Lesley Livingston
Q&A with Lesley Livingston
Q: Were you surprised with the huge response and instant fan base you received from your debut novel, Wondrous Strange?
A: I was, a little. Surprised and gratified! There’s nothing like getting your first fan mail. And when you get it before the book has even hit the shelves—when all the general public knows about it a title and maybe a plot description and cover art—you sit up and think to yourself that there is something going on here. That you’ve tapped into a wish for a certain kind of story. And then when the responses keep coming in after the book is out there and they say such wonderful things, it’s lovely and humbling at the same time.
Q: Did any feedback you received from your fans influence you when writing Darklight?
A: I’m not sure if the (awesome!) feedback I received exactly influenced the plot of Darklight… I pretty much knew where I wanted to take the story before I started writing it… but what it did do was make me aware of just how much readers cared about these characters. They cared about them just as much as I did… and so that made me very aware of how I treated them in the second book. It made me keep a very close eye on some of them to make sure I was doing them justice.
Q: Why did you select Central Park, rather than, for example, The Empire State Building or the subway, as the point where the mortal and Otherworld realms meet?
A: Because it’s one of the most magical places I have ever been! When I first went to New York I was wowed by the city as a whole, but I was absolutely captivated by Central Park. Even in February. It was utter infatuation at first sight. I did the touristy stuff on that trip – carriage ride, Tavern on the Green (both of which are now plot points in Wondrous Strange) but I also became fascinated by certain landmarks in the park – by the fantastic, otherworldly landscapes of the Shakespeare Garden and the Ramble and the Lake, by the statue of the Indian Hunter (a source of inspiration for Sonny Flannery and the Janus Guard in the book) and by the Carousel – which is the fourth one to stand on that spot – two previous incarnations having burnt to the ground. Back home, I couldn’t get the park out of my head. The whole place just struck me as somehow mythic. And a really good location to stick a story (obviously – I mean, writers have been doing that forever!).
Q: What character in Darklight has been the most interesting to work with? What would happen if that character were real?
A: I introduce a new character into the story in Darklight. He’s alluded to in the first book, but only very tangentially. In this book, he comes very much to the forefront as a malevolent adversary that Sonny and Kelley find themselves facing off against. The character, like most of the Otherworldly beings in the books is based on a mythological creature but with my own particular slant that takes a much darker view of the reality behind the lore. He was a lot of fun to write.
If he were real? We should all be very worried. Personally, I would tend to avoid outdoor spaces with lots of landscaping and I might get rid of any potted plants in the house. Just as a precaution.
Q: Which character most closely resembles you?
A: I think there’s a little bit of me in just about every character I write (yes, even the naughty ones!) but there are, of course, a few who come the closest. You might think Kelley is the obvious choice because we share a similar background in the theatre and similar experiences… but otherwise, were not all that similar. I think she’s braver than I am and maybe a little more reckless. (Also, I’m not a Faerie princess. That I know of.)
I do, however, think that Tyff (Kelley’s model/Faerie roommate) and I have a lot in common attitude-wise. Most of the things that come out of Tyff’s mouth are the same things that would come out of mine. We’ve both got the same kind of smart-ass, sardonic thing going on. Now if I just had her height, and bone structure, and wardrobe, I’d be set.
Q: What songs do you think Kelley Winslow, the seventeen-year-old actress/ Faeries princess, would have on her ipod? Any special ones meant just for Sonny?
A: In fact, Kelley has entire playlists! (Or at least, I do—my boyfriend creates one for me for every book I write.) She’s got some Arcade Fire on there, a lot of U2, The Killers, Kings of Leon (especially Manhattan), Blue October, also some older stuff; Peter Gabriel, Springsteen, the Beatles, Robbie Robertson, The Police, Roxy Music (she likes the classics). A couple of songs that always make her think of Sonny are Dave Matthews Band’s Crush, The Waterboys’ When Ye Go Away, Clannad (w. Bono) In a Lifetime, INXS’s Afterglow…
Q: Your stories are steeped in Faerie lore and Shakespearean references. How much research in these areas did you do prior to writing Wondrous Strange and Darklight?
A: I’ve been a Shakespearian actor for the better part of two decades now, and I have a Masters Degree in English with a specialization in the subject, so I didn’t have to do all that much active research in that respect. Same thing with Faerie lore, I suppose. I’ve been fascinated by Faerie lore since I was a kid. The stories that intrigued me the most, though, were never the ones that portrayed the Fae as tiny, sweet, sparkly things. Rather, I was drawn to the idea that these were the creatures that existed beyond the circle of firelight, or just on the other side of the threshold, or just over that far hill; things only ever glimpsed out of the corner of your eye – if you were lucky! I love the dangerous aspects of the Fair Folk. I did have to research detail stuff, and I did a lot of digging into the history of Central Park, but the rest of it, I’ve really just been researching my whole life.
