Ask Nancy Springer - January 24, 2013 discussion
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Margo
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Jan 02, 2013 11:10AM
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I love the Enola Holmes series! Working in a library, it is one of my "go to" books for girls. I would talk this series up so much, the head children's librarian turned it into a book blub express pack. That is a bag of 20 books with a biography of you and a discussion guide. Teachers check these out and let a class read it. Even kids who hate history, end up liking these books. Oh, let's get to the point. My question to you is, Will you be writing another series of children's books and if so, can you tell us about it?
I Loved the Enola Holmes series, read the printed versions and also listened to the audiobooks. I really enjoyed the relationship Enola had with Sherlock and how it developed throughout the books.Any chance for another young adult series, or perhaps more Enola stories?
Hi Nancy!Your fiction is so varied and interesting, crossing genres and audiences. I've read and enjoyed such different books by you, ranging from Secret Star (my personal favourite!) to Plumage and The Books of the Isle. Now that you've reached the 50+ novel mark, I wondered if you felt there were any particular thematic threads or interests running through your work and marking your overall oeuvre. Do you feel there are particular motifs and underlying messages that have remained of interest across your career?
Thanks for your time and for the hours of pleasant reading!
I loved I Am Mordred!I'm curious: What inspired you to write your own take on the Arthurian legends?
Hello Nancy!Thank you so much for writing the Enola Holmes series! I booktalk and push those books as often as possible. Will you be writing more fantasy for YA?
Thanks again for your wonderful books!
Hi Nancy,I am an Adult Reference Librarian and am thrilled that you have written a suspenseful book for adults!
Having said this, I first discovered you through your Enola Holmes series. I listen to these and absolutely love Enola and the mysteries that you have created for her! Also, I have often recommended these to others -- both young and old as anything related to Sherlock Holmes is very popular in my library.
My question is: Will you be writing anymore for this series? I would really hate to see it "die".
I am adding to the barrage of people who adore your Enola Holmes series. I myself tried my hand at writing a story about the younger sister of Sherlock Holmes when I was about thirteen or so, but I confess that it didn't go too well. Yours is far superior, and Enola is one of my favorite heroines. I reread your Enola Holmes books regularly and I recommend them to people of all ages that I meet. It is a great honor to be asking you questions. I hope it's all right that I have two.My questions are: what was the first story you can remember writing, and do you have any favorite film or television adaptations of Sherlock Holmes?
hi Nancy,i too LOVE LOVE LOVE your Enola Holmes series.... i dont really have any questions, but i dont usually have the opportunity to talk to a REAL author! So i just wanted to say how much i enjoy your books ...
Hi Nancy. I love you Rowan Hood books. I first read them when I was 12. I was a very low reading level compared to my peers, but then I found the Rowan Hood books. They were the first books I ever read. They opened so many doors to me. I'm now reading a 400 page book, but I always return to yours again. I love all you work.
Hi Nancy,I won't be able to join you live on Jan. 24 because I'll be traveling to care for my grandson. I do want to say that i have read your Rowan Hood books, I Am Mordred, and most importantly, the Enola Holmes books. I have them all and I love them. Where did you get the inspiration to write these? And i have the usual question that mostly everyone is asking, Are you going to write anymore Enola Holmes mysteries? I hope so! Thanks for providing so much enjoyment!
Linda B.
I love the Enola Holmes books, and the Rowan Hood books. You should write more like them, or add on to the Enola series. Anyway, if you were going to write another series like those two, what would it be about?
Hello Nancy! I'm a huge fan of your enola holmes books, even as an older reader. Where did you first get the idea for that particular series?
Nancy, Like so many others in this group, I love your Enola Holmes books. My husband, who is British and grew up just outside London, also loves them and finds your understanding of Britain and Britishness extraordinary. He cannot heap enough praise on your writing. He would like to know how you have come to know England so well without being a long-time resident.
As we have read your Enola Holmes series, it occurred to us that you need to take Enola into the future and start a new series as a true young adult, perhaps an 18-20 something young lady. We thought you ought to have Enola and her friend, Lady Cecily, be a new Holmes and Watson partnership. Then again, your creativity may be even better than ours. Would you consider it?
