Hayley Mitchell

Tell us a little bit about yourself, your hobbies and interests.

When I’m not running around after my three boys and hyperactive border collie I teach at Primary level, specialising in Early Years and SEN. I try my best to live a balanced life-I eat enough chocolate to counter balance any yoga I do! If I do get time to myself, you’ll find me reading Greek Mythology, consuming entire tubes of salt and vinegar Pringles and rearranging my book shelves. As a family we love a games night and my kitchen cupboards contain significantly more board games than cooking appliances!

When and why did you start writing books?

I wrote my first book just after the birth of my first child. He didn’t sleep. I didn’t sleep. I wrote ‘Charlie Bear won’t go to sleep’. I have since written several children’s books, partly because I have a wild imagination to channel, partly because I have mum guilt and had to write books dedicate to my other boys when they came along. During lockdown I ventured into poetry as a cathartic exercise during a difficult time. I often write purely for self-expression and therapeutic purposes but occasionally my ramblings strike me as work putting into a book.

What made you decide to tackle writing as a career?

I don’t think writing is a career for me-yet. I had two dreams as a child, to be a teacher and to be a writer. I have been a teacher for half my life and now want to focus more on writing. As a child I think ‘writing’ meant journalism and a ‘proper job’. I never considered that writing stories could be a career, now that I’m older I realise that I want to do something I love, whether it is a career or not, I want to invest time in something I am passion about, so I now hope to invest more time in my writing.

Which one of your books or characters is your favourite?

Medusa! From Tragedy of Medusa. I’ve always been fascinated by the many different variations of her myth, so the opportunity to explore her story was one I genuinely felt exited about. Researching her myth and then trying to consider the motivations behind her actions was a great part of my writing process.

Which one of your books was the hardest to write and stretched you the most as a writer?

Prophecy of Achilles was my second verse novel. It’s difficult writing Greek myth in poetic form as I wouldn’t want to be thought of as a weak imitation of the classics-Homer, etc. I wanted to do something different but that retained that tragic beauty. I hope I’ve gone part way to achieving that with my efforts.

Who is your favourite author and book?

Eek-too hard! I love any Greek myth retelling so Madeline Miller, Pat Parker, Natalie Haynes, Jenifer Saint etc are amongst my favourites. I also love Stephen King and am slowly working my way through his books. If I had to pick a single book though… nope, can’t be done. I’ll give you my top three, Anne of Green Gables, Jane Eyre and Romeo and Juliet. How random am I?

What book are you reading right now?

For the Most Beautiful by Emily Hauser. Another Troy retelling and I am totally absorbed!

Where do you get your inspiration for your books?

My children’s books are inspired by my children. I love the suspended belief of writing children’s stories where anything can happen and I try to create the most unusual or magical scenarios I can in my picture books. With my adult books they are greatly inspired by mythology, the art of storytelling and the nature of humans to interpret our experiences through story.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

Sleeping! Life is exhausting and if I can fit in a quick nap I will. I do yoga daily, read any spare second I get and play with my boys.

Do you have any new books in the works?

I’m in the planning stage of my next myth retelling. It’s a dual perspective story and I am super excited about the potential of this one!