Victoria Holmes, commonly referred to as Vicky, is a former[1] editor[2] of the New York Times bestselling Warriors books, written by Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry, and Tui Sutherland,[3] and published by HarperCollins.[4] She, along with Kate, Cherith, and Tui, write under the pseudonym "Erin Hunter",[5] While she was the main editor of Warriors for many years, she had chosen to step aside from working on the main arcs,[6] and has now fully retired from working on the Warriors series.[1]
Biography[]
- Victoria Holmes was born on July 17th, in Berkshire, England, and currently resides in London, England.[7]
- She grew up on a farm, learning how to ride horses and ponies at the age of two, and around that same age, she also enjoyed reading and writing stories of her own.[2] She studied English at the University of Oxford,[8] in Oxford, England,[9] where the beautiful ancient buildings and sense of tradition inspired her to have an interest in history.[2] After she finished at Oxford, she took a year off so that she could work with horses. After her year off, she became an English teacher.[10] She decided teaching wasn't for her anymore, and became an editor for Working Partners.[11]
- She was the editor of the Warriors series, where Vicky Holmes created the plots, then Kate and Cherith wrote the stories, though she often thought the writing process could be lonely.[12][13] Holmes was also in charge of maintaining series continuity and making sure that there's a consistent "voice" across the books.[2] She also was the person who wrote the Erin Hunter Author Tracker e-mails. She has thought of all the titles for the books and the pen name, Erin Hunter, too.[14] When she was younger, she was called "Mouse" by her friends and family, and, coincidentally, her name, according to the Official Site, is Mousepaw.
- She loves baking chocolate brownies, hanging out with her friends, planning to redecorate her house, playing with her nephews and niece, and thinking about new stories.[15] She also has said that anything that isn't man-made inspires her.[16] Also, Vicky, loves escaping into the English countryside whenever she can, to ride horses and walk her dog, Missy,[2] who sadly was put to rest on August 10th, 2015.[17]
- She announced in a note on Facebook after the release of Legends of the Clans that she is now retired from the Warriors series,[1] clarifying afterward that it was because she felt she'd written all of the Warriors stories inside her.[18]
- Vicky was diagnosed with cancer in 2017,[19] but hopes for a complete recovery, and is currently writing her own books part-time.[20]
Quotes[]
"I grew up on a farm and love all animals, including cats, but most especially dogs and horses. This comes in very handy when I need to send cats to a sticky end; I'd have a lot more trouble killing off a dog or a horse! I love being one of the Erins, and frequently dream of being a cat running through a forest when I am coming up with the new storylines. Teaming up with Kate and Cherith on the Warriors books is an unconventional way of working, but we love writing the books together and it means we can produce them much faster than a single writer could. We each have our favorite characters and ideas for what could happen next, which means the stories have three times as much energy and passion!"[21]
Other Books[]
Trivia[]
[]
Characters[]
- Vicky has said that Tigerstar's death was the most fun to write in the Warriors series.[25]
- Her favorite characters are Ravenpaw, Cloudtail, and Brambleclaw.[25] Her favorite RiverClan cat is Mistystar,[26] and her favorite villain is Scourge.[27]
- When asked about her least favorite character in the series, Vicky said that Firestar could be tedious to write about.[29]
- If she could be a Warriors character, she would be Ravenpaw, Squirrelflight, Leafpool,[25] or Cinderpelt.[30]
- Vicky was sad writing Cinderpelt's[31] and Feathertail's deaths.[32]
- She thinks Rowanclaw should have always been female.[25]
- She had an idea about bringing Midnight back as a villain, but her editor talked her out of it.[33]
- Her favorite shippings are Brambleclaw/Squirrelflight, Firestar/Sandstorm,[34] and Ravenpaw/Barley.[13]
- Her favorite character to write about was Squirrelflight.[30]
- Vicky was never pleased with how she incorporated Sol into the third arc and wishes she could redo his story.[13]
- Vicky always intended for Ravenpaw and Barley to be a couple but "but the books were written at a different time, when it was not possible to be open and honest about this kind of thing."[13]
Books[]
- Her favorite Warriors books are The Darkest Hour[25] and Bluestar's Prophecy.[35]
- She thinks the best book she has worked on is Bluestar's Prophecy.[31]
- Her favorite Warriors book to write was Firestar's Quest.[36]
- The only Dawn of the Clans book that Vicky was involved with is The Sun Trail, and she does not maintain the plotline for any subsequent books in that arc.[37] She is also not involved with the sixth arc of Warriors,[38] and says there is another team of editors that works with Kate and Cherith.[39] She worked only on the novellas[40] after Seekers finished,[41] but after the release of Legends of the Clans she announced that she would no longer be writing for the series,[1] stating that after Pinestar's Choice she felt that she'd written all of the Warriors stories inside her.[source?]
