There are books we
all hope to find that do more than simply tell a story. These books take us
with them. They take us with them on the adventure and we feel like we know the
world around us when we go. And these are rare treasures we keep and pass
along. Author Paul Durham’s first MG/YA novel, The Luck Uglies, is one of those rare books.
An adventure and an
introduction to Village Drowning and all its inhabitants, The Luck Uglies has a timeless feel, as if it might just as
believably come from the hidden library in a castle as from the work of a
modern writer. It is both clever, never
underestimating the intelligence of the young reader, and exciting, never
forgetting that everyone loves a good adventure.
We were able to
catch Paul Durham in the midst of all the excitement of The Luck Uglies. While there are heaps of questions I could list, like Rye O'Chanter, we will have to be content with a few at a time:
1.
Who are a few of your favorite authors and/or books (few people have just one!)
that might have inspired some of your writing?
There
are so many great middle grade authors and books it is indeed difficult to
narrow it down, but I always find myself coming back to the same examples.
The Chronicles
of Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander has stayed with me ever since I was a
child. I’ve reread the series twice as an adult and it still holds up as
compelling reading. Its five books tell a story that is timeless and epic in
scope, and yet the storytelling remains intimate and accessible.
A more contemporary
favorite is The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. This was one of those
books that just knocked me over when I read it because it was so good. It's
hard to call it a children's book because, really, it's for everybody. It is
exactly the type of book that inspires me to be a better writer.
•
2.
You mention that you started telling the story to your kids. Who were your
first characters?
Rye
O'Chanter was the very first character to make it onto the page. This seems so
fitting because she was heavily inspired by my own daughter, who prompted my to
write The Luck Uglies in the first
place. Of course, Rye needed cohorts, so her little sister Lottie and her best
friends, Folly and Quinn, weren't far behind.
•
3.
There is such a rich Village Drowning history the reader can sense. Can you
give us a few things about the place that aren't in the book?
That's
such a great question--I often think of Village Drowning as its own
"character." Like any character, there are things about it that even
I haven't discovered yet, but here are two tidbits I can share. Beneath the
streets of the village, there is a place even older than the Spoke that the
link rats call home. Also, in addition to the bogs and river, Drowning is
bordered by a brackish body of water called the Great Eel Pond. Enormous
culverts drain water from the pond under, rather than over, the village.
Needless to say, Drowning remains damp even under the best of
circumstances.
•
4.
Is this the beginning of a journey for Rye? Are there more Luck Ugly book
coming?
Yes, I'm happy to
report that this is just the start of Rye's journey. The Luck Uglies is a trilogy, with more books to come in spring
2015 and 2016. I'm finishing Book 2 right now.
Durham weaves a
tale that truly brings you into Rye O’Chanter’s strange and mysterious world.
The story makes you wish the book would not end so you can uncover more secrets
that promise to be hidden there.
- eden unger bowditch
