It was a lot of human misery to hold in my heart and in my imagination, as I wrote.Īll slavery, of every kind, is a crime against humanity and although I wrote of the white slave trade, the book is my cry against all kinds of slavery, regardless of the colour of the enslaved people. I was also thinking of the black slaves, and the horrendous conditions they suffered in the transport ships, and in their lives afterwards. It was hard to put myself in those places, to suffer with Elowen, knowing I was writing of real events that had happened to real people. Their accounts had made harrowing reading. These scenes were inspired by real accounts recorded from the 17th century on, by white slaves who had been taken in pirate slaving ships to the coast of North Africa, to be sold in the slave markets there.
The difficult parts to write were the scenes of the pirate raid and the journey in the ship. I especially loved the courtyard gardens. By the time I had finished the story, I felt I had lived in the palace with Elowen. As the book was set in a mythical Ottoman Empire, I did a lot of research into Islamic art, architecture, tiles, etc, and was inspired by the beauty and grandeur of those things. I’m used to writing books set in Medieval times, and the palace was a glorious change from thatched cottages. I loved writing all of it, but the parts I most enjoyed were the scenes of Elowen’s life in the palace. Which parts of The King’s Nightingale did you most enjoy writing and which parts did you struggle with? I decided on questions that could grow and develop on their own. I admire writers who can build enthralling worlds whilst bringing characters to life in a way that stays with readers, so my goal with these questions was to trigger deep thinking and questioning.”
“When I was given the opportunity to interview Sherryl Jordan, the author of The King’s Nightingale and many other incredible books, I could not help but accept!Īfter reading and reviewing The King’s Nightingale I had many questions, and I could not pass up the opportunity to discover a little more about Sherryl and her writing process. Natalya loved The King’s Nightingale, and in her review describes it as an ‘’emotionally binding read.” Thanks to Sherryl’s publisher Scholastic, Natalya had the opportunity to ask the author some wider questions about her work.
Since we re-launched the site late last year, we’ve published reviews of The Anger of Angels (Zahra), Wynter’s Thief (Ashika) and The King’s Nightingale (Amber and Natalya) and we have more in the works! Sherryl Jordan is one of our best-loved YA authors here at Hooked on NZ Books, with her books being constantly requested by our readers and reviewers.
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