- Vicky does not read the current books.[42]
- When asked how long it takes to edit each manuscript, Vicky responded with, "it takes me about a month, often more, to come up with story lines, though I know roughly what's going to happen in every book before I start Book One of a new arc. It takes about a week to go through a first draft, and maybe a little longer for a second draft. Third drafts are much speedier because we're only ironing out tiny wrinkles by then."[34]
- If she could change anything in the series, Vicky would have renamed monsters to either "roundpaws" or "metalfaces". She also would have created a detailed character list and relationships for each Clan.[13]
- She considered Dawn as an ideal conclusion to the saga, and thought the franchise would end there before HarperCollins asked her for 3 more books.[43]
Other[]
- If she could be a cat, Vicky would be a RiverClan medicine cat named Mousewhisker.[13]
- She came up with the pen name, Erin Hunter,[14] so the books could be alphabetically close to Redwall, due to the author, Brian Jacques.[source?]
- If she could be a Clan cat, she would be in WindClan.[25]
- It takes Vicky about a month to come up with the storylines, and a week to go in with the drafts.[34][44]
- Vicky loves that anyone can read the Warriors books, which she thinks since she deals with topics such as death and religion, which appear far more in 'adult books' more frequently than in 'children's books'.[45]
- Her favorite Clan is ThunderClan, but she also likes RiverClan.[46] Her favorite half-Clan combination is WindClan and RiverClan.[47]
- The most common Warriors questions she gets asked frequently are "what would Ravenpaw's warrior name be?" and "what would Hollyleaf's power be if she were part of the Three instead of Dovewing?" Vicky replied that none were meant to be.[30]
- One of her favorite fan theories is that Snowkit survived the hawk and became Snowtuft, though Vicky stated the theory is not true.[13]
Miscellaneous[]
- She played the violin and the flute when she was younger.[48]
- She used to have a lot of cats when she was a child and they all lived in a barn.[49]
- She had a Staffordshire Bull Terrier called Missy.[49] She was unfortunately put to sleep on August 10th, 2015.[50]
- If Vicky could choose where she wanted to tour, she would choose Russia, Japan, and Finland, because she loves cold places.[51]
- Vicky will not go on tours in the US anymore.[52]
- Vicky says that there will be no more chats with her, Kate, and Cherith.[53]
- Vicky started to write professionally in 2001.[54]
- She has a black thoroughbred horse named Nick.[55]
See also[]
External links[]
- Vicky's Facebook[56]
- Who is Erin Hunter? on the Warriors official website (backup link)
- Author Profile: Vicky Holmes on the Warriors official website (backup link)
- Warriors Super Edition: A World Without Limits on the Warriors official website (backup link)
- Unexpected Storylines on the Warriors official website (backup link)
- The Tribe of Rushing Water on the Warriors official website (backup link)
- How the Clans began on the Warriors official website (backup link)
- Characters and Family Tree, or not on the Warriors official website (backup link)
- Marvellous Maps on the Warriors official website (backup link)
- Building a Religion on the Warriors official website (backup link)
- Erin Hunter reveal: Ten secrets from the Warrior Cats books on the Warriors official website (backup link)
