David Calcutt is the author of Shadow Bringer and Map of Marvels. Marie-Louise Jensen is the author of The Lady in the Tower and Sigrun’s Secret.
David,
What were the elements that appealed particularly to you in the books you read as a boy?
I liked mystery and adventure, magical and sinister happenings and characters. I looked for a sense of timelessness that was beyond the narrow confines of my own world, which I later came to discover was the mythic, which I believe is the centre of all true stories. A certain poetry, which was to do with the sheer joy and inventiveness of language. I liked books about animals - "Tarka the Otter" has always been a favourite. I liked books with dogs in.
How many of these do you include in your own stories?
All of them.
Do you think boys today are looking for the same things, or have things changed at all?
I think that though things may appear to have changed superficially - as change always is to do with the exterior rather than the interior of things - what moves all human beings in that deep, essential part of themselves remains the same. That of course, then, is true for boys. So we will always respond to works that deal with those fundamental elements in human nature. That's what I try to write about anyway.
Marie-Louise,
What were the elements that appealed particularly to you in the books you read as a girl?
I liked books with adventure, with strong girl characters to identify with and I loved books with horses. Not usually cute pony stories, though; wild brumbies were more my thing. I always preferred happy endings. As I reached my teen years, I enjoyed romance too.
How many of these do you include in your own stories?
Like David, I find I include all the things I loved myself as a child in my own books. Perhaps because I still love them.
Do you think girls today are looking for the same things, or have things changed at all?
I like to think that things have changed for girls. I think they are generally more demanding in terms of strong female characters; wanting to read about girls having their own adventures and rescuing themselves rather than waiting around for a handsome prince. But the elements of my stories that girls most often tell me they enjoyed are horses and romance (in that order) so perhaps some things stay the same.
Boys sometimes read my books, but I think the girls on the cover and the lack of gadgets are definitely an issue.
2 comments:
Speaking as a girl, I enjoyed both Marie-Louise's kind of reading when I was a child, and also David's. But if I'd had to choose, I would have gone for David's sort. Mind you, I did love the Silver Brumby series!
I think girls read more boy-books than vice versa. I know lots of girls who read Cherub and Alex Rider for instance. But the other way around is rarer, and the boys tend to keep quiet about it because of being teased. Very unfair!
I loved the Silver Brumby series but also The Brumby by Mary Elwyn-Patchett, which was much harsher.
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