Shameless Memory

Yeah, my memory is less shameless and more shameful these days. I totally forgot to post these lovely updates last weekend! Although I think you'll all cut me some slack. In addition to moving into a new house (tomorrow) I'm in the home stretch of one of the craziest deadlines of my writing career (writing and editing a complete draft of my next book in 8 weeks...) So yeah, my brain is mush.

But enough about me!!!

First up, the very lovely Dawn Metcalf has a new book deal to announce!

Natashya Wilson at Harlequin Teen has bought INVIOLATE and INVINCIBLE by Dawn Metcalf, the third and fourth titles in the Twixt series for teens. The books will continue the story of a girl who is accidentally marked by a mysterious boy to whom she becomes indelibly bound, finding herself caught between the world of the Folk and the world of humans. Publication is scheduled for summer 2015 and summer 2016; Sarah Davies of the Greenhouse Literary Agency brokered the deal for world rights.

How awesome is that? You can read more about Dawn's new books, along with her experiences finding a new agent, and having two books pushed back several months, over at her blog.

Meanwhile, THE SHADOW THRONE, the final book of the Ascendance trilogy by Jennifer Nielsen, is in stores now! Kirkus says, "From one cliffhanging episode to the next, wily Jaron’s rebellious, undisciplined spirit carries the day as he battles to save everything he holds dear." I know all of Jennifer's fans have been waiting with bated breath for this finale. I know I have!

So that's it for this week. I'll actually be back next week with another set of updates...as long as I survive all the chaos. Ciao!

INTERVIEW WITH JENNIFER NIELSEN AUTHOR OF BEHIND ENEMY LINES!

Jennifer Nielsen is the author of BEHIND ENEMY LINES, the sixth book in THE INFINITY RING SERIES: (From Scholastic’s press release 12/20/11)  History is broken, and a long-feared Cataclysm seems imminent. The capital of the United States is Boston. Lincoln’s face is nowhere to be seen on Mount Rushmore. Everyone’s buzzing about the French royal wedding. And an international group of men and women known as the SQ is more powerful than kings, richer than nations, and more fearsome than armies. When best friends Dak Smyth and Sera Froste stumble upon the key to time travel – a hand-held device known as the Infinity Ring – they’re swept up in a centuries-long secret war for the fate of mankind. Recruited by the Hystorians, a secret society that dates back to Aristotle, the kids learn that history has gone completely, and disastrously, off-course. Now it’s up to Dak, Sera, and teenage Hystorian-in-training Riq to travel back in time to fix the “Great Breaks”… and to save Dak’s missing parents while they’re at it. 

From the Goodreads Summary of Book Six: BEHIND ENEMY LINES:

Fix the past. Save the future.
Dak, Sera, and Riq involve themselves in one of the most bizarre spy missions in history . . . and the outcome of World War II hangs in the balance.

And now, it is my great pleasure to introduce fellow inkpot member, and one of my favorite authors, Jennifer Nielsen!

I really enjoyed BEHIND ENEMY LINES, Jennifer, and the fascinating history behind it! I had never heard of Operation Mincemeat before.  Can you tell us more about it?

I think this is one of the great spy stories of all time, possibly because the idea was conceived by one of the greatest spy novelists, Ian Fleming (creator of James Bond), who was then working in Britain’s spy department. Fleming’s idea was to get a dead body, give him a fake background as a military officer, plant fake battle plans on him, and then get him into Germany’s hands. Which is a great idea…for a novel. Once you get into the practicality of actually pulling this off, it becomes much more difficult. Where do you find a body (with no discernable cause of death so that you can insert your own “fake” cause, unknown to the world in case of a background check, and at the right age for an officer)? How do you build the backstory for his life, including the last few days of his fake life? And how to you get him into enemy hands while all the time trying to make it look as if you’re trying to keep that body out of enemy hands? Operation Mincemeat was incredibly risky for the allies. If we succeeded, we had a chance of winning the war, but if we failed, it could have been our last stand.

That is a great spy story! When you think about all of the different pieces, as you point out, it’s amazing that it actually worked!  THE FALSE PRINCE and THE RUNAWAY KING are two of my favorite books, and I’m sure that your fans will love this book, too, which is also filled with suspense, intrigue, and people who are not always what they seem. Is that what drew you to this particular story in the series?

