Q&A with author Amie Jordan
You entered the book that became All the Hidden Monsters into the Times Chicken House Competition. What was its starting point?
So firstly, I need to explain that this book only started out as a bit of writing practice, and I never intended for anyone to read it. I needed some time away from a different project, and I decided to pick something completely different to what I was used to writing to clear my mind. So, I chose a) crime, and b) first person narrative. Neither of which I’d ever written before – although it was completely rewritten back into third person in later edits! But all this is to explain that I know its origin story sounds a little convoluted, or a strange mix of thoughts and ideas. But that’s only because I never really expected it to evolve into a full story!
The idea came to me in the early stages of Covid lockdowns, on one of my lonely exercise walks through Manchester City Centre, where I live. And two things happened almost at exactly the same time.
- I slowed my steps in St Annes Square, looked around and thought to myself, ‘Oh my God, I’ve never seen town this dead. It’s completely empty. It’s like a ghost town.’
- I looked to my left and saw a small door around a corner that’s easy to miss if you aren’t looking for it, but I knew it was there because I’d gone on a really strange date down there once, on a guided tour of the forgotten tunnels under Manchester. I instantly shivered at the memory of how terrifyingly creepy it was, and the ghost stories the tour guide told.
And I guess that was the moment the seed was planted. I thought the words ghost town just as I spotted the entrance to the creepy tunnels full of old ghost stories. I started to think about it more as I walked, and the underground ghost town in my mind began to take on a life of its own until it developed into this whole hidden community, full of not just ghosts but all sorts of creatures. Everything that would hide in the darkness.
I knew this was something I could maybe revisit at some point, but my first love is fantasy and I’d already made the decision to write something different – to try my hand at crime.
But it still didn’t stop me thinking about it from time to time, and of course, despite my love for the magical and mysterious I can’t always keep myself from the logical. I started to wonder how such a magical community so close to humans would remain hidden from them. What would be the similarities and differences? Surely they would still need somebody to police this hidden supernatural world? Surely crime would still happen, the crimes and victims just… supernatural. And what form would the policing of all that take? Would it be a traditional police force or… something different?
And I’d found my excuse. I’d promised myself I’d write a crime story, and somehow managed to shoehorn this other new idea in there at the same time. That’s where all this started.
What did you expect the editing process to be like, and how did it meet your expectations?
I went in with what I thought was a decent amount of mental preparation, but it was still a shock to the system. Not because it was any kind of awful or distressing experience, of course not, or we wouldn’t be here! But I think because I had come to land on Rachel’s desk via a competition, having never even queried an agent or received professional feedback on any of my work – at least compared to most writers once they get to that point – I found that it took time for me to… accept some of the changes necessary.
It wasn’t even that I disagreed with Rachel’s suggestions – she was always careful to acknowlege, especially in the beginning, that I was way out of my depth in terms of experience and understanding of the process. She always explained exactly why she’d made any of the edit suggestions she had – and I really want to highlight this point. Rachel had to teach me as we went along in a way I doubt she has to in many other circumstances, and this has been pivotal in my development as a writer. And naturally, she was always right. So I think it was the detachment I needed to have to be able to do what was required that I hadn’t adequately prepared myself for, and what took a little more time.
Funny side story: When she sent me back my first round of edits I wasn’t too familiar with tracked changes in Word (I’m a Scrivener gal) and she told me something along the lines of ‘take a bit of time to have a read through and think about it all and then you can accept changes’… and it took me over a week to realise she meant to literally click a button that said ‘accept change’! I thought she’d meant it as like… philosophical advice. To mentally come to terms with any changes she’d suggested! Because she did know I’d struggled with a few things. But even though that wasn’t what she’d meant I still smile at the memory because I do still do that now. I do have a read though then just take a few days to mentally accept any changes I know have got to come, and then I can start to physically make those changes.
What was the key piece of advice she gave you?
Bear with me here, this link may be tenuous, but I’ll give it a go.
But if you’re asking me what key piece of advice I hold close as a result of working with Rachel, that I’d consider worthy of passing on to other aspiring writers, it would not be a piece of verbal advice she bestowed upon me. At risk of sounding cliché, it’s the phrase actions speak louder than words that first springs to mind. Which is ironic, I am aware.
But it has been her actions that have taught me the most. It’s been her professionalism, her attentiveness and her care that I believe has helped me improve most as a writer. Remember again that I came to Rachel though a competition, and I had absolutely no experience of this industry, how to navigate it, or what the hell I was even supposed to do in the editing process. Rachel has not only had to work with me but teach me at the same time. And she has done it all with grace, respect and kindness.
As a neurodivergent author only diagnosed in adulthood, a lot of my younger years were hampered by self-confidence issues at the hands of adults who didn’t quite have the patience or the ability to see my thought processes, or even attempt to understand them. I truly believe this is why it took until my late 20s before I even considered taking my favourite secret hobby seriously. I also believe that it all could’ve still gone very badly if I hadn’t been matched up with just the right editor.
So my key piece of advice I hold close as a result of working with Rachel is that you will always be the best version of yourself if you have the right people around you, people who understand you and your vision. I was just lucky to be paired with Rachel before even learning this, but it is absolutely a lesson I will take forwards with me for my whole career. It’s your editor that can make or break you, and it’s absolutely vital that you have mutual understanding and trust. This industry is scary, it’s fast paced and there’s limited space, and that can easily lead to hasty decisions for fear of missing chances. But jumping at the first opportunity with the wrong editor for you and your project could have equally devastating consequences as much as it could lead to success.
You’ve written a fantasy story that is also a crime thriller. What were the joys and what were the challenges of that?
Oh, well, the greatest joy of all was being able to use magic to cut corners! And save on that horrendous word count that is the bane of Rachel’s life when working with me. