The Kidlit Interview Series
Children's literature encompasses some of the most imaginative, entertaining, well-written fiction out there, so every Tuesday I shine a spotlight on it by interviewing a different middle-grade author. Come back regularly to find writers answering crucial questions like who they'd want riding alongside come the zombie apocalypse...
This week's honorary dragon is the bungee-jumping, sky-diving Nigel McDowell. Nigel was born and raised in rural Northern Ireland, and now lives in London. "My debut novel, Tall Tales from Pitch End, was published by the wonderful Hot Key Books in June 2013. The only other thing that needs knowing about me: I am obsessed with fairytales and folktales."
Nigel's new novel, The Black North, comes out next week on the 5th of June. A dark fantasy adventure, set in a land called the Divided Isle where a military force has invaded with an army of magical creatures, it tells the tale of Oona Kavanagh, who sets off to rescue her brother after he is kidnapped by the Invaders and their Briar-Witches. She has with her a rather grumpy talking jackdaw (that transforms at times into a rather grumpy old woman) and a magical stone of tremendous power: it reveals truth, nightmares, and can bring into being anything the holder can imagine... and this stone is the one thing the Invaders and their King are desperate to possess.
Nigel's new novel, The Black North, comes out next week on the 5th of June. A dark fantasy adventure, set in a land called the Divided Isle where a military force has invaded with an army of magical creatures, it tells the tale of Oona Kavanagh, who sets off to rescue her brother after he is kidnapped by the Invaders and their Briar-Witches. She has with her a rather grumpy talking jackdaw (that transforms at times into a rather grumpy old woman) and a magical stone of tremendous power: it reveals truth, nightmares, and can bring into being anything the holder can imagine... and this stone is the one thing the Invaders and their King are desperate to possess.
THE HERE BE DRAGONS 8 KILLER QUESTIONS
1) Uh oh, it’s the zombie apocalypse. Which author (living or dead) do you want riding shotgun?
Hmmm...someone who knows those scenarios well – Charlie Higson maybe? Darren Shan? Stephen King? Or perhaps someone I’d love to see with a shotgun, blowing zombies to bloody bits: Virginia Woolf.
2) Look, I got a time machine on eBay! Where do you want to go? (Said time machine may possibly malfunction and leave you there. Possibly. It was *very* cheap.)
The Paris of Joyce and Hemingway and Wilde. Red wine and writing – what could be better!
3) What’s your favourite thing about writing for kids?
They are the best audience, simple as that. Honest, critical, passionate, sharp. And I feel very lucky to be read and criticized and (hopefully!) enjoyed by such a special readership.
4) A witch has cast a spell on you (sorry about that) and you’ve woken up as a character in a children’s book – what’s your special talent or power?
Teleportation. Could see loved ones any time I wanted, no matter where they were and even for a moment. Could see the world on a whim! (And save a lot of money in the process).
5) What’s the scariest or strangest thing you’ve ever done?
I did a number of scary-strange things when I was travelling in New Zealand: jumping out of a plane and off a bridge were two that leap to mind (and leave me sweaty-palmed with the recollection!). I should say that I had a parachute on when I leapt from the plane and a bungee around my ankles when I threw myself off the bridge.
6) What’s something you wish you’d known about writing when you started out?
Patience! I wish I’d known patience. A plot can emerge slowly, the shape of story showing itself only with time, characters creeping tentatively out of their shells. It’s a trick to learn how to wait... and wait and wait. And then some very exciting things can start to happen...
What’s something you wish you’d known about publishing?
Something similar to that writing lesson – that things can seem to happen slowly, and then suddenly all at once. And that after everything – marketing, sales, Twitter, blogging, likes on your Facebook page, reviews, Amazon ratings – what matters most is the writing.
7) What would your daemon be?
I’d like to think it would be something so very flattering and exciting, wise and watchful! But, as Pullman tells us, we don’t always get the daemon we want. So who knows – probably a shivering Chihuahua!
8) My books don’t have dragons, but they do have... clockwork cats and jackdaws that transform into old ladies.
Hmmm...someone who knows those scenarios well – Charlie Higson maybe? Darren Shan? Stephen King? Or perhaps someone I’d love to see with a shotgun, blowing zombies to bloody bits: Virginia Woolf.
2) Look, I got a time machine on eBay! Where do you want to go? (Said time machine may possibly malfunction and leave you there. Possibly. It was *very* cheap.)
The Paris of Joyce and Hemingway and Wilde. Red wine and writing – what could be better!
3) What’s your favourite thing about writing for kids?
They are the best audience, simple as that. Honest, critical, passionate, sharp. And I feel very lucky to be read and criticized and (hopefully!) enjoyed by such a special readership.
4) A witch has cast a spell on you (sorry about that) and you’ve woken up as a character in a children’s book – what’s your special talent or power?
Teleportation. Could see loved ones any time I wanted, no matter where they were and even for a moment. Could see the world on a whim! (And save a lot of money in the process).
5) What’s the scariest or strangest thing you’ve ever done?
I did a number of scary-strange things when I was travelling in New Zealand: jumping out of a plane and off a bridge were two that leap to mind (and leave me sweaty-palmed with the recollection!). I should say that I had a parachute on when I leapt from the plane and a bungee around my ankles when I threw myself off the bridge.
6) What’s something you wish you’d known about writing when you started out?
Patience! I wish I’d known patience. A plot can emerge slowly, the shape of story showing itself only with time, characters creeping tentatively out of their shells. It’s a trick to learn how to wait... and wait and wait. And then some very exciting things can start to happen...
What’s something you wish you’d known about publishing?
Something similar to that writing lesson – that things can seem to happen slowly, and then suddenly all at once. And that after everything – marketing, sales, Twitter, blogging, likes on your Facebook page, reviews, Amazon ratings – what matters most is the writing.
7) What would your daemon be?
I’d like to think it would be something so very flattering and exciting, wise and watchful! But, as Pullman tells us, we don’t always get the daemon we want. So who knows – probably a shivering Chihuahua!
8) My books don’t have dragons, but they do have... clockwork cats and jackdaws that transform into old ladies.
Oh I would pay good money to see Virginia Woolf fighting off zombies with a shotgun :) Find out more about Nigel and his books on his website and chat to him on Twitter.
Come back next Tuesday for the Here Be Dragons interview with Jess Keating, author of How To Outrun A Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied!
