1. What drew you to young adult fantasy writing?

Oh, gosh – a variety of things. I suppose the biggest factor was that most of my favorite books that I’d read fell into that category. Essentially, I wanted to write the same kind of thing that I most enjoyed reading. Which only makes sense – why try to write the kind of thing you don’t like to read? ;>

One aspect of YA fantasy that I especially love is that it gives you license to write about big ideas in a way that is sometimes constrained in contemporary fiction – things like Honor, Truth, Duty (with the capital letters intended).

2. You’re so accomplished in your writing career; do you have a favorite main character that you love to bring to life?

You do understand that’s a little like asking me to state which of my children I love the most,don’t you? ;> On the other hand you phrased it better than most folks do. “Which do you love to bring to life?” is considerably different than simply “Which do you love the most?” which is how this kind of question is more typically phrased.

So, thinking of it your way, I would have to say that Medafil, the crotchety gryphon from “The Unicorn Chronicles” is one of the most enjoyable characters to write. Coming up with new cuss phrases for him to sputter is always fun.

To broaden that idea, I would say that as a general rule “sidekick” characters are almost always the most fun to write because they can have broader personalities, and don’t usually have as serious things to deal with as the main characters. Medafil, the Squijum, the Dimblethum, and Grimwold from the Chronicles were all a blast in that regard (though in the later books the Dimblethum does have serious issues to deal with.)

For the same reason Urk the Toad in the “Moongobble and Me” series is fun, as was Igor in Goblins in the Castle.

3. Do you have a favorite fantasy writer? Do you have any authors that you would recommend?

I love fantasy so much, and have read so much of it, that naming a favorite author is difficult. Still, if pressed to the wall, it would almost certainly be J.R.R. Tolkien, who was the greatest of us all.

My personal hero as a writer of fantasy for children and teens is Lloyd Alexander. I read his “Chronicles of Prydain” series over and over, and found it hilarious and ultimately deeply moving every single time. Lloyd’s combination of high adventure and low humor, great characters, fabulous action, and deep moral dilemmas is just about perfect.

Other fantasy writers I greatly admire include Susan Cooper, Natalie Babbitt, Tamora Pierce, Patricia McKillip, Jane Yolen, and Phillip Pullman.

4. What was your inspiration behind the Unicorn Chronicles series?

I was actually asked to write this series! Here’s how it happened:

Nearly twenty years ago I was invited to come into the Scholastic offices to discuss doing a new series for them. At that time “Goosebumps” and “The Baby-Sitters Club” were burning up the sales charts and I figured they were looking for something else that would come out on a monthly basis. I told them I didn’t think I could do that, but they said no problem, a book every six months or so (don’t laugh!) would be fine, and started tossing ideas at me. The first couple were of no interest, but then they said, “A unicorn world” and I replied instantly, “I’m your guy!”

I don’t know if they were aware of it at the time, but my second book was called Sarah’s Unicorn and it was, when it came out, one of the only unicorn picture books available. Later on I had edited an anthology called The Unicorn Treasury. So I had already spent of lot of mental time with these mystical creatures and had a pretty good connection to them.

I went home and started working on a “bible” which is something you do if you know from the start you’re planning a series: you lay out the world, the main characters, the main conflicts, and some plot ideas, to make sure you’ve actually got enough material to justify a series.

I sent it in, Scholastic liked what I had done, and we negotiated a three book contract. The plan was to have all three books be pretty much equal in size. Neither my editor nor I could have imagined at the time that it would take me over fifteen years to find my way to the end of the story, or that when I did finally get there that it would be so epic in scale that it would take two books and over a thousand pages to hold it!

5. I love Cara’s development throughout the first three novels. Can you tell us what we might expect from her in the fourth?

It probably won’t surprise you to know that Cara will face some very important and difficult decisions in this book. She has continued to grow in courage and in her willingness to face the sometimes terrifying challenges put in her way. She ends the book in a far different place than she began, with some things lost, and some things gained.

6. Can you tell us a little bit about the fourth novel? Will this be the final in the series?

To take these in reverse order . . .

This is the final novel in the current storyline, in that it brings all the threads left dangling at the end of Dark Whispers together in what I hope will be a satisfying bow knot. Whether it’s the last book in the series depends partly on how well it does, and partly on whether I can convince my editor that we should do more! If we do continue the series, there are two options. The first is to keep moving forward with the characters from where they are at the end of The Last Hunt (at least, the ones who’ve survived, heh, heh, heh). The second is to use the Chronicles themselves – that is, the stories written down over the centuries by Grimwold and his predecessers — as sources for novels about the past of Luster. For example, I could do a book about how Thomas the Tinker first came to Luster, or about the wedding of the Wanderer to Jacques the Tumbler, and all the drama that accompanied that event, or tell the complete adventures of Alma Leonetti. There are dozens and dozens of stories to be told.

Now, as to The Last Hunt itself: My goal (and, I felt, my obligation) in writing this book was to finally bring closure to the story of Cara and her family. I don’t want to give away any surprises from the plot itself, but I can tell you that before the book is over you will have learned Medafil’s personal story, the Dimblethum’s strange history, how Luster was created, and even where the unicorns themselves came from.

Beyond that . . . well, you’ll just have to read the book.

7. I’ve read that the Magic Shop might be made into a movie. Is there any truth to that? If so, will you be involved in the project?

Oddly enough, I just had a long phone call about that today! There is indeed a film deal in place. However if you’ve read much about the way movies happen, you’re probably aware that there is rarely a straight line from book to screen. Projects are on, then they’re off, then they’re on again, then everybody quits or goes somewhere else. Then the project gets forgotten, or someone else decides it’s a good idea, and maybe it happens and maybe it doesn’t.

It’s a crazy business, and I try not to think about it too much, because that way lies madness.

8. Many of our readers are aspiring writers. Do you have any advice to offer someone who is considering a career as a writer? (Most of our readers are in the 9-17 range)

Well, the first and most important thing is to brace yourself for a long haul. Some people have almost instant success, but for most of us who write for a living there were years of rejection and false starts before we came into our own.

That may sound discouraging, but as others have said before me, if I can talk you out of wanting to be a writer it’s my duty to do so, since if I can talk you out of it, you’re probably not cut out for it anyway and I’ll be saving you a lot of pain.

Okay, with that out of the way:

•Save what you write! I have published stories as much as thirty years after I first came up with the idea. Sometimes your creative abilities are way ahead of your technical skills.

•Realize that most writers have to write the books they loved as readers out of their system before they come to their own true voice as authors. Imitating other writers is actually a good way to learn but to build a career you have to then become your own self.

•Master your tools! Writing is an art, but it is also a craft, and good writers are conscientious about not only their stories about how they tell them. Grammar and spelling and sentence structure may seem boring, but all three of them are essential to giving your stories the greatest possible impact.( A serious writer can spend an astonishing amount of time fussing about where to put a comma for the greatest impact…)

•Here are two extremely useful books about writing:

1. SPILLING INK by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter – written specifically for

young writers

2. STORY by Robert McKee – published for adults, but I think useful for any writer

in his or her mid-to-late teens

•Finally, and probably most important, don’t give up . I went to school with people who were better writers than I was, but who will never be published because they simply gave up, or, even worse, never had the courage to send their stories out to begin with. I often say the secret to my success is “bone headed obstinance”!

9. Do you have any upcoming signings or book tours? Where can our readers find you on the internet?

On the internet you can find me at (surprise!) www.brucecoville.com and you can actually buy autographed copies (personalized, if you want) directly from that website.

That’s not the only place you can find me online. I also have a separate website devoted to Luster at www.unicornchronicles.com . Not only that, I run an audiobook company – www.fullcastaudio.com – that has produced lots of YA fantasy: all four of my unicorn books, as well as books by Tamora Pierce, Shannon Hale, and Gail Carson Levine, among others.

10. Can you give us a sneak peek at some future projects you are working on?

Well, mostly what I’m doing is try to catch up on the books that didn’t get written while Dark Whispers and The Last Hunt consumed my life! ;>

To be specific, I’m working on a novel based on my short story “My Little Brother is a Monster.” It’s called (for now, at least) Always October, though I’m also thinking about calling it Jacob, Weird Lily, and the Prince of Always October (“Always October” is what the monsters call their home world).

Also, I’ve just finished the first full draft of a book I’ve been working on with a friend for about nine years now called , The Witch’s Gifts, which is a young adult fantasy novel based on William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.” Of course a first draft is only the beginning.

And, of course, I hope to possibly be doing more stories set in Luster.

So . . . lots to keep me busy!

Bruce is the author of a stunningly wonderful and beautiful body of work in the fantasy and YA fantasy genre.

Bruce has published nearly 100 books, which have appeared in over a dozen countries around the world and sold more than sixteen million copies. Among his most popular titles are MY TEACHER IS AN ALIEN, INTO THE LAND OF THE UNICORNS, and THE MONSTER’S RING.

In 2001 he founded Full Cast Audio, an audiobook company dedicated to creating unabridged, full cast recordings of the best in children’s and young adult literature.