Q: If you could meet an infamous Faerie who would it be and why?
A: Puck, definitely. He’s one of my favorite characters in the Wondrous Strange series and we get along very well. I think it would be a riot to go out to a pub with him and just listen to him tell stories of all the various mischief and mayhem he’s caused down through the years. Although, I’d keep an eye out to make sure he didn’t stiff me on the bill or steal my wallet or anything like that. Also, I’d be polite. You never want to get on the bad side of a boucca. Never.
Q: You’ve become a hot commodity in the urban fantasy genre. What’s next for you?
A: Well, what’s next is Darklight, and then the third book in the Wondrous Strange trilogy (which is, at present, nameless). Then I have another YA fantasy in the works that I’m very excited about. I’ve also got a fairly epic idea for yet another story that would involve fantasy elements and a sweeping romance. Plus, I’m not entirely convinced I’ve left the world of Wondrous Strange behind for good…there are potentially a few Otherworldly tales that remain yet to be told. ;-)
Reviews
Darklight
Lesley Livingston
It has only been a few months since Kelley learned that she is a faerie princess, and she and her changeling boyfriend Sonny were forced to stop the Wild Hunt from destroying the city. Sonny was forced to return to the Otherworld to destroy the remaining members of the Wild Hunt, and Kelley remains in New York, struggling with her new powers and the meddling of her mother Queen Mabh. A supernatural mugging in Central Park lands Kelley in the Otherworld, reunited with Sonny, and the two again must fight not only for their lives but also to save humankind from a band of evil, drunken leprechauns. This time, however, the consequences could cause a disastrous shift in power in the Otherworld as well. Livingston’s follow-up to Wondrous Strange (HarperTeen, 2009/VOYA April 2009) will enthrall fans, and its cliffhanger ending will leave them screaming for more. She injects an element of Celtic legend and lore that adds a different dimension to this dark, sinister, and violent urban faerie tale. Although the romance elements are predictable, Sonny and Kelley are likeable and interesting, and readers will be pulling for them. A complicated plot with many major unexpected twists and a full cast of well-crafted characters make this title stand ahead of many others in the genre despite suffering from the traditional “middle of the trilogy curse” that leaves too many plot elements unresolved and offers too many hints of events to come. Suggest this one to fans of Holly Black, Melissa Marr, or Maggie Stiefvater’s Lament (Flux/Llewellyn, 2008/VOYA December 2008). 2010, HarperTeen, 320p., $16.99. Reviewer: Alissa Lauzon (VOYA, April 2010 (Vol. 33, No. 1)).
ISBN: 9780061575402
Wondrous Strange
Lesley Livingston
Having convinced her Aunt Emma to let her move to Manhattan to work as an actress, seventeen-year-old Kelley is thrilled when her understudy role suddenly becomes the lead role of Titania, Queen of Faeries, in the Avalon Player’s production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. With two weeks until opening night, Kelley wants only to focus on her performance. Practicing her lines in a quiet clearing in Central Park, she impresses a “Handsome Stranger,” who presents her with a rose--and disappears. The stranger is Sonny Flannery, a Janus guard, bound to serving Auberon, King of the Unseelie Court, and a changeling, a human stolen as a child from the mortal realm and raised in Faerie. During the annual opening of the Samhain Gate, inside what is now Central Park, the thirteen Janus guards are all that stand between the Otherworld and the mortal realm. This year, the intrigues of the Court of Faerie aim to wake the Wild Hunt, and loose the death-mad Faerie war band to wreak unspeakable carnage on unsuspecting mortals. Kelley and Sonny’s destinies are inextricably linked, and the survival of the mortal world is dependent upon their courage and fortitude. Presenting a rich tapestry of the powerful forces of both faerie and mortal desires against the backdrop of Shakespearian theater, this novel parts the thin veil between modern-day Manhattan and the timeless realm of faerie, offering an action-packed urban fantasy romance in the best tradition of Charles de Lint and Will Shetterly. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P M J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2008, HarperTeen, 336p., $16.99. Ages 11 to 18. Reviewer: Kim Carter (VOYA, April 2009 (Vol. 32, No. 1)).
ISBN: 9780061575372
ISBN: 9780061575426
Updated 05/26/10
To stay up to date on new books by this author, consider subscribing to The Children's Literature Comprehensive Database. For your free trial, click here.
If you're interested in reviewing children's and young adult books, then send a resume and writing sample to marilyn@childrenslit.com.