- New exclusive Warrior Cats chapter by author Vicky Holmes on the Warriors official website (backup link)
- Warrior Cats short story competition: Enter here! on the Warriors official website (backup link)
- Warriors short story competition: a message from Vicky Holmes on the Warriors official website (backup link)
- Warrior Cats short story competition: winner announcements! on the Warriors official website (backup link)
- The Hidden Prophecy short story competition on the Warriors official website (backup link)
- The Hidden Prophecy short story competition: Enter here! on the Warriors official website (backup link)
- Short Story Competition Writing Tips on the Warriors official website (backup link)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Revealed on Vicky's Facebook (screenshot)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Revealed on an archived version of fantasybookreview.co.uk
- ↑ Revealed on warriorcats.com
- ↑ Revealed on warriorcats.com
- ↑ Revealed on warriorcats.com
- ↑ Revealed on Vicky's Facebook (screenshot)
- ↑ Revealed on januarymagazine.com
- ↑ Revealed on fantasybookreview.co.uk
- ↑ Revealed on gomapper.com
- ↑ Revealed on equitainment.com.au
- ↑ Revealed on equitainment?com.au
- ↑ Revealed on warriorcats.com
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 Revealed on Vicky's Facebook (screenshot)
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Revealed in Erin Hunter Chat 1
- ↑ Revealed in Erin Hunter Chat 4
- ↑ Revealed on januarymagazine.blogspot.com
- ↑ Revealed on Vicky's Facebook (screenshot)
- ↑ Revealed on Vicky's Facebook (screenshot)
- ↑ Revealed on Vicky's Facebook (screenshot)
- ↑ Revealed on Vicky's Facebook
- ↑ Revealed on warriorcats.com (backup link)
- ↑ Revealed on equitainment.com.au
- ↑ Revealed on equitainment.com.au
- ↑ Revealed on equitainment.com.au
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 25.4 25.5 Revealed in Erin Hunter Chat 2
- ↑ Revealed on her Facebook (screenshot)
- ↑ Revealed on her Facebook (screenshot)
- ↑ Revealed in Erin Hunter Chat 6
- ↑ Revealed on her Facebook (screenshot)
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 Erin Hunter video special: Exclusive anniversary interview on the Warriors official website (backup link)
- ↑ 31.0 31.1 Revealed in Erin Hunter Answers Your Questions Summer 2011
- ↑ Revealed on Vicky's Facebook (screenshot)
- ↑ Revealed on the Official Forums
- ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 Revealed in Erin Hunter Chat 3
- ↑ Revealed on her Facebook (screenshot)
- ↑ Revealed on her Facebook (screenshot)
- ↑ Revealed on Vicky's Facebook (screenshot)
- ↑ Revealed on Vicky's Facebook (screenshot)
- ↑ Revealed on Vicky's Facebook (screenshot)
- ↑ Revealed on Vicky's Facebook
- ↑ Revealed on Vicky's Facebook (screenshot)
- ↑ Revealed on her Facebook (screenshot)
- ↑ Unexpected Storylines on the Warriors official website
- ↑ Description revealed on Vicky's Facebook
- ↑ Revealed in the Erin Hunter Answers Your Questions Summer 2011
- ↑ Revealed on her Facebook (screenshot)
- ↑ Revealed on her Facebook (screenshot)
- ↑ Revealed on the Official Forum
- ↑ 49.0 49.1 Revealed on the Official Forum
- ↑ Revealed on Vicky's Facebook (screenshot)
- ↑ Revealed on the Official Forum.
- ↑ Revealed on Vicky's Facebook
- ↑ Revealed on Vicky's Facebook
- ↑ Revealed on Vicky's Facebook (screenshot)
- ↑ Revealed on Vicky's Facebook (screenshot)
- ↑ Vicky's Facebook