Nancy, I love your works, particularly your early works with male protagonists. Any chance of seeing a story set in the Isle or the Universe you used in the Madbond series? I confess Madbond is my favorite story and I love poor Rad and Dannoc... =-) Good luck with your new book.
Hi Nancy,I've devoured so many of your books and I've been struck by your characters in each of them. Where do you come up with your characters, their conflicts and the subsequent stories?
I have to echo the love for the Enola Holmes series. It is really a great, great series. Enola is one of my all time favorite literary characters. I have notice that all of your books are short. They are powerful, tight,engaging reads and I was wondering if you consciously make an effort to keep you books compact?
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Margo, hi! You're not going to believe how glad I am to get here. This morning I logged onto my computer to find that my internet had fubaricated overnight. I threw on some clothes and drove to the nearby small airport where there is a computer in the lobby. It wasn't working. Back home, I dragooned my husband into taking me to his office (IN a hangar AT the airport with large equipment paving the flight line outside) where I am using his computer while he investigates the plane that just ran into a dump truck. Let's hope this works.
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Okay, it's working, except the computer just froze up because my husband had so many tabs open. (See Margo.)
ReaderWench, I thank you so much for enjoying Enola and sharing her with other readers.
Re your question: will I write more series for young adults? As you are probably aware, right now I'm authoring psychological suspense for the adult mass market, DARK LIE (recently published) and DRAWN INTO DARKNESS (coming this fall). Whether I then turn to YA, I just don't know! The outcome depends on the vagaries of publishing and of me. Writing has been a growth process for me, and even though I'm drawing Social Security, I'm not finished growing. I must wait and see where I take me. (I'm a schizophrenic and so am I.) Sorry, but I just don't know!
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..."
Jessica, I find the popularity of the Enola Holmes books exceedingly gratifying and I am delightfully flattered that you desire more. (That was Enolaspeak. Now back to myself.) I am overwhelmed by the number of requests I have received for more Enola Holmes mysteries, and I suppose I'm an idiot for not cashing in, but the truth is, any Enola books I could write now would be self-imitative and not as good! My mother was an artist in oil paints and watercolors; she taught me that the true artist knows when to stop. You don't rework a painting you completed a few years ago; it is what it is. Enola bade me good-bye the moment she had completed her character arc. I miss her terribly! But she knows best.
Mod
Your fiction is so varied and interesting, crossing genres and audiences. I've read and enjoyed such different books by you, ranging from Secret Star (my personal favourite!) to Plumage..."
Wow, that's a good question, and I had to think about it. I don't think I can say anything that's true of every single book, but in general, I believe my fiction career has been about putting together what's broken, separated, lost, abandoned, deserted, apart. In the first ten or fifteen books, what needed to be put together and healed was myself. Every one of these fantasies features a sunny, practical-minded, strong fair-haired hero and a moody, mystical, damaged dark-haired hero who are brothers or best friends or two kings on the same throne, who have to come together like yang and yin. Although I did not realize it at the time, the dark hero is the part of me that was forbidden from childhood on.
Even when I finally got me together (and became a feminist in consequence!) I continued to write many books like LOOKING FOR JAMIE BRIDGER and SOMEBODY (search for family) or the ENOLA HOLMES series (search for missing persons & family) or my most recent, DARK LIE, having to do with adoption and abduction. DRAWN INTO DARKNESS, forthcoming, is also about abduction. So I'm still putting characters and their families back together.
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I'm curious: What inspired you to write your own take on the Arthurian legends?"
Jane Yolen! Yeppers, she was editing an anthology of Arthurian short stories, CAMELOT, and she told me she needed a story about Mordred. My effort, "The Raven," struck a chord with Philomel editor Michael Green, and he asked me to write a book based on the story. Usually I turn down other people's ideas, but the premise resonated with me also, and I AM MORDRED was the eventual result. It was written in the throes of my divorce, which may account for some of the emotional impact, but also required Michael as editor to contribute a great deal of coaching. I owe him a lot. If I didn't dedicate I AM MORDRED to him, I should have. With his help, it became my best work so far at the time.
