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Malamander (An Eerie-on-Sea Mystery)

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Don’t be shy about asking someone to read your story, if you aren’t sure about something. Writing is meant to be read, so involving readers while you are still writing can really help.

Herbie explains that the rumor is that the diner owner “came here as a young man and saw a mermaid from the end of the pier. Heard her sing. No one ever recovers from that.” Malamander is the first in a series of stories about the ‘Legends of Eerie-on-Sea’, in which we meet Herbert Lemon, Lost-and-Founder at the Grand Nautilus Hotel, and his friend Violet Parma, who is lost and wants to be found. It’s a story about friendship and belonging, about out-of-season seaside towns and bewildering weather, about mysteries, mischief and monsters. Oh, and fish ‘n’ chips! Write so that the reader feels like they are inside in the story. You do this by showing the reader what’s happening, not simply telling them what’s going on.

Video Q&A

When you first write a story, don’t worry too much about it being good, just worry about finishing it. Then you can go through afterwards and cut/add/change things to make it good. Herbie thinks he has drowned aboard the Leviathan. He thinks, “It’s not cold, though, so I guess being as dead as driftwood has an upside.” However, Herbie is warm because he was rescued. He feels the effects of nearly drowning, his “chest and throat feel as if they’re on fire”. While walking with Violet, Herbie mentally describes how “the snow is like a swarm of icy bees—stinging [their] eyes and trying to get up [their] noses.”

Do you remember how you felt when you saw the beautiful front cover by George Ermos for the first time? What do you feel his artwork brings to the story?

At the moment I want to read a lot more Middle Grade fiction, as I’ve fallen behind and there’s so much great new work out there. However, the Mermonkey wouldn’t give me what I want, he would give me what I need. And what I need right now is hard for me to say. However, if I did throw a coin in the Mermonkey’s hat right now, I suspect I’d get a book about the importance of living in the moment. Or about not eating too many biscuits. Really, it could go either way. Taylor wonderfully builds the world of Eerie-on-Sea. From the very first chapter, it is clear Eerie-on-Sea is no ordinary island. It is home to ancient legends regarding the existence of sea monsters, which Herbie and Violet discover to be more fact than fiction. The legends– and the people who tell them– are enthralling, and each person is essential to the story being told. By the end of the novel, readers will feel as if they were on the island themselves. I tend to overcomplicate my plots and then struggle with them, but I’m learning to concentrate on the essential points. I tend to plot about 50% of the book ahead of time, and then write my way through the rest by the seat of my pants! It’s a bit of a blur, there’s a long ‘Post-it Note phase’, and a lot of pacing around on the beach, fretting. But I don’t believe it would be possible to plan everything in advance, and I do believe it’s important to allow plenty of space for surprising things to happen. Somehow, at the end of all this, a book emerges. Mrs. Fossil tells the children about the legend of the malamander. She says the creature lays an egg and then “devours it.” Since the egg has the power to grant wishes, she explains, many people have sought it. However, she tells them, “Every single one of them . . . gobbled up by the beastie!”

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