Jessica Day George is the author of the Castle Glower series. Her latest book is “Wednesdays in the Tower.” The following is a complete transcript of her interview with Cracking the Cover.
How many books will there be in your Castle Glower series? And did you always know it would be a series?
I don’t know yet! I’m working on Thursdays right now, but I will only write a book if I have a good idea for it. As soon as I started Tuesdays, I thought, There are more adventures to be had in Castle Glower, but I don’t know how many!
“Tuesdays in the Castle” feels like a standalone novel, but “Wednesdays in the Tower” definitely has a cliffhanger. Why did you choose that approach?
The story in Tuesdays needed to resolve in that one book. I felt like Celie, and readers, had been through a lot and needed that feeling of security. But I thought it would be fun, at the end of Wednesdays, to present a new problem right away, and lead into the next book.
Celie’s world changes when a griffin enters into her life. How did you decide on incorporating that particular mythical creature?
The symbol of the Castle is the griffin, which I picked in the first book because . . . well, I thought it would be cool. So I decided that if the Castle was going to entrust Celie with a special animal, it would definitely be the Castle’s symbol.
Celie may be a princess, but she definitely has a mind of her own. How did her character develop?
I like to think she’s a lot like me as a kid. I hope that I was as brave! I like to think she’s got a nice mix of being a good person, smart, and brave, but also just a titch spoiled, because she is a princess, and the youngest.
What makes the Castle Glower series stand out from its contemporaries?
Well, a lot of books take place in a castle that’s “magical,” but I think this might be the only one that’s actually alive!
What are you working on now?
I’m trying to get Celie and Co. home safe, because Thursday is going to be quite a day!
If you could be any of your characters from any of your books, who would be your first choice? Why?
I am sooooo Poppy from the Princesses of Westfalin series. The sarcasm. The knitting.
What is the one book (by someone other than you) that you want your own children to read?
Just ONE?! Well, I’ve already managed to get my 8-year-old hooked on Harry Potter and Howl’s Moving Castle, now I just have to wait for the two younger ones to learn to read.
You’ve written middle grade and YA novels. Do you prefer one over the other? How are they different?
Middle grade tends to be a bit more whimsical, which I enjoy, but it is easier to write a teen character, since I am closer in age to the teens. Not close. But closer to 18 than to 11!