Ever since Harry, Ron, and Hermione, the two-boy-one-girl
combo has been a winner. That’s apparent in this season’s roster of
middle-grade fantasy covers, although we see pretty much every combination of
genders. (Interestingly, there seem to be more all-girl covers than all-boy—we’ll
leave you to debate what THAT means.)
The girls, we’re pleased to note, appear to be active and self-sufficient—we didn't find any “boy
reaches out to help girl climb the castle stairs” motifs. Girls have swords
nowadays, and they know how to use them.
Once again this season, light is a big factor. Sometimes our heroes run toward it, sometimes away, but
designers know that a bright and mysterious light on a cover always will draw the eye.
Some publishers seem to be lowering the age-range for middle
grade—we included several covers this time that were earmarked for ages “8 to
12” rather than the usual “9 to 12” or “10 to 14.” As a result, some of the covers look a
little younger than in the past.
These covers hit the bookstores between January and June 2014. If you know of a great one we’ve overlooked, please link to it in the comments.
In the midnight forests of the north, a cave troll named Bog has spent his young life hunting with his father and avoiding humans whenever possible. When his father is mercilessly turned to stone by the Troll Hunter’s followers, Bog sets out to find the murderers and avenge his father. But with no leads and little knowledge of the human world, Bog knows his journey won’t be easy. Along the way, he meets a huge forest troll named Small and a young human girl named Hannie. Together, they venture deeper into human territory, where they learn of the legendary Nose Stone—a rock rumoured to bring a stone troll back to life. Hope fills Bog’s heart, but when he discovers the Troll Hunter is also going after the Nose Stone to destroy it, his quest becomes a race of cunning, trickery, and wits.
Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? Don't you just want to avoid whatever you're supposed to be doing, make yourself a cup of tea, and curl up with BOG? (The book, I mean—maybe not the troll!) Today we welcome BOG's creator, author Karen Krossing to our blog.
Lena: Welcome to the Enchanted Inkpot, Karen! As you know, I am a great fan.
Karen: Thanks for the interview, Lena. If Bog, were here, he’d affectionately yank your nose in greeting.
Lena: Well...I suppose I'd yank his right back, then.
You’ve been very busy lately, haven't you? Your book CUT THE LIGHTS came out in October, BOG is just out, and you’ve just come back from your TD Canadian Children’s Book Week tour. Many Enchanted Inkpot readers are in the US and might not know about Book Week, so we’d love to have you tell us about it. Where did you go and what was it like?
Karen: I have been busy! I’m just back from Vancouver, where I toured local schools and libraries, giving writing workshops and readings. Book Week is a national celebration of books and reading, organized by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre. For one week, touring authors and illustrators bring the magic of books and reading to over 25,000 children and teens. I was thrilled to be able to connect with readers—and to go looking for trolls in the forests of western Canada.
Lena: I know that you’ve been working on Bog for a long time, that it’s one of those labour-of-love books. How long did it take and what was the writing process like?
Karen: BOG took ten years to conceive, write and publish, and it certainly was a labour of love. I stopped writing BOG several times during those years because the story needed more time to mature. Some books just take longer to develop in the writer’s subconscious, I think. So I researched my characters and world further—both troll lore and the rugged, wilderness setting for my book—and I planned my plot twists and turns. I also approached other writers for feedback on my early drafts.
Lena: What made you decide to write about trolls? Did you research them, or did you make up the
details?
One of Karen's readings in British Columbia, Canada
Karen: I first conceived the idea for BOG after the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center in New York City and the ensuing war on terror. I wanted to write about cultural hatred fostered by learned biases from previous generations. But the novel is also a reaction to ethnic conflicts the world over—anywhere where there is prejudice against another cultural group instead of acceptance and understanding of differences.
I chose to write about trolls because, in literature, they’re traditionally considered vile to humans. The point of view of a troll character sets up humans as “monsters,” asking what morals and values make us human versus monster. For me, the novel explores the journey from hatred to tolerance.
I researched troll lore in Norse mythology as well as ingenious legends before creating my version of trolls. These trolls are family oriented and in tune with nature. They tend to avoid humans, and they have a rich storytelling culture. Like in traditional troll lore, they are night dwellers, since sunlight turns them to stone. It was great fun to imagine the details about my trolls and their world, but it was also challenging.
Lena: Bog is such an amazing character. He’s so complex and so flawed. How did you develop him?
Karen: When I started writing a book from the point of view of a cave troll, it fit with who I am. Somehow, writing about a fur-covered beast was natural to me. I developed Bog by thinking about his contradictions. He’s deeply caring yet deeply wounded by the loss of his father. He has adopted his father’s prejudices against humans as well as his strong commitment to family, so it’s hard for Bog to see beyond his family biases to the reality of his world. I think the conflicts that are built into his character make him appealing and fascinating.
Looking for trolls in BC forests
Lena: I love your fantasy writing, but you’re known more for your gritty contemporary stories like THE YO-YO PROPHET. Will you be writing more fantasy now? *crosses fingers*
Karen: Yes! I adore writing both fantasy and realistic contemporary fiction. Although my next book will be realistic (PUNCH LIKE A GIRL, Orca Book Publishers, Spring 2015), my current work-in-progress definitely falls within the fantasy genre. It’s tentatively titled THE WANTON CRIMINAL, and it’s about a fantastical trial of the absurd.
Lena: You seem to really get that middle grade and lower YA age group. What were you like back then? Were you a big reader at that age and if so, what were you reading?
Karen: I was terribly shy, quietly rebellious and fiercely independent. As a teen, I wrote angsty poems and rants, and planned to be a writer—maybe when I retired. I didn’t think writing could become a career, maybe because I’d never met any professional writers. I was also a reader, and I read anything I could get my hands on. I didn’t distinguish between literary and commercial fiction; I consumed everything from trashy romances and Archie comics to Roald Dahl, C.S. Lewis and Judy Blume. I was hungry to understand the world from any source.
Lena: In addition to your writing, I know that you are very keyed in to the writing community in Canada. You’re the former president of CANSCAIP, you work with teen writers…. Do you find that this feeds your writing or does it take time away from it?
Karen: I find that connecting to other writers helps my writing in many ways. I’m a firm believer in writing groups and the value of quality feedback from trusted fellow writers. I also find that my community encourages me when the daily grind of writing becomes challenging. So I like to give back to that community. I feel it’s important to support the creators of literature for kids and teens, so that we can all have fabulous new stories to read.
Lena: Thanks so much for dropping by the Inkpot today, Karen! If anyone would like to try their luck at winning a copy of BOG, Karen is having a Goodreads Giveaway. And have a look at her book trailer!
Lena Coakley's first novel, Witchlanders, was called “one stunning teen debut” by Kirkus Reviews and won the SCBWI Crystal Kite award for the Americas. It is a 2013 MYRCA nominee and a 2013 OLA White Pine honouree. Lena is also the author of two children’s picture books and the former administrative director of CANSCAIP. Learn more about her at www.lenacoakley.com
Magic, and the way it's used, can be one of the most fascinating aspects of fantasy fiction.
Especially when the magic is creating plot opportunities and restrictions that directly impact the plot, like the rule that "the wand chooses the wizard" (and all the plot ramifications that grew from that), as well as the Horcruxes which provided a means to destroy a seemingly invulnerable opponent (though they wouldn't be easy to destroy) in JK Rowling's Harry Potter series.
Then there's The Small Science, a magic system based on light in Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy, and Dragonlance, in which spells take time to memorize and vanish from the caster's mind once used.
There are so many ways to add dimension and thematic significance to a fantasy novel through the ways in which magic is used. Curious about which ones the Inkies would pick, I asked them for their favorites:
Elizabeth Bunce:
I was especially intrigued by the way magic developed over the course of Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy. The magic is formed through wishes, which have varying values, like currency. The source of the magic comes from the energy binding together multiple parallel universes--but no one understands this, so any magic practiced tends to be haphazard guessing, at best. Ignorant practitioners must instead tap into the energy created by pain, so the actual cost of doing magic ends up being very high--which is perfect for the dark, complex, and war-torn world Taylor creates in the series. It also brings magic down to an intensely intimate level, adding another layer of emotional resonance to the books. The magic isn't just there as a worldbuilding background or a prop; it's woven through the lives of all the characters, and it hurts.
Leah Cypress:
I really love the magic system in LJ Smith's Night of the Solstice - it is all about mirrors being used to cross between worlds, and the way she depicts it is magical and poetic, but at the same time it all works very logically. As a kid I was always fascinated with mirrors, and wrote a dozen unpublishable stories about people's reflections coming to life, so this was right up my alley.
Miriam Forster:
One of my favorites is the Tradition magic in Mercedes Lackey's Five Hundred Kingdoms books. It's an impersonal, powerful force that tries to force people's lives into the shape of stories that have already been told, mainly fairy tales and often grim ones. (so to speak). The characters have to work around and within Tradition to save people, while trying to carve out new stories for the magic to use. It's a fresh take on some old tales and a lot of fun.
Amy Butler Greenfield:
One system that I love is Holly Black's magic-meets-the-mob setup in The Curse Workers series, where magic has been prohibited since 1929, but certain families deal in it illegally. There are several kinds of magic-all of which can only be worked bare-handed-and each one has its own Achilles heel. Death workers, for example, lose a body part every time they cause a death. It's a beautiful system that runs as smoothly as a Rube Goldberg machine, set in a universe where the Godfather meets 1940s screwball comedy. Delicious fun.
These are some of our favorites, but now we'd like to hear from you. Which fantasy story has the best system of magic of all time?
Lia Keyes is a London-born speculative fiction writer based in California, represented by Laura Rennert of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. She's the founder of the Steampunk Writers & Artists' Guild, and development strategist for Ellen Hopkins' non-profit foundation, Ventana Sierra, dedicated to training at-risk youth for a brighter future. Website: LiaKeyes.com | Twitter: @LiaKeyes
It's hump day, the middle of the week, fantasy can seem so very far away in our day to day lives so today at The Inkpot we're bringing it to you with a dollop of faerie fun and dragon fire.....drum roll.
We bring you the Fantasy Quiz Challenge!
You may have noticed #WeNeedDiverseBooks on twitter starting May 1st and extending to May 3rd.
It was the top trending hashtag and in no small part due to our very own Ellen Oh, with Malinda Lo and Cindy Pon! You can read much more on the background and why it is so important to us, as a community of writers for children here: Publishers Weekly - Diversity campaign goes viral
Ever since Harry, Ron, and Hermione, the two-boy-one-girl
combo has been a winner. That’s apparent in this season’s roster of
middle-grade fantasy covers, although we see pretty much every combination of
genders. (Interestingly, there seem to be more all-girl covers than all-boy—we’ll
leave you to debate what THAT means.)
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