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Thank you so much for writing the Enola Holmes series! I booktalk and push those books as often as possible. Will you be writing more fantasy for YA?
Thanks again for your wonderful..."
Roben, thank you for booktalking! The world needs more readers like you.
I already answered your question earlier, so. . .THANK YOU again.
Mod
I am an Adult Reference Librarian and am thrilled that you have written a suspenseful book for adults!
Having said this, I first discovered you through your Enola Holmes series. I listen..."
Oh, Amy, Amy. Thanks to people like you, Enola Holmes will never die. The worst thing I could do to her would be to doom her to the usual fate of a popular series character: the series must go on, so nothing of essence can ever happen, no real climax or conclusion, so the thing zombies on, sequels never quite as good as the original, until finally it ends, as T.S Eliot said, not with a bang but a whimper. You wouldn't want that for Enola, would you? I fervidly thank you for loving her.
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Thank you for adding to the barrage, Eris.
The first story I can remember writing? Sometime when I was a teenager I tried to write something (I can barely remember) about elves, but gave it up in disgust. After that I wrote no more fiction until I set about writing THE BOOK OF SUNS, which after about sixteen rewrites was eventually published, and then re-published after a re-rewrite as THE SILVER SUN.
I've heard that most writers start with short stories, gather rejection slips, then gradually work up to novels. I didn't. I jumped right into the deep end.
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i too LOVE LOVE LOVE your Enola Holmes series.... i dont really have any questions, but i dont usually have the opportunity to talk to a REAL author! So i just wanted to say how much i en..."
Thank you, Duby! I seldom get a chance to talk with a real reader! Thank you for enjoying Enola.
Mod
I love you Rowan Hood books. I first read them when I was 12. I was a very low reading level compared to my peers, but then I found the Rowan Hood books. They were the first books I ever..."
Elzbeth, you have just told me one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me. You have warmed my heart and made my day. Very often I wonder whether what I do makes any difference in the world. (I guess all of us wonder sometimes about our jobs and our lives, whether we're doing any good.) You have assured me that my books CAN be a help! And you chose Rowan Hood. I'm delighted to hear that Rowan Hood is your favorite. Thank you with all my heart.
Mod
Your fiction is so varied and interesting, crossing genres and audiences. I've read and enjoyed such different books by you, ranging from Secret Star (my personal favourite!) to Plumage..."
Shelley, I forgot to say how impressed I am that you mention Secret Star. I wrote that book with all my heart and my very dearest daydreams. I still don't understand why it went nowhere -- no translations, no subsidiary rights, no good reviews, not enough sales, nothing. And it's so. . .it's such. . .I'm going to re-read it. Thank you.
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I won't be able to join you live on Jan. 24 because I'll be traveling to care for my grandson. I do want to say that i have read your Rowan Hood books, I Am Mordred, and most importantly..."
Linda, thanks for being such a gracious reader! One of your questions nobody else has asked yet: What inspired the Enola Holmes books?
The answer is desperation. Sort of. The Arthurian Books were written at my editor's request. The Rowan Hood books were my own idea after I'd written a short story for another Jane Yolen anthology, SHERWOOD. But the Enola books were a quandary. My editor (Michael Green) told me he wanted something set in darkest London at the time of Jack the Ripper. (He said he would ask me to do Jack the Ripper, but he already had somebody else lined up.) I thought he was out of his hairy mind. I had never written historical, never been to England, what was he thinking? But I knew he had a genius for marketing, plus a checkbook, and I didn't want to disappoint him.
So I thought, thus: as I child I read King Arthur; I wrote I AM MORDRED and I AM MORGAN LE FAY. As a child I read Robin Hood; I wrote the Rowan Hood books. What, as a child, had I read that was set in darkest London at the time of Jack the Ripper?
Sherlock Holmes.
And the character of Enola Holmes, complete with name, landed in my mind all in a moment as if she had jumped there out of a tree. I kid you not.
