Happy Monday, everyone! Today, I am absolutely thrilled to welcome middle grade author Karen Foxlee to the blog for an exclusive author interview. Karen is stopping by to chat all about her wonderful new middle grade fantasy, The Wondrous Tale of Lavender Wolfe.
Today, Karen is sharing about her writing process, how she has grown her career as an author, and what it’s like for her as an Australian author to publish a book in the United States. As a special treat for our readers, Karen’s publisher is also generously offering a free book giveaway to one lucky winner! Read on to see our full conversation, and leave a comment below to enter the giveaway.
Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:
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An
inventive and playful fantasy-adventure about an abandoned girl, a friendly
ogress and a terrible curse from the multi-award-winning and bestselling author
of Dragon Skin and Lenny's Book of Everything.
'A fabulous magical quest, strange and
wonderful.' Judith Rossell, bestselling author of The Midwatch
Lavender Wolfe is a clapperdudgeon, pickpurse
and all alone on a wharf when she is snatched by Big Agatha and thrown into the
galley of a pirate ship, The Good Marchioness.
Disguised as a boy (for only boys may live in
the galley) and renamed Hans Whitby, Lavender has to make her home among the
kitchen rats. However, The Good Marchioness is no ordinary ship.
Captained by Odyessia Pleasant, a fierce pirate with long blonde hair, violet
eyes and a bird's wing in the place of an arm, the crew are on a desperate
voyage - to find and return stolen treasure before all those who sail within
the cursed pirate ship are turned to sand. Lavender included.
Lavender is quick-witted and sharp as a tack,
and as her magic starts to be revealed she finds herself coming under the
arresting gaze of Captain Pleasant. Will Lavender help break the curse? Or will
she be just another victim of this story within a story within a story, her
true identity lost to the sands of time?
An adventure as big as the ocean and as warm as
your heart. All aboard!
Hi
Karen! Thanks so much for joining us.
1. Tell us about yourself and how you became a writer.
I wrote my first story in second grade and decided, then and there, that I wanted to be an author. Even though I became a registered nurse when I left school, I never really gave up my dream of becoming a writer. In my late twenties I decided to go to university and completed an arts degree majoring in creative writing. My first novel took me ten years to write, and it was published when I was in my thirties. I’ve written another ten novels since then!
2. Where did you get the idea for The Wondrous Tale of Lavender Wolfe?
The idea was a tiny scrap of voice that kept repeating in my mind. I had three names. Lavender first, a pretty name, but with too many letters to remember if you’re not much good at spelling. Often my stories start like this. I knew I had to sit down and explore what those words meant. Before long I’d discovered I was writing a story about a young pickpurse, stolen by a ship’s cook, onto a cursed and magical sailing ship. The inspiration that fueled the growth of the story came from many places. I love the sea, desserts and puddings, and epic adventures, and all of those things turned up in the narrative. The more I learned about Lavender the more I wanted to write about belonging and finding ourselves.
Writing
Process
3. What was your writing process for The Wondrous Tale of Lavender Wolfe? Was it different from how you wrote your other middle grade books?
I’m not a plotter so it was chaos, exploration, and fun. All fairly normal for the way I write! I knew that if I stuck with Lavender in Big Agatha’s galley, I’d find my way into the story. This novel is layered, so it was challenging but satisfying to gradually get everything in the right place.
4. It’s interesting that you haven’t started plotting, but it sounds like your process works for you. How did you develop your fantasy world and Lavender’s magical abilities? What tips do you have for writers who write fantasy about world-building?
World building starts really close to the characters for me. I created Big Agatha’s ship kitchen first and the ways that Lavender would experience it. That meant the physical environment, the smells and sounds, the magic recipes, and the hierarchy of her fellow “kitchen rats.” In a similar way, the magic grew out of the characters. I got to know them first and gradually their magic was revealed. It sounds strange but sometimes writing as a non-plotter feels magical itself. I didn’t have any preconceived notions for what the magic had to be starting out, only that each of Big Agatha’s rats would have their own unique abilities. I let Lavender’s magic grow in the same organic way. That she was a “wind-knower” was very exciting to me. I have a fascination with useless facts, and I went down the rabbit hole of researching the names of winds and storms from around the world and fed that inspiration into developing her budding powers.
5. Even though you don’t plot, it sounds like you spend a lot of time creating your world before writing. Share what you love about Lavender? Did you know her fully as a character when you started writing your first draft, or did she develop as you wrote it?
