I can’t believe it’s over already. The Hong Kong Book Fair 2018 was a whirlwind of activity. It’s the world’s largest gathering of book lovers, now into it’s 29th year. This was the first time I’d attended, and it took my breath away!
The crowds were HUGE! Hundreds and thousands of people all united by their common love of literature and learning. Seven days, twelve hours a day, and the numbers barely abated. Last year the total number to pass through the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre topped 1 million, and I won’t be surprised if that’s happened again!
I was there thanks to my brilliant publisher Sweet Cherry Publishing. It was the first time I’d met the team, as they’re based in the UK and I’m in Australia. How wonderful to finally put faces to some of the names. They made me feel welcome and looked after me very well. No author could ask for more 🙂
I lost track of how many copies of Hopeless Heroes I signed (suffice it to say my hand is still recovering).
I loved meeting kids who literally leapt with joy at the prospect of buying a new book. I was amazed that so many children already knew a great deal about Greek mythology. It made me quite emotional, really!
I wanted to write these books so that I could share the stories my parents had introduced me to when I was little. It was their way of keeping their culture alive on the other side of the world, far away from the home they might have never seen again. The myth-inspired books are my way of honouring their memory. To see Hopeless Heroes in so many eager hands was an experience I will never forget.
The Legend of Ulysses is a retelling of The Odyssey for kids. Reading it now, as an adult, I’m impressed by how skilfully the author handled it. A lot of the original material is totally Adults Only. I wouldn’t mind having a go at something like this myself.
The Hand of Apollo is for slightly older kids. It’s set in modern-day Turkey. It’s about a boy who discovers an interest for archaeology, and learns about the tensions between investigating the past and protecting the present.
This is the cover of one of my old Greek school books. Translated, the title reads History: Mythical Years. It’s kind of cool to read about Greek mythology in Greek, with the help of a dictionary, that is. I don’t know who scratched doodles onto the plastic cover. It couldn’t have been me, surely …
I love the style of the internal illustrations. These are six of the twelve Olympians. The pictures look like the old vase drawings. Nick Roberts, my illustrator, had a similar idea. All the characters in the books drawn from mythology are depicted in this way, except they’re funny – very clever!
In my Hopeless Heroes series, I get to combine some quirky humour with tales that have stood the test of time. I have to twist them, of course, otherwise I’d be adding nothing new. For instance, we all know the traditional stories about Hercules, but how would he behave if he were here today? Would his super-strong (but not so super-smart) strategies work for tackling school bullies and housework? In book 1 Here Comes Hercules I got to play around with this idea and have a giggle at the same time.
Stella Tarakson 