Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
An Interview with the oh-so-awesome
Henry Neff
Q: Tell us a little about yourself and how you became a writer.
A:
The quick skinny: I grew up in the Chicago area, went off to Cornell
University for college, graduated and took about as corporate a path as
you can imagine (picture me with hair, wearing a suit and tie, and
sitting at a long table where senior executives squint and grimace at
PowerPoint slides). The job was challenging and I worked with some truly
brilliant and talented people, but I had a nagging suspicion (i.e.,
would wake up in a cold sweat at 3 a.m.) that I was wasting my life and
whatever creative gifts I might possess. A few years later I had a
life-changing conversation with my brother, whom I suspect had grown
weary of my existential whining. He posed an unexpected question: How would you spend your time if you had all the money in the world?
My response was almost immediate: I'd teach high school and write
children's books! It's amazing how simple questions can clarify one's
values and priorities. Following this conversation, I left my job and
secured a position teaching history and fine arts at a San Francisco
high school. The day classes let out for the winter holidays, I began
writing what would become The Hound of Rowan. I can't overstate
the pleasure and fulfillment I felt as I penned those initial,
fabulously recyclable pages. The prose was appalling, the ideas
half-formed, but I knew that I was embarking on a journey I was meant to
take. It was like finding a missing puzzle piece and fitting it into
your soul. The experience shaped the way I described Max McDaniels's
reaction to the tapestry he finds in the museum. That tapestry shed
light on Max's identity and started him on his adventures. Writing did
the same for me.
Q: Like me, you are also a teacher. How do you balance your teaching job and family with such a successful writing career?
A:
I'm sorry to say I haven't taught since 2009 when I got engaged and
moved to New York. I do miss teaching, however, and remain in close
contact with many of my former colleagues and students. It's incredibly
gratifying to see young people growing up, falling in love, doing
meaningful work, and making parole (I kid). I hoped to continue teaching
when I moved east but I quickly learned that I'd enjoyed an unusually
flexible arrangement in San Francisco. The school where I'd taught was
on a block schedule, which meant that classes only met on certain days
of the week. The head of school had been kind enough to tweak my
teaching schedule so I only had to come in three days per week. That
support was invaluable to getting my writing career off the ground.
While interviewing at several schools in Manhattan, I asked if they
could maybe—just possibly—manage a similar arrangement, The question
brought polite but incredulous stares. I doubt some of those eyebrows
have ever come down. Given the response and my publishing contract, I
elected to write full-time. It's probably a good thing — we now have two
young boys and life is hectic enough without throwing classes into the
mix. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss the profession. Someday, I
hope to teach again, even if it's just a class or two.
Q: The
Tapestry series includes five books. As an author, how did you manage
the progression of your story line from book to book (what was your
organizational system or thought process to keep it all together in your
mind and smooth from book to book?)
A:
The Tapestry was originally intended to be a trilogy. After finishing
the second book I realized that I couldn't tell the tale I wanted in
three volumes. It simply wasn't enough runway to fully develop the story
and character arcs I envisioned without accelerating them to the point
of absurdity. Truth be told, The Tapestry should probably be six book.
THE RED WINTER is a massive finale and could easily be split in two:
Rowan's war against Prusias, followed by our heroes hunting after
Astaroth. Why was I so off with my initial projection? I can think of
three reasons: 1) Some ideas weren't fully-formed when we pitched the
series; 2) I was an inexperienced writer who underestimated the time it
would take to develop my larger narratives; 3) Stuff changes while
you're writing a series — new ideas pop up, cannibal hags demand more
screen time, etc. However, I don't mean to imply that I simply made the
story up as I went. I'm a fairly meticulous planner and always knew what
The Tapestry's final scene would be—even before I started writing the
first book. It's always helpful for writers (especially those tackling a
series) to have an idea of how they want things to begin and end. The
middle is negotiable. Completing six novels has taught me that ideas,
characters, and entire story lines will inevitably change during the
writing process. While I try to have enough of an outline to peg how
certain characters and narratives will develop, I don't plan to the
extent that I'm merely executing a rigid blueprint. That would smother
those little, in-the-moment epiphanies that spark many of my best ideas.
Q: Impyrium is set in the same world as the Tapestry books. When did you first get the idea to return to that world?
A: The initial ideas for IMPYRIUM came knocking in the wee hours while I was on my honeymoon in Rome. I'd recently finished The Fiend and the Forge
and my brain was so fried that my imagination was stuck on overdrive. I
couldn't fall sleep and was lying in bed, my mind racing through ideas
for Books 4 and 5, when it made an unexpected leap into the future—a
future thousands of years after the The Tapestry's conclusion. I don't
want to give away Tapestry spoilers but the idea hinged on an empire
ruled by dynastic families (several descending from established
characters) locked in an uneasy truce with ancient demons inhabiting
undersea kingdoms. It triggered an avalanche of ideas so exciting that I
barricaded myself in the hotel's tiny bathroom so I could flip on a
light and scribble them down in a notebook. My poor wife must have
thought I had food poisoning.
Q: How did it feel to change the world you had already created?
A:
It was a blast! Enough time has passed (3,000 years) since The Tapestry
that the world is really very different. It's bit like comparing the
present day to the Iron Age. Most of the people living in Impyrium don't
even realize we existed. This is partly due to propaganda, but our
entire history and civilization have been consigned to a prehistoric,
almost mythic past. New York, Tokyo, and Paris might as well be
Atlantis. In this future, mankind has essentially split into two species
(an aristocracy of magically-gifted mehrùn that rule the world, and the masses of ordinary muir
that serve them and do the grunt work). Rowan (The Tapestry's school of
magic) still exists but its context and character have changed.
Building on the world and mythos I'd created allowed me to really
stretch and challenge my imagination, but it also made good use of my
time as a history teacher. Good historians don't simply memorize facts;
they can identify patterns and forces at work over time. I've always
been interested in the life cycle of empires, and how institutions can
grow, flourish, and later decay into an echo—even a mockery—of the
vision and energy that fueled their creation. These are major themes
throughout IMPYRIUM and play a key role in the narrative and character
development. Overall, it's been a really fun ride and there's a lot of
exciting stuff yet to come!
Check out the awesome book trailer HERE
Purchase your own copy of IMPYRIUM HERE
- Follow Henry on Goodreads HERE
- Follow on Facebook HERE
- Follow on Twitter HERE
Or begin the Tapestry Series . . .
Shannon Whitney Messenger
decided it was time to give middle grade stories the attention they
deserve, and "Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays" was born. For a full
selection of MMGM posts, visit her website HERE.
