{"id":37,"date":"2010-04-14T12:03:31","date_gmt":"2010-04-14T12:03:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alisonreynolds.com.au\/wordpress\/?p=37"},"modified":"2011-09-05T19:20:39","modified_gmt":"2011-09-05T19:20:39","slug":"interview-with-alison-reynolds-and-sean-willmore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.alisonreynolds.com.au\/?p=37","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Alison Reynolds and Sean Willmore"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Ever wondered How do you become a ranger? Or How do you organise\u00a0 plotlines around the non-linear \u2018Decide-your-destiny\u2019 style of writing in Ranger in Danger? To find out read the interview with Alison Reynolds and Sean Willmore.<!--more--><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: left;\">Ranger in Danger Author Interview<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Lots of people have asked us how the Ranger in Danger books were  written, so we decided to interview the authors!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">If you have any other questions for the authors, write in to   <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n var prefix = '&#109;a' + 'i&#108;' + '&#116;o';\n var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '=';\n var addy22470 = 'p&#117;bl&#105;c&#105;ty' + '&#64;';\n addy22470 = addy22470 + 'f&#105;v&#101;m&#105;l&#101;' + '&#46;' + 'c&#111;m' + '&#46;' + '&#97;&#117;';\n document.write( '<a ' + path + '\\'' + prefix + ':' + addy22470 + '\\'>' );\n document.write( addy22470 );\n document.write( '<\\\/a>' );\n \/\/\\n \n\/\/ --&gt;\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><a href=\"mailto:publicity@fivemile.com.au\">publicity@fivemile.com.au<\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n document.write( '' );\n\/\/ ]]><\/script>This e-mail address is being  protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n document.write( '<\/' );\n document.write( 'span>' );\n\/\/ ]]><\/script> with the heading &#8216;Ranger in Danger Author Questions&#8217;  and the three\u00a0best questions each month will win an autographed copy of  the latest Ranger in Danger book!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>How did you come up with the series name \u2018Ranger in Danger\u2019?<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Sean:<\/strong> Because\u00a0it rhymes\u00a0and it\u2019s true.  Many\u00a0rangers\u00a0around the world face danger  in\u00a0protecting\u00a0endangered\u00a0species\u00a0and ecosystems. About a thousand  rangers have been killed in the last 15 years.<br \/>\n<strong>Alison:<\/strong> I think the series name arose after lots of  brainstorming by different people. It reflects the life of a ranger  perfectly. And the rhyme is very catchy.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Why did you decide to use the \u2018decide your destiny\u2019 format?<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Sean:<\/strong> It gives the reader the chance to see  the decisions made from the ranger\u2019s perspective and just as  in\u00a0life,\u00a0decisions you make have\u00a0consequences,\u00a0positive\u00a0and negative.<br \/>\n<strong>Alison:<\/strong> Sean thought up the &#8216;decide your destiny&#8217;  format. I&#8217;ve really enjoyed writing the series, as the choices made me  consider what I would do. I also think it gives the reader the power to  imagine what they would do if they were a ranger.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>You obviously make a very good team. How do you work together to  come up with plotlines, ideas, etc.?<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Sean:<\/strong> Generally I have some stories and  experiences from my travels and friends who are rangers overseas, Alison  and I discuss what would work, she writes it out, comes back to me, we  correct it until we&#8217;re happy and voil\u1ea3 \u00ad\u2212 RID<br \/>\n<strong>Alison:<\/strong> It&#8217;s a lot of fun writing the series together.  We work out a very vague outline, e.g. what problems a ranger faces in  the chosen area. Then Sean tells me about a real-life ranger,\u00a0some  stories,\u00a0and I\u00a0think \u2018what if?\u2019 Then I start writing and let my  imagination run wild. \u00a0When I get stuck I ask Sean what he would do if  he was hanging from a cliff, caught in wild river rapids\u00a0or something  else exciting, and together we work out a solution.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>How has writing Ranger in Danger changed your life?<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Sean:<\/strong> Well, we&#8217;ll see once the books really  start to get out there, but I\u2019ve got a new group  of\u00a0friends\u00a0in\u00a0Alison\u00a0and people at the publishing company \u2500 Five Mile.  Plus I got to think like a kid again!<br \/>\n<strong>Alison:<\/strong> I&#8217;ve written about topics I&#8217;ve never really  thought about. The series has got me thinking about the environment and  my part in it. I&#8217;m much more aware of rangers and what they do. Sean is  hopeful that learning about animals will one day cure my phobia of  snakes, but we&#8217;re not there yet. Like Sean, I&#8217;ve enjoyed making new  friends including him and the Five Mile crew.