With more at stake then ever before, can Moll and her friends stop the Shadowmasks before its too late?
As a writer of Middle Grade and a huge fan of adventure stories, its is my pleasure to welcome Abi Elphinstone, author of The Dreamsnatcher and the soon to be released sequel The Shadow Keeper.
A thrillingly wild adventure – bold, breathless and beautifully told’ Jonathan Stroud
So, grab your catapult and join us on our adventure where we crack the secret code for bringing stories to life, share secret pasts and save the life of a certain earthworm...
I wholeheartedly agree with Katherine Rundell, who said of the Dreamsnatcher; “An outstanding debut packed with suspense, adventure and heart”. What magic and mysteries can we expect from The Shadowkeeper?
I wanted to build on Moll’s world in The Shadow Keeper – to draw her out of the forest towards a
coastline puckered by caves, waterfalls and fishing villages – and as her world
grew, so did the magic. But I needed to make sure the fantasy elements enhanced,
rather than detracted from, my seaside setting. Originally I thought I’d stop
at kelpies and grindylows but because I tried to make the plot in this book
bolder, and the sense of peril greater, I felt an unstoppable urge to add yet more
magic. Cue grim whispers, cursed owls, spells uttered inside secret caves and
codes read out in the Oracle Bones.
Sounds exciting. I cant wait to read more about their adventures... Moll
is an impulsive and courageous character and if social media photos are
anything to go by there is more than a dash of Elphinstone in Moll. What was the inspiration for this feisty
protagonist?
Writing Moll is like writing my autobiography one
exhausting step at a time. I loved reading feisty heroines as a child (Lyra
from Northern Lights, Maia from Journey To The River Sea and Bonnie from
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase) and I
expect the inspiration for Moll’s friendship with her wildcat, Gryff, came from
Pullman’s Lyra and Pantalaimon, but ultimately what inspired my protagonist was
thinking back to the fear, excitement and wonder of being twelve. I grew up
with two younger brothers and a younger sister. If we were perched on a cliff
top overlooking the sea, I made sure I jumped off first. There was a tone to
set. If we were leaping over bamboo canes in the garden, I made sure I leapt
higher than my brothers. And out of this fierce outdoor rivalry came Moll: plucky,
determined and hopelessly impulsive.
Alfie
is an intriguing character and I would love to know more about him. What has he
got in store for us in The Shadow Keeper?
In The Dreamsnatcher
Alfie runs away from Skull’s camp to help Moll find the Amulets of Truth and while
writing my debut, I knew that Alfie’s past was complicated – that there were
secrets he was holding back from Moll and Sid. But it wasn’t until I had
written the first few chapters of The
Shadow Keeper that I realised who Alfie was. I was walking down the street
one day and everything about his past suddenly popped into my head. I didn’t
have a piece of paper to write on so I took a leaf from a tree in the park and
scribbled his story onto it (I still have that leaf in my writing shed J). I
don’t want to reveal too much about Alfie at this stage but I can say that in The Shadow Keeper Moll discovers who he
really is. And there are tears.
No! Not the tears... I’m a
massive fan of animal sidekicks in books. In your series there is Moll and
Gryff and Siddy and his earthworm pet. Was Siddy always saddled with an
earthworm or did you audition other sidekicks for him?
In The Dreamsnatcher,
I included an earthworm called Porridge The Second. I felt that non-stop witch
doctor antics would have been a little overwhelming and an apathetic earthworm would
provide a suitable antidote to the dark magic. But when I considered having
Moll squash Porridge The Second in The
Shadow Keeper, my editor (and numerous fans) begged for his life. He lives,
in The Shadow Keeper, but remains in
the forest and down by the sea Siddy adopts a crab, Hermit, who is terrified of
absolutely everything. Even his own pincers.
Ah Hermit sounds delightful... I
loved reading The Dreamsnatcher and
appreciated the hints of Pullman and Lewis, which reignited my childhood memories.
Which book from your childhood had the biggest impact on you as both a reader
and a writer?
It’s a tough call between The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis and Northern Lights by Philip Pullman. No moment in literature has affected me so
powerfully as the moment Lucy Pevensie pushes open that wardrobe door – except,
perhaps, Lyra riding Iorek over the Arctic ice plains. As a
reader, these stories filled me with wonder and made me hungry for magic. Now, I
read a lot of contemporary children’s books and they have definitely coloured
how I write. Michelle Paver (and her excellent Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series) taught me how to write
action scenes, David Almond showed me that magic doesn’t need to be all signing
and dancing to be powerful and believable (Skellig
remains one of my favourite books) and Katherine Rundell’s writing,
particularly in The Wolf Wilder,
makes me want to take time over every word I write.
