Interview with Charis Cotter!
This is award-winning, Canadian author Charis Cotter! Charis and I have been writing partners and best friends for years. This June, her new middle-grade novel Mystery of the Haunted Dance Hall released from Tundra, an imprint of Penguin-Random House.
Critics are wildly impressed…
“Cotter trusts readers with deep descriptions and a languid buildup to the action. Her writing is ethereal and evocative, evoking the dangers and glittering possibilities of summer nights away from home.” —STARRED REVIEW, Kirkus Reviews
“Steady pacing and elegant prose combine to craft a warmly bewitching tale about young love and heartache.” —STARRED REVIEW, Publishers Weekly
And so am I! I read Mystery of the Haunted Dance Hall in two sits. I couldn’t put it down. And being with Charis when the idea for the book bloomed then witnessing the years of writing, editing and finally, this year, the birth of this book, made reading it all the more amazing. My little ‘review’ of the book is at the bottom of this post!
For now, please enjoy our zoom interview!
Video Interview Here!Audio of the interview here!Here’s my review of Mystery of the Haunted Dance Hall!*SPOILERS*
Perhaps her most heartfelt book penned yet, Charis Cotter’s latest middle-grade, ghost-mystery extravaganza, The Mystery of the Haunted Dance Hall, fondles your fears, charms your curiosity, and humbles your heart with unique and unforgettable characters, a fowl-friendly setting, and an enchanting storyline that lives beyond the page. Dedicated to her late father, Graham Cotter, The Mystery of the Haunted Dance Hall, seeps within its pages, a deep yet loving loss, that immediately compels the heart to pay attention. I was moved to both laughter and tears as I read, embracing the embedded sadness and love that flutters like angel wings in the subtext of this beautiful story.
The Mystery of the Haunted Dance Hall is an ode to grief set in a kids’ camp during one enchanting summer in the 1960s. Cotter is able to masterfully layer grown-up feelings with magical moments that teach healing through friendship, trust, and the community that is chosen family (or campmates!). Even though this story tackles big topics like loss, fear, belonging and death, it is carried gently in the humourous, thoughtful and mildly spooky voice that is characteristic of a Cotter novel. Yes, there are ghosts! But there are also kids with distinct super-powers that, once embraced, enable a kind of bravery that makes a reader eager to turn to the page, to continue to the next adventure, to eagerly join Bee and her vivid cast of camp-going characters at Camp Blue Heron in discoveries that develop into a wonderful story.
Our heroine, Bee, is cautious yet intelligent and brave, and riddled with a curious desire for belonging that she nurtures through friendship, self-discovery, and a brilliantly curated leadership that Cotter creates through her incredible writing. Indeed, all of Cotter’s characters are bright, daring, wounded and wobbly yet they thrive in the development of character and plot that Cotter seamlessly weaves. This is one of Cotter’s superpowers! With Zippy, Felicity, Miss Linnet, and the robust cast of camp-going humans and birds, Bee is able to able to recognize where and why and when she is needed, using her superpowers and burgeoning bravery, toward inner healing, self-discovery and acceptance, and an elevated voice that continues to stick with me some weeks after joining Bee on her adventures.
There are several mysteries to discover and unravel in The Mystery of the Haunted Dance Hall, and it’s an exciting, delightful and goose-bump-inducing experience reading as the story and characters develop and divulge. You don’t have to have attended camp to appreciate the unique qualities of it because Cotter does an excellent job of describing both the landscape and the activities that occur in this nature-driven setting. Readers will get the added thrill of learning about birdwatching, table-setting, hiking and canoeing that are integral parts of the camping experience. And, the ‘play’ of both character and camp-connected names that are birds is a luxurious adage to the storytelling prowess that Cotter delivers.
Grief is a heavy topic, and an even heavier lived experience for both child and adult. What I love about this book is that it carries the weight of this universal emotional experience through exceptionally intuitive and compassionate character development. Whilst unraveling a ghostly, yet enchanting mystery that in itself exposes a tragedy that needs freedom from the strong grip of grief, Cotter opens and heals wounded hearts young and old, alive and dead.
This is Cotter’s fifth novel in the middle-grade, mystery, ghost story genre. Each of her previous novels has won multiple awards, and this will be no exception. What’s perhaps even better than an award is the heart of a young reader-turned-fan of which Cotter also has many! Readers write letters and emails, blogs and reviews sharing their delight and love of the Queen of Ghost Stories’ novels. These accolades exemplify Cotter’s creative writing abilities, and make her one of Canada’s greatest, most successful middle-grade writers alive today.
Let’s judge this book by its cover! It is an utterly striking, enchanting and inviting cover with artwork by Byron Eggenschwiler and jacket design by Kate Sinclair. Added artistic bonuses within the book include whimsical flares like the small leaves of ornamental section breaks, the loop-de-loops beside the chapter numbers and the little leaves beside the page numbers. Definite attention and care was put into the design and layout of this book. Published by Tundra, an imprint of Penguin Random House, The Mystery of the Haunted Dance Hall is a guaranteed summer-camp, ghost story success – on its way to being a Canadian classic!
Click here to order your copy of Mystery of the Haunted Dance Hall or connect with your favourite bookshop and order from there!
More interviews to come with Ainslie Hogarth, Christian Laforet (CM Forest)…and more!