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Did the real ranger in each story have any say over the story?<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Sean:<\/strong> Yes, if there were things they didn&#8217;t  agree with, but generally they trusted me and said go for it.<br \/>\n<strong>Alison:<\/strong> Sean advised me about how a ranger would react  to different situations and liaised with the real-life rangers.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Who drew the illustrations?<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Sean:<\/strong> Andrew Hopgood. Great\u00a0front\u00a0covers!!  Love \u2019em<br \/>\n<strong>Alison:<\/strong> I love Andrew Hopgood&#8217;s illustrations too! All  the covers have been amazing but wait until you see Book 5 \u2212 Erik&#8217;s  Enigma. I&#8217;ve been constantly amazed by what Andrew&#8217;s been able to  illustrate: leaping leopards, charging rhinos\u2026 Andrew&#8217;s done it all.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>How do you organise your plotlines around the non-linear  \u2018Decide-your-destiny\u2019 style of writing in Ranger in Danger?<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Sean:<\/strong> We come up with the general story and  Alison asks me a lot of \u2018what would you do if&#8230;?\u2019 and then you can  choose from there.<br \/>\n<strong>Alison:<\/strong> I tend to start writing and see where it  leads.\u00a0I try to have choices every\u00a0few pages or so. Then I end up with a  huge spider web, so I draw it out on a huge piece of butcher&#8217;s paper to  check every strand has an ending. Sometimes they don&#8217;t, so I have to  give them one. Often I have an idea and write it up, then I have to find  somewhere to put it. That&#8217;s where the paper map comes in useful.\u00a0When I  can&#8217;t think of an ending, Sean always manages to help me out. I think  it helps that we\u00a0find the same things funny.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Which is your favourite Ranger in Danger character, and why?<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Sean:<\/strong> The reader who is the ranger in danger,  because they are learning and having an adventure along the way.<br \/>\n<strong>Alison:<\/strong> I really liked Coco in Book Two, <em>Hernando&#8217;s  Labyrinth<\/em> as he chose to change from the dark side to the side of  good in some versions. I always end up really liking all the real-life  rangers and feel as if I know them even though we&#8217;ve never met. And I  especially enjoyed writing King Cobra, the villain in Book 3, <em>King  Cobra&#8217;s Curse<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>When you first begin writing a new book for Ranger in Danger,  what are the first few things you think about to organise the plotline?  Characters? Different endings?<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Sean:<\/strong> Location, geography, animals, rangers\u2019  activities,\u00a0environmental\u00a0problems in\u00a0the\u00a0area.<br \/>\n<strong>Alison:<\/strong> This must be why Sean and I are a great team.  Apart from the location, I&#8217;m probably more focussed on the characters,  and what makes them act like they do. Sometimes I&#8217;ll think up an ending  with Sean, so I have to write the strand to get there.<br \/>\nSean supplies the ranger activities and environmental problems in the  area. But so he should! He&#8217;s the real life ranger!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>What do you like best about writing Ranger in Danger?<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Sean:<\/strong> Finishing them!! And honouring the  rangers around the world who do this work for real!<br \/>\n<strong>Alison:<\/strong> When I hold the finished book in my hand,  feeling as if I&#8217;ve really accomplished something to share with the  readers. I&#8217;ve also really enjoyed learning about animals, different  countries and rangers.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>How do you become a ranger?<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Sean:<\/strong> It\u2019s different for\u00a0different\u00a0areas, but  generally you go to university, study science and\u00a0environmental\u00a0science  and then get lot of\u00a0field\u00a0experience. There are\u00a0many\u00a0people who  would\u00a0like\u00a0to do the work, but really only some who are cut out for it.  You\u00a0have\u00a0to be very passionate about your work, the\u00a0environment\u00a0and  understand it\u2019s a life, not just a job!<br \/>\n<strong>Alison:<\/strong> I would suggest reading all the series, but  Sean will probably say that&#8217;s not good enough.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>What qualities do you need to become a good writer?<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Sean:<\/strong> Team up with Alison Reynolds\u00a0and\u00a0have\u00a0a  good imagination and life\u00a0experience\u00a0to draw from.<br \/>\n<strong>Alison:<\/strong> Practise, perseverance and an interest in  what&#8217;s happening around you.