New2theScene
Victoria Williamson
Victoria Williamson
Victoria Williamson is an award-winning author from Glasgow, Scotland, who has worked as an educator in a number of different countries, including as an English teacher in China, a secondary school science teacher in Cameroon, a teacher trainer in Malawi, and an additional support needs teacher in the UK.
Victoria currently works part time writing KS2 books for the education company Twinkl and spends the rest of her time writing novels for children and adults, visiting schools, libraries and literary festivals to give author talks, and running creative writing workshops. When not writing or talking about books, she’s often to be found up to her knees in mud on an archaeological dig or tangled up in a ball of wool playing with a crochet hook.
1. Why do you write novels?
I write novels primarily because I love making up stories about other people, other places, other times, and even other worlds. I was obsessed by books from a young age, and read anything I could get my hands on. I was forever coming up with new plotlines for my favourite books, films and TV shows, so my earliest works were part retellings of familiar fairytales, and part fan fiction. I don’t remember a time when my imagination wasn’t busy dreaming up adventures to go on and mysteries to solve, so the only time I can remember not writing stories was before the age of five when I didn’t know how to write things down!
2. Who inspired you?
My parents played the biggest role in turning me into a writer. My parents took my brothers and me to the library every week when we were young, and stories were a huge part of my childhood. My mother used to read to us every night, putting on voices for all of the characters, from Bilbo Baggins and Winnie the Pooh, to Mr Toad from Wind in the Willows and Miss Trunchbull from Matilda. It was like going to the theatre every night, and it made sure there were never any arguments about bedtime, as we were always keen to get to bed to hear the next chapter! Although my father wasn’t keen on reading aloud, he played another important role in my love of books, which was reading a huge amount himself, and talking to me about books all the time. I learned from him that books weren’t just for children, and that reading could be an adult hobby and a lifelong passion.
3. What’s the essence of your style? The part, if removed, is not your voice anymore?
That’s a difficult one, as I write in so many different styles. I write first person contemporary-issue books from the perspective of children and young teens struggling with real-life problems; I write historical novels that involve a lot of research to get the historical details correct; I write fantasy novels with made-up worlds and made-up creatures; and I write science fiction novels set in dystopian and alternative futures. I would argue that it’s not the ‘voice’ of the author that should shine through books, but the voice of the main character. I think if the voice of the main character is relatable and engaging, then that’s what draws a reader into a story, not the unique writing style of the author themselves. With the possibility of books being written by AI just around the corner, then author writing styles might be replicated in the future, but it’s the unique voice of characters in each individual book that will make them hard to copy.
4. What was your dance-around-the-kitchen moment in writing?
Signing a contract for my debut novel was a big moment. It meant I was finally going to get a book published and see it on bookshop and library shelves, and that felt like the moment when the dream of being an author became a reality. I might have danced around the kitchen at that point. Badly. But don’t tell anyone.
5. What do you want to accomplish in your writing career?
I don’t have dreams of superstardom or making huge amounts of money. What I would like, is for my books to be read and enjoyed by children long after I’m gone, and hopefully to inspire a few of them to write their own stories and become authors themselves when they’re older.
6. Can you ever envisage not writing novels - running out of ideas or energy?
As an author I can imagine alien life on strange new planets, parallel universes where the laws of physics are completely different, and other possible histories that create alternative versions of our present world. But I can’t image ever running out of ideas or the energy to write. That’s completely beyond me!
7. What advice would you give to your younger self?
Don’t write in a vacuum. I always thought that creativity involved someone shutting themselves away for months to emerge at the end with a finished masterpiece. It took me a long time to realise that other people’s input and creative energy can make all the difference to a novel, so if I could go back in time, I’d advise my younger self to join writing groups, get involved in critique sessions, and learn from other writers.
8. Away from writing, what are your passions, and what do they mean to you?
I love learning about new cultures, and have spent years working and travelling overseas in Africa, China, America and other parts of the world. Four of those years were spent teaching with VSO, and I try to keep involved in charity work – I’m currently volunteering as Patron of Reading and a trustee for CharChar Literacy, an education organisation which promotes phonics education in Malawi in order to raise children’s literacy levels. I’ve always been a total nerd when it comes to studying, so I’m always doing courses or a degree in something or other. At the moment I’m knee deep in history and archaeology, and have been enjoying getting out and about on digs with Archaeology Scotland. I love to craft and make things, and I’m usually to be found with a crochet hook in one hand and a ball of wool in the other!
9. How would your best friend describe you?
That would depend on whether they were being polite or honest. If they were being polite, they’d probably describe me as endlessly curious, always on the lookout for the next adventure, and hopelessly nerdy. I’m not going to repeat what they’d say about me if they were being honest!
10. What’s a significant question to ask you, that no other interview has to date, and what’s the answer, only for New2theScene?
Which ThunderCat would you be, and why? I was obsessed with the ThunderCats when I was eight. My friends and I had our own ThunderCats club where we spent whole afternoons designing gadgets like spaceboards, our ideal Cat’s Lair, and how we’d defeat Mumm Ra the Ever-living in battle. I’m not actually going to tell you which of the ThunderCats I was, though. I’m going to let readers guess!
Norah's Ark
Norah's Ark is an uplifting tale of empathy, friendship, and finding a sense of belonging in the face of adversity.
