Interview with the Author: Isabel Allende
Conducted by: Peter Klaus

When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?

“I always liked to tell (and to read) stories. I started writing as a journalist, when I was very young, but at that time it was hard for women to become writers. I also needed to support a family, I didn’t know if I could make a living writing fiction. I started my first novel The House of the Spirits when I turned 39. At that point I realized that writing was the only thing that I really wanted to do in my life. By then my kids were older and I could have a day job and write fiction by night.”

Any tips or advice for a teen who wants to be a writer one day?

“Writing is like sports, you have to train every day if you want to excel. Write at least one good page a day. Keep a journal. Read a lot. Reading opens the mind, gives you ideas and vocabulary, tells you what other writers are doing.”

What is your "Anti-Drug?" The hobby, person, or interest that has kept you away from using illegal drugs.

“I am too busy and too entertained to use drugs. I love my mind, I don’t want to mess around with it because it has to last me many more years. My life is great. Why would I want to spend it in a haze? I am strong, healthy, active,I love my work, my friends, my family. Of course I have problems, like everybody else, and there are many moments in which I feel down, but drugs (not even the legal one, like alcohol) have ever solved anything for me, they makes it worse. The few times that I have been intoxicated I can’t get out of my problems, I feel helpless, stuck in the mud.”My anti-drug is my journal. I've been keeping a journal off and on since I was 12. Keeping a journal is like opening up a conversation with yourself when there's absolutely no one else you can talk to. The journal helps you to know yourself better. The more aware you are of WHO you are, the less likely you are to do things that will cause harm to yourself. And a journal doesn't have to be just writing -- you can put photos in it or pictures you tear out of magazines, you can draw in it or paste stuff in it. It can be any size, or you can be a notebook fanatic like I am and have half a dozen different kinds of notebooks going all the time. There have been times in my life when really bad things were happening and I know that being able to turn to my journal and write about it kept me safe.

If you weren't a writer, what do you think you would be doing today?

“I would be doing something creative, some crafts, for example, and raising dogs. I like animals. I would also visit schools to tell stories to kids.”

What is your favorite book?

“I like too many books to choose only one as my favorite.”

Can you tell us a little about your inspiration for City of the Beasts and Kingdom of the Golden Dragon?

“I had promised my three grandchildren to write a novel for them. The oldest, Alejandro, inspired the character of Alexander Cold, the two girls, Andrea and Nicole, inspired Nadia Santos. The idea of having adventures in different places in the world came from my own trips. I am a traveler. The third book of this trilogy is called Forest of the Pymees and it is placed in Africa.”

What brought about your decision to begin writing for young adults, and do you approach writing for young adults differently?

“As I said, the idea to write for young adults came from a promise to my grandchildren. It is different than writing for adults because there is much more action and less description, the characters need to be well defined and the plot clear. The story needs a fast pace. Although I was told to write these books in a simplified style, I really could not do that. I like language. I find that writing these books was in many ways more difficult than writing my usual adult novels, but the response of the young readers has been so great, that I would certainly try again in the future.”

Read the first chapter of Kingdom of the Golden Dragon.