Q: Dragonkeeper was published 20 years ago, how did it feel revisiting Ping and the beginning her story?
A: It was a bit like going back in time!
It was interesting seeing someone else’s interpretation of Ping, and seeing the story through someone else’s eyes
Q: Do the film characters of Ping, Long Dazi and Hua, match the vision you had in your mind when you were writing the books?
A: Not exactly, but I had read about other writers’ reactions to movies based on their books being made, so I was prepared for there to be some differences. Some things that you can write about just don’t transfer to the screen.
Q: Having such a keen interest in ancient history, where did you do your research for the Dragonkeeper series, set within ancient China?
A: I had visited China the year before I started writing the book and already had the idea in mind. So being in China, visiting ancient buildings, riding out of Beijing into the countryside on a bike, gave me a sense of what the country was like, which, I think, made it easier to imagine what it was like in the past.
I discovered a lot about Chinese dragon myths and beliefs in a book called The Dragon in China and Japan written in 1913 by a Dutch scholar, which was really helpful.
The State Library of Victoria is where I find most of what I need to know about places in earlier times. I learned all about China in the Han Dynasty from delving into books in the State Library
Q: Thousands of Australian school children have read the series of the past decade, why do you think it remains so popular?
If only I knew! It was a book I really wanted to write, and it was my first major novel, so I really immersed myself in writing it. But I don’t know what it is about the story that has made it stay popular. Though writing a historical novel means it doesn’t really date!
Q: Do you have a most-beloved character?
A: I like all my characters, even the bad guys! But perhaps Hua, Ping’s pet rat, is my favourite. He got into the book just so that Ping could have someone to talk to, even though he didn’t talk back! And he just took over and became an important character in the book and the following books in the first trilogy. I had a lot of fun writing about Hua.
Q: Where is the creative journey taking Carole Wilkinson next?
A: I’m a bit superstitious about talking about books that I’m in the process of writing. I don’t like giving too much away. I’ll just say that there is a dragon in it, and it is historical, but it is not set in China.