Cranachan Publishing has just
been named as this year's Small Press of the Year (Scotland) in the British Book Awards! For those of you who don’t
know, Cranachan is a couple-run independent publisher of children’s books with
a Scottish flavour, based on a croft on the Isle of Lewis.
Cranachan publishes
award-winning books and one of their best-known and best-loved authors – and also
their best-selling one – is the marvellous Lindsay Littleson. This week, Lindsay’s next
middle-grade novel, The Rewilders, is released in all its sprayed-edged
glory. The cover is a picture of a lynx, in soft hues, and is gorgeous. A
perfect casing for this story of the great outdoors and the great inner strength
we can find within us.
I caught up with Lindsay to
ask her a few questions.
So, rewilding... What's it all
about? For or Against?
100% for! I’m totally
in favour of rewilding Scotland. Restoring our natural landscapes will
make a positive difference to us all. Protection isn’t enough, as so many of our
ecosystems have been badly damaged and need to be properly restored. Our
moorlands might look stunning but they weren’t always so bleak and barren. Rewilding is about planting native trees,
instead of acres of exotic conifers, and reviving damaged peatlands, in the
hope of increasing Scotland’s biodiversity and
restoring natural processes. Our temperate rainforests are internationally
important, but there are only fragments
left and these isolated fragments are unable to regenerate, because saplings
are being damaged by grazing deer or being choked by invasive rhododendron. The
idea of reintroducing wolves and lynx has been raised as a way of keeping deer
on the move, helping to prevent overgrazing and damage to tree saplings. But as
Peter Cairns says, the reintroduction of large predators is the icing on a cake
that hasn’t yet been baked. There is so much work to be done first.
You've written books featuring
creatures that are mythical and magical. What are the differences between
writing those and writing real-world animals, like lynxes and wolves?
Before writing Guardians of
the Wild Unicorns and Secrets of the Last Merfolk, I did a lot of research into
both unicorn and merfolk legend, and incorporated some aspects into my stories.
So, my unicorns have cloven hooves and my merfolk inhabit a rocky islet and
sing sad songs.
However, I was able to create
my own ‘legend’ or backstory for both my mythical creatures and make up details
about their appearance and behaviour. When I was writing about real-world
animals, those details needed to be factual and as accurate as possible. On a
visit to the Highland Wildlife Park, I was lucky enough to see a lynx leaping
into the air to catch a bird and it was a really inspiring sight. They are such
magnificent, beautiful animals and it would be joyous if they, like beavers,
could become a native species in Scotland once again.
As fiercely independent and
reclusive creatures, my unicorns and merfolk actually have a lot in common with
the real-world predators in The Rewilders. The importance of caring for our
natural environment is a central theme in all three novels.
Can you tell us more about the
intergenerational relationship in the story? Why did you take this angle?
I wanted my two characters to go
on an exciting, quite risky adventure on their own in the Highlands. Parents
nowadays tend to be very protective of their offspring and consequently
reluctant to allow this sort of thing, which from an author’s point of view is rather
inconvenient.
So, I needed Callum and Esme to be in the care
of people who would be absolutely fine about encouraging them to spend a few
days in the wild. Both Jean, Esme’s gran,
and Sadie, Callum’s foster mother, are independent, practical women. Sending
the children on a mission to rewild the lynx the ladies have accidentally
stolen from the Rothiecraig Estate seems a completely reasonable solution to
their problem. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?
The relationship between Callum and his foster mother is relatively new,
but they’ve already developed a strong bond and I really enjoyed writing the
dialogue between them. Callum was a very angry troubled boy when he arrived at
the croft, and Sadie’s calm, practical nature and outdoor, hard-working
lifestyle are just what he needs. And I hope it’s clear in the story that the
gain has not been one-sided.
There's definitely peril in
this book, as there is in most of your fiction. What draws you to this?
In some stories, it’s
impossible to avoid! In The Titanic Detective Agency, I was dealing with a real-life disaster, and
I had to keep the focus solely on what was happening to my main characters
during the sinking scenes, as a wider view of the tragedy could easily have
become too harrowing for a children’s story. But incorporating an element of danger raises
the stakes, builds tension and makes readers want to keep reading, so for adventure
stores it’s probably a must. Peril in The Rewilders comes from both the
natural world and from the children’s human enemy. The most enjoyable scene to
write was Esme’s challenging encounter with a wolf.
She inhaled again,
breathing in the sharp scent of pine. There were two things she had to do,
right now: stop panicking, and stop staring at the wolf.
When she glanced around,
she spotted it immediately: a possible escape route. A few metres away, a huge
horse- chestnut tree stretched its limbs to the sky, its leaves a riot of
green, gold, crimson and orange: its branches hopefully solid. Warily, she took
a step backwards. The wolf watched her, unmoving. She took another step, and
was suddenly reminded of playing What’s the Time, Mr Wolf? at break-time in
infants. Although the playground game had never been this terrifying. Her boots
squelched in a muddy puddle, and the noise made her freeze, every muscle
tensed. When she stole a glance at the wolf, he seemed to have moved closer.
What if he attacks? Am I
close enough to the tree? If I run for it, will I reach it in time?
The truth was, she had no
idea if she could outrun a wolf. Slowly, cautiously, she took another two steps
back, her boots crunching now on the carpet of rotting leaves. She was almost
there. Autumn sunlight shimmered through the branches of the chestnut tree,
casting their shadows on the ground, faint promises of safety. But the wolf was
padding towards her, long-limbed, on silent paws. She waved both arms in the
air, but when she tried to yell, no sound came out. Her throat was desert-dry.
The wolf stopped moving, just as he reached the leafy carpet. He made a strange
noise in his throat, a cross between a growl and a bark. Esme gulped, as
realisation dawned.
He’s calling to the rest
of the pack.
Eeeep! Finally, what is it you'd like
young readers to take with them from your story?
I would love them to be inspired to discover more about rewilding
in Scotland. There are so many organisations working on rewilding projects, and
they are very keen to engage children. Check out these websites for more information
on how to get young people involved.
The Scottish Rewilding Alliance https://www.rewild.scot/
and Scotland:The
Big Picture https://www.scotlandbigpicture.com/
Another theme of the book is bullying in school, and I
hope reading both Esme and Callum’s perspectives might encourage young readers
to consider the impact hurtful words can have on others and perhaps lead to
class discussions about what they should do if they witness a classmate being
bullied, or are being bullied themselves.
Thank you, Lindsay! And congratulations on this important story, which will open up lots of questions for young readers. I have so many more questions of my own, but I will have to save them for when I next see you when we are celebrating Cranachan's success at the Nibbies!
Lindsay Littleson can be found on Twitter @ljlittleson or
www.lindsaylittleson.co.uk
The Rewilders
is out with Cranachan Publishing – order direct with them or with your closest
independent bookshop!
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