Snowbone was my second book, and I happily confess it is my favourite! Writing your second book is very hard, for two reasons. The first of these is time - or rather, the lack of it!
I had spent three years writing Barkbelly, but my publisher - Puffin - needed the sequel to be written much faster, otherwise people would have forgotten all about Book 1 by the time Book 2 came out. So I was given nine months to produce it, just like a baby!
The next problem is expectation. If people love your first book, they expect the second book to be just as wonderful as the first. And if it could be even better, that would be great!
I understand this. I feel the same way too, when I read a good book. I want more! But Barkbelly had been a long book: 60,000 words. I honestly felt I had used up all my best words and ideas. Where on earth was I going to find another 60,000? I had no idea. But I started anyway.
I had spent three years writing Barkbelly, but my publisher - Puffin - needed the sequel to be written much faster, otherwise people would have forgotten all about Book 1 by the time Book 2 came out. So I was given nine months to produce it, just like a baby!
The next problem is expectation. If people love your first book, they expect the second book to be just as wonderful as the first. And if it could be even better, that would be great!
I understand this. I feel the same way too, when I read a good book. I want more! But Barkbelly had been a long book: 60,000 words. I honestly felt I had used up all my best words and ideas. Where on earth was I going to find another 60,000? I had no idea. But I started anyway.
US edition
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And I loved the story that began to unfold. It seemed to fly out of my fingers. I couldn't type fast enough! I adored the new characters; loved weaving in some familiar faces from Barkbelly; thoroughly enjoyed exploring some of the Barkbelly ideas in greater depth, like the flying machines and the mythology of the Ashenpeakers. I just loved it to bits!
And when it was finished, I felt amazed and proud and pleased and relieved all at the same time! I had done it, on time, and my editor said it was even better than Barkbelly. Phew! Then she started talking about Book 3... |
Will there be another book in the Ashenpeake series?
Blackeye (US edition)
I am asked this all the time, and the sad answer is no. There are no plans for one at the moment.
I had been planning a third book. It was called Tigermane, and I had worked really hard to get all the main characters at the end of Snowbone into places where their stories could continue. It was going to begin with Tigermane and Stellan crash-landing the Comet in the Northern Wilderness. That, of course, is the place where the strange animals in Barkbelly come from: the harness rats and massive urchins. I had also put in a dangling story thread for Moontar, the star sailor who appears in the very first pages of Barkbelly and then again, in the tavern scene in Snowbone. Read Chapter 41 and see if you can spot it!
But when I was all set to start writing again, Puffin suddenly decided they wanted something different. This was possible: there are some unanswered questions at the end of Snowbone, but the 'main' story is neatly finished off. I wouldn't be leaving the story half-told. It was still disappointing though. I had come to love the Ashenpeakers and their world.
And WHAT could I write instead?!
I had been planning a third book. It was called Tigermane, and I had worked really hard to get all the main characters at the end of Snowbone into places where their stories could continue. It was going to begin with Tigermane and Stellan crash-landing the Comet in the Northern Wilderness. That, of course, is the place where the strange animals in Barkbelly come from: the harness rats and massive urchins. I had also put in a dangling story thread for Moontar, the star sailor who appears in the very first pages of Barkbelly and then again, in the tavern scene in Snowbone. Read Chapter 41 and see if you can spot it!
But when I was all set to start writing again, Puffin suddenly decided they wanted something different. This was possible: there are some unanswered questions at the end of Snowbone, but the 'main' story is neatly finished off. I wouldn't be leaving the story half-told. It was still disappointing though. I had come to love the Ashenpeakers and their world.
And WHAT could I write instead?!
What is Snowbone about?
Snowbone (US edition)
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Snowbone is the 'sequel' to Barkbelly, but I see it more like a companion book, because it doesn't continue Barkbelly's story - it is simply set in the same fantasy world and features some of the same characters. It is possible to read Snowbone without knowing anything about Barkbelly. The stories make complete sense on their own, although they are best read as a pair. Snowbone is fierce, clever, wooden girl who leads a band of children as they fight against the slavery of their people. It's pure adventure - pirates, flying machines, exploding volcanoes, cannibals, underground worlds and strange gods. But more than that, it asks questions about slavery, war and what it takes to be a leader. |
My favourite things about Snowbone
Who is my favourite character?
Snowbone - because she is very like me!
What is my favourite bit?
Oh...! I have so many! But it's probably when Blackeye goes flying.
I love this:
'Over the waves, under the moon, into the east he went. Over sailing ships that snailed across the ocean, leaving their trails behind them, silver as starlight. Over islands, secret-sleeping, scattered like cushions on the wakeful waves. Over sage whales, barnacle blue, singing sea songs older than time.'
Snowbone - because she is very like me!
What is my favourite bit?
Oh...! I have so many! But it's probably when Blackeye goes flying.
I love this:
'Over the waves, under the moon, into the east he went. Over sailing ships that snailed across the ocean, leaving their trails behind them, silver as starlight. Over islands, secret-sleeping, scattered like cushions on the wakeful waves. Over sage whales, barnacle blue, singing sea songs older than time.'
