Patricia Schonstein

"I’m a romantic. Perhaps at a push, we could fit this novel in among the Romantics. But I think it’s better placed as Gothic though I’m not Gothic."

"I’m particularly interested in Balthazar and his study of the stars and planets, and the courageous way in which he challenges the status quo of the known universe."

"Yes, I wrote these verses to complement each of the Parts One, Two and Three. Each verse places a solitary figure on a landscape and so sets a contemplation in place. But the epic poem, the one that appears in Part Two and then accompanies the novel to its end, I only started writing about half-way through the novel and completed it at the end. The epic poem took my final attention and care. It had to appear as an ancient text, with some parts lost."

"Sarah Clayton made a podcast with my husband, Don Pinnock, who is an expert on youth at risk. She was looking at the connection between the roots of criminality in childhoods where a love and respect of animals is not nurtured. Don introduced me to Sarah, and we agreed to work together to teach children, through stories and poems, to love animals, nature and the wilderness."

"No, this is not my first book for children. But the “ethos” in all those I have written is consistent. They all evoke compassion and care and are rich in love of the environment."

"The book has been very well received. Our first distribution was through direct sales and donations to children and projects that might not have afforded the book. We are now preparing to reprint, and the book will go into retail bookshops. We are also working on an Afrikaans edition."

"I wanted to give a sense of: “Come with me and let’s look at some wonderful, natural things, and let’s have fun, but let’s also learn together to cherish each other and all living things.” So, the first “voice” belongs to Phoebe as she invites the young reader to travel with her, and the book concludes with her basically empowering the child to take care of the earth."