I think I’m drawn to dangerous stories, and characters who are willing to risk everything for the things they believe in. In THE INFINITY RING, these characters are already dealing with a lot – one with missing parents, another with parents who might not be who they seemed, and the third who must come to terms with what this changed history will mean to his own life. But on top of this, in BEHIND ENEMY LINES, they also come to the realization that not succeeding will mean the end of freedom in the modern world.

That is one of the things that I love about the INFINITY RING SERIES, the books really makes history come alive. So many times, kids memorize dates and important people and battles, but they don’t really understand how important the past is to the present, and to the future.  Have you always been interested in history?

I actually minored in history in college (though I confess, it was largely because I had taken so many AP history classes in high school that it only required two more classes to get the minor), and as an adult I enjoy it even more. The better I come to understand history, the more I understand today’s world, and can predict tomorrow’s. As I see the world repeating mistakes of the past, I wish kids were taught more of history, so that we could avoid the pitfalls of our ancestors.

I agree entirely. I've noticed that some of my kids teachers are assigning historical fiction as part of the curriculum. It’s a great way to make history – and the lessons it teaches us -- more real.  Although this is a great historical time-travel story, my favorite thing about the book is the friendship between Dak, Sera and Riq. Since the series is written by six different amazingly talented authors, was it challenging for you to write a book where the characters were already developed?

All of the Infinity Ring authors met together very early in the process and discussed what we would like to see happen for the overall story arc. Part of that included our collective wishes for the relationships between these characters. Dak and Sera were already best friends, and we liked the idea of testing that relationship. As the newcomer, Riq already felt on the outside, and he and Dak were competitive from the start. I love the way they gradually come to trust and rely on each other – even if neither of them will admit it aloud, it’s a great friendship. I think that as fun and adventurous as this plot is, the bottom line for all readers is we want to get to know great characters.

That must have been such an interesting process! Dak and Riq do have a great relationship. Even though you all collaborated from the beginning, as I read this book I thought Yes! This is a Jennifer Nielsen book – it’s fast paced, with plenty of twists and turns, and snappy dialogue. Did you find yourself running into ideas by one of the other authors?

Because we had all formed the overall character arc together, there wasn't really a problem of running over anyone else’s ideas. Each author coming up the line was very communicative to the later authors about their plans. In fact, one of my favorite parts of this process was getting to work with these other creative, talented writers, and have the privilege of picking up their story threads to continue them in my book.

What are you working on now?

The third book of the Ascendance series, THE SHADOW THRONE, will release in February (I’m so excited for that!). I've also started work on my next series, called THE PRAETOR WAR, which involves an escaped Roman slave, some stolen magic, and a fight to prevent the fall of Ancient Rome. It’s epic in scale and will take readers through all the best parts of that great civilization. I hope that by the time people finish the series, they will feel as if they have stepped back from actually being there.

I can’t wait for THE SHADOW THRONE! And THE PRAETOR WAR series sounds fantastic!  Ancient Rome is such a fascinating time period – I’m really looking forward to reading it! Speaking of stepping back in time, if you could go back in history and change one thing – what would it be?

There are so many great tragedies in history, so many senseless deaths from bad choices, evildoers, or simple mistakes. One of the issues we had to deal with in the Infinity Ring series is, if the kids are holding this time travel device, why don’t they go back and fix these tragedies? Why not stop Hitler as a baby, warn the Titanic before it sets sail, foil the assassinations of Lincoln or Kennedy, or use our knowledge of the past to make things right? But what we decided is that with all its good and bad, history unfolds as it should. Fixing one tragedy may only spawn another, like a butterfly effect. That’s only theory, of course. I would like to think that in any time in which I found myself, I would try to make the world the best place it can be. I would hope that’s what I do now, in my own time.

And now, a few questions for our readers to get to know you better!

Favorite Book: Too many from which to choose. But the most important book in my history is THE OUTSIDERS by S.E. Hinton. It’s the book that first got me writing.

Favorite Quote: “A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because her trust is not on the branch, but in her own wings. Always believe in yourself.” – Author Unknown

Favorite Food: Sweet and Sour anything (well, not anything, but you get the idea)

Favorite Ice Cream: Peppermint Stick

Favorite Place: Home 

Thanks so much, Jennifer!

Jennifer Nielsen's book, THE FALSE PRINCE was number 2 on YALSA's Teen Top Ten list, and the second book in that series, THE RUNAWAY KING, has been nominated for Goodreads' Best of 2013 in the category of Middle Grade and Children's. If you want to see all the other nominees (or cast a vote), you can look here:  https://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-childrens-books-2013)

The Stork Brought Shamelessness!

