Fancy a sleigh ride through New York’s famous Central Park? It’s chilly, so rug up and bring a thermos. I’m chatting with Emily Craven, author of the innovative YA novel The Grand Adventures of Madeline Cain: Photographer Extraordinaire. I wonder if she’s got Duncan the troublesome chameleon with her.
RH: Welcome Emily. I hope you like this New York corner of Writer’s Block, complete with Sleigh ride. I’ve brought my magical hamper with me, so what would you like – hot chocolate, muffins? Maybe one of Madeline’s pizzas?
EC: Maybe mix the two, dessert pizza? Nom Nom.
RH: Oh, great idea! *mmm, heaven on pizza dough*
RH: *licks chocolate off teeth* You’ve had some great reviews on your book. It’s been variously described as funny and light-hearted, recommended for anyone wanting to add a smile to their day and as a creative approach to story-telling. Tell us a little about that creative approach and why you think it works so well in Grand Adventures.
EC: I’m glad that is the vibe that has come across because that’s what I was aiming for when I wrote the novel, I wanted to write something light-hearted and funny. What came out was madness; sorry about that, next time I’ll try to keep the word vomit down…
RH: Hey word vomit my way anytime – emphasis on word.
EC: I won’t seek you out when I’m sick then. Truth be told, it was pure selfishness, bugger the audience, I wanted to make myself laugh! (Not vomit laugh, that’s as fun as a box full of cats) I was writing to a self-imposed deadline and knew I couldn’t write a serious fantasy (my normal genre) within the time limit allowed. Originally I started sourcing ideas from friends on Facebook and I thought, why stop at brain storming? This is how I communicate with my friends, particularly when I travel overseas, and the most entertaining parts of my day are via posts on the social media site. We were telling each other our life stories and I didn’t see why it couldn’t work as a narrative. And, frankly, my friends are nuts, they bring the funnies like a troop of clowns from a clown car. Someone needed to capture that shit. And this way I could legitimately log my hours on Facebook as ‘research’. How many writers can claim changing their Facebook to Pirate English as a good use of their time? Very few I’d wager.
RH: Not me. I don’t even get the ‘poke’ thing. *Emily looks at me like I just admitted I can’t read*
EC: You don’t know what you’re missing out on, there’s something magical about being told you posted a status update 21 shots of rum ago… The great thing about writing the novel as though it were in Facebook is I can skip all the boring bits. No one likes the boring bits. On social media you want to seem interesting, so you only post the good bits, the sordid bits, the gossipy bits, the ‘I want to make you so jealous you’re going to plan my abduction’ bits. Writing in that style allowed me to write in an episodic way which is how we tend to entertain ourselves these days.
RH: Maddy is certainly entertaining. We’re introduced to Madeline through the event notification that she is heading for New York to take up a twelve month photography course with her idol, Jason I’Anson. Why did you give her this particular passion, and how much research was necessary in order to make Madeline’s entry into the world of photography believable?
EC: I love photography. I reckon half my hard drive space is dedicated to the thousands of photographs I’ve taken. I could put insomniacs to sleep with the sheer volume. Half of them may be blurry, but they are an artistic blurry I tell you! Ok, well maybe about a hundred of those are actually any good. I would like to think that if I wasn’t so enthralled by writing that would be what I’d be doing. But then again, creative professions always look easier from the outside don’t they?
RH: Yes. Writing sure looked a lot easier before I tried it!
EC: I’ve actually done several charity projects dealing in photography which required me to bone up on the techniques and areas of photography, none of which made it into the book. It was a case of: learn everything I can, promptly forget it, and then make stuff up. It’s how fiction writers roll. The book is less about Madeline’s artwork and more about her attempts to make life work around her dreams, something we all wrestle with at one point or another. That means I can get away with a lot of light description on the photography side of things. I’ve tried to bone up on the whole ‘photographer thing’ by scattering photographs throughout the book from New York (which I actually took on a previous visit) to make it look like I know what I’m talking about… A picture tells a thousand words after all…
RH: And word pictures a thousand more. Do you get much chance to share what you know about photography?
EC: It’s actually something I’ve found I’ve had to manage at my book signings! People keep coming up thinking the book is about photography and I have to explain that if they are looking for tips this book isn’t what they’re after. If they’re after a feel-good laugh-a-thon with a central character who gets picked up by the FBI for photographic experiments, then this is the book they’re after. Strangely enough, not many people are looking for a book with those specifics…
RH: Well, those who buy it are in for a treat. New York features strongly in Madeline’s adventures and you capture the feel of the place well: the crowds; the chill of a New York winter; the peculiarities of the various characters who make up her new life; the expense of living there. How much of this is drawn from your own experience? What appealed to you about New York that led you to choose it for Madeline’s adventures?
