Booksquawk interviews Lari Don, author of “The Tale of Tam Linn”,
“Girls, Goddesses and Giants” and “First Aid for Fairies and Other Fabled
Beasts”
Interview by Hereward L.M. Proops
Booksquawk: Tell us a little
bit about yourself.
Lari Don: I am a children’s
writer, brought up in the North East of Scotland, now living in Edinburgh with
my family. So far I’ve written picture books, adventure novels, collections of
myths and legends, and now a teen thriller (Mind Blind) as well. If I had a
coherent career plan, I would probably focus on one distinct age group, but I
can’t help myself – I love stories too much, so when I find a tale I want to
tell, or start imagining a story I want to follow to the end, I have to share
it with the right age for that story. So
I suspect I will always lack a bit of focus, and just fire stories out in all
directions!
Booksquawk: You write for
both young children and teenagers. Which audience do you prefer to write for?
Have you ever considered writing for adults?
Lari Don: I started writing
for adults. I started writing literary short stories, and got a handful
published and won a prize (the Canongate Prize in 2001). But once I had an idea
for a children’s novel (First Aid For Fairies And Other Fabled Beasts) and
started playing with magic and dragons and adventures, I started enjoying
myself so much that I haven’t written a word for adults since. Writing for children is much more fun! I love writing for all ages of children, but
the heart of my writing is the novels I write for 8-12 year olds.
Booksquawk: How did you make
the transition from being a writer to a full-time author? Was it a difficult
move to make?
Lari Don: I had already
stopped paid work to be a full-time parent, and I started writing seriously in
the gaps when my kids were little (the gaps generally being once they were in
bed at night) so when my younger daughter started school, I just didn’t go back
to a ‘proper’ job. I took the decision to see whether or not ‘stories’ could be
a job. And with a combination of storytelling (passing on traditional tales
orally) and writing, I have almost managed to make a living for the last seven
years. The hours are long and the pay is
short… but it is the best job in the world!
Booksquawk: What do you
think of the state of the publishing industry at the moment?
Lari Don: I worry about the
future of bookshops, because knowledgeable and passionate booksellers are so
important. I worry about the future of publishers too, because I know that a
good editor can improve any book. I worry about the future of printed books,
because a book in the hand is something very special. But in my most optimistic
moments, I’m not that worried about the future of writers, because I believe
people will always need stories, and stories are what we do. I think book buyers have to decide what kind
of books and what form of publishing industry they want. If they want cheap
self-published e-books recommended by a computer algorithm, then eventually
that’s all that will be on offer.
Personally, I still buy real books from real booksellers in real
bookshops, and I also love working with my editors, so I hope bookshops, paper
books and publishers do survive and thrive.
But it’s all up to the people who buy books!
Booksquawk: “The Tale of Tam
Linn” is a wonderful re-telling of an old folk tale. What attracted you to the
story and are there any other old ballads that you would like to tackle?
Lari Don: I’ve known the
story of Tam Linn for years, because my mum’s family come from the Borders. And
it was one of the first old Scottish tales I worked with in my fiction – I used
it as the inspiration and background for some of the scenes and plotlines in
First Aid For Fairies and in Wolf Notes.
As well as bouncing fiction off it, I love telling Tam Linn straight to
audiences. It is both my favourite Scottish story and my favourite fairy tale,
so when Floris asked me which story I’d like to write for their Traditional
Tales series, this was the story I most wanted to do. I am aware that Tam Linn is a ballad as well
as an oral tale, but that’s not really how I met it or how I work with it. As far as I can tell, most Border ballads are
fairly adult in content, so I’m not sure I will be working with any
others. Tam Linn is the one which holds
the most magic for me, and I hope I’ll work with Tam Linn and Janet and their
story again.
Booksquawk: Philip Longson's
artwork for "The Tale of Tam Linn" is marvelous. Did you have much
input in the look of the book?
Lari Don: No, I didn’t. It was quite nerve-wracking waiting to see
what an artist would do with this story that I love so much. But I needn’t have
worried. Philip’s style is perfect for the story, bringing all the enchantment
and darkness I could have wished for. In
my experience, writers aren’t that involved in choosing or briefing
illustrators. There is a brilliant blog post about how the artist and designer work together on the look of the book
(with some great early roughs for Tam Linn), and this blog makes it clear how
little the writer has to do with the look of a book. I can’t take any credit
for it!
Booksquawk: Which of your
books are you most proud of?
Lari Don: The simple and
honest answer is that I’m proud of them all, in different ways. But that’s a
bit of a cop out! First Aid For Fairies was my first book, so I’m really proud
it got published at all. Everything else I’ve written comes from that. And I am
really pleased with how Maze Running rounded the whole Fabled Beasts Chronicles
series off – I know some readers didn’t want me to end the series, but I felt I
wanted to give those characters and that world a good send off. In terms of other novels, the characters in
Rocking Horse War surprised me the most (always a healthy thing) and the
darkness of Mind Blind (my first book for Young Adults) was a challenge, so I’m
delighted that it seems to have worked for readers. In terms of picture books, Tam Linn is the
most gorgeous, and The Big Bottom Hunt the most embarrassing for my family,
both of which make me happy. Of the collections of myths and legends that I’ve
written, I will probably always be proudest of the collection of heroine tales,
Girls Goddesses and Giants, a book I wrote for my daughters and for everyone
else who needs to discover the strong heroines in old stories. And I was privileged to collect my favourite
Scottish stories (including a different version of Tam Linn) in Breaking the
Spell, so that book reflects much of the magic that inspires my other
books. But I have to stress, I am proud
of every book I put my name to - I write because I love it, and I don’t write
books I don’t love! (So now I feel bad
about all the books I haven’t just mentioned…)
Booksquawk: What inspires
you?
Lari Don: Everything, all
the time! I have so many ideas and so little time… But I am most often and most
fruitfully inspired by old stories, new questions and my daughters.
Booksquawk: What are your
favourite books / authors?
Lari Don: When I was young,
I loved books by Diana Wynne Jones, CS Lewis and Roger Lancelyn Green. In the
last 10 years I have loved books by Neil Gaiman and Rick Riordan, and recently
I’ve been really enjoying books by Maggie Stiefvater and Jonathon Stroud.
Booksquawk: Have you
anything in the pipeline that you'd like to tell us about?
Lari Don: I hope to be
working on another picture book with the same team at Floris Books, retelling
another Traditional Tale, but if that comes off, it won’t be published for a
year or so. My biggest and most exciting job at the moment is another 8-12yrs
adventure (I was writing the big fight scene this weekend…) but again,
publication of that is a long way off. However, I have just finished a book - a
collection of shape-shifter stories, with Bloomsbury, and it should be out this
autumn. It’s (currently) called Serpents
and Werewolves, Tales of Animal Shapeshifters From Around the World, and it has
been great fun to work on. I’m looking forward to sharing it with readers soon!
Hereward L.M. Proops
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