By chance (or fate), I ran into local children’s author Eileen Hobbs (also known as Pat Wilson to many) at this year’s Easter Twilight Market event at The Well, being held for the second year at historic Campus Corner in Norman. Despite the heat, she looked fresh and enthusiastic as she engaged parents and children visiting her booth, where she was selling copies of her books and autographing them.
I bought one of her books for my great-nephew and we exchanged business cards.
Prior to sharing it with Liam, I read the book—The Heath Cousins and the Moonstone Cave, the first in a five-part series—in one easy sitting. Aimed at readers age 7-11, I found the characters, plot and writing all to be engaging.
Following are excerpts from my recent interview with Eileen Hobbs.
Q. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
A. I live in Norman but I grew up in Thailand, where my parents were missionaries. I taught at OU for about 15 years. I taught English composition to international students and English for exchange students. My husband, George, and I have two adult children—Andre, 29, and Ethan, 23—and three pets, Charlie, Sibby and Shylo. My husband is retired from Hitachi, where he was the president.
Q. As a child, were you a big reader? Did you like to write?
Yes! Such a huge reader. Nancy Drew, Cherry Ames, the Bobbsey Twins, early on; later, Agatha Christie, Georgette Heyer, C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia, Little Women. … I also loved National Geographic and dreamed of writing for that magazine.
And as far back as I can remember I filled up notebooks full of stories.
Q. When did you first start work on the Heath Cousins Series? Can you tell us a bit about the series?
A. I started the series when my kids and two of their cousins—Becca and Josh—were young and would play outside and imagine being in a fantasy world, and I thought what a cool book that would make. I didn’t finish it until about 10 years later. After the first one, the series came pretty easily.
The Heath Cousins and the Moonstone Cave is about brothers Jack, Beanie and Bodie and their cousin Addie B. (who lives with her parents in England). They have just lost their grandmother and are meeting at their grandfather’s cabin in Maine for the first time in several years. At first, they don’t get along, but they discover the Moonstone Cave, which takes them into The Garden of Choice, where they meet a woman named Gemma, who gives them each a stone that has a special power. They must use their stones to help each other and work together to get home. The rest of the books are gateways back to this magical land, where they must complete a mission, or help their friends.
Q. Have you published other fiction?
A. Besides my Heath Cousins Series, I wrote Under the Golden Rain Tree, about a little girl in Thailand who meets a magical white elephant. And my newest one, Stella and the Sea Stars, just came out. Both of these are illustrated by my friend and children’s book author/illustrator Carli Valentine.
Stella and the Sea Stars, my seventh book, is about a girl who goes to her grandmother’s on a tiny island in Florida for the summer while her parents deal with a divorce. Stella, with her new friends Bix and Nixie, learn about the history of the island and help to solve a mystery about a broken-down lighthouse. There’s also a treasure hunt in the story.
Q. What age range are your books aimed at?
A. Ages 7-11 for all except my new book. Stella and the Sea Stars is more for ages 8-12 because it deals with divorce.
Q. You say in your bio that your desire is to “write books that have diverse characters and that take readers to places they may not otherwise get to explore in real life.” Can you elaborate?
A. Both of my boys are adopted: one from Paraguay and one who is Native American. It’s important to me to have diverse characters in my books (like Lily in Under the Golden Rain Tree, who is a Thai girl, and the Native American grandmother in The Heath Cousins series), so kids from different backgrounds can relate. Also, Addie B. lives in England and several of my Heath Cousins books are based there and talk about the British Museum and other landmarks. Travel was such a big part of my life, but not all kids can go places so if they read my books they can “visit” other places like Thailand and get to know the culture better.
Q. What, not covered already, would you like readers to know about you?
A. I love doing school visits and sharing my books with kids, so if any elementary teachers or librarians out there want a visit in the fall, just contact me. I will usually visit for free or a very minimal cost. I especially like to visit schools that do not have regular author visits.
I write about what I love and what is interesting to me but I also like to write about things that kids go through. I talk about bullying in Under the Golden Rain Tree and about divorce in Stella and the Sea Stars. I have started a book about a Thai girl who was adopted and lives in a small town and how she always feels and looks different than her friends and family. It’s called Where the Orchids Grow. These issues are important but if they can be presented in an interesting or fun way, I think that’s good for kids.
Eileen’s books can be purchased on Amazon and are $11.99-$12.99. Also sold at Stash and The Lore bookstore in Norman. Follow Eileen on social media: EileenHobbsAuthor.com, on Facebook and on Instagram.
I write about what I love and what is interesting to me but I also like to write about things that kids go through.