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Eris Clara, I forgot to answer part of your question. For research before I wrote the Enola Holmes books, I purchased every DVD of the BBC Jeremy Brett adaptations of Sherlock Holmes. I watched them over and over. My Sherlock is soooo Jeremy Brett. I remain entirely unable to watch any of the other adaptations that have been done since.
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Katie, thanks for being a reader, and for loving Rowan and Enola! I wish I could say I have plans to write more, similar series, but I don't. Right now I'm writing psychological suspense for the adult mass market: DARK LIE is the first. My pattern as a writer has always been to write in a genre until I'm satisfied, then move on to something else. In other words, I grow and change. But if a good idea for a YA series were to occur to me, of course I would pursue it.
Again, thanks for reading! Writers need readers.
Mod
Michela, it just so happens that I answered your question earlier. Could you hunt for it in the other posts? THANK YOU for being a "huge fan" of the Enola Holmes books, especially as an older reader. There are times when I wish Enola had been published for the adult market. My most enthusiastic readers seem to be older!
Thanks, and keep reading!
Mod
Like so many others in this group, I love your Enola Holmes books. My husband, who is British and grew up just outside London, also loves them and finds your understanding of Britain and ..."
Michele, thanks for enjoying Enola. I remember being really nervous about writing the books because I had never been to London. How I pulled it off: I think a variety of factors were involved. My parents: Dad was born in 1906 in Ireland, but he was Anglican, from a family with British names: Elizabeth, Henry, Robert, Richard -- go figure. My mother was born in 1909, and she was from the Welsh Hills of Ohio. It might almost be said that I was raised by British Victorians. Not quite, but almost. Factor in that I read mostly Victorian English literature as a child, I was an English Literature major in college, and I all but memorized Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes books, and we're almost there. Next: I did extensive research in my own eccentric way, which included Victorian stickers, paper dolls, and coloring books. I found it important to notice the differences between American Victorianism and British. Even more important was to appreciate how different the later Victorian period was from its hoop-skirted height. Enola lived in fascinating times!
More anon --
Thank you!
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Like so many others in this group, I love your Enola Holmes books. My husband, who is British and grew up just outside London, also loves them and finds your understanding of Britain and ..."
Hi again. I had to go back to look at the rest of your question. I've already answered it for others, so let me just say that IF I were to write any more Enola books, Lady Cecily would surely be her sidekick. But don't hold your breath. Again, thanks for reading!
Mod
Wow! I am thrilled to hear from someone who loves those old fantasies. MADBOND, MINDBOND and GODBOND were meant to be my fantasy masterpiece. I invested myself enormously in those books, and it was a terrible disappointment to me that they were published indifferently, with pretty damn bad covers, and went nowhere. I'm delighted to hear from you, Serene!
As for writing more: I had the very same idea a couple of years ago, and wrote quite a heartfelt fantasy story with yeah, two male main characters. But I have not succeeded in finding a publisher. Maybe that was then and this is now.
Anyway, thanks for loving Rad and Dannoc!
I read your Rowan Hood series awhile back and I really enjoyed them. I'd like to know, how did you get the idea for the series, which character was the easiest for you to write about, and what is your favorite thing about the Robin Hood story? Thanks :)
Mod
I've devoured so many of your books and I've been struck by your characters in each of them. Where do you come up with your characters, their conflicts and the subsequent stories?"
Tara, thank you for a lovely egoboost! That said, I'm not sure how to answer your question about my characters. I can tell you I do NOT put them together by the Frankenstein method, eyes from here, hands from there, ego from somebody I met. Character building is not a conscious process for me, and I never write character sketches. A lot of my characters give birth to themselves in my mind when I am angry about something, and these are often feminist moments; hence the strong female characters!
Often I get to know my characters better as I write the book. The process mimics real life; neither I nor the reader learn everything on first encounter. BTW, eye color is one of the last things I notice about a real person. Also, physical description is not terribly important to me. To a large extent, I let my readers imagine the appearance of characters as they wish. What's more important is what the characters do, and what they reveal in dialog.
How's that for a non-answer?
Thank you, Tara!
