Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books: Interview with Kieran Larwood - Podkin One-Ear (Faber & Faber)

Kieran Larwood's latest book, Podkin One-Ear, is about a legend: a fearsome warrior rabbit whose reputation for cunning and triumph in battle has travelled the ages. It is a magically illustrated fantasy affair that everyone will love, regardless of age. To tempt you all to read it, I have asked the author a range of questions regarding the book and his writing career. I hope that you enjoy this interview and it will grab you enough to pick up this book and read it, unless you have already done so. 

Podkin One-Ear is out now in all good bookshops and has been published by Faber &Faber in October 2016. 

Welcome Kieran Larwood to Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books... 

Tell us a little bit about yourself perhaps something not many people know. 
I live on the Isle of Wight where, as well as writing, I still work as a primary school teacher. I have four children and, just because my life wasn’t hectic enough, have recently adopted the world’s most annoying dog. I won the Times Children’s Fiction prize in 2011 with my first novel, and my second has just been published by Faber. Most people don’t know that my writing started accidentally– I always wanted to be a comic book artist, and I only discovered, while writing the scripts, that I actually enjoyed it more than drawing. 


How would do you sum up Podkin One-Ear to potential readers? 
My favourite comparison so far is ‘Watership Down meets Game of Thrones’. It’s a children’s fantasy set in a world populated by a race of rabbits. A bard arrives at a warren in the depths of winter and begins to tell the real tale behind the legend of Podkin One-Ear: a chieftain’s son who has to fight to save his world from an evil race of armoured rabbits.


In the book Podkin One-Ear is a fearsome warrior rabbit, how did you start to bring his character to life? 
I wanted to explore how legends are made, and what the real people (or rabbits) would be like. So Podkin begins as a spoilt, lazy character who has to grow up very quickly. I also wanted children to be able to identify with him, so he often feels very frightened and vulnerable, but manages to overcome it when he needs to. 


Does your book have a lesson or a moral behind it? 
I didn’t consciously give it a lesson, as I just wanted to focus on making it an epic story, but you could probably draw quite a few morals from it. Mostly that even the smallest, most timid of us can still do amazing things if we try. That and how important your family and friends are. 


What did you edit out of this book? 
I didn’t have to remove very much at all, luckily, but I did change quite a few things from the first draft. Originally, Podkin’s magic dagger spoke (and was very sarcastic) and the Gorm were just a race of invading rabbits, a bit like the Vikings. I was worried about making the story too dark and scary, but my agent told me to go for it, so I did! 

David Wyatt has done a cracking job on the illustrations, what are your personal thoughts about these? Do you have any favourites? 
I literally could not be happier with David’s work. It’s like he has a telepathic link to the world in my head! He is such an incredible artist– it’s an honour to have him illustrating my story. 

I love all of his pictures, but I think the scene of Boneroot, the underground beggars’ city, is my favourite. Every time I look at it, I spot a new detail I haven’t seen before. 


You're hosting a literary dinner party, which authors/illustrators would you invite? 
It would have to be a fantasy-themed one. Guest of honour would be J.R.R.Tolkein, also Terry Pratchett, Arthur Rackham, George R.R.Martin, J.K.Rowling, Robin Hobb, 
Ursula Le Guin, Steph Swainston and China Mieville. I would sit in the corner, too in awe of everyone to even speak. 


Do you think that the cover plays an important part in the buying process? 
Definitely. At least for that first split second when it catches your eye and makes you pick it up. After that, you start flicking through and the writing takes over, but it’s the cover that first reels you in. 


Have you written any other books that have not been published? 
I did write one after Freaks and before Podkin that didn’t get taken up. It’s a Young Adult sci-fi novel that still needs a bit of work, but hopefully might see the light of day at some point.

Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books: Interview with Anna McKerrow - Crow Moon - Quercus

I would really like to thank Anna McKerrow for taking the time out to write such heartfelt responses to my mixed bag of questions. I hope that they will inspire you and make you inquisitive enough to read a copy of Crow Moon, which will be published by Quercus.


Tell us a little bit about Crow Moon? 
Devon and Cornwall have separated from the rest of the UK and become the Greenworld, an eco-pagan community run by witches. The rest of the country is the Redworld, where crime, corruption and pollution have taken over, and the world is fighting a final war for fuel. Danny, the main character, is a Greenworld kid who thinks the pagan stuff’s all a bit boring until events conspire to draw him into a growing conflict between the witch-led villages and the outlying lawless gangs that live between the green and redworlds. There’s some romance in there too, and lots of magic. Crow Moon is the first book in a trilogy.

Give us an insight into your main character. What does he/she do that is so special? 
Danny’s a kid that’s grown up in a closed community – a good society that reveres the land and natural ways of life, but still one that’s heavy on the propaganda. So he thinks he’s a player but he’s pretty naïve. He’s the son of the village witch but he’s not particularly on-message with the magical ethos of the Greenworld, so he describes his surroundings with a tongue-in-cheek satirical viewpoint. He tells us what we need to know about his environment but we question it a bit along with him. Also, he’s not a stereotypical hero character because he keeps getting rescued by girls. Although his is the point of view narration, the action in the story is driven mostly by a cast of strong female characters.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
There’s a pro-environmental message in Crow Moon that develops throughout the trilogy, specifically connected to fuel. Danny might point out some of the Greenworld’s flaws and make fun of it a bit, but they’ve basically got the right idea: living off the land, only consuming what you need, respecting nature. 

Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?
I have a general idea when I start, but basically just power along and see what I’ve got after a first draft. I find that just letting myself write freely means I come up with much better ideas than planning too hard. Then when I look at the crazy draft I problem-solve it until it makes sense. 

Do you see writing as a career?
It has been my career, one way or another, for a while now, and I hope it continues! I’ve worked for a literature charity for 7 years, taught creative writing for 8 and I’ve been a writer for a long time. This is my first novel but I’ve published four books of poetry before now. I’m just starting to do some consultancy for writers now too. 

Do you recall how your interest in writing originated? 
No, it was always there. I was a big reader so it was just a natural extension of that. My first story was a blatant rip off of a story I’d read where a character turned purple with rage. So in my story, I think I was about 5 or 6, someone turned yellow with rage. We didn’t have much when I was little but my mum read to me a lot, made sure we went to the library every week, and she bought me books at jumble sales. I still have a beautiful book of Grimm’s Fairy Tales she bought for 10p on my shelf. 

Do you have any advice for other writers?
Just keep going, keep writing, try new genres to write in, read across genres, read everything you can get your hands on. Analyse what makes something good and bad writing, in your opinion, then do that and see what it sounds like in your voice. Write a lot.

Do you think that the cover plays an important part in the buying process?
Yes, definitely. I’m a sucker for a nice cover, and I’ve got a lot of books I bought only because of what they looked like! But also covers don’t matter when you know the author, if you’ve had a recommendation or whatever. My favourite books are battered and mostly unremarkable covers. But a commercial publisher spends a lot of time making sure the cover is eyecatching, appropriate for the age group and that retailers like it before they commit to it.

Would you or do you use a PR agency?
I don’t, and I can’t afford one, so it’s not an issue! It would be nice but not essential for now.
If you could have superpowers, what would they be and why?
Not really a superpower as such, but the resources to be able to ensure that no child went hungry in this country. The world, obviously, but this country would be a start. I’d have a magical ever-refilling foodbasket like in the Grimm’s fairytale, or more realistically, fantastic wealth which could completely fund the Trussell Trust.

Is there anything else that you would like to tell us?
Crow Moon is out from Quercus on March 5th.

*** Interview with Robin Jarvis (author of Dancing Jax)***

I would like to start by thanking Sam, at HarperCollins, for making this post happen. I'd also like to thank Robin Jarvis, of course, for taking the time to answer these questions for my little blog - I really appreciate your time and responses. 


Today is the publication day for Robin's latest book "Dancing Jax", which in my opinion, is long overdue and one of the best books published this year. If you want to find out more about this amazing book then please check out my book review.

1. How would you describe your new book Dancing Jax to potential readers?

 It's a supernatural thriller, very much set in the here and now - and it's a warning.

2. Where did you get the inspiration for the characters for this book?

 Unlikely as this sounds, back in 2005 I had the most detailed, realistic dream of my life. It gave me the entire final chapter of the book, with the knowledge of what had gone before. It was all there, complete with names and even what everyone was wearing: the minchet, the Ismus, Paul dressed as the Jack of Diamonds shouting "Give me your jools, give me your jools!" Martin dragging him away and encountering the Jockey and the title of the book itself. I woke up with a jolt and ran straight into my study, switched the computer on and wrote down 2 and a half pages worth of synopsis and characters. I wish I could remember what I'd eaten before bed that night.

3. Are there any other books in the series to follow? if so, can you let us into any secrets?

 There are going to be two more. I've almost finished book two. Its set a few months after Dancing Jax is published in this country and just about everyone in the UK is affected by it. This tells the story of what happens to the children over whom neither it nor the minchet have any influence.

4. Do you share any similar traits with any of the characters in the book?

 There's a lot of me in Martin I 'suppose- but then I found myself agreeing with certain things the Ismus was saying, which is a bit scary.

5. The story is developed through so many different characters. Therefore, how do you piece everything together and make it all fit?

 I just knew the story I wanted to tell and so tailored the characters to suit and to get me to that final scene in the subway. One of the best aspects about writing is putting yourself into the heads of so many different characters and working out what drives them. I love doing that.

6. Could you describe any element of the editing process that this book went through in order to reach the final stage?

The editing process is usually pretty painless. I always go through the book so many times before the editor gets to see it, there isn't much needs doing. The only thing I can think of for Dancing Jax was the late addition of the chapter in the hospital ward, which served a number of purposes, one of which was to have a really powerful and violent chapter in the middle of the book, but it also introduces Mauger properly and something else which appears again in the second book...

Originally there wasn't any artwork either and every chapter was headed with an extract from Dancing Jacks but we thought it would be more interesting to include other elements from Austerly Fellows' evil work, such as the tune, dance steps, areas of map etc. Oh and I updated certain pop culture references within the text.  

7. Who inspires you to write?

 Nobody really. I think it has to come from within yourself. Thats how it works for me anyway. I get excited by ideas and want to write stories around them. 

 8. If you found yourself with a spare afternoon what book would you choose to read?

 I've got a stack of books I haven't gotten around to reading yet. Top of the pile is Wolf Hall so it'd be that.