Meet Alice-Miranda and Clementine Rose, the creations of Jacqueline Harvey, award-winning Australian author. If you have kids aged 7-12, you’ve probably already heard of her and both her successful series. Jacquie was a teacher for 2 decades before she took that final step into full-time writing and created Alice-Miranda. Her path to worldwide success has been hard-won, and these beautiful characters are now beloved the world over.
Somehow, while on a book tour in the UK and Scotland, she managed to answer some questions on her writing, Alice-Miranda and Clementine Rose, and most importantly, why these characters appeal to both girls and boys.
What were you like as a reader as a child?
There are a couple of things I particularly remember that had a huge impact on my love of books and reading. When I was very little, my mother used to take me every six months or so, on the train to our dentist in the city. It wasn’t an outing I looked forward to except that afterwards I remember she would take me to get a book (I think it was a reward for bravery – dentists were a lot scarier back then!) and I spent the train trip home devouring every page. I was mesmerised by the bookshop – it was huge and posh and just this year I’ve had two incredibly signings there. The other thing my mother did was introduce me to the local public library. I couldn’t wait for our weekly trips so I could borrow new books. There is still something about the smell of the library that I find completely intoxicating to this day!
Leaving behind a career and deciding to pursue writing – did your heart not stop when you made that decision to pursue writing full time? Or was it the easiest step to take?
I had been writing for about 8 years by the time I decided to take the leap of faith, resigning from my very secure and much loved school job to become a full-time writer. I had treasured being a teacher and Deputy Head but in the last three years of my school career I had become the Director of Development. It was a wonderful position too and enabled me to use my skills as a writer and in public relations. The turning point in my decision-making came when I took long service leave and spent the time I had off, travelling across the US and UK, dipping my toes into the water to see if being a full-time writer and speaker was something I would enjoy as much as I had imagined I would. I had the most brilliant time. When we returned home to Australia after three months away I knew in my heart that I had to give full-time writing a proper go. My books were selling really well and the territories were expanding (I had just been offered an 18 book contract with Random House UK for 10 Alice-Miranda and 8 Clementine Rose books while we were away) so I thought it was the right time. I was sad to leave the girls and my colleagues but ultimately it has been a very good decision.
Was there ever any chance you would write for another age group? Or an entirely different genre?
I have written an award-winning picture book and still toy with the idea of writing more (I have several outlines for new stories in the computer just waiting to be worked on) and I have started a young adult novel too. However, I love writing for junior readers so I don’t see myself departing from that age group anytime soon.
What is the hardest thing about writing for 7-12 year olds?
I don’t know that there is one hardest thing. When I write, I feel like I’m about nine years old, so I think this was definitely the age I was meant to write for. Children can be harsh critics and they tend to decide very early on if they like something or not, so I think you’ve got to grab their attention quickly and maintain it. It’s important that the action is being driven by the children in the stories too and sometimes it’s hard not to let the adults interfere too much.
Both Alice-Miranda and Clementine Rose are two of the most adorable characters I’ve ever seen! But I think, Alice-Miranda might have just won me over by being: perpetually positive! What was the inspiration behind her?
She basically evolved from three little girls I taught many years ago – very positive, sweet, funny children who had the world at their feet and were simply adorable. Over time I like to think she took on the best characteristics of so many children I’ve worked with during my career. I liked the idea of a child who tries to see the best in everyone, no matter how horrid their behaviour is at times. While Alice-Miranda is worldly she can also be quite naive and I think that’s part of her charm.
From the time you began writing Alice-Miranda and Clementine Rose, how have their characters evolved? Did you always 
know how they were going to grow?
The girls still surprise me, which is wonderful. Alice-Miranda is exceptionally confident and yet very humble at the same time. There have been occasions when she has had to accept that she can’t make everything better and I think that’s been important in developing her character. Clementine is not as sophisticated as Alice-Miranda and I love that her innocence comes through strongly. As she’s growing up she’s always learning new things. Her family is an interesting one too – Aunt Violet has really changed over time, which can only be a good thing.
In all your travelling, and meeting the kids who love your books – what is the most surprising thing you’ve learned/heard from them?
I think that in many ways children are the same the world over. They want to know that they’re being listened to and that they matter. I love finding out what their senses of humour are and how they respond to stories. Alice-Miranda comes from a family unlike most – the Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones’s have vast wealth and yet that never seems to factor at all into children’s opinions of her. I’ve never been told that children like or dislike her because of the money – which is a good thing. They see her for who she is and what has really resonated with children is her incredible kindness and genuine desire to help people. Many of the readers adore Alice-Miranda’s best friend Millie and they love that so many of the characters who start out exhibiting some pretty awful behaviour have the capacity to change.
What do you wish kids learned more of from the reading material now?
Books are a great way to help children develop empathy and understanding. I never set out to teach any lessons through my writing but it’s wonderful when readers tell you that they enjoyed this character or that character because of ‘x’. I’ve had extraordinary letters from parents telling me that their child has done something or other and when they’ve asked them why, the response has been, ‘Because that’s what Alice-Miranda would do.’ To think that they’ve taken the characters into their hearts like that is incredibly humbling.
I know of one school where they were having a problem with two girls bullying each other. Their punishment was to read Alice-Miranda at School together at lunchtimes and talk about the issues. In the end we heard that they had become friends, bonding over their mutual dislike of the bullies and their bad behaviour!
There’s a growing cry for diversity in children’s literature right now – how else do you think it needs to change? What do your readers tell you in this regard?
Diversity is an important issue for sure. Children like to see themselves reflected in stories. Something else that needs to change is the notion that boys won’t/shouldn’t read books with girls on the cover or books that have girls as the main characters. Since I’ve been in the UK I’ve been so thrilled by how many boys have bought the books and already written to tell me how much they’re enjoying them. And yet I’ve encountered schools (mostly in Australia) where teachers have taken the boys out of my presentations because my books are perceived to be ‘girly’. If only they had read some of them and realised that there are lots of wonderful male characters. I don’t believe they are books for girls – they are books which have strong girls at their hearts and why on earth would it be inappropriate for boys to know about them. My presentations are just as entertaining for the boys as the girls too.
Looking back at your career, what have you learned that surprised you? That when you started writing, you never thought about at all?
I suppose in the early days of my writing career, I was incredibly naïve and thought that it would be much easier than it is. Very few authors enjoy the privilege of being able to write full time and earn a decent living from their writing. I know that I’m very fortunate in that regard but I’ve also worked incredibly hard and can’t remember a time in the past few years when I haven’t been working on a book (or two or three!). Writing is my profession and I treat it as such. I adore writing series as it’s enabled me to create worlds that I’m forever adding to and it means I get to spend lots of time with characters I truly love. Writing isn’t just about the books though and I suppose I didn’t realise in the beginning how much of my time would also be invested in the promotional aspects, including loads of social media, blogging, website updates etc etc. Fortunately I love talking to kids and I’m absolutely in my element when presenting, so for me it’s something I genuinely look forward to. It enables me to use my teaching skills and keep a hand in with schools too.
To learn more about Jacquie, Alice-Miranda and Clementine Rose, click here.
