It frees us from everything we feel bound by. You likely have a similar problem.” I think we need and love fantasy because it frees us from our own existence. He was like: “I am stuck inside of this body. I just heard John Green say something about this, about why we need stories. What is it about the fantasy genre that make people love it so much, do you think? I just read Among Others by Jo Walton, and I loved it.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, The Magicians by Lev Grossman, The Brides of Rollrock Island and Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan. What are you favourite fantasy books – and fantasy authors?Įverything written by Dave Duncan.

Would you be open to the possibility of a follow-up to Carry On? Yes, I’ve written the first draft of the screenplay, and it’s still in development at DreamWorks. With my own characters, and my own world.Ī year ago, the movie rights to Eleanor & Park got picked up and you were lined up to write the screenplay - has there been any progress with that? Let’s take them apart and see what’s inside.”Īnd at the same time, I was writing a Chosen One story of my own. I’m talking to the reader directly in those moments: “You’ve read the same books that I’ve read. When I’m referencing Harry Potter and other Chosen Ones in Carry On, I’m doing it very intentionally. That’s partly what I wanted to write about – the way Chosen One stories tread familiar ground. I knew all along that some themes would overlap. Life-sized.īecause the Simon Snow series takes a lot of inspiration from the Harry Potter novels, were you ever worried with Carry On that the series would overlap in themes? That you would inadvertently lift ideas? Their hopes and worries are very mundane. Even though this is a fantasy, the characters act like they’re in a realistic novel. You know, I just wrote them the way I do my other characters. In the World of Mages, where there’s a fantastical element to so much, how did you ground the characters? Your books are very character-driven and I think that is largely why they are so adored. I wanted to make that relationship canon. I especially wanted to write them falling in love. I’d written Simon and Baz through other characters in Fangirl – Cath and Gemma –and I really wanted to take a crack at their story. He just makes me laugh.) But – and this might sound strange – I hadn’t gotten to write them as myself. Also, I’d gotten a taste of their voices.

Carry on rainbow rowell characters