Our first announcement has nothing to do with publishing.  Kate Milford has a new debut, only it's not a book.  She has a new addition to the family, not the bookshelf.  She welcomed Griffin Walter Milford to the family on June 13th.  Yay!  A new (potential) Inkie!!!

We have another launch, of the more tradition book variety.  P.J. Hoover's SOLSTICE hit shelves this month, and she has a blow out party to celebrate!  Man, I wish I could have been there.

And in just five short weeks, we have another Inkie book launch: Dawn Metcalf's INDELIBLE!  For now, we have this amazing trailer:

In celebration, Dawn is running a battery of contests including a giveaway of an annotated, cartoon illustrated copy of Indelible arc to celebrate the book trailer launch, a Show Me Your Ink contest for temp tattoos and downloadbale surprise, and Win A Shiny Copy of Indelible contest.  Not enough?  Well, there's also a Goodreads Giveaway going on via Harlequin Teen.

In addition to all the wonderful Inkie books out there, we've had another just announced! From Publisher's Marketplace:

Martina Boone¹s Southern gothic trilogy‹with a dash of magic‹following Barrie, a teen sent to live with her dead mother¹s twin on a decaying plantation where she discovers a centuries-old feud and dark secrets that require making peace with the local spirits, who may not be as welcoming as the sunlit boy who steals Barrie's heart, to Annette Pollert at Simon Pulse in a pre-empt by Kent Wolf at Lippincott Massie McQuilkin (World).

YAY MARTINA!!! To celebrate, she's got her Friday Giveaway over at Adventures in YA & Children's Publishing, so be sure to check it out!

No joke, we've got a metric ton of book cover reveals today!  Let's start with Leah Cypess's DEATHSWORN!

RIGHT?  HOW AWESOME IS THAT?????

And if her awesome new cover isn't enough, her Nightspell prequel e-novella, BURIED ABOVE GROUND will be published on July 2 by HarperImpulse, selling for $1.99 on all platforms.''

Here's the summary from the publisher:

"In the kingdom of Ghostland, every murdered soul comes back as a ghost, and every ghost has only one desire—vengeance. Emilie had everything she’d ever wanted—beautiful dresses, a perfectly decorated room, a party every night, and the eye of a nobleman. But then she’s killed. And now she’ll stop at nothing to find out who did it. No one in the palace of Ghostland is above suspicion—not even the people closest to her. This haunting fantasy novella is filled with supernatural thrills and surprising plot twists.

HarperTeen Impulse is a digital imprint focused on young adult short stories and novellas, with new releases the first Tuesday of each month.

And we have YET ANOTHER cover reveal!  It's for THE SHADOW THRONE, the third book in Jennifer Nielsen's acclaimed Ascendance series, on sale March 1, 2014!

Speaking of the Ascendance series, THE FALSE PRINCE, Book 1in the series, is a finalist for YALSA's Teen Top Ten List. Voting will take place this fall.  Also, James Patterson lists THE FALSE PRINCE as one of his summer reading recommendations for Barnes & Noble.  How cool is that?

Adding to the list of "things that are cool," Nancy Holder also has a new story out in the world, this time in THE LIVING DEAD anthology from Orbit, UK.

Here's how she described her story to me:

Zombie gets crucified during the Oberammergau Passion Play. God is displeased. Black Plague ensues.

Must read. Must read now.

Phew, I think that's it!  What a wacky week of wondefulness, yes?  Yes.

Spring Shameless Awakening!

Spring has sprung!  Well, here in sunny Los Angeles at least. I think part of the country is still snowed in.

Sorry about that.

But if your skies are grey and you snow shovel still in use, you can still bask in the glory of our shamelessness!!!!

Jennifer Nielsen is back with a couple of awesomes for this week's shameless post:

1. THE FALSE PRINCE is an Honor Book for the 2013 E.B. White Read-Aloud Award.
2. It has also been nominated as a Global Read Aloud Book for 2013, and we'd all appreciate it if you'd hit that link and go vote for THE FALSE PRINCE!!!

Dawn Metcalf is having an exclusive arc giveaway for YA Book Bloggers in her "I ♥ Book Bloggers!" Giveaway featuring a signed INDELIBLE arc & swag! Information on her blog at http://dawn-metcalf.livejournal.com/151937.html, official form at http://bit.ly/10NimUz.

