Setting Scenes with Squirrels!

Jenny Moore, author of the recently published Dragon Girl, the first in a promised four book series, took some time away from story writing to tell us more about why the squirrels meet a less than timely end, how story settings find their way naturally from pen to paper and why prophecy is so important in story telling!

Why dragons? What do you feel makes them appealing to both author and reader? Dragons symbolise everything I love about books and reading in general – adventure, escapism and the ability to step into other worlds (and other lives) and let your imagination take over. Regardless of whether the dragons are good or evil, friend or foe, you know you’re in for a good adventure when you spot one on the cover of a book!

Are you a huge fan of fantasy adventures, folktales and mythology or has there been something else that has inspired your writing? I was given a beautiful, illustrated copy of The Hobbit as a child, which made a big impression on me, and I loved the Narnia books and Viking sagas too. My reading tastes nowadays are quite broad and I’m drawn more to the style of writing and the promise of a compelling story than any particular genre. I do love the timeless feel of folktales though and have a soft spot for a good mythological retelling.

I’m a big fan of chapter headings including quotes pertaining to ‘prophecy.’ Where do chapter headings factor into the writing process and how? I like to start a new chapter with a punchy chapter heading, as it helps set the tone and scene for the writing to come. I made a slight rod for my own back with the alliterative chapter headings in the Dragon Girl series however and spent a lot of time leafing through my trusty thesaurus looking for intriguing-sounding adjectives I hadn’t used yet! I even ended up swapping some of the location names out for alternatives which offered better alliterative opportunities, but it was satisfying when I finally hit the right combination. I had a lot of fun in the process too.

Was it important to you, when writing, that Emba and Odolf have a backstory which is hinted at throughout rather than simply told? Yes, I think it’s nice to get to know characters in an organic way, discovering new depths and layers to their personality and the events that have shaped them, as their story progresses.

As well as, of course, dragons, there are a lot of squirrels in the story who haven’t met the happiest end (probably anyway, in their opinion). What made you choose them as the creatures for the pot? I love squirrels in real life and feel bad about consigning them to the stew pot. Sorry squirrels! I thought scraping off stew splashes would be a good opening scene-setter for Emba’s life in the cave – a suitably mundane task to contrast with the other-worldly arrival of the dragon – and squirrel seemed like a quirkily different meat choice, alerting readers to the fact that Emba’s world isn’t quite the same as ours, even before the dragon puts in an appearance.

Authors are often asked why a story with children and no adults allows for a more freeing writing experience. You’ve altered that slightly having an adult present until they are kidnapped. Is this your way of ensuring the children can have the freedom to adventure? Emba’s relationship with her adopted mother Fred is central to the whole series, so it was important that we got to see the strength of that relationship firsthand. But yes, Fred’s kidnap takes away that parental safety net, leaving the children to face some pretty big challenges and adventures on their own. Having said that, the second book in the series sees the children and Fred embarking on a joint quest, which didn’t cause any problems from a plotting point of view. I enjoyed playing with all sorts of different combinations of companions across the four books and each combination brings its own unique challenges for Emba. 

To me the story has a medieval feel. Is that something you intentionally hope readers might pick up on, is history something you enjoy or are the elements of the setting simply ones that felt right for the characters and their story? I really enjoy history, but it wasn’t a conscious decision to set the action in a particular period. It was more instinctive than that – as you say, it felt right for the characters and their story. A medieval setting lends itself perfectly to epic tales of castles, armed guards and hand-forged belt buckles, and to long, dangerous journeys on foot, with wild animals and thieves lying in wait for unsuspecting heroes!

Prophecy. As mentioned, this is very much part of the story, used as an introduction and in snippets throughout. Did you find yourself spending time writing an actual prophecy and how do you go about that? I love the role of prophecy in Greek Tragedies and Macbeth and was excited to introduce some life-changing prophecies into Emba’s story. It felt important that there was scope for more than one interpretation of the Tome of Terrible Tomorrows’ prophecies however, leaving my characters and the reader unsure whether the chosen path is the right one or not. Trying to weave that element of uncertainty into the text while writing in rhyme was a bit of a challenge but a really fun one. I love writing in verse and enjoyed playing around with the language to give the Tome’s prophecies a more archaic feel.

From looking at the back of the book I saw there are four Dragon Girl books. Are all available to readers and will there be any more or will you move on to another new adventure? The next book in the series, Dragon Girl and the Graveyard of Doom will be out in June and the last two books, Dragon Girl and the Reckless Rescue and Dragon Girl and the End of Everything won’t be far behind! As the title suggests, book four marks the official end of Emba’s adventures. There are no current plans for any further Dragon Girl books but never say never… It was lovely to revisit the characters recently, while writing the exclusive extra chapter for the hardback collector’s edition of Dragon Girl and the Awakened Flames. It felt like catching up with old friends!

As a child did you have a fantastic imagination and dream of adventures like the one you’ve given Emba? I don’t think I dreamt of wild adventures for myself as a child, but I loved coming up with adventures for characters in stories from a young age. Some of the earliest stories I remember writing were about a boy who found himself trapped onboard a ship in a bottle (I don’t recall if he made it out in the end – he might still be there!) and one about a girl who got sucked into a book of fairy tales.

Do you find it easier or harder to have dreams and use your imagination as an adult? I think of imagination as a muscle – the more you use it, the stronger it gets. As a full-time writer, I’m in the lucky position of exercising my imagination for hours every day, so it feels stronger than ever! I’ve usually got too many exciting new ideas for stories jostling for my attention which is a lovely problem to have!