August Isle by Ali Standish
Hi, Ali Standish! Whoa!
Sarah Coleman’s cover illustration for August
Isle is STUNNING. Look at the moon! Look at the lighthouse! Look at the
turtle! Look at Miranda standing on a colorful boat! There’s so much to take in
and think about. Please tell us three things about Miranda.
Ali Standish: I could not agree
more! I can’t stop staring at that sea turtle! And, of course, I was thrilled
with the way it turned out and with how Sarah reflected Miranda’s journey. So,
some things you should know about Miranda…
1.She is a baking fanatic. The only problem
is she, er, doesn’t actually know how to bake.
2. Conversely, she also loves to sail…she
just doesn’t know it yet!
3. Like so many of us, and us girls in
particular, she has learned to underestimate herself. In many ways, this is the
story of her learning to embrace her strength, bravery, and all the things that
make her unique.
Do you have a
favorite place on August Isle?
Ali Standish: I do, and it’s
Miranda’s favorite, too! My favorite place is underneath the August Oak, the
enormous tree for which the island is named. That’s Aw-GUST, as in something
highly distinguished and respectable. I based it on the Angel Oak, a live oak
in South Carolina that is close to 500 years old. There’s something both
humbling and comforting about standing under something so big and old. And
what’s more magical than stopping beneath a beautiful tree and watching the sunlight
shine through its greenery?
If Ethan (from The Ethan I was Before) and Miranda attended
the same school, do you think they would be friends?
Ali Standish: Ethan and Miranda
have a lot in common. For one thing, they are both pretty reserved, which is
funny because I was NOT at their age. They would definitely find kindred
spirits in one another, but it might take a bit of nudging from Coralee and
Sammy to get them to overcome their shyness and start talking to each
other!
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Please finish these
sentence starters:
Miranda’s Aunt
Clare is a bridge between Miranda and her mother’s past. Over the course of one
summer, she becomes a mom to Miranda in ways that her own mother hasn’t been
for quite some time.
Story is what binds
humankind together across space and time. Actually, I just read a really lovely
quote on story while researching for a new project that I’d love to share. It’s
by Carolyn G. Heilbrun, who writes
“Let us agree on
this: that we live our lives through texts. These may be read, or chanted, or
experienced electronically, or come to us, like the murmurings of our mothers,
telling us of what conventions demand. Whatever their form or medium, these
stories are what have formed us all, they are what we must use to make our new
fictions…out of old tales, we must make new lives.”
Oh, how I love that
last line!
Oh, how I love this statement as well. Thank you for sharing it!
Mr. Schu, you
should have asked me what I learned from writing this book. My journey in
writing AUGUST ISLE mirrors Miranda’s own process to conquer her inner-demons.
This was not the first second book I wrote. It took me a few tries to get to
this story, and by the time I got there, I wasn’t sure I believed in my own
ability to write it anymore. Everyday I battled voices in my head that said I
couldn’t. We all have those voices, don’t we? Authors are (definitely!) no
exception. And it’s so hard not to give into them. But the more we know we are
not alone—that we are all fighting them off together—the more empowered I think
we’ll all be. I’m so glad I reached out for support from family and friends,
that I kept pushing forward, and that I didn’t let my self doubt win (most
days). I couldn’t be happier with the way AUGUST ISLE has turned out, and I
can’t wait for the world to meet Miranda!
Thanks for having
me, Mr. Schu!
Thank you for being here, Ali!
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