There
is much to be said about the trials and tribulations of ‘Second Story Syndrome’. How did you find writing a sequel compared to
the first book? And how is the third book coming along?
I found writing my debut hard. Very hard. As most people
already know, I had 96 rejections from literary agents on the books I wrote
before The Dreamsnatcher so it was a
long and winding struggle to get my book deal. But weirdly, I didn’t find
writing my second book that difficult. I had the world and my protagonist set
up – and I had amulets still waiting to be found... The plot poured out
(perhaps because I plan/sketch each chapter before writing) but I had to work much
harder at the character progression. And Book 3? (here's hoping...) You’re not meant to know that
there is a Book 3 because it hasn’t been announced yet but… I submitted it on
Monday and it’s a northern adventure – full of mountains, lochs, castles, moors
and kilts – and I absolutely loved writing it.
Yippeeee!... So, what’s
next after the Dreamsnatcher series?
Again, I’m not supposed to reveal too much at this stage
but I can tell you that I’m doing an Arctic series next. I spent a few days in
the Lofoten Islands, north of Norway, over New Year and have come back armed
with stories involving orcas, polar nights and glaciers. I’ve got a few
characters in my head, too – Eska, Flint and an Arctic fox pup who lives in the
hood of someone’s jacket.
You travel to the ends of the earth when researching your books. Why do you feel this is an important part of your writing process?
On the one hand, I travel
because I am full of wonder at our incredible world and, as author John Muir
said, ‘The world’s big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets
dark’ but on the other hand, I travel because my adventures bring my stories to
life. If I’ve learnt how to carve catapults from ash, sculpt knife handles from
hazel, fashion bows from yew and fletch arrows with buzzard feathers with one
of Britain’s last ‘real’ Romany gypsies I can picture my main character, Moll,
doing the same. And if I’ve abseiled into a cave in the heart of the Brazilian
jungle, I can imagine how Moll and her Tribe would feel encountering caves
filled with stalactites and brooding shadows. I’m dyslexic and my processing
skills are dreadful so I crave visual prompts throughout the writing process;
my adventures spark the ideas for fictional worlds but it’s the maps I draw
afterwards that anchor them into a plot.
I
adore Narwhals (and Artic Foxes now that you mention it!) and a little birdie tells me that they may make an appearance in
one of your books. Can you give anything
away?
Ah, the unicorns of the sea. Yes, they’ll be in the book.
Scientists still don’t know why narwhals have a tusk but I’m pretty sure my
heroine, Eska, is going to uncover the truth.
You
are a huge advocate for Middle Grade stories. What do you love the most about
writing for this age group?
I love the scale of adventure, the bravery of the children
and, as I often say, the sense of wonder at the heart of these stories.
Quick
fire questions:
I
create my characters names by… glancing at cocktail lists, signposts,
shower gels in TK Maxx and, rather morbidly, gravestones.
What
comes first: the character or the plot? The setting.
My
favourite word is… goblin.
The
book I wish I’d written is… The
Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.
If you
could add anything to the school curriculum, what would it be? Starjumps.
They’re good for the soul.
One
thing you don’t know about me is… I once ate 14 pieces of toast
– IN A ROW – at my friend’s house. I was 12 – and hungry.
Hiking
or biking? Hiking.
My
perfect day is … Walking across the Scottish moors.
Moll Pecksniff and her friends are living as outlaws in a secret cave by the sea, desperate to stay hidden from the Shadowmasks. But further along the coast lies the Amulet of Truth, the only thing powerful enough to force the Shadowmasks back and contain their dark magic.
So, together with Gryff, the wildcat that’s always by her side, and her best friends Alfie and Sid, Moll must sneak past smugglers, outwit mer creatures and crack secret codes to save the Old Magic.
With more at stake than ever before and the dark magic rising fast, can Moll and her friends stop the Shadowmasks before it’s too late?
The Shadow Keeper is published by Simon & Schuster Children's UK on 25th February and can be pre-ordered by clicking on this link
http://www.abielphinstone.com/
http://moontrug.com/
@moontrug
Interview by Tizzie Frankish