Lavender Wolfe definitely developed as a character as I wrote. I would say she started as little more than a voice and a vague idea of her appearance (she looks a lot like me as a child!). I wanted her to be streetwise and tough but with a softness too. I love her tenacity. She refuses to give up on her new friends. She’s exactly the kind of girl who would stop to help a boy trapped inside a cursed shell! But I also love her vulnerability. She’s so hurt by the Little Duchess and many of the events of the story. Lavender really does wear her heart on her sleeve. Each draft taught me new things about her. I also had so much fun learning the type of eighteenth-century words she might use.
Your Road to Publication
6. How did you get your first publishing contract?
I entered my first novel in an unpublished manuscript competition here in Australia. It was part of a literary award program in my home state. I entered it hoping I might receive some feedback, but I won! Part of the prize was a publishing contract with a university press. I was very fortunate to get my break this way.
7. The Wondrous Tale of Lavender Wolfe was published in Australia last year. How did you get your US publishing contract?
I am lucky to have a wonderful agent, Catherine Drayton with Inkwell Management. I was so thrilled to learn that Sarah Barley books wanted to acquire the novel. I started crying on the train in the city. It was a lovely moment and I’m so glad she fell in love with this story.
8. Did you work with an editor and your publicist at Simon & Schuster for Books for Young Readers? How was it different than working with your editor and publicist in Australia?
The editing was fairly light because the novel had already been published in Australia. There was just the usual checking for the Americanization of spellings (please excuse my British / Australian spellings in these responses!) I love the process of working with editors no matter where they are and the team at Simon & Schuster Sarah Barley Books have been amazing. The publicist has been great too. There’s always the obstacle of a rather large time difference between us but nothing that can’t be overcome!
9. Yes, Alex is a great publicist. You’ve also published ten other books since your debut YA book, The Anatomy of Wings, was published in 2007. How have you grown your career as an author?
I’ve just kept writing! I follow whatever is the next story in my head. I’ve been fortunate to have publishers waiting for what I write next and who are open to my ever-changing stories. I’ve written both fantasy/ magical realism and contemporary stories. I also wrote a picture book. Each novel I’ve learned more about myself as a writer and stayed true to wanting to write complex, moving stories for children.
Promoting
Your Book
10. How are you planning to promote your book in
the US?
The publicist at Sarah Barley Books has been great at lining up podcasts and interviews. I will share and promote at my end on social media.
11. What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on another middle-grade novel. It’s set in the 1980s so I’m channeling my inner 80s child. It’s a coming-of-age story about a girl and her grandmother’s magical sewing machine and a mysterious sewing pattern from the past. It is a lot of fun!
Thanks for sharing all your advice, Karen. You can find Karen at karenfoxlee.com and instagram.com/karenfoxleeauthor.
🎉 ENTER LITERARY RAMBLES’ THE WONDEROUS TALE OF LAVENDER
WOLFE BOOK GIVEAWAY! 🎉
Want to win The
Wondrous Tale of Lavender Wolfe? Thanks to Karen’s publisher for supplying a book for this book
giveaway contest.
How to Enter:
- Leave a Comment: Drop a comment below by November 21st with your email
address. To protect your privacy from spam bots, please write your email
address using the "name [at] gmail [dot] com" format.
- Bluesky Bonus: If you follow me on Bluesky, mention your handle in your comment
for an extra entry!
- Sharing Bonus: If you share about this contest on your own social media sites or
blog, let me know in the comments for an extra entry.
- Author Bonus: If you
follow Karen on social media, let me know in your comment for an extra
entry!
- Blog Follower Bonus: If you follow Literary Rambles via Blogger or email subscription,
let me know in the comments for an extra entry.
🌍 Eligibility: The book giveaway
is U.S. only.
Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops
- Wednesday, November 11th: Agent
spotlight interview with Riley Jay Davis and a query critique giveaway
- Monday, November 16th: Bobbi
Miller guest post and The Barnaby
Chronicles: The Lost Prince Giveaway
- Monday, November 16th: In All Things Give Thanks Giveaway Hop
- Monday, November 23rd: Agent spotlight interview with Hannah Teachout and
a query critique giveaway
- Monday, November 30th: Agent spotlight interview with Michaela Whatnall and a query critique giveaway
I hope to see you on
Wednesday!
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