Yakas among us?

A lot of people have asked what made me think of doing a story about yakas (closest translation - nature spirits?). And whether I'm an expert in yaka lore and whether I heard a lot of yaka stories as a child.

Funnily enough the answer to the last two is no.

The yakas in Mythil's world are different to the ones you hear about in folktales. I like to think that they have evolved to be able to live among humans, mostly undetected.

But I've given them a history that you won't find in folklore. It's to do with portals and other worlds... But for more you'd need to read the book.

Where to buy

You can buy Mythil's Secret from:

Paradise Road (all shops)
Barefoot

Lake House (main, Liberty Plaza and Hyde Park Corner)

Vijitha Yapa

Sarasavi

Mackeens

Plate

CG Associates

Social Scientists Association

all hotel bookshops

and of course from the publisher's offices at 80A Dharmpala Mawatha, Colombo 7

You can also buy it online through the publisher's website: Perera Hussein Publishing House.And Vijitha Yapa again - they do local and overseas shipping.

Character origins

What inspired the characters in the book?  This is a question I get asked a lot. I don’t have black and white answers.

The character of Mythil appeared first. He was a shy little boy who took a while to introduce himself. I called him by different names until I realised that his name was Mythil. He is a lot like I used to be at his age; shy and unsure of himself.

Asiri didn’t have a name until almost the final draft. There’s a lot of Mythil in Asiri and I think that’s one of the reasons why Mythil is so angry with him in the beginning. He sees his own helplessness reflected in Asiri. He is impatient because Asiri is so accepting of this helplessness.

Ianthi is interesting because I think she would have made a good ally for Mythil if she hadn’t been so intent on growing up. In that respect she’s very different to me.  I don’t think I’ve grown up yet. I think I knew children like her when I was a child. If you’re a dreamy sort of person it’s good to have this type of friend around you to help bring you down to earth now and again.

I’d recently lost my grandmother so I knew that Mythil’s Archchi would be similar to mine. The story Archchi tells Mythil, about the robber is almost exactly the same one my grandmother told me. I was as close to her as Mythil is to his grandmother. She had great faith in my scribbles and gave me all my grandfather’s letters and stories to read for inspiration - he certainly had a way with words although he apparently wasn’t much of a talker. He died when my mother was eleven years old so like Mythil I only know him through family stories..

I had a lot of fun with the bahirawaya’s character. In the beginning he was a lot more swaggering and full of bravado. Too much like a TV character. So then I altered his personality and sense of humour. I modeled him on an old teacher I used to know.

Friends

One thing I found very useful when writing Mythil's Secret was a bank of friends I could blackmail... er... no, I mean, depend on to read the various drafts and comment on them. When I'm engaged in writing a story I find it difficult to spot things that a reader would find irritating or confusing.

Collecting feedback from everyone and then deciding which comments to act on is time-consuming but to me it was well worth the effort. I'm just going to mention *some* of the key people who took time to give me great feedback.

Sharmi and Shehan Pieris. Shehan was in the middle of exams too but still took the time to give some great comments.
Shantha Karthigesu and Aravind. I know they still have a bound copy of that early draft complete with my crude Word-drawn cover.
Ramila Usoof who made sure the psychological bits weren't complete mumbo jumbo.
Ruwanthie de Chickera whose comments led to an alteration in Serf's personality. Less swaggering bravado.
Tammy Ho and Jeff Zroback for numerous detailed comments - a professional close reading that was a real help.
Sarah Allen for pointing out the lose ends that hadn't been tied up.
Mandie Hawes for suggesting that the story's opening not be all doom and gloom!

Thanks guys!

Mythil's Secret wins the Gratiaen Prize

There was a loud buzzing in my ears when it was announced that Mythil's Secret had won the Gratiaen Prize. I've been gobsmacked several times in my life but this was the 'gobbiest'. My first thought was 'Oh no, I don't have a speech written out!' But mostly I just sat there unable to process this shocker of an announcement until a sharp nudge in the ribs sent me weaving unsteadily to the front.

I remembered to thank the judges for giving the award to a children's book and said I hoped this would encourage more people to write in English for our children. But the judges described the story as one that would appeal to both children and adults and called it a book that looks at life from the perspective of youth.

I'm glad they think the book appeals to adults. In my experience when writing for older children you need to make sure that the story appeals to you as an adult too, if you've got any hope in entertaining younger readers!

MacGyver kid

So yesterday I was rushing out to office and half way to the bus stand I remembered that I hadn't checked to see whether there were any traces of my jam sandwich around my mouth. A surreptitious check with my tongue told me this was a distinct possibility. Fortunately, I was able to whip out a mirror and tissues in the bus and look 'respectable' again.

The incident reminded me of when I was 11 or 12 years old and hooked on the TV programme, MacGyver. Like a lot of kids my age back then I was fascinated by how 'Mac' could get out of trouble (or into it as the case may be!) using any old thing he found lying around, from a paper map to chocolate. I remember asking my grandmother to make me a satchel out of some leftover upholstery material (because of course since I had a perfectly good school bag my parents didn't see why I should be bought another bag). Into this satchel went everything I could possibly think of that would come in useful.

pencil and note paper - for writing clues in case I was kidnapped
string - for all sorts of reasons
a compass - for obvious reasons
sticky tape - couldn't get my hands on duct tape in those days
candle and matches - in case i found a cave to explore
torch - in case the cave was windy and the candle blew out
chalk - to mark the walls of a labyrinth in case I was lost in one
mirror - to signal with if I found myself adrift at sea
measuring tape - because my mum had several of these to spare
Swiss army knife - a treasured birthday present
paper clips, pins, safety pins, an airline sewing kit, a scissor...
Well you get the picture.
I am woefully unprepared for adventure these days. All I carry with me now are the mirror, the pencil and the pen knife. I suppose a true MacGyver kid wouldn't need much more than that...

Banyan Tree

I love trees. All kinds.

But of course banyan trees are the most exciting. Unfortunately the only time I lived next door to one, its ropey roots were out of my reach for swinging on.

Araliya or frangipani trees are also super because they are so twisty that its usually easy to climb them.

Hmmm. It's been ages since I climbed a tree. Need to go find one.