... Alan Skinner on Muddles, The Land and Sibling Press
... Alan Skinner on Muddles, The
Land and Sibling Press
We met Alan
Skinner during the
My eyes stuck on
this booth because the man behind this table looked really likeable on first
sight - and because the cover of the book presented there had a tantalizing
title: "Blue Fire and Ice" (we published a review in German: See here ).
We had an
interesting conversation and when we ended I was convinced that I wanted to
know more about.
That's why we
made this interview, given to us by mail since Alan seems to oscillate between
Zauberspiegel: Alan, Blue Fire and Ice is the first book
you wrote. How did you get the idea of writing this story?
Alan Skinner: Blue Fire and
Ice is my first work of fiction, though I feel I have been writing all my
life. I have been writing all my life, but for one reason or another, I just
never got around to putting it on paper.
The concept of the Muddles came to me when I was in Nuremburg at the beginning
of 2007, for the toy fair. When I got back to
I didnt have a very full idea about the Muddles apart from the basic
characteristic of the Mix. And the title. Blue Fire and Ice was
literally all the text I had. I understand now how the English playwright
Harold Pinter can claim that many of his plays start with just a line or a
title. Once I decided to write Blue Fire and Ice, the story came as I
wrote. It is a very immediate process. Characters, situations, themes and
detail come as part of the writing process. Once I had the voice of each
character in my head, they emerged on the page fully-formed.
It was not like the reports of JK Rowlings, who apparently had the whole series
in her head from the beginning.
It was quite a departure from what I had ever thought of writing and from the
books which I have had in my head for many years. I had not given very serious
thought to writing juvenile fiction, though several ideas had come to me over
the years. Most of the books in my head are adult fiction. I surprised myself
at how much I enjoyed it and how much it rewarded me writing it.
Zauberspiegel: Are there authors that serve as a [role] model for
you? Who is it and why?
Alan Skinner: No. I cant say
that I have consciously wanted to imitate any authors but there are authors
who, in some way, you might call role models. Among childrens authors, I am
comfortable with the style of Kenneth Grahame; I love the inventiveness of
Lewis Carroll and I admire the wit ofJM
All those authors are British, and apart from Pulman, they are all dead. It
would seem that I am stuck in a past world but I do think there was a golden
age of childrens writing and it emerged in
As well as
Blue Fire and Ice falls, I suppose, into the fantasy genre. But not in
the Robert Jordan, Terry Goodkind or Anne McCaffrey style. It is about the
fantastical rather than the magical. There are so many science-fantasy books
available and few that are genuinely original or truly imaginative.
Perhaps the only one that I think has some similarity is Terry Pratchett, but
the style of the Discworld books is so very different from the style of Blue
Fire and Ice and the other books that will follow.
Zauberspiegel: The story seems to me like a well designed
half-timbered house, thoroughly planned. How do you proceed when writing? Do
you have the story completely planned from the beginning or does it evolve
while youre writing?
Alan Skinner: Its most
definitely evolution! When I first started, I had the basic Muddle concept of
the Mix (though I didnt even know it would be called the Mix.) I had the
title, and I had the vague concept of the Beadles. I had started a childrens
story over 20 years ago, when I returned to university and in it was a race of
characters called the Beadles. I had a rough outline of them, but not developed
as they are in Blue Fire and Ice.
Beyond that, I didnt have anything. It all came from the process of writing. Character
names, plot events, the Myrmidots. They all evolved as I wrote.
Some sections of the book were written quite quickly and stayed as they were
originally written. In fact, probably about 80% of the book is actually as it
was when it first poured from my finger tips into the computer.
Id like to say that I had it all planned in my head, that I knew what was
going to happen, who was going to do what and so forth, but that wouldnt be
the truth. I made it up as I went along. Once a character sprang forth, and I
was happy with the characters role, purpose and voice, the character wrote
itself.
There was one section of the book that was a result of a more deliberate and
objective review. When the book was finished, I read it through and realised it
needed some dramatic reinforcement in one part, so I added an event that gave
it more dramatic tension but didnt alter the plot.
Its a very exciting way to work. Some of my favourite characters came alive in
front of my eyes. They developed in my head as I wrote.
Zauberspiegel: The three peoples in your book, the Myrmidots, the
Muddles and the Beadles seem to me like the representatives of three
stereotypes. Was it intentionally done that way?
Alan Skinner: Most certainly!
Well, the Myrmidots and the Beadles, at any rate. However, they are not to be
taken as nationality or race-specific stereotypes. Each society is purely
representative of a part of our society. If you want to look at it in social
terms each represents a layer of organised society. The Myrmidots are the
industrialists; the Beadles are the public servants or bureaucratic strata; and
the Muddles are the general public Everyman, in terms of the morality plays
of the early Middle Ages.
