SONYA WILSON’s latest novel The Secret Green is the thrilling sequel to Spark Hunter. It’s a high-stakes adventure through a vast wonderland with a great green secret hidden from humans for thousands of years. Read on for a Q&A with the author.
What sparked the idea for the world of The Secret Green?
The world of The Secret Green was inspired by my childhood summers spent camping at Manapōuri and Te Anau on the border of Fiordland National Park. When I was younger, I would wander through the forest that surrounds the lakes just in awe of the native bush. It was all so beautiful – all those ferns and moss and beech and towering podocarps – that, I thought, surely there must be some magic at play. The place looked like a fairyland. (It still does, in fact.) I was convinced that if I sat their quietly enough, some hidden creature might reveal itself to me. So the real world was a huge influence on the fictional one. I always wondered, if there were some hidden creatures there – who would they be? Why would they be hiding? What secrets would they be trying to protect?
What made you choose the setting of Fiordland for your book?
All of the things mentioned above. Fiordland is such a jaw-dropping location – it hardly needs any fictional embellishments – the drama, magic, mystery – it’s all there in its epic scenery. And in its history, too, which I’ve woven into the book – so many mysterious real-life goings-on. Fiordland is over a million hectares of wilderness – so remote and the landscape so rough that they say some parts of it, even today, have never felt the tread of a human foot. There are no houses, only 3 roads, very little cell coverage – the perfect place to set an adventure story.
What’s new for Nissa since the first book, Spark Hunter?
Nissa has been struggling a bit since the goings-on of Spark Hunter – it’s almost a year later and she misses the forest and all that the forest contains. The only person who knows the whole truth of what happened to her is her mate, Tama. When one of the mysterious forest creatures shows up sick and injured in the woodpile at her suburban house, she knows something is very, very wrong. Nissa has to return to Forest Common in Fiordland, and this time she takes Tama with her – to discover the great secret the forest sparks have been hiding for thousands of years, and to save the sparks and their home, before it is too late.
Like your character Nissa, did you grow up surrounded by nature?
I grew up in the deep south of New Zealand, in a city called Invercargill. (Population about 50 000 people), so relatively suburban. But we were surrounded by wilderness areas like Fiordland, the Catlins, Rakiura Stewart Island. I was lucky to grow up with family who was into boating and fishing, so we got out into the wild parts of the province quite a bit, and spent our holidays camping at lakes and rivers with plenty of forest around.
What are some of your key memories growing up? And have they informed your storytelling?
Those childhood summers camping around Fiordland are such precious memories – we had a lot of freedom to wander and explore – it really felt like the golden days. When I was 12 I went away on school camp for 4 days to Deep Cove in Doubtful Sound in Fiordland. I can still recall just about every moment of that camp – the landscape there, the stories of the early exploders, the wildlife, the remoteness of it all – it just thrilled me. I drew on all of that for Nissa’s story.
What can you tell us about the mysterious forest creatures in your book?
The mysterious forest creatures in my book are called sparks. (They don’t particularly like being called fairies, though they have some similar characteristics.) They are endemic to Fiordland and each is ‘kinned’ to one species of flora or fauna in the forest. They have hollow bones, insect-like wings, lights burning in their bellies, and individual looks and character traits depending on their kin species. They live in the farthest reaches of the forest and haven’t had much contact with humans for many, many years. They speak a forest language that sometimes sounds like rustling leaves or like river rapids, they also speak Māori and an old-fashioned, Victorian sort of English. (The way the early British explorers through Fiordland taught them, 250 years ago). And they are protecting a very, very big secret.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sonya is an award-winning novelist, journalist, television reporter, presenter and producer. She has a degree in Broadcasting Communications and has worked across a variety of platforms and programmes including TVNZ’s Breakfast, 1News, 20/20, Sunday and Q+A programmes.
She also has a Masters in Creative Writing with First Class Honours from the University of Auckland. Her first novel, Spark Hunter, has made several bestsellers and best-of lists since its release in October 2021. It won the NZSA Best First Book Award at the 2022 NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, a Storylines Notable Book Award 2022 and was shortlisted for the Esther Glen Junior Fiction prize.
Sonya also writes essays, reviews and opinion pieces for a variety of publications including North & South, Newsroom, Canvas and The Spin Off, and produces and presents the Bookland Presents: How to Love podcast series.
She is the founder and Chief Executive of the charity Kiwi Christmas Books (www.kiwichristmasbooks.org.nz) and is the co-director of a small film and television post-production company with her husband, colourist Pete Ritchie.
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