\u00a0Also team up with Sean Willmore so you get a  lot of plots!<\/p>\n<div class=\"sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled\"><div class=\"robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon-text sd-sharing\"><h3 class=\"sd-title\">Share this:<\/h3><div class=\"sd-content\"><ul><li class=\"share-facebook\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-facebook-37\" class=\"share-facebook sd-button share-icon\" href=\"http:\/\/www.alisonreynolds.com.au\/?p=37&amp;share=facebook\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-twitter\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-twitter-37\" class=\"share-twitter sd-button share-icon\" href=\"http:\/\/www.alisonreynolds.com.au\/?p=37&amp;share=twitter\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-email\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-email sd-button share-icon\" href=\"http:\/\/www.alisonreynolds.com.au\/?p=37&amp;share=email\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to email this to a friend\"><span>Email<\/span><\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#\" class=\"sharing-anchor sd-button share-more\"><span>More<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-end\"><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"sharing-hidden\"><div class=\"inner\" style=\"display: none;\"><ul><li class=\"share-print\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-print sd-button share-icon\" href=\"http:\/\/www.alisonreynolds.com.au\/?p=37\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to print\"><span>Print<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-linkedin\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-linkedin-37\" class=\"share-linkedin sd-button share-icon\" href=\"http:\/\/www.alisonreynolds.com.au\/?p=37&amp;share=linkedin\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on LinkedIn\"><span>LinkedIn<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-end\"><\/li><li class=\"share-end\"><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ever wondered How do you become a ranger? Or How do you organise\u00a0 plotlines around the non-linear \u2018Decide-your-destiny\u2019 style of writing in Ranger in Danger? To find out read the interview with Alison Reynolds and Sean Willmore.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled\"><div class=\"robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon-text sd-sharing\"><h3 class=\"sd-title\">Share this:<\/h3><div class=\"sd-content\"><ul><li class=\"share-facebook\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-facebook-37\" class=\"share-facebook sd-button share-icon\" href=\"http:\/\/www.alisonreynolds.com.au\/?p=37&amp;share=facebook\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-twitter\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-twitter-37\" class=\"share-twitter sd-button share-icon\" href=\"http:\/\/www.alisonreynolds.com.au\/?p=37&amp;share=twitter\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-email\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-email sd-button share-icon\" href=\"http:\/\/www.alisonreynolds.com.au\/?p=37&amp;share=email\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to email this to a friend\"><span>Email<\/span><\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#\" class=\"sharing-anchor sd-button share-more\"><span>More<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-end\"><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"sharing-hidden\"><div class=\"inner\" style=\"display: none;\"><ul><li class=\"share-print\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-print sd-button share-icon\" href=\"http:\/\/www.alisonreynolds.com.au\/?p=37\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to print\"><span>Print<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-linkedin\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-linkedin-37\" class=\"share-linkedin sd-button share-icon\" href=\"http:\/\/www.alisonreynolds.com.au\/?p=37&amp;share=linkedin\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on LinkedIn\"><span>LinkedIn<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-end\"><\/li><li class=\"share-end\"><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[9,6],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2BF8k-B","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.alisonreynolds.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.alisonreynolds.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.alisonreynolds.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.alisonreynolds.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.alisonreynolds.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"http:\/\/www.alisonreynolds.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":830,"href":"http:\/\/www.alisonreynolds.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37\/revisions\/830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.alisonreynolds.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.alisonreynolds.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.alisonreynolds.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}