EC: The feel of the place is all from my own experiences in that delightful city. It’s cleaner than it should be and dirtier than you think. It’s a really exciting city, especially for young creatives, there is never a dull moment. It was one of the places that stuck in my mind during my own gap year adventures, an exciting place full of ideas and perfect for a young girl, fresh off the high school production line looking to fulfill unrealistic Empire State Building fantasies. So while the place is very much from me, the characters are very much from the experiences of my family and friends. People they’ve met in life, odd situations they’ve found themselves a part of. My life is as boring as a nun living inside a convent, inside a monastery, inside another convent. My major contribution to Maddie’s crazy encounters is the homeless woman who believed Mexicans had the power to change traffic lights. Yep that happened to me outside Disneyland, yep it was weird, yep she smelled like a hobo. You haven’t lived until you’ve smelled a racist hobo.
RH: I’ll pass on that experience, thanks. And a nun inside a monastery sounds like fun – for someone. But back to Maddy. Through her various photography assignments and her part time job as a pizza delivery girl, Madeline, meets some eccentric characters – and they are not all human! Two recurring characters who give her grief are Duncan the chameleon and Laani the talking umbrella. Tell us a little about those characters and the inspiration behind them.
EC: Ah, again it was the Facebook brainstorming. My sister said she wanted an umbrella called Laani (her name) as part of my story. I thought to myself, ‘you wouldn’t name an umbrella unless it could talk’. And what would be the point of making an umbrella talk unless it caused chaos, umbrella pun related chaos? If I was an umbrella and was only brought out to be rained on, I’d have a few things to say about that. ‘I stop rain, not stupidity’, would be one of my milder phrases…
As this wasn’t a fantasy novel, I had to fall back on the age old excuse of ‘mechanics’ to make the umbrella talk, but it was worth it! She became, as you said, one of the major features of the novel. I even got my sister to record some of the sayings of dear Laani the abusive umbrella so I could give them away as freebies to my readers. There’s nothing like making your sister pretend to be a grouchy old umbrella for your own amusement.
RH: That’s what sisters are for – just ask mine. *wink* So what about the amazing Duncan?
EC: Another friend asked for a chameleon to be present. That friend’s name was Duncan. I asked myself what I knew about chameleons, which wasn’t much, and most of it was inaccurate. I thought they were Mexican (turns out no), and I knew they could camouflage themselves (unfortunately not so they’re like the Invisible Man’s pet minion). After combining these two traits I pondered, what would be more terrifying than something you can’t see scaring the living daylights out of you? I decided it was something you can’t see AND that can move faster than you, scaring the living daylights out of you. Hence Duncan’s super hero speedy powers coming into play. My characters kind of ran away from me after that, I think that’s why they’re so vivid. They are the entirety of my crazy, shoved into two tiny and deliciously wacky characters.
RH: As you’ve mentioned, you utilised social media to help develop the storyline for Grand Adventures. Can you explain some of that process for us?
EC: It’s all about redesigning the room to suit me, really. Which may sound selfish, but was really an unconscious decision not to get sued. I needed to a) make it work as a story, b) wrestle it into a format that wasn’t going to be a nightmare to produce down the track (or land me in court- which I’m sure is a right laugh with all the wigs but best avoided) and c) help drive the pacing of the story.
For example, I know few people who use Facebook notes anymore, but I needed a conceit that allowed me to tell a fairly continuous narrative without interruptions. Madeline needs her moments in the sun and let’s face it, she/I’m too lazy to use more than one social media. The Notes function allowed that. But like all prose writing, continuous storytelling tends to slow down the pace somewhat.
Status updates help to whisk the reader off with entertaining, bite sized one-liners so they barrel into the next ‘incident’ at a run, the momentum carrying them through. Then the private messages allowed me to humanise Madeline’s character. She’s not an exhibitionist, and like many of us, she has boundaries as to what she makes public and what she makes private. There are plenty of events in our lives that we tell to close friends, but wouldn’t share at a party (or rather wished we hadn’t shared with the party).
RH: I’m with you there *briefly reminisces about misspent youth*
EC: Facebook allows me to delve into a more private side of her life that is equal parts hilarity and embarrassment, and in Madeline’s eyes not for mass consumption by some of her less tactful friends. Can’t say I’d like people knowing the truth about who turned their footy uniforms pink…
These three key parts are the ‘storytelling’ functions of Facebook and while there are many other entertaining features (including pictures, videos, pokes and apps), they don’t really add to the ‘story’ and are only mentioned in passing. Then there are things like pirate English which I just use for shits and giggles.
RH: The reviews most often describe this as a book for young adults. Was this your intention when you began writing or does the way you tell the make it more relatable to late teen/twenty something readers? Does it cross over into an adult readership?