If you're really going winter weather stir crazy, maybe you should book a trip to Los Angeles this summer?  The annual SCBWI LA conference is just around the corner, and our very own Mike Jung (aka Emperor Mike) will be on faculty this year!  Definitely a reason to sign up, in my very humble opinion!

Martina Boone and Adventures in YA Pub made the Writer's Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers. Also, as always, they have a giveaway every Friday and S.T. Underdahl will be guest mentoring the May First Five Pages Workshop which will open for subs on the 4th if writers want to get their mss ready. And finally, and most importantly, they're doing a May Pitch +250 contest starting April 28th. The judges involved are absolutely stellar, a list of amazingness never to be surpassed.  Er, did I mention I'm one of them?  :D

Speaking of me, I've updated my appearances schedule for May and holy moly, I'm going to be a busy girl.  You can catch me at Romantic Times Booklovers' Convention, Book Expo America (signing Thursday, May 31 at 10:30am at Table 12!), and the Ontario Teen Book Festival, just to name a few!  If you're there, please come say HELLO!

Happy New Book Year!

Happy New Year! This is one of my favorite times a year; fat with promise, with hopes and dreams and goals...and fat with BOOKS!

SO MANY good books coming out in the next few months! I've asked the Inkies to help me get my TBR list all nice and corpulent and oozing with stories I can't wait to read. So here goes (I'll start):

In case you missed it, the first book on my list was featured last week on the Inkpot: PROPHECY, by our own super-awesome Ellen Oh. Go read the interview, and then go buy the book!

It's a good thing my signed copy of PROPHECY is winging its way to me right now, because all the other books on my list are SO FAR AWAY. *cries* I fell in love with TYGER TYGER a hundred years ago and have been waiting impatiently for the completion of the series ever since. Only five months to go for the release of WHEN THE STARS THREW DOWN THEIR SPEARS!

Another one that's even FURTHER away *shakes fist* is the second book in Sarah Rees Brennan's unassailable gothic trilogy, UNTOLD (UNSPOKEN, the first book, is made of so much awesome it hurts my brain...it hurts it and then my brain is like THANK YOU SO MUCH I LOVE YOU MORE PLEASE). (and, thanks, Masters of the Book-Release Universe, that's the only semi-coherent link I can find because it doesn't come out until SEPTEMBER)

GRR. Let's move on to what everyone else is looking forward to. I need to be cheered up.

Lisa Amowitz:

Well, mine for starters!

BREAKING GLASS comes out in July 2013 from Spencer Hill Press and I may have another one to sneak in, but that's still up in the air..

But I am also seriously looking forward to the next installment in Laini Taylor's DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE trilogy, PRODIGY from Marie Liu (that's not out yet, is it?) THE GATHERING DARK, by my good friend Christine Johnson, and the next installment of Maggie Stiefvater's Raven Boy series. And anything that John Green puts out--as they say--I will read his grocery list. :)

Just started Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy (SHADOW AND BONE) and I LOVE IT--also loving Will's GOBLIN SECRETS--too much to read!!! Not enough time!!!

TRUTH. Looking forward to more Grishas and Ravens, myself.

More delicious books under the jump!

End of the Year Shamelessness

The end of the world the year is upon us.  Well, almost.  But I figured I'd better hedge my bets just in case the Mayans were right.

I am totally, utterly kidding.

But this is the last Shameless Saturday post of 2012, marking four years that I've been bringing you these updates.  It's still an honor to be able to share the deals and awards, reviews and appearances, cover reveals and trailer debuts of this very talented group of writers.

I'm getting mushy.

*shakes it off*

Anyway, here we go with the last bits of awesome this year, but don't worry, I'll be back January 5th with a whole new list!

THE CABINET OF EARTHS by Anne Nesbet is featured in a School Library Journal list of middle-grade fantasy books, and in some very fancy company.  Go Anne!

Speaking of end of year lists, THE FALSE PRINCE by Jennifer Nielsen has been named by Publisher's Weekly as one of the Best Books of 2012, to the New York Times Notable Books of 2012 list, and was a finalist in the Goodreads Best of 2012 Middle Grade List. It was also a silver award winner from the National Parenting Publication awards, and is part of the poll for MTV's "Best Novel of 2012." That's quite a rock star list!

