You are well-known for being an
exuberant, and apparently awesome, arm-wrestler. If there was an arm-wrestling
tournament for MG authors, which three others would you expect to join you in
the semi-finals?
Ah, the MG
Arm-Wrestling Championships… They will happen. One day. And I will ride into
the arena ON A POLAR BEAR’S BACK. In the semi-finals, I’d expect to see Liz
Kessler (don’t be fooled by the fairies and mermaids – she’s strong), Allan
Boroughs (he’s all ‘I’ve swum in the Antarctic in just swimming trunks’ – so watch
out) and Tatum Flynn (I’ve seen the damage she can cause with a table tennis
bat…).
Rumour has it that you have an attention
span of 6.8 seconds. (Which is apparently 75% of the average goldfish’s, and
STILL quite a lot longer than mine.) What’s the last thing that held your
attention for a significant amount of time, and how long was that?
Getting my
face-painted as Toothless from How To Train Your Dragon this week – I
concentrated on staying still for 6.9 seconds. Result.
Moontrug as
Toothless The Dragon this week
There seems to have been an upsurge in
YA over recent years, as shown by the popularity of YALC, followed by a very
recent rise in the popularity of MG – with the wonderful MG Strikes Back, which
we’re both a part of, showing the appetite for it! If there was to be an MG
equivalent of YALC, what panel would you most like to take part in, and which
three or four other authors would you want to be alongside?
I would like to take part in this
panel: ‘Bring me my dragons: writing fantasy today’. I’d turn up (on my polar
bears – obvs) to find Philip Pullman, Michelle Paver, Piers Torday and JK
Rowling there – then I’d probably flee to the hills on my polar bears as I’d be
so bowled over by all the MG wonderfulness in one room.
Dreams play a big part in the
Dreamsnatcher (unsurprisingly!) What’s the weirdest dream you’ve ever had?
I dream
really vividly and like Moll in The
Dreamsnatcher, I have a recurring nightmare where I’m being chased by
figures in black cloaks. But the weirdest dream I’ve ever had has to be the one
where I went tightrope walking with a whereabouts wolf over a huge ravine! I
blame the following authors – Emma Carroll and Nigel McDowell – as the dream
seems to be a mishmash of their most recent MG books.
You blog and tweet under the name
Moontrug. Google is failing me but I’m ALMOST sure you recently described
something as the ‘least moontruggy thing ever’. What’s the MOST moontruggy
thing ever?
Least
Moontruggy thing ever = filling in an online self assessment tax form
Most
Moontruggy thing ever = going on an adventure then realising you’re ‘in too
deep’ or maybe doing tomboy things like somersault flips in your wedding dress.
The ‘Ooops’
Moment perfectly exemplified here by Moontrug
Moontrug
being a bit Moontruggy and not ‘Bridey’ here…
Like me, you’re a fan of dance shows,
and I think we have fairly similar tastes! What’s the MG novel (other than The
Dreamsnatcher which would be AMAZING on stage!) that you’d most like to see a
choreographer take on?
SF Said’s Phoenix. The stage designers could do
this epic starry night set and I reckon alien girl, Bixa, could pull off a feisty
moonwalk. Then Lucky could chip in with The Worm dance move and The Shadow
Guards could do this creepy line dance move when they chase after the Alien
starship crew. Yes, that would be fun to watch. I’d buy a ticket.
I'm sending this four days before the
UKMG chat social, when a number of authors and bloggers will collide in a
hotly-anticipated bowling game. Are you any good? If you aren't, who do you
think will win? And if you are, who do you think will come second?
No, I’m
rubbish. I big myself up by sending photos ahead of THE MATCH on Twitter,
likening myself to The White Witch of Narnia but I’m pants. I need the barriers
up to keep my bowling ball in play. Who will win? I reckon Darren from BookZone
might be quite nifty.
I love the brilliant world you've
created in The Dreamsnatcher,
particularly the camp where Moll lives. What's your favourite ever fictional
setting?
Narnia. So
many adventures happen in Narnia. You’ve got Cair Paravel, The White Witch’s
Castle, The Ruined City of the Giants, The Underland, River Shribble, The Great
Woods, Dragon Island, Beaversdam, Harfang… And the best thing about it? You
just need to push inside a wardrobe to get there. I’ve got a season pass.
The Exploration Society's Dreamsnatcher Experience, for boys
and girls in Years 4 - 8 at the start of May, looks absolutely amazing! How did
you get involved with the Exploration Society?
Eek, I’m so
excited about it! We get to carve catapults and sleep in gypsy wagons and cook
round the campfire and… What was the question? Oh yeah. Basically, I just saw
an opportunity. I noticed that The Exploration Society were
leading the way with outdoor education for children and that they had run a
Philip Pullman Northern Lights style adventure last year so I pitched the idea
of a Dreamsnatcher expedition to the CEO. And he took it.
The
Dreamsnatcher Expedition for Kids!
Um, after
world domination with my catapult you mean? After that, and after finishing my Dreamsnatcher series, I’d like to write
another MG series about an Inuit girl called Eska and a grizzly bear cub.
Travel mission at the moment: stay in an igloo in Alaska (but not get eaten by
wolves or stamped on by walruses).
The Dreamsnatcher by Abi Elphinstone
Publishing 26th February 2015
Watch the trailer HERE
Twelve-year-old Molly Pecksniff wakes one night in the middle of the
forest, lured there by a recurring nightmare - the one with the drums and the
rattles and the masks. The Dreamsnatcher is waiting. He has already taken her
dreams and now he wants her life. Because Moll is more important than she
knows...The Oracle Bones foretold that she and Gryff, a wildcat that has always
been by her side, are the only ones who can fight back against the
Dreamsnatcher's dark magic. Suddenly everything is at stake, and Moll is drawn
into a world full of secrets, magic and adventure. Perfect for fans of J.K.
Rowling, Michelle Harrison and Eva Ibbotson.
Author website: www.abielphinstone.com
Twitter: @moontrug
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abi.elphinstone
Instagram: @moontrugger
Twitter: @moontrug
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abi.elphinstone
Instagram: @moontrugger
what what what why am i too old to go on the Dreamsnatcher Experience?? *cries* (great interview btw. more table tennis definitely needs to be on the agenda :)
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