Ingrid Law 2009 Interview
Ingrid Law is an Andre Norton Award finalist for her novel Savvy.
Thanks for agreeing to do the interview. Let’s first talk about your book, Savvy. How did you come up with the title (or more appropriately, what made you decide to use savvy as the term for each person’s special abilities)?
First, I wanted to write a book about magical children without ever using the word “magic.” Second, I wanted the magic I created to have a distinctly American feel . . . I wanted to know, if there were an “American Magic,” what might that look like? I chose to use the word “savvy” in lieu of “magic” because the word itself has its roots in American slang. In fact, it was used as a noun for more than a hundred years before it was ever used as an adjective. So I saw no harm in turning it back into a noun again. The original definition of the noun, savvy, was: a practical sense or intelligence. When I discovered this, it seemed like the perfect word to use for my book.
It’s interesting for me how your book is translated into other languages and the titles are different. What’s your favorite foreign language title and why?
I love the German title, Schimmer, just because I imagine it must sound nice when said aloud. In the Netherlands, they titled the book 13!, which is fun as well. Those are the two I know so far. I suppose that translating the title of the book must be a challenge. Titles in general can be rather tricky.
The novel has a rural feel to it. What made you decide to place it in such a setting, in addition to the incorporation of these tiny magical elements?
I wanted to set the story in small towns in a part of the country many people might not at first imagine magical children to live. But small towns have big heart and a love for larger than-life-things. You can often find the World’s Largest curiosities—the World’s Largest Porch Swing, the World’s Largest Ball of Twine, and so on—in the smallest of towns. Just because someone’s from a small town, that doesn’t mean that they don’t think big or possess extraordinary abilities. Some of the magical elements reflect rural or small town ideals. The grandmother in the book cans radio waves. When thinking up her ability, I asked myself what my grandmother was good at. I remembered jars of homemade jam and things canned straight from the garden. Then I asked myself what a “savvy” grandma might be good at and came up with Grandma Dollop’s jars filled with years of radio programs and songs.
Did you originally intend to write a YA book or is something that came out later on?
I’ve always known that I wanted to write for young readers, though I’ve been pleased to discover that the book has appealed to a wide audience. I’ve received email messages from six year olds and sixty-eight year olds, and just about everyone in between. But I love writing for young people because kids in the middle grades are still so totally tapped into their own sense of wonder. It’s still so natural to them to be able to suspend disbelief. Yet, they are also beginning to come into their own sense of who they are and who they will become. I like to think that the kids I write for have one foot firmly on the path toward growing up and the other foot hopping through make-believe games on the playground.
Any difficulties in the actual writing of Savvy?
Savvy came to me in a wonderful, exciting explosion of words and ideas. I had a lot of fun writing it and I learned a lot along the way. This particular story treated me very well. However, I tend to be a full-glass kind of person, so it’s easy for me to forget the parts of a thing that were difficult. I know I had a few hair-pulling moments along the way, but every story has to have some struggle or conflict to be good, right? Even our own?
How did Penguin end up publishing it?
My agent, Daniel Lazar, submitted the manuscript simultaneously to multiple publishers. Alisha Niehaus, my editor at Dial Books for Young Readers (a division of Penguin Young Readers Group), was one of the first to read the manuscript and express her enthusiasm. Her excitement was just one of the factors that won me over, but it was a big one. Another was the potential partnership with Walden Media. In the end, Penguin Young Readers Group and Walden Media acquired the rights to Savvy in a preemptive multi-book deal in July, 2007, in joint acquisition. So I have two amazing companies backing the book. Additionally, Walden Media secured the rights to develop Savvy into a feature film. It was a whirlwind right from the beginning . . . much like the first chapter of the book when the fictional Beaumont family has to move “to the deepest part of inland” because of the hurricane and the fact that one of the characters caused it.
What were the challenges in getting your first book published?
Savvy was not the first book I tried to get published, so I know the familiar feel of rejection. However, there is so much information available now for writers about how to write query letters, how to approach an agent, what to do, what NOT to do. By investing some time and energy into becoming educated about these things, when I did have a book that was ready to find a home, I already knew how to get started.
What is it about the fantasy genre that appeals to you?
I’ve always been a huge fan of fantasy. Fantasy allows us to explore aspects of conflict and humanity in all new ways, unfettered by the constraints of reality or of the every day. In many ways, learning to manage the onset of a “savvy,” dealing with new, out of control powers that arrive simultaneously with the thirteen candles on a birthday cake, is just a metaphor for dealing with the changes we experience as we grow up. But exploring this through fantasy allows young readers to come to these issues through the safety and fun of make-believe. Who doesn’t sometimes feel confused enough or angry enough to cause a storm? Who doesn’t struggle to weed the opinions and ideas of other people from their heads when trying to find their own true voice? Why not manifest these efforts as actual abilities? It’s a lot more fun that way . . .
How does it feel to have your book nominated for several awards?
I never expected it. I’m continuously stunned and completely thrilled. It’s an amazing honor to be nominated for awards alongside such talented people. And I do like shiny things . . . even if someone else gets them. It’s fun to get together to celebrate the fact that people still love creating story.
What projects are you currently working on?
I am working on a follow up to Savvy, exploring the family tree a bit more. Looking at new points of view. Discovering what else we can learn about ourselves through fantasy and magic. My next book should come out next year.
Ingrid Law is a big fan of words and stories, small towns and big ideas. Born in New York, Ingrid’s family moved to Colorado when she was six years old. Now the mother of a teenage daughter, Ingrid still lives in Colorado, where she is hard at work on her next book.
Charles A. Tan is the co-editor of the Philippine Speculative Fiction Sampler and his fiction has appeared in publications such as The Digest of Philippine Genre Stories and Philippine Speculative Fiction. He has conducted interviews for The Nebula Awards and The Shirley Jackson Awards, as well as for online magazines such as SF Crowsnest and SFScope. He is a regular contributor to sites like SFF Audio and Game Cryer. You can visit his blog, Bibliophile Stalker, where he posts book reviews, interviews, and essays.
1. morgan on 10th November 2009 at 5:35 pm
hi my name is morgan and i love your book savvy i had a couple of questions for you and i was seeing if you can give me some answers.
can you give me some more info about the beamounts.and miss roseary pastor meeks will jr and bobbi.age,personalitys and background info.
and can you give me anyother info so i can get some background info.
thank you so very much.
morgan
can you get this to me soon as possible