Marnie Midnight

Read on for an amazing Q&A with the wonderfully creative and talented Laura Ellen Anderson and discover more about her books, the things that inspire her and the way she works...

This is a brand new series with 2 books so far. New characters and an entirely unique story. Has it been brewing for some time in your creative mind or is it a more recent idea?

The idea for Marnie Midnight started to develop whilst I was writing Rainbow Grey. I loved the idea of ‘magical bugs’ or ‘bugs with abilities’ – think Marvel, but with minibeasts! I had so many ideas for some weird and wonderful characters, so I just needed to find a way to weave those bizarre bugs into a story.

I was particularly inspired by two beautifully made computer games - ‘Ori and the Blind Forest’ and ‘Hollow knight’. I’ve never really played computer games (I’m too impatient with the controls!), but I love to admire the art, and follow the stories when my husband plays them. Some of the design work is incredible; with Ori and Hollow knight, you find yourself transported to these stunning and highly imaginative worlds with characters you immediately fall in love with. I wanted THAT with Marnie. I wanted to create a world you could imagine could exist down in the depths of the garden. However, I am no bug expert, so I was a little worried about writing a bug-themed book. But I thoroughly enjoyed researching all the areas of the minibeast world that interested me, learning SO much as I went along, and still learning with every book I write. I was then able to take all of the wonderful facts I’d picked up from the real world around me, and add some fictional magic to them, creating a brand new made-up minibeast world I really hope readers enjoy.

When you write, your stories often come in series, something I love because it promises so much to come but would you like to write a standalone book?

I would love to try writing a stand-alone book if ever the opportunity arose. I have a few ideas floating around I’d like to explore in my own time.

When I’m writing a longer series, I do like to keep each book separate enough so that it can be enjoyed as a stand-alone, but perhaps include an over-arching storyline to connect them all. For example, if the third or fifth book of the Amelia Fang series were picked up before any of the others, I would hope that the reader could still get an idea of what’s going on in the world with an opportunity to get to know each of the main characters.

I really do love the thought of writing one book that rounds up and then it’s done and dusted; hopefully leaving the reader wanting more, BUT also satisfied with how everything rounds up. We shall see what the future holds!

Related to the above. I feel series, particularly those longer than say four or five books, are very popular with younger readers, especially those aged 6-11. Do you feel you have to write a longer series for your readers to encourage them into a reading habit?

I think there’s no doubt that if somebody enjoys one book that is part of a bigger series, they will seek out the rest – I know I certainly do! ‘The Worst Witch’ series is a prime example of this. I adore those books and when I discovered that Jill Murphy had released a few additional stories in the early 2000’s, I was eager to check them out. But I do also believe it is important to round up a series when it feels right. When I wrote Amelia Fang book 7, I was ready to move on to something new – but that wasn’t to say I would never return to Amelia’s world. I am hoping to make a return to Nocturnia soon!

I do feel a book series with multiple stories does help to encourage reading on a more regular basis; particularly within the 6-11 age group; and it also provides a build-up of excitement as one waits for the next book to be released. That’s one of my favourite feelings!

With the series you have created an entirely new world. Did you map it out, literally or figuratively, before you started writing or do you let it grow organically with the story?

When creating a brand-new world, I find a LOT will change as I go along. My initial character sketches and first draft of text will change without a doubt, and that’s what makes the final product so worthwhile. Even with a made-up fantastical world, I feel you need to learn how the place works, and how the characters react to different things within that world. The world building and the character building is so important when creating a book, and sometimes I find I’ll discover something about that world or character I’d never ever expected! Sometimes the surprises create the best storylines. So, I think when developing a new story, there’s an element of planning AND letting it grow organically. It’s important to have an idea of where you’d like a story to go so that you’re not floating in the ether getting overwhelmed! Having an aim is good, but again, it can (and probably will) change. It’s an exciting journey, and it always fascinates me when I look back at the book development created months before the final draft; seeing characters that never made the final cut, or storylines that could have been – and perhaps still will be!

Aside from the charmingly alliterative title I also love all the play on words throughout the story, for the names of characters and places. How do you go about creating character and place names and how long does it usually take?

I am rather obsessed with alliteration and word play. I want the reader to enjoy my story on many levels, as well as appreciate the story itself. When I am writing, I often think about the rhythm of the words especially when reading aloud or with others. It’s nice to try to create a whole experience when reading a book, making the reader excited to turn each page and delve in again and again. I like to have fun with the words whilst following the storyline; creating bouncy sentences or altering the pace and flow of a paragraph to create impact.

I get real enjoyment making up the names for my characters and the locations within my stories – names you wouldn’t necessarily hear anywhere else, hopefully making it unique and memorable for the reader.

Was the choice of Marnie being a Midnight moth co-incidental, knowing moths are nighttime creatures and that the theme of this story was the moon, a nighttime light? Or were there other reasons for your choice of a moth?

I very much considered the fact that moths and the moon are associated with one another, and I wanted to play with those elements. I’ve always been completely fascinated by the moon and the idea of moon magic. But I am also fascinated by the moth world and how utterly beautiful, but misunderstood moths can be. When I write my stories, I want to enjoy every second, so I always write about something I love. I love the moon, magic and moths – the three M’s as I say! So I figured I’d write about all of those wonderful things in one moon magic moth-filled book!

