heby
ED- The Eerie Digest has received great feedback from the vast student population that reads our magazine. They have been thrilled to see us display works by student writers, several rock groups, and young actors that are first starting out. Thus we are extremely excited to present another student who has already authored books, and is attending college. Author Rachel Hill is a college student in England and has hit upon a popular subject that will interest young adult readers. Rachel, we also understand that you have acquired the nickname, ‘Gabby’. Please tell us how that all came about.
RH- I didn’t like the idea that all this ‘advice’ in the book was from me, I got a lot of help from other people because really I don’t have a clue about boys myself! I think we chose the name of Gabby because its good alliteration!
ED- Tell us about your school and where you live.
RH- I’m going to Newcastle University at the moment and the cities great; there’s always something going on and plenty of student discounts. The only problem is I’m trying to save money so I still live at home, about half an hour away, in a hidden away little town no one has ever heard of. A lot less shops and a lot less nightlife but I can at least get my mum to do the cooking.
ED- What first interested you in writing, and what was your greatest influence to do so?
RH- I guess I’ve always quite liked writing, not necessarily serious things like essays but I really enjoyed reading the articles of teenage girls magazines and I tried to copy them. My biggest motivation was the hope that maybe one day I might get to work on one.
ED- Please tell us about your publisher and his interest in your work.
RH- I initially applied to my publisher, Nicholas Reardon, just as an experiment to see what sort of reply I would get. I never really thought I’d actually get published. He’s helped a great deal with showing me the process of how a book gets produced, since I didn’t have a clue, and he seems to have a really good idea of the kind of market I was aiming for. Plus, he sends me free copies which I got to give to my grandma at Christmas when I’d forgotten to get her an actual present!
ED- Describe your book, ‘A Girl’s Guide to Guys- Meeting Them, Managing Them, and All That Love Stuff”.
RH- It’s a sort guide book, but not really as serious as all that. It’s just a book about what a girl thinks about boys, and maybe there’s something in it that other girls might find interesting or useful.
ED- Why did you write this book and what gave you the idea to do so?
RH- I wrote it just for a bit of fun. I got the idea from magazines I had read but I never started out with any intention of having it made into a book.
ED- Who gave you some of the ‘secrets’ about boys ?
RH- That would be telling! He’s probably not going to want me to mention him since he’s given away trade secrets I wasn’t supposed to then put into a book!
ED- Tell us about some of the drawings associated with your work, and who is the artist?
RH- When I first sent in my manuscript, I tried my hand at a few accompanying scribbles but they were definitely better off tucked away in the bottom drawer of my bed where they are staying. Nicholas Reardon found a fantastic manga artist, Heby Sim, who had a look at what I’d tried to draw and turned them into some great illustrations. She’s a similar age to me, and already has done quite a few drawing jobs whilst studying at the same time!
ED- Does any of your friends or classmates know about your literary abilities?
RH- Oh no, I haven’t mentioned anything. I wouldn’t say I had any ‘literary abilities’ to tell them about anyway!
ED- Do you have similar books in the works?
RH- I would love to do another Gabby’s Guide, I keep writing down little things I could put into another one, but I think it would be a while yet for Nicholas to think about asking me to write another one.
ED- What other genre styles are you looking to eventually publish?
RH- I’d really like to try and publish a whole novel, but I’m going to have to get further than writing the opening pages first. I’ve just finished reading Candace Bushnell’s ‘Carrie’ book and that’s really the type of young adult book I’d be most interested in writing; it might give me a proper excuse to visit New York
ED- In your college studies of English Literature and composition, where do you foresee your writing abilities taking shape within the next five years?
RH- I imagine the next two years of my degree will have me slaving away at essays on Shakespeare and the classics, especially the third year when I’ll be spending all hours writing a dissertation! After that I’ll probably have to put my efforts into writing a CV and then finally I might get to start writing a few articles for magazines to see if anyone will print them.
ED- Rachel, you definitely have your feet planted in the right direction and I know that you will go far. We wish you much luck with your career and ask that you keep in touch with The Eerie Digest, so that we can keep our readers informed with all that you do. Thank you so much for your interview with our magazine.
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