Nancy wrote: "Eris Clara, I forgot to answer part of your question. For research before I wrote the Enola Holmes books, I purchased every DVD of the BBC Jeremy Brett adaptations of Sherlock Holmes. I watched them over and over. My Sherlock is soooo Jeremy Brett. I remain entirely unable to watch any of the other adaptations that have been done since."YES! I thought I spotted Jeremy Brett in your Enola Holmes books! I suspected it when I was a lass, but I wasn't sure. The descriptions you made in the book fit perfectly with my mental image of Sherlock Holmes, which is also Jeremy Brett. :D I have to admit, though, Benedict Cumberbatch in Sherlock does a terrific job. They're a modern adaptation, but the spirit of the television show truly harkens back to Jeremy Brett's portrayal and to the original books.
Thank you so much for answering our questions! You have no idea how tickled I am to have one of my childhood questions answered. :) :) :) Your writing is truly a gift to this world, and I can't wait to read your new book!
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I have notice that all of your books are shor..."
Leigh, thank you so much for loving Enola! And yes, it's quite true that I prefer to write (and read) short books. I think this preference is based in my love for poetry and short story; I admire the economical use of words, the literary skill of maximum meaning with minimum verbiage. "Less is more."
One reason I encourage aspiring writers to join critique groups is so they will be pushed to conceptualize their own ideas of what makes writing good. (NOT make books that feel as if they were written by a committee!) Hearing a lot of advice, the trick is to remember what resonates and disregard the rest.
Once I realized how much I valued economy in writing, I started to specialize in young adult. But now I'm carrying over the same value into psychological suspense for the adult mass market. I think you might like DARK LIE!
Thanks for being a reader!
Mod
Maegan, hi, and thank you for your kind words! I wish I could remember how I got the idea for the Rowan Hood series. It had something to do with having written a short story for Jane Yolen's SHERWOOD anthology, and I think it happened while I was having lunch with my editor at an expensive French restaurant in NYC, which was a one-time experience, believe me. I think it was over lunch that I proposed a series.
Which character was easiest to write? Rowan herself, then Robin, Lionel, and Rook. Ettarde was a little harder, and Beau hardest of all. She was the only one who did not end up with a book of her own, partly because not all readers liked her.
The kids in my neighborhood used to play "Rowan Hood" all dressed up in green tights and fuzzy capes! It was great. Thank you for being a fan!
Mod
Thank YOU Nancy for answering our questions. It was great to gain some insight into your writing process. Dark Lie is on my soon to be read list and I'm thrilled the next book will be out this fall! Best of luck, and thanks again for "speaking" with us, and most importantly, THANK YOU for creating such wonderful characters for us to enjoy!
Oh, please do write another Isle/Madbond series. Consider self-publishing it on the kindle and I'd buy in a hearbeat. I remember quite fondly all your stories and Poor Rad and Dannoc need a sequel! Those were great books, and left a tremendous impression.
Any pointers for wannabe authors? I think your books are very clever and I would love to know what you have to say.
Mod
Yikes. Um. Okay. Writing and Publishing = schizophrenia. Good writing is fundamentally something you do alone. Critique groups can help, but don't ever allow your work to end up committee-written. And all too soon you will get to a point where critique groups can't help you anymore, and you will be completely on your own.
For this reason, publishing can feel a lot like walking into your high school reunion naked and being expected to work the crowd. You go to conferences. You network. You make sure to keep track of all your contacts. You must flip personalities from private to public -- heck, you must sell yourself/your book, first to agents and editors, then later (I hope!) to readers.
In between, there's bound to be rejection. I never say not to take it personally; our books r us. And yes, I still get plenty of rejections. In a wacky way they validate me. I am a professional. And I am too weird to be published by just anybody.
Pointers? Have a life, be your own person, love to write, be ready to let it all hang out, and never compromise your integrity as a person/writer -- they're both the same thing.
Nancy wrote: "Sophi wrote: "Any pointers for wannabe authors? I think your books are very clever and I would love to know what you have to say."Yikes. Um. Okay. Writing and Publishing = schizophrenia. Good ..."
Great advice Nancy! Thanks again for being part this group and answering our questions and sharing your experience with us.
