Meet Danielle Binks

Meet Danielle Binks! Danielle chats with Lunch Lady about her new middle-grade book, Six Summers of Tash and Leopold.

What's the first book you remember reading and loving?

Oh gosh, I vividly remember being told the tale of Robin Hood and just becoming obsessed. Then, when I was really young, my mum and dad took us all around the United Kingdom. We specifically went to Nottingham and Sherwood Forest and did these tours because I was obsessed with Robin Hood—the story, the Disney movie (that fox!) and the books my parents read to me about his adventures. 

When did you realise you could write a compelling story?

I don't know exactly when story came into it, but I remember as a kid learning that I could get away with lying...fibbing...little white lies.

My grandmother would look after me and my cousin (who is a year older than me) while our parents worked. I remember the adrenaline rush of doing something we weren't meant to. And both of us somehow harmonising a white lie to avoid punishment.

Also, just the audacity of watching my cousin tell a lie to blame *me* for something (there was once an incident with spilled soup) and being *astounded* that it worked. I think that was my first introduction to "making stuff up," if I'm honest. 

The next leap came in primary school when Paul Jennings visited us and read from one of his forthcoming Round the Twist books at the height of the TV series! That was my first reality check that *people* write books. Actual human beings are responsible for books! 

Your latest book, Six Summers of Tash and Leopold, is for middle-grade kids. What was your experience in middle school?

I remember a lot of highs and lows, so many friendship dramas and fall-outs.

I remember my enjoyment of school itself really was predicated on whether or not I was getting along with some very mercurial friends I had. Those friends  seemed to switch it up on a whim; chummy with me one day, cold-shoulder the next. To the point that, even now, my mum will talk about "those girls," with such anger. Mum knew my emotional wellbeing was constantly in the clumsy hands of temperamental 8-year-olds.

I think that's partly why I can tap into the emotions of being that age: because I can still draw upon those very raw emotions and vividly remember how out-of-touch I felt, how adrift. Sometimes I honestly have stronger memories of my primary school days. I swear I can visualise the exact location of the Baby-Sitters Little Sister Ann M. Martin books on the shelves of our school library easier than I can recall what I had for dinner last night. 

What's your writing process like?

A lot of walking the dog, thinking about a story, procrastinating, reading a bunch of books to get me motivated (whether about a subject I intend to delve into or just tapping into that middle-grade voice with a collection of books from that readership across many genres) doing some research, and then a little bit more research because - procrastination. Beginning a very lowkey 'Doc1 Idea' Word document to start jotting down fragments of story or dialogue and then noticing when I'm visiting that document a lot more because the ideas are starting to solidify more. Until, eventually, I can spend a good couple of hours a day getting into the story. 

What helps you get in flow?

I find reading poetry really sharpens my syntax. Sometimes I'll seek out poetry that has the right emotional resonance for what I want to do. For middle grade, that's often the poetry of Gwen Harwood. Something like 'The Secret Life of Frogs'. It's just a good way to dip in and out of story worlds and sharpen my flow a bit without interrupting my own story that's trying to come out (which is why I'll sometimes go on a break from reading books at the height of my creativity, just to empty the brain out a little bit) but poetry is always there. 

What were some of the challenges of writing this book?

I was originally going to set it during 2020 and COVID lockdowns in Melbourne. Ha! That was actually the first draft I sent to my publisher and then the very next morning I woke up and sent her an email saying, "NO! I don't want to write a Covid book! I hate this!"... and she gave me three months to reconfigure that first draft.

So now the book mentions Covid as a past event in the book. The kids have some Covid hangover and vague memories of that time, which feels truer to how kids actually are now. 

Who is your favourite character in the book?

There's a school librarian called Mx. Chambers. 'Mx' because I envision them as gender non-binary, and 'Mx' is an alternative to common gendered honorifics such as Mr. and Ms.  

I loved writing this character⎯they're witty and kind, and of course, they are working one of those crucial roles in any school environment, librarian. They really understand the library as a collector of the school community's memory but also as a safe space for kids to hang out and be themselves, self-regulate, or grab some quiet. Thanks to their impeccable record-keeping, they're also crucial to unlocking an old neighbourhood mystery in the story.

What do you feel when you've finished writing a book?

Panic that it's not very good. And then resolute that it's only in editing that anything improves. Relief, that I'll have other people who can help me polish it and will tell me honestly if I've got something worth improving or not. Maybe a tiny bit of grief that my time with these characters is nearing its end.

What advice do you have for budding young writers?

Read everything. Read to figure out your voice and your tastes. Read to know where the goalposts are. Read because reading will teach you how to write and it will constantly remind you why you want to be a writer in the first place.

If you write crime, read romance⏤figure out how a story with a predictable ending can keep people on the edge of their seat and turning pages. Read poetry to learn the economy of words. Read science fiction to see themes writ large. Read fantasy for world-building 101. Read everything. 

What are you reading at the moment?

Middle-grade supernatural; How to Free a Jinn by Raidah Shah Idil! And it's *so good!*

What do you think are the ingredients of a good book?

All stories are the same; somebody wants something badly, and is having trouble getting it. But if you don't yet have that most basic question and response yet, then you don't have a story to begin. It's the hardest-easiest thing in the world to write a good book.

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Meet Danielle Binks is a post supported by the good folks at Hachette Publishing.

Follow Danielle or Hachette Publishing on Instagram. Read more about Six Summers of Tash and Leopold, or purchase Danielle's books.