Norah Day lives in temporary accommodation, relies on food banks for dinner, and doesn’t have a mum. But she’s happy enough with her dad and a mini zoo of rescued wildlife to care for. Adam Sinclair lives with his parents in a nice house with a private tutor and everything he could ever want. But his life isn’t perfect―far from it. He’s stuck at home recovering from cancer with an overprotective mum and no friends.
When a nest of baby birds brings them together as an animal rescue team, Adam and Norah discover they’re not so different after all. Can they solve the mystery of Norah’s missing mother together? And can their teamwork save their zoo of rescued animals from the rising flood?
Victoria Williamson is donating 20% of her royalties to the UK homelessness charities, Shelter and Shelter Scotland.
Feast of Ashes
Award-winning author Victoria Williamson marks her debut into YA fiction with this explosive dystopian survival story.
It's the year 2123, and 16-year-old Adina has just accidentally killed 14,756 people. Raised in the eco-bubble of Eden Five, Adina has always believed that the Amonston Corporation’s giant greenhouse would keep her safe forever. But when her own careless mistake leads to an explosion that incinerates Eden Five, she and a small group of survivors must brave the barren wastelands outside the ruined Dome to reach the Sanctuary before their biofilters give out and their DNA threatens to mutate in the toxic air.
They soon discover that the outside isn’t as deserted as they were made to believe, and the truth is unearthed on their dangerous expedition. As time runs out, Adina must tackle her guilty conscience and find the courage to get everyone to safety. Will she make it alive, or will the Nomalies get to her first?
Victoria Williamson is donating 20% of her author royalties to CharChar Literacy, a charity that aims to improve literacy rates in Malawi.
The Whistlers in the Dark
Scotland, 158 AD, is a divided country. On one side of the Antonine wall, thirteen-year-old Felix is trying to become a good Roman soldier like his father. On the other, twelve-year old Jinny is vowing revenge on the ‘metal men’ who have invaded her Damnonii tribe’s homeland. At the Damnonii’s sacred circle of standing stones, her planned attack on Felix goes badly wrong, awakening a legend that threatens to bring fire and destruction down on them all. Can Jinny and Felix overcome their differences and soothe the stones back to sleep before it’s too late?
For readers aged 9-15
The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams
In a strange little village called Witchetty Hollow, eleven-year-old Florizel is the first to run into the curious visitors who’ve come to open a brand-new Daydream Delicatessen and sack-baby factory. At first, the poor folk of the Hollow are delighted – after all, who has the money to rent a real child from Storkhouse Services these days? But soon the daydreams turn sour. The Delicatessen’s products are expensive, and villagers trading their worldly goods in the newly-opened Pawnshop begin to disappear. With no money for rent payments, the real children of Witchetty Hollow are being reclaimed by Storkhouse Services at an alarming rate. Can Florizel and sack-boy Burble stop the daydream thieves’ evil business before it’s too late to save the Hollow?
War of the Wind
An action-packed eco-thriller for 11+ readers from award-winning children's author, Victoria Williamson.
On a remote Scottish island, fourteen-year-old Max’s life changes forever when he loses his hearing in a boating accident. Struggling to make sense of his new life and finding it hard to adapt in school, he begins to notice other - even stranger - changes taking place when a new wind farm appears off the island’s coast.
With the help of three school friends with additional support needs, Max discovers that a sinister scientist, Doctor Ashwood, is using wind turbines to experiment on the islanders. They must find a way to shut down the government’s secret test before it spins out of control…
Hag Storm
The witches are gathering...
12-year-old Rab spends all of his time doing backbreaking work on his family’s farm instead of attending school, but when he finds a hag stone in one of the fields, everything changes.
Looking through its circular hole, he sees witches gathering in a coming storm, and they’ve set their sights on his family. Can Rab save his sisters from the clutches of the witches’ coven before their Halloween ceremony in the old kirk?
Filled with mystery and magic, Hag Storm is a spooky, historical adventure with a supernatural twist, based on the life of Robert Burns and one of his most famous and best-loved poems, Tam O’Shanter.
The Boy with the Butterfly Mind
Part of the Kelpies series
Jamie Lee wants to be normal. But his ADHD makes him feel like his brain is full of butterflies.
Elin Watts wants to be perfect. If she can be, surely her dad will come home.
When Jamie and Elin's families blend, the polar opposites of chaotic Jamie and ordered Elin collide. As their lives spiral out of control, Jamie and Elin discover that they're actually more alike than they'd admit. Maybe there's no such thing as normal, or perfect. And perhaps, just like families, happy-ever-afters come in all shapes and sizes.
Uplifting and moving, The Boy with the Butterfly Mind is an inspiring story of acceptance, blended families, and discovering that in the end, being yourself is more than enough.
The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle
Part of the Kelpies series
Reema runs to remember the life she left behind in Syria.
Caylin runs to find what she's lost.
Under the grey Glasgow skies, twelve-year-old refugee Reema is struggling to find her place in a new country, with a new language and without her brother. But she isn't the only one feeling lost. Her Glasgwegian neighbour Caylin is lonely and lashing out.
When they discover an injured fox and her cubs hiding on their estate, the girls form a wary friendship. And they are more alike than they could have imagined: they both love to run. As Reema and Caylin learn to believe again, in themselves and in others, they find friendship, freedom and the discovery that home isn't a place, it's the people you love.
Heartfelt and full of hope, The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle is an uplifting story about the power of friendship and belonging. Inspired by her work with young asylum seekers, debut novelist Victoria Williamson's stunning story of displacement and discovery will speak to anyone who has ever asked 'where do I belong?'