EC: It’s funny you should say that because I’ve actually had more adults read the book than young adults. Might have something to do with the fact that parents are the ones with the credit cards. The reason why it’s been pegged as a YA novel is because the protagonist is a teenager and the book has strong themes of ‘trying to find yourself’, something that is experienced for the first time as a teenager just out of school. I read a lot of YA (even though I’m 26) which is why it seemed to fit neatly into that age bracket. Frankly, I hate pigeon holing for this very reason, no one is going to tell me I’m too old to read something god damn it!
So other than railing against The Man, what’s the reason why I read YA? Because it’s entertaining, it has a vein of optimism and it’s about overcoming challenges, not being battered by them. I write what I like to read, and what I like to read is loved by people across age brackets because everyone likes to be entertained and uplifted.
RH: Well said, Emily. As Carlos Fuentes has said: Don’t classify me, read me! You’ve also published Jake’s Page, another tale told through status updates, and E-Book Revolution, a book for those venturing into e-books. There is a fantasy book in the wings and you work at the Queensland Writer’s Centre. How do you manage to do all that and maintain the wonderful humour on show in Grand Adventures?
EC: I have two very distinct voices, the more serious, highly imaginative fantasy side and the comedic side. I haven’t managed to merge the two but that is my ultimate aim! The fantasy requires a lot of brain power to come out right where as the comedic side is my natural day to day personality so it’s as easy as opening my mouth and burping (I’m weird, don’t judge me…). My humour is me running away from being serious, though I do worry that I am only amusing myself…
RH: I was amused. And so were your reviewers. So run away from serious as often as you like. Will we be seeing Madeline’s further adventures, and if so, when?
EC: Indeed you will, I’m working on the sequel as we speak which will hopefully be out mid next year! The working title at the moment is The Grand Adventures of Madeline Cain: Semi-Pro. In this book her year in NYC comes to a head and Maddie must make some life changing decisions: What type of photography will she dedicate her life to? Is being with her boyfriend worthwhile when he uses her life as inspiration for his Japanese style game show? Will she save a man from a gun wielding cross dresser? And will she or won’t she will accept a date with a five year old? Clearly Armageddon hinges on her answers…
RH: That’s sounds great. Can’t wait for the next set of adventures. So are you ready for the…
RH: What is your all-time favourite book/movie?
EC: A Sudden Wild Magic by Dianna Wynne Jones/ The Three Idiots (a Bollywood film and AMAZING)
RH: What are you reading now?
EC: Conquest by John Connelly
RH: What is your favourite word?
EC: Fumaroles – vents from which volcanic gas escapes into the atmosphere.
RH: What is the best bit of advice you ever got (about writing or life in general)?
EC: Sit your arse down and write.
RH: Thanks for sharing your time with us today, Emily. Where can we find Madeline and your other books?
EC: As you can imagine, I’m all over Facebook like a wet flannel, well, me and all the characters of The Grand Adventures of Madeline Cain, each character has their own real life page. They interact with each other and readers and generally run amok, poking fun at their creator. You can find the Facebook page for the series here (and the links for each character page in the About section):
The website is here if you want to join the newsletter and get your very own abusive umbrella ring tone:
And here’s my blog for all you writer nerds.
If you’re interested in diving head first into this Grand Adventure you can grab it from Amazon, Kobo and Book Depository (You will select a link, you will like it, you will write a review, you will tell ALL your friends, the force compels you!!!):
Direct from the author: I will mail/email you a copy and all the proceeds go directly to the author *grin* Plus you can get your book signed, that’s always worth the extra trouble no? ebookrevolution (at) yahoo (dot) com.
Emily Craven was first inspired to placed pen to paper when she was 12, after she learnt her favourite author, Isobelle Carmody, began her first novel at 14. Emily finished the first draft of her fantasy and travel novel manuscripts while completing a Bachelor of Science (Space Science and Astrophysics and Geophysics) at the University of Adelaide. So technically, she can claim to be an astrophysicist (stars), geophysicist (rocks) and writer (crazy). She writes YA fiction, Fantasy and non-fiction. Emily lives in Australia and yes, back when she was a teenager her high school had its own herd of Kangaroos. She’s been to almost every continent (Africa being her weakness in continent-domination) and has the pretty photographs to prove it (though probably less professional then Madeline Cain…).
In 2010 Emily decided life wasn’t interesting enough and decided trying to write a novel in a month. Definitely not insane enough to try writing a fantasy novel, she chose to do a comedy based in Facebook. She created a Facebook event and threw her plot line to the winds, asking her assortment of friends to give her their best ideas, which included chameleons, umbrella’s called Laani, triplets, a transvestite dwarf book club and a group of disturbed university students. Emily sites November 2010 as the only month she could legitimately claim her hours on Facebook as “research”. She then went one step further with her creation and gave her characters their own Facebook pages, where they run amok and poke fun at their creator.