H M WAUGH’s latest novel, The Surface Trials, is set on an alien planet where, under the watch of a galaxy-wide TV audience, Ammy Antares and her fellow competitors must complete a challenging quest to gain entry into an elite interplanetary academy. Read on for a Q&A.
What are you reading now?
I’m reading the latest in the ‘Crookhaven’ series by J J Arcanjo, and having so much fun.
If you were stranded on a desert island and you could only have five books – what would they be?
Only five books? That’s terrible! Okay, here goes:
- The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. All of them. In one big volume. It’s not cheating! I legitimately used to own a version like this.
- The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper. This series was my first love, and this book is a masterclass in rising tension. It’s got to be there with me.
- We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faisal. This beautiful book takes you on a vivid journey. And it might also help me survive the desert part of my stranding!
- The Isles of the Gods by Amie Kaufman. Because if I escape my island I don’t know how to survive on the open seas … but Selly sure does.
- And finally, an epic survival guide with at least one chapter about desert islands, a decent variety of recipes involving coconut, and a full print out of the Morse code .
Where is your favourite place to read?
On my comfy chair looking out on the garden, with my dog sleeping beside me and a cup of tea.
Do you read one book at a time or multiple?
Only one at a time. I don’t know how others manage to read multiples!
Do you use a bookmark or fold the corners of pages?
I am a definite bookmark person. There’s no folding my books! I love my bookmarks pretty or bright or funny, but I’m not fussy. At the moment, I’m using some cardboard from a chocolate box.
What sparked the idea for your novel The Surface Trials?
The Surface Trials began as two separate ideas. I thought both were cool, but neither were solid enough to write so I just kept brainstorming each of them. One day I was watching a group of kids going through testing for high school placements, and the idea of televised trials to enter an elite school came to me. Immediately, in a delirious rush, all three ideas combined into one amazing concept packed with so many things I adored – like hidden ‘royalty’, dangerous unknown planets, outlawed mind powers, ancient ruins, escape room-like clues, constant surveillance, and the epic sort of worldbuilding only weird science could inspire – and I knew I had something worth writing.
What are some of the biggest challenges Amethyst and her squad will face while competing in the surface trials?
They’re focused on showing Starquest Academy, and all the watching worlds, that they have what it takes. This means staying on the surface, solving all the clues, and getting to the extraction point by the end of the third day. To succeed they need to get along with their squad mates …or at least pretend they do for the cameras, because lack of teamwork will see them eliminated. It won’t be simple – there are carnivorous plants on this planet big enough to eat a human, not to mention the dangerous giant insectoids the plants evolved alongside. The clues aren’t easy to find, rations are limited, and each squad is made up of complete strangers. Making it through will be a huge challenge.
Except it doesn’t take long before they start to realise their biggest challenge might just be staying alive, because these fiftieth Surface Trials aren’t playing out like all the others…
How did you go about creating the alien plant of your novel?
I love to mash up science and imagination to create believable worlds with a depth of interest and danger. I love worldbuilding and could write about it all day, but I’ll restrain myself and only talk about two key aspects that inspired the planet Ammy and her squad are sent to.
Firstly: Minecraft. I play very badly, having recently tried to beat a Trial Chamber by fighting with a loaf of bread instead of my sword! Minecraft worlds have many biomes. They’re all quite distinct, and the change from one to the next is often very abrupt. It makes it so much fun to explore! I challenged myself to make a planet with this much interest and diversity in its natural environment. And that then made me think … What might cause these sharp borders? Could it be related to some sort of long-lost civilisation? Or some other scientific reason?
Secondly, I got inspired by my local environment. Here in the southwest of Western Australia our soils are really really really old. So our plants have adapted to try and gain extra nutrients, including lots of varieties of intricate and alien-looking carnivorous plants. I was walking part of the long-distance Bibbulmun Track when I started to get fixated on these plants. There was such diversity in the ways they lured and captured their prey. And I got to thinking (as you do on a long walk) what if these plants were big enough to trap humans?
What book character would you be, and why?
Sophie from Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger. Because of the food. Okay, yes, a little bit because of all the sparkles, a little bit because of the cool powers. But mainly the food. Ripplefluffs, mallowmelts, butterblasts…Yum.
If you could meet one author (living or dead) – who would it be and why?
Anne McCaffrey. She blazed a trail for women in science fiction, both as writers and readers. Her worlds are so intricate and multilayered and real, they’re simply beautiful examples of worldbuilding. Her ‘Dragonriders of Pern’ series was a favourite of mine as a teenager; I know that planet about as well as our own! Her writing journey wasn’t always easy or smooth, but she kept dreaming and writing. I’d love to brew a pot of tea with her and talk Pern and dragons and the joy of imagination.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
H M Waugh is a children’s author, educator and environmental scientist with a long-term love of wild places and outdoor adventures. She has been kidnapped twice, handled dragons for a job, and dreams of one day blasting into space. Her books mix humour, danger and friendship with a dash of science and imagination.
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