I had originally called the character of Marnie – Marnie Moon. However, I felt there was a lot of the word ‘Moon’ being thrown around… Marnie Moon, who’s a moon moth and discovers the wonders of moon magic…?! I felt I was creating a bit of a moon overload (I never thought that possible, but hey ho!)

I definitely wanted Marnie’s family name to be associated with nighttime in some way, and of course, to begin with an M; and so ‘Midnight’ felt like a lovely surname and it stuck! But yes, the fact that this story is about a little moth and has a heavy moon theme is no coincidence!

What is the biggest challenge of writing a story from a non-human, in this case a moth’s, perspective and how do you tackle this? 

It was equally exciting and daunting to write a story from the perspective of a non-human character. But at the same time, whatever that character is – be that a human, bug or a completely made-up creature, I still like to make them relatable to a human reader.

Marnie the moth and her friends still go through the same things we experience, but on a much smaller scale! I still like my characters to go to school and to go on adventures but making them non-human means I can have a LOT of fun creating situations you’d never ever expect to be in! For example, in Marnie Midnight book 1, I never thought in a million years I’d end up writing about a bunch of bugs who travel to space on the back of a robin! That is truly the beauty of storytelling!

The story is illustrated in black and white, this works very well but would you ever like readers to see your beautiful work in full colour?

I have to say, I do love working in black and white, but it would be wonderful to see the odd illustration in colour! Especially with the likes of Rainbow Grey who had beautiful long, multicoloured hair. It was quite bizarre to be writing about this character and then having to draw her hair in tones of grey for the internal illustrations. But luckily, the cover of the book, and sometimes the inside of the cover has a lovely bold colour version of the characters, and I also like to colour some of the inside illustrations to offer as special prints for fans of the books.

Would you ever write a book that wasn’t illustrated or is it ingrained in you to always illustrate (I do hope so!)? And, going the other way: would you ever consider creating a wordless story, one with only illustrations for the imagination of the reader to give a story to?

Writing a story that is not illustrated HAS crossed my mind, but I do find most of my ideas very much begin with a sketch or something visual. It’s the way I’ve always been, and sometimes I find it easier to express a character’s feelings, or the way something looks, through a drawing rather than text. They do say a picture can be worth more than a thousand words, and I very much agree. I have always been incredibly inspired by Raymond Brigg’s ‘The Snowman’ book. This does not contain any words, and still to this day is one of the most beautiful, moving and powerful stories I’ve seen. I would love to try to create an effective wordless narrative, and perhaps one day I will!

This story, as with all your stories, has “goodies” and “baddies” and characters that surprise with the side that they are on. How do you feel about making the distinction and do you enjoy writing one more than the other?

Creating characters is my favourite part of the storytelling process, and I have to say, I DO love a good villain! I like to give my characters lots of depth and often, there’s way more to a baddie than meets the eye. Don’t get me wrong, I do love an all-out bad guy, but I like to give them their own reasons for being the way they are. As with anyone, life is full of choices and pathways we may or may not take; and it’s always interesting to see where some of my characters end up. I often prefer to build up a character to seem like they are a certain way inclined, only to surprise the reader later on… One example is Mr Atlas, the Predator Studies teacher in Marnie Midnight book 1. We are led to believe he’s really quite horrid at times, but we find out a LOT more about him later on in the book that explains why he became that way.

It is the same scenario with Prince Tangine La Floofle the First from the Amelia Fang series. At first, we love to hate him, but by book 7 you learn to love him (I hope!) Tangine ended up being one of my most favourite characters to write in any of my books. (Tangine spin-off, anyone?!)

Sometimes a character’s arc will surprise even me – they’ll head one way and end up at a completely different destination… Again, without spoilers, this was very much the case with La Blaze DeLight from the Rainbow Grey series. Creating characters with layers – strengths and weaknesses – makes them far more believable and relatable. All humans make mistakes and must overcome many obstacles in real life, and so do the characters in my stories.

I know we still have more Marnie Midnight stories to come. Can you tell us how many there might be (so we can make sure to have enough bookshelf space) but also if you already have ideas for other series?

There is most definitely going to be a third Marnie Midnight book, but I cannot say whether there will be more after that. Of course, I’d LOVE to make more, so we will have to see what happens! I do also have another story series up my sleeve that is yet to be announced as well as some other ideas percolating… I wish I could reveal MORE, but I must keep the secrets until further notice. But I really hope you all enjoy Marnie Midnight and the Great Critter Contest which is out now. I had so much fun writing this book and I can’t wait to delve back into Marnie’s mini world for more misadventures in book 3!

Thank you to Laura Ellen Anderson for her amazing answers, to Liz for helping make this Q&A happen and to the team at Farshore who publish the books. You can read a review of Marnie Midnight and the Great Critter Contest in Louise's Postbag Picks (if you don't already subscribe email armadilloeditor@gmail.com) and you can find copies in all good bookshops!