And we have several Inkies on the Kirkus Top 100 Teen Books of 2012 list: THE CRIMSON CROWN by Cinda Williams Chima, GRAVE MERCY by Robin LaFevers and THE BROKEN LANDS by Kate Milford!

Even my own little book TEN made a couple of lists this year, landing on the Los Angeles Public Library's list of Best Teen Books for 2012 and the American Library Association's Best Fiction for Young Adults and Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers.  Go me!

William Alexander's GOBLIN SECRETS recently won the National Book Award (I just love saying that!) but he's not done yet.  GOBLIN SECRETS just picked up an Earphones Award for audiobook narration.  Guess who narrated the book?  William.  Show off.  :D

Leah Cypess has some sparkly news. HarperTeen Impulse will be e-publishing a short NIGHTSPELL prequel in July 2013. The novelette is called Buried Above Ground, "in which the ghost of a nobleman's mistress sets out to solve her own murder but is not prepared for the secrets she uncovers." (Publisher's Marketplace)

Anna Staniszeski also has new e-book content: a free short story prequel called My Very UnFairy Tale Life: Jenny's First Adventure, available on Smashwords and Kobo (and it will soon be up on BN and iTunes).

Here's the description:

How does an average girl become a magical adventurer, anyway? Find out in this short prequel to My Very UnFairy Tale Life! (Includes fun UnFairy bonus content!

And it wouldn't be an end of the world the year post without a book trailer, would it? Here's the newly debuted trailer for PROPHESY by Ellen Oh!

Interview with Jennifer Nielsen, author of THE FALSE PRINCE

We’re so excited to have a chance to discuss the first book in Jennifer Nielsen’s Ascendance Trilogy. Jennifer is a member of the Enchanted Inkpot, and we are thrilled about this wonderful new series written by one of our own!

THE FALSE PRINCE is a fascinating mix of impersonations and machinations. Could you tell us a little bit about the journey from the inspiration for THE ASCENDANCE TRILOGY to the actually writing it?

THE FALSE PRINCE in six words: Lose the Game, Lose your Life.

Without giving away any spoilers, what was the one thing that surprised you most while you writing THE FALSE PRINCE? (Did Sage behave?!)

Sage came to me as a complete character, so writing him was really more about letting the story reveal who he was rather than me creating new traits in him. So yes, a lot of things surprised me as I was writing.

In particular, there is one scene in the book where Sage gets into a considerable amount of trouble, which he could avoid if he would just back down. But he doesn’t –he won’t. Even as I was writing it, I was so frustrated with him for continuing to push, because I knew the awful consequences that were waiting for him.

Then I realized that Sage could not back down. No matter how foolish it is to stay on his course, he will never move backward. I hadn’t known that about him until that scene, and it was a fascinating discovery.

What draws you to fantasy?

I can really get geeky about`worldbuilding. I love doing research and then interweaving those details with things of my own creation.

For me, what’s wonderful about fantasy is that the world is limitless. If you can dream up the idea, then you can find a way to build it into your story. With fantasy, anything is possible.

What does your usual writing space look like? Do you listen to music? Do you have any rituals you observe--listening to music, eating or drinking specific things--while you're working?

My writing space is wildly unglamorous. There’s a loveseat near a warm window that I enjoy curling into as I write. And I almost always bring pages to bed with me and work on them before I fall asleep at night. However, one thing I’m nearly compulsive about is always having paper and a pen somewhere nearby, because I’ll get ideas all the time, in totally random places, and if I don’t write them down I risk losing them – and I hate that!

I can listen to music at certain phases of the process. For the first draft, I really need a quiet home. But in edits, I often set my playlist to “Writing Music,” and that’s really nice. I wish I could say that I had a ritual of eating dark chocolate as I write. But really, that would be a disaster, so it’s a good thing I don’t.

Did you decide to categorize THE FALSE PRINCE as a young adult novel at the beginning stages of working on it? Why do you think YA fantasy is so popular with both young adults and old adults?

The story tumbled out of me so quickly that I didn’t really make a choice for how to categorize it. Some people see THE FALSE PRINCE as a YA, and others as a middle grade. I think it’s really wonderful that people feel it might cross over to either genre.

I think part of the fascination with YA fantasy is that the teen years and the few years after that are often the most pivotal in one’s life. It’s the beginning of decisions that determine who a person will become. It’s also a time of feeling immensely powerful, when we’re stretching our wings, and before we fully appreciate our mortality. So YA writing inherently contains all of these elements that make for great story material.

