Dawn Lairamore is the author of “Ivy’s Ever After” and “Ivy and the Meanstalk.” Below is a complete transcript of her interview with Cracking the Cover.
Background — Have you always wanted to write? Why?
I’ve always loved books, from a very young age, and always had this fantasy of becoming a writer. So yes, I think the desire to write was always there. But I didn’t become serious about it until I was older, out of college, and decided to try my hand at writing fiction for the first time.
Along those lines, how did you transition from going to school for a paralegal degree to writing?
My original degree is in English. My first job out of college was as an Editorial Assistant at a small non-fiction publisher. After that, I worked as a technical writer for several years. So writing has long been in my system, and I’ve had a longstanding interest in publishing.
Why write for young readers?
My love of books first formed when I was a young reader. I think these are really special years. I can very clearly remember walking into libraries and bookstores when I was a kid and just having a great feeling of excitement fall over me–all these wonderful books and stories right at my fingertips! As an adult, I suppose I want to contribute to that same sense of excitement in young readers, offer them stories that they can get lost in, that take them on a great adventure.
Do you have any rituals? Do you write all day?
I have days when I’ll write all day, but I certainly don’t write all day, every day. I think my brain would get really fried doing that. To a certain extent, you need time away from a manuscript. You need to take a break every now and then so that you don’t get burned out or overwhelmed. I think I produce better work if I’m somewhat alert and focused, so I try not to ever let myself work so long or so frequently that the quality of my writing starts to suffer.
As for rituals . . . I really don’t have any, other than I tend to write at home and I like to have a fair amount of quiet while I work. But I can’t have it too quiet; I usually play light music in the background or turn on the TV with the volume really low. Complete and utter silence really bothers me, for some reason. I write better with a little background noise.
Where did the idea/s for your “Ivy” books come from?
I was reading a book of fairy tales one day when the thought occurred to me that if I were to write my own fairy tale, I’d want to twist it up a bit, have the characters do things that you wouldn’t expect fairy tale characters to do. An idea came to me about a princess locked in a tower guarded by a dragon, waiting to be rescued by a handsome prince. But in my version, the feisty princess didn’t want to marry the prince, and the timid dragon didn’t want to be slain by him. The prince was sort of a jerk, you see, so the princess and the dragon teamed up against him. That idea became IVY’S EVER AFTER, a fairy tale about a princess seeking out her own happy ending rather than waiting for one to be thrust upon her.
How much research was involved?
Not a whole lot, actually. Since the IVY books take much of their inspiration from the familiar fairy tales that most of us know and love, there wasn’t much need for additional research.
How long did they take you to write?
I will confess that when I started the first IVY book, I didn’t work on it very consistently. I’d write a chapter, and then I wouldn’t touch the manuscript again for a month, or whenever I next felt I had time. But somewhere along the way, this project that I had really embarked on for fun more than anything else really started to take shape. Once the end was in sight, I started working on the manuscript much more consistently and frequently until I had a finished book. All in all, I worked on IVY’S EVER AFTER off and on for about two years. I wrote the sequel, IVY AND THE MEANSTALK, in about eight months, but I was a lot more consistent with that book. It helped that, this time, I was writing to a deadline.
Ivy has an independent spirit, is she based on anyone you know?
People often think that Ivy is based on me when I was that age. But I think she’s more the fourteen-year-old I would have liked to have been (confident, individual) rather than the fourteen-year-old I was (shy and kind of awkward).
I love that Elridge’s treasure is a book. Was that a no-brainer for you?
Actually, I must give credit where credit was due: that was my editor’s idea. But I readily agreed; it was perfect for him. And as a reader and a writer, yes, I very much believe that books are treasures, indeed.
How do the your books differ in published book form from your first ideas?
They’re pretty close to my first ideas, actually, which is really cool! Little details have changed, but the overall stories are very similar to my original visions.
“Fairy tale” books are a popular genre. What makes your books stand out?
I love the humor in the IVY books. Some of the fairy tale retellings out there are for a little older of an audience and have a more serious tone. IVY has its serious moments, but overall I think the books are good fun. I really wanted to take readers on an adventure and make them laugh.
Who is your favorite character in the Ivy books? Why?
Oh, that’s a hard one. It would definitely be either Ivy or Elridge, but it’s so difficult to choose between the two. Probably Ivy, just because I feel like I know her the best. The books are written from her point of view, so I’m inside her head more than the other characters. I really love her spunk and her sense of individuality. I like that she’s not a perfect person. She makes mistakes and doubts herself, but manages to grow from her mistakes and pushes forward no matter what.
How has your writing evolved from when you first started until now?
In my early efforts at writing fiction, my characters seemed so one-dimensional. I’m much more aware now that characters need to be fleshed out, rounded individuals. Layers are good.
What are you working on now? Are there plans for more Ivy adventures?
I think it would be fun to take Ivy on more adventures. Only the future will tell, I suppose 🙂
What do you hope readers bring away from your books?
What readers take away from any book is going to be different for every reader, and that’s as it should be. But I hear from readers that they enjoy the humor of the books, and many of them appreciate that Princess Ivy is so true to herself despite the pressure to conform. I love that they come away from the books with such a positive message.
Did you have a favorite book or book that really resonated with you as a young reader?
I loved THE SECRET GARDEN by Frances Hodgson Burnett. And BEAUTY by Robin McKinley, which is to this day probably my favorite fairy tale retelling of all time.