Carry On (Simon Snow, #1)

by Rainbow Rowell

May you fight your own battles and forge your own wings

Hi, this is Rainbow Rowell, the author of the Simon Snow Trilogy. With the final book – Any Way the Wind Blows – coming out this summer, I’m feeling very nostalgic and reflective about Carry On. Simon and Baz were actually born in my contemporary novel Fangirl – the characters of a story within the story. When Fangirl was over, I kept thinking about Simon and Baz and how I would write them if they were my own characters … But they were my own characters. So what was stopping me? Carry On became a Chosen One story about other Chosen One stories. And about stories, in general. About what we expect from characters. And how we’re trained to feel about them. And it became a love story, because I always want more romance in my adventure stories. (I want my more romance in my everything stories.) When I first pitched this book to my editor, I was worried it would seem like a gimmick -- that readers wouldn’t see Simon and Baz as their own characters, separate from Fangirl. It was such a relief to me when Carry On found its audience. Simon and Baz have always felt real to me. I’ve spent more time writing them now than any other characters, and I feel like I’ve shared more of myself through them. I hope you enjoy Carry On. I’ve left some notes along the way. Some are about the writing process. Some are just memories. It was fun for me to go back to the very beginning, now that I know how it all turns out. Thank you so much for reading!