Of This and Other Worlds

I am thinking that perhaps, to keep my hand in and warm up for Swift, I should write some fanfic short stories about the faeries of the Oakenwyld (and/or elsewhere).

I cannot absolutely guarantee that said stories will happen, but... if I were going to do such a thing, or things, what characters/incidents would my readers be most interested in hearing about?

I will screen comments, so as not to spoil anyone who hasn't read Arrow (or perhaps even Rebel / Wayfarer) yet.

I was interested to see Betsy Bird's comments on her Fuse #8 blog today about a new graphic novel called Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword (warning: autoplay video at source). Among other things, the novel includes lots of information about Orthodox Judaism, which caused Betsy to comment:

Think about children’s fantasy novels and religion for a moment. Religion in fantasies for kids tends to skew one of three ways. You can incorporate it and make it the entire point of the novel (Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, the Narnia books of C.S. Lewis, or Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time series which is technically science fiction anyway). You can make up an entirely new religion of your own (as in the novels of Frances Hardinge, Tamora Pierce, Megan Whalen Turner, etc.). Or you just sorta forget about it...

And then she goes on to talk about Hereville as something different, where the religion is very much an integral part of the book's atmosphere and sensibility but it's not the whole focus of the plot, which is more of a hero's quest story.

Which had the desired effect of really making me want to read Hereville, but also made me wonder: for those of you who've read Wayfarer, do you think it falls into the first category (religion is the entire point), or the fourth (it's part of the worldbuilding, but not the main story)? Either one is fine, I'm just curious. Since it's definitely not the second or the third...

And can you think of any other books you've read where religion is handled in a way similar to Hereville, as an integral part of the MC's background and culture but not necessarily the obvious point of the story?

***

That being said, it may take me a while to respond to your (doubtless very interesting) comments on the subject of how religion does or can fit into children's books. After my two appearances in Guelph and Waterloo this weekend, I'm heading off to the Fortress of Solitude to overcome my SHERLOCK obsession work on Arrow revisions, and won't be back online until Friday.

Don't burn down the Internet while I'm away, kids!

Thanks to the nice folks at Inkpop, I'm their featured author this week and am doing a live chat on the site today from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. EST. I'll be interacting with aspiring teen authors in the forum, answering their questions about publishing and the creative process. If you're interested in such things, come along and check it out, either during the chat or afterward:

Creating a New World: Live Chat with Fantasy and Science Fiction Author R.J. Anderson

I wish sites like Inkpop had been available when I was a teen author, is all I can say. What a great resource for sharing works in process, getting critiques, and finding out all the nuts and bolts of publishing.

Things are gearing up for the North American release of Wayfarer, and I am doing interviews and guest posts for a number of blogs in the next few weeks. Here are a couple of recent ones:

• Exclusive Interview at Open Book Society
• Guest Post on Worldbuilding plus Wayfarer giveaway (U.S. only) at Tynga's Reviews

And in just a couple of weeks, I'll be having my official launch and signing for Wayfarer:

WHERE: Fundamentals Books & Toys (52 Ontario Street, Stratford, Ontario, Canada)
WHEN: Saturday, June 26th from 1-3 p.m.

( Shiny Poster under the Cut )

I hope to see some of you there!

But for those of you who cannot make it to southwestern Ontario on two weeks' notice, I am offering a signed and personalized hardcover of Wayfarer to some lucky commenter on this post! All you have to do is tell me why you want it. Contest open to Canada and the U.S. only.

ETA: It would be nice to give a contest close-by date, wouldn't it? Let's keep it open for a week, so you have until Sunday, June 20th to enter.

The lovely claudiagray is giving away a three-book package that includes a copy of Wayfarer! So if you're in North America and want an early peek at the story, be sure to pop over there and enter before Monday, May 17th.

Claudia has also posted a hot-off-the-press conversational interview with yours truly, in which the two of us chat freely about inspiration, process, the difference between premise and story, writing romances, upcoming projects, and the horrors of the Molasses Swamp.

OH HAI GUYS I FORGOT TO MENTION I'M DOING A SIGNING IN TORONTO TODAY:

January 7, 2010 @ 7 p.m., Yorkdale Mall Indigo Books
with Megan Crewe (author of Give Up The Ghost)
and Neesha Meminger (author of Shine, Coconut Moon)

Both Megan and Neesha's books are beautifully written and they are also lovely people, so even if you are justifiably sick of me waving Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter under your nose, you might want to come out and say hello to them and pick up some great new reads in the process.

Or, you know, you could say hi to me and get me to sign your books and stuff. Whatever.

***

Also, today is the OFFICIAL release date of Rebel in the UK which means it should now be freely had at all good bookstores (including the noble law-abiding ones in Ireland who have been clinging fast to that embargo notice). Yay!

An earlier version of this cover is up already as part of the HarperCollins Summer 2010 Catalog entry for Wayfarer, but I thought it would be nice to post the more up-to-date version. So here it is! Just click to embiggen if you want more detail.

And here's the jacket copy to go with it:

The faeries of the Oak are dying, and it’s up to a lone faery named Linden to find a way to restore their magic. Linden travels bravely into dangerous new territory, where she enlists the help of an unlikely friend—a human named Timothy. Soon they discover something much worse than the Oakenfolk’s loss of magic: a potent evil that threatens the fate of all faeries. In a fevered, desperate chase across the country, Timothy and Linden risk their lives to seek an ancient power before it’s too late to save everyone they love.

R. J. Anderson has artfully crafted a world of stunning magic, thrilling adventure, and delicate beauty, where a girl far from home must defeat the pervasive evil befalling her beloved faery realm.

The official publication date for Wayfarer is April 27, 2010.

I am so excited. I love this cover SO MUCH. (Brian Froud! Drew my character just for this book! Eeeeee!) So without further ado, I'd like to introduce you to Linden, the heroine of Rebel (a.k.a. Wayfarer in the US):

( 'If we die, we die. But we will not surrender the Oak to you without a fight.' )

Her messy hair and her pigeon toes and the 80's-looking bomber jacket fill me with squee.

It has been suggested to me that I change the name of my young hero from book two of FAERY REBELS (a.k.a. REBEL in the UK). I am told that for most British people, especially of the younger generation, the name "Timothy" is considered fairly radically uncool.

I don't mind Timothy's name being unpopular, because he was born to missionary parents and raised in Uganda, and him not fitting in with the cool kids in England is kind of the point. However, if it's going to make all my young readers in the UK gag and put the book down hastily the moment they see it (as I'd be tempted to do if the hero's name was, say, "Leslie") then I suppose I would be foolish not to take that into account.

So I'm doing a poll. The first question is specifically for UK readers, but for the second I'd be glad to hear from anybody.

[Poll #1398565]

If you're not on LiveJournal, you can still participate by leaving a comment as "Anonymous". Thanks for helping me out on this.

It has come to my attention that many good people deplore the practice of exporting one's Twitter updates to LiveJournal. I can see the justice of this, and shall desist forthwith.

And I will try to have some new actual LJ content soon. Today should be my last day of revisions on Wayfarer, Lord willing! Or at least, until my editor gets back to me with the next round of changes...