𝑲𝑶𝑻𝑳𝑪 𝑨𝒍𝒍

Q&A With Shannon Messenger

Q: Flashback is book seven in the series, which means you've been with Sophie and her friends for over five years now. Do they feel like apart of your family? What's the best part about being able to spend so much time with a character like Sophie?

A: I actually came up with the idea for Keeper of the Lost Cities way back in 2008, so Sophie and her friends have been living in my head fora decade, if you can believe it. Which makes them almost feel like they're my children—despite all the near-death experiences I put themthrough. There's something so special about getting to watch a character grow and change on the page—especially Sophie. She was always abrave, powerful little girl, but as the series has progressed she's gotten so much more fearless and comfortable in her own skin, which is sucha joy to see. I try to never control her. I write her by sitting back and thinking about everything she's been through and everything going on atthat moment in the story and asking myself, "okay, what is Sophie going to do now?" And she never ceases to amaze me with her strength andconfidence and courage. 

  

Q: The Keeper of the Lost Cities series is full of action-packed adventures, magical creatures, and shadowy organizations. Were you afantasy reader as a kid? Did you ever wish for a telepathic power like Sophie's?

A: Strangely enough, I wasn't—but that was mostly because I grew up right before Harry Potter came along, and most of the fantasy books I wassteered toward were older books that didn't really grab me for some reason (Narnia being the big exception). So Keeper of the Lost Cities is theseries I wish I'd had when I was younger, and so many elements of the story are based on the things I loved back then: alicorns! superpowers!sparkles! (oh, who am I kidding? I still love those things!) And the idea for Sophie's ability did come from me asking myself, "if I could have anysuperpower, what would it be?"—though my answer has changed over the last few years. Now that I have to travel so much for work, I wouldlove to teleport and never have to deal with airports again!

Q: Did you always intend for Sophie's story to become a multi-book series? How have the characters or plots surprised you along the way?

A: I knew that the problems Sophie was facing—and the villains she was up against—were much bigger than anything I could address in asingle book. But I wasn't exactly sure how many books the story would need. Honestly, I'm still not sure. I tend to be a little overly ambitious andstart writing each draft with a long list of "Things I Need to Cover in this Book," and only end up making it through a portion of them by the timeI get to the end. And the story has definitely surprised me along the way. Usually, it's the villains who shock me with the coldness and clevernessof their schemes—and make me seriously question my dark side. But the plot has also curved a lot of ways I never expected, and I've gone alongwith those shifts because I feel like a story this big needs room to grow, rather than trying to force it down too rigid of a path. At the same time,every book always has plenty of moments that I planned from the very beginning, and it's always so fun to see those play out on the page afterhaving them live in my head for so long.

Q: Have you gotten to meet some of your middle grade readers over the years? What are some of your favorite memories of seeing fansresponding to the series?

A: I have! I'll never forget the first time a reader showed up in a Sophie costume. I was on tour for Exile, so it was still very early days forthe series, and her costume was a spot-on recreation of what Sophie's wearing on that cover. I'll admit, I got a little choked up, seeing suchvisible proof that a reader had connected so strongly with my character. And that feeling never goes away. I've now seen thousandsof "Sophies" at events (and plenty of other characters in the series too) and every time I'm overwhelmed by that enthusiasm.There's also nothing cuter than seeing readers holding stacks of books—which are sometimes half as tall as theyare—and hearing them talk to each other about series the way my friends and I used to do with the things weloved when we were that age: all the friendly debates, and the wild speculating. To see that happen andknow it's now about something that once lived only in my imagination is seriously the coolest feeling ever.