How did you feel when you finished the last draft of THE FALSE PRINCE? What did you do to celebrate?

To be honest, I didn’t really celebrate. It was the Christmas season and so I planned to send the manuscript off to my agent right after the New Year (literally right after: I think I almost waited to midnight before I hit send). But by the last draft, I loved this story so much that I had this pit in my gut. What if my agent didn’t like it? What if she felt there was no market for the book at this time? What if she submitted it, but couldn’t find any takers? I’m not normally a worrier about that, but my heart and soul was in the manuscript, so I hated the thought that it might not find a home. I saved my celebrations until after Scholastic so enthusiastically bought it, at which time I couldn’t shout out my happiness loudly enough.

What's your favorite thing about being a writer?

I love the readers – the teens and tweens who are internet savvy enough to find ways to connect with me there, or who want to talk with me about the plots and their favorite characters. I love the younger kids who draw scenes from my books, or enthusiastically raise their hands at school visits to tell me about the story they’re writing. Writing can be a very solitary business, but when I hear from readers who love my books, I begin to feel connected with people everywhere.

Goblins

Fantastical literature has given us many different versions of the roguish goblin, from Christina Rossetti's seductive fruit mongers to J.R.R. Tolkien's violent and villainous fighters, from the bankers of Gringotts to the glass-toothed critters chronicled by Spiderwick.

The following Inkies have all written books about goblins, and this is what they have to say:

Jennifer Nielsen

What a fun thing to be able to compare my goblins with those of other Inkies! The goblins in my books are from The Underworld Chronicles and are primarily in Book 1, Elliot and the Goblin War. This book tells the story of how 11-year-old Elliot Penster becomes king of the brownies and accidentally launches an interspecies war with the goblins.

One of the wonderful things about using goblins as characters is that there is a lot of latitude in the “classic definition” of what a goblin should be. Generally speaking, a goblin is a twisted sort of fairy: smaller in size and grotesque in appearance. They’re not necessarily evil, but they are lazy, disorderly, and mean. They also tend to be troublemakers to humans, but can be appeased if the family leaves food out for them.

These were exactly the qualities I wanted as antagonists for Elliot and the Goblin War, but I did make some changes so that these goblins would be unique to this series.

Primarily, I wanted to give the goblins some magical abilities that would make them even more threatening to Elliot. In particular, they have two abilities. The first is they can scare other creatures to death. If Elliot is lucky, he’ll get away from a goblin attack only having been scared half to death.

The second goblin ability is in blowing things up. This is a definite departure from traditional mythology, but I added it because…well, it was funny.

As the series progresses, the goblins definitely evolve as characters and eventually learn to get along with Elliot. To be sure, they were some of the most fun mythological characters I got to play with throughout the stories.

Cover art by Gideon Kendall

Hilari Bell

I have to confess, I’m not really sure what a “classic” goblin is. My vague, personal definition is a small, not particularly pretty humanoid, with some form of magic. And more important than any of the above; not particularly good, either. If not outright evil, goblins should at least be mischievous. So when I wanted small, mischievous, neither good nor evil creatures to torment my heroine, befriend her, and ultimately be championed by her—well, goblins sounded like a good fit.

Of course, then I had to evolve my goblins to suit my story, with differing magical powers that defined what types of goblin they were, and a social order built on equal trades, with a horror of being indebted to anyone because that left you unequal, always owing the person you were indebted to. Though they soften this rule for friends and family, so that when favors were done for those close to you only a token needed to be paid in exchange. And that token could be anything—a pinecone, a pretty pebble, a button. Which is why, after my heroine became the general of the goblin’s army, she always wore a vest covered with loosely stitched buttons.

Cover art by Cliff Neilsen

William Alexander

The idea that goblins used to be human, and that they used to be children, has always stuck with me. I'm pretty sure that I first absorbed this piece of goblin lore from George MacDonald's The Princess and the Goblin, and David Bowie later reinforced it when he kidnapped a potential new goblin babe in Labyrinth. Wherever I got it, I still find it haunting. Goblins are the vampires and werewolves of childhood. They are the monsters that you might become.

My own goblins are likewise small humans transformed. Everyone knows that they steal children, but not everyone realizes that they are the children that they steal. They are also traveling actors, which fits the mischievous temperament that goblins always seem to have. My hero runs off with this theatrical goblin troupe, and he has to decide whether or not he can possibly trust them.

Cover art by Alexander Jansson