Thats at a very intellectual level. At a literary level, they allow for
conflict based on personality differences. And since the Muddles are definitely
NOT stereotypes, it allows me to exploit humour based on different ways of
looking at life. You can also look at them as collective characters. Dickens,
one of the greatest story-tellers of us all, had many stereotypes, but that didnt
lessen the humour or the truth of his observations.
I tried, and succeeded, I think, to make individual Beadles or Myrmidots
possess a character that was unique within the wider stereotype. Brian and
Megan are both Beadles, but they have very different ways of looking at life
and dealing with it.
What I think comes through the book, though, is that the stereotypical
behaviour fades into the background when the crunch comes. They work together,
they react very similarly; they even rejoice in the same way.
Zauberspiegel: I am most fascinated by the Muddles, wonder why. This
feature of interchanging with other Muddles and/or animals is truly very
special. How did you get this idea and is it merely a fact in order to
establish more suspense - or is there a literary purpose to it?
Alan Skinner: The concept of
mixing the bodies of different characters is not new. Years ago, in packets of
sweets, or something, youd have cards or little books in which the page was
divided into three and you could flip the pages and see the sailor with the
butlers body and the policemans legs. In fact, the very first piece of
commercial writing I ever did was to write a little bit of text for a book
called The Muddle Book, which was a larger form of that. That was in about
1983.
But that is just the beginning of what the Muddles are. All the other
characteristics of the Muddles and of Muddlemarsh are far more important. And
those unique elements, such as their special skills - or lack of them and
their attitude towards life; the coffee, the bus, communication with animals,
etc are equally important. Some I created because I thought it added a humorous
element; some because I thought, If people really did Mix, would they have
greater sensitivity for each other? Would they have a different awareness?
The world has to be logical. Children are not simple; they are quick to
recognise inconsistencies in logic and form. So Muddlemarsh and The Land in
general had to make logical, if fantastical, sense.
I didnt want to populate Muddlemarsh with only Muddle people. It is a total
environment, interdependent and mutually respectful. So the animals had to mix,
as well. The animals are as much Muddles as the human characters.
The Muddles are unique in literature. If anyone can point me to similar characters,
Ill stand corrected, but they are unlike anything else in literature, in the
same way as the inhabitants of Never Never Land were unique; or the races that
Gulliver stumbles upon in Gullivers Travels. And that doesnt happen too
often.
Zauberspiegel: As far as I know, you do not have a publisher for
Alan Skinner: Yes, if I have
my way! Part of the reason I was at
The German-language
countries are very important, and also close to home for me. I lived for quite
a while in
Zauberspiegel: Will you continue with Blue Fire & Ice? And if
? when? To be honest, I cant wait to see if they really do travel North!
Alan Skinner: After I finished
Blue Fire and Ice, I realised that the story wasnt really finished. I have
started on the sequel, which will be called The Furnaces of Forge. And I
suspect that there will be a further three sequels but because I havent
planned anything, I cant be too sure! Collectively, they will form a series
entitled, The Lands Tale. You will be able to follow all the characters from
Blue Fire and Ice, plus new ones, as the whole tale unfolds. North will not be
the only direction in which they travel!
It is an important aspect of each book that although they combine in a wider
tale, each story is complete in itself. Most trilogies or series are
constructed so that a book is not complete in itself. That cheats the reader in
some ways. I want the readers to feel that each book gives the satisfaction of
a conclusion and the anticipation of new adventures and horizons.
Apart from the books in The Lands Tale series, there will be a series of
stand-alone Muddles Books. The first of these, The Talisman Thieves, will be
released later in 2008. Finally, there will be a series of Muddles
picture-storybooks for younger readers. Muddlemarsh will be the first of these
and will be previewed at
Zauberspiegel: Writing books is by far not the only thing you do. On
the cover of your book is a very beautiful publishers-label: Sibling-Press. Sibling
stand for - well - siblings. Tell me more.
Alan Skinner: I also am
co-owner of Sibling Revelry, a games development company. We launched our first
product, a film-based board game, Cinematique, in July 2006. When I decided to
start a publishing house, it made sense to call it Sibling Press. Sibling Press
will handle the books and Sibling Revelry will handle the Muddles
merchandising. Toys based on the Muddles will come out later this year.
The sibling part refers to my brothers and sisters I mentioned earlier. About
20 years ago, before I went overseas to live, we started developing a board
game and we were going to call our company Sibling Revelry. We never got around
to finishing that board game 20 years, but when I wanted to launch Cinematique,
I resurrected Sibling Revelry as it was too good a name to lose. It is also a
tribute to my brothers and sisters, who really are an extraordinary group of
people.
The logo for Sibling Press is quite beautiful. It was actually created by an
artist in
