Do you like books with monsters and magic? Heroes and epic journeys? On June 6th, 2017 at a bookstore near you, one of the most imaginative books I’ve read in a long while will be released into the world. LORD of MONSTERS is the 2nd book in the OUT of ABATON series, and this Pinocchio retelling is sure to please.
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Those of you who read THE WOODEN PRINCE will remember that it ends with Pinocchio transforming into a real boy. In the LORD of MONSTERS, Pinocchio must learn to adapt to being human at the same time as he’s figuring out his new responsibilities as a ruler (prester) of Abaton, along with his friend Lazuli, daughter of the former leader of Abaton, Prester John.
“But before they can get comfortable in their thrones, a fancy dinner at the palace is interrupted by an unwelcome guest-a monster! And this isn’t just any monster; it’s a manticore, a beast that was imprisoned centuries earlier. Desperate to locate the prison and make sure none of its other monsters were able to escape, Lazuli, Pinocchio, and their Celestial Brigade set out to save Abaton from these ancient beings.
Their journey requires intelligence, strength, and a dash of the magic only presters control. But when Pinocchio tries to use his powers, they have an unintended effect: he is turning back into a wooden automa. And if he’s not careful, he may lose his human form forever.
The second book in the Out of Abaton series continues John Claude Bemis’s reimagining of Pinocchio in an action-packed adventure that celebrates friendship, tolerance, and the power of being yourself.” –Goodreads
Sounds amazing, right? It is!
Two things set this story apart. The incredibly imaginative cast of characters and plot devices are unparalleled. Also, themes of inclusion and tolerance are crucial to the climax. For me, this is an easy two thumbs up!
And now, it’s my pleasure to welcome John Claude Bemis to the blog!
LORD of MONSTERS has many unique characters (glowing aleya bubbles, a superfluous worm, mushroom men, …) and plot devices (thunderseeds, sleeping sand, an underground forest, …). Could you pick a few of these and tell us what inspired the idea?
John: Thank you! I had so much fun exploring the strange world of Abaton and all its fantastical inhabitants. I like contrast in characters, especially secondary characters. I knew I needed a misfit team of knights for Pinocchio and Lazuli and liked the idea of a pair of them being opposites. One small, one big. One gregarious and the other half comatose. Goliath, who is of a race of diminutive mushroom people, is feisty and fast-talking. While Kataton is a physically intimidating reptilian chimera who’s slow and lethargic. Something about this combo just seemed funny and ripe with possibilities and surprises.
The superfluous worm came about as a plot device honestly. I needed a way for the characters to communicate across long distances in Abaton, but I wanted to do something I hadn’t seen in other fantasy stories. So I invented Riggle, this worm who can be chopped in half and becomes essentially two Riggles. Whatever one Riggle hears, so does the other. So Pinocchio has one Riggle and his father Geppetto has the other and they can pass messages along through Riggle (er…Riggles). It also cracked me up to have a character so amiable about being severed in two. My sense of humor skews weird at times.
One thing that stands out in LORD of MONSTERS is the rich world-building. Will you share a few tips or tricks for creating these well-developed worlds that capture readers and pull them inside?
The trick to fantasy world-building is grounding it in reality. It needs to follow particular rules, even if the reader is unaware of the rules. I think Frank Lloyd Wright said, “Limits are an artist’s best friend.” I established in THE WOODEN PRINCE that the magic of Abaton revolves around the four elements. So in LORD OF MONSTERS, the various cultures needed to reflect how the magic of air, water, fire, and earth would affect cities, transportation, rituals, and everyday life. Also since Abaton is located in the Indian Ocean, I tried to give the world a feel that was connected to south Asia and east Africa with the food, geography, architecture, etc. It’s funny how much research you can do as a fantasy writer. You’d think we could just make it all up from our imaginations, but I find pulling from reality makes the most magical worlds.
In THE WOODEN PRINCE, Pinocchio transforms from an automa into a real boy. In LORD of MONSTERS, Pinocchio explores what it means to be human. What do you hope readers will take away from Pinocchio’s discoveries?
I feel very connected with Pinocchio’s journey. He just wants to understand what it means to be alive in the world—what it means to have friends and family, to handle adversity in an admirable way and to experience all the joys the world has to offer. His discoveries are, in a way, all our discoveries; they’re just amplified a bit because the world is so new to him. In the new book, Pinocchio wrestles with what it means to be given this gift of life and to have it potentially taken away. Once you’ve seen the other side, who wants to go back to being a dull automa? That’s heartbreaking. And breaking hearts makes for good storytelling in my opinion.
In addition to being an author, you also teach writing at various workshops and retreats. Where can we sign up?
I love getting to work with writers of all ages to help them deepen their craft and create stories that are singular to their artistic vision. My favorite writing workshop that I lead is at Table Rock Writers Workshop every August. The attendees are so talented, and we have plenty of time to dig in deep to what makes powerful stories for young readers. Also students get lots of individual feedback on their writing, so that makes it fun to see writers walk away at the end of the week with a whole host of new ideas for what to do with their characters and stories.
What can you tell us about what you’re working on now?
I’ve been developing a couple of new stories, which I’m sorry to say I’m real hush-hush about. But one is a middle-grade novel being shopped to publishers. The other is a YA sci-fi that I’m in the thick of revising. They’ve both been so much fun and are different from what I’ve done in the past. I promise I’ll be getting back to Abaton soon.
Lightning round (*hands John a brownie for strength):
If you had a superpower, what would it be? Teleportation, for sure. I’d pop over to Venice after dinner every night for a cup of gelato on the Strada Nova.
Wooden pencil or mechanical? Mechanical. I’m practical that way. But honestly, I’m most partial to the Pilot G-2 pen. I buy them by the dozens.
Coffee or tea? Tea first. Then midmorning, coffee.
Sweet or salty? I’m salty for sure.
Dog, cat, or other? Cats
Plotter or pantser? Unapologetically, a plotter
Any advice for all those aspiring authors out there? Don’t just think of writing as sitting in front of your laptop. Just as important is the time you spend thinking. So discover where you do your best creative thinking. For me, it’s taking long walks in the woods with a backpocket notebook. I call it my thinking walks. (It took my wife forever to believe that this was real work.) Having time on the trails to be deep in my imagination is where I hatch all my best character, plot, and setting ideas. Make time for it—wherever you can—ever single day. You’ll be rewarded with surprising story insights.
An inspiring speaker and entertaining performer, John Claude Bemis is the author of Out of Abaton: The Wooden Prince and Lord of Monsters, the Clockwork Dark trilogy, The Prince Who Fell from the Sky, and Flora and the Runaway Rooster. He received the Excellence in Teaching Award from UNC Chapel Hill’s School of Education for his work in the schools as an author-educator and served as North Carolina’s Piedmont Laureate in 2013. John lives with his wife and daughter in Hillsborough, NC. You can find him at his author website, on Instagram, and on Facebook.
MICHELLE LEONARD is a math and science nerd, a chocolate biscotti baker, and a SCBWI member who writes middle-grade and young adult fiction. Her young adult sci-fi short story IN A WHOLE NEW LIGHT will be published in the BRAVE NEW GIRLS ANTHOLOGY: STORIES OF GIRLS WHO SCIENCE AND SCHEME releasing August 2017. Connect with her on Twitter.
This book sounds fabulous! Adding it to my TBR!
Yay! I hope you enjoy it, Rebecca!