I
am thrilled to welcome the lovely author queen Sophie Cameron back to
the blog, this time for the new series How,
What, Where and When!
Sophie’s
debut novel ‘Out of the Blue’ captured
my heart, and now her second has been released, ‘Last Bus to Everland’ and,
folks… it’s pretty epic.
Hi
Grace! Thanks for asking me!
Let’s kick off the Qs with a little What, as in, what inspired this wonderful and unique story?
The idea first came from a Scottish folktale named The Fairy Boy of Leith, which is supposedly based on a letter written in 1649. It’s about a captain who meets a boy who claims to be able to drum for the fairies in a secret world hidden behind Calton Hill in Edinburgh every Thursday night, which is only accessible to those with the ‘fairy gift’. It’s also inspired, as the title suggests, by Peter Pan and by portal fantasies such as The Chronicles of Narnia.
And
how did
you plot it? Did you
make decisions about characters and their journeys early on, or did
it all just happen bit by bit?
I
knew I wanted the magical dimension to be a Neverland-type getaway
for Brody, and so Nico became a sort of contemporary Peter Pan-type
character – fun, flamboyant and reluctant to grow up. I thought
about what sort of character would need the escape that Everland
offers, what sort of person would be tempted to choose that over the
real world, and from there it was quite easy to flesh out Brody’s
background and his journey. Everland itself was really tricky to
write, though; it changed a lot in edits, and so many of the
secondary characters are completely different from how they began.
Where
is a big thing in this book;
the story is set in Edinburgh (and of course, Everland). Was it
important to you that it took place in that particular city?
Because
it’s based on a folk tale from Edinburgh, I didn't really consider
setting it anywhere else. I really like reading (and writing) stories
that are set in very realistic locations and that make reference to
real landmarks and buildings, and so while I don’t live in
Edinburgh any more it still feels natural for me to set my stories
there – I was there for around 11 years, and it’s still the place
I know best.
When
did this
idea become a whole story?
I’m
not totally sure! For me at least, stories are really about their
characters, so I think in general an idea becomes a complete story
when you really know who the main characters are and what the story
means to them. The first draft of ‘Last Bus to Everland’ is
hugely different to the published version, but I think it became a
whole story when I really know who Brody was and why he had to go on
this journey.
*
Sophie,
thank you so much for being a part of this series, and answering my
questions so beautifully!
You can order this brilliant new book from A Great Read, the Book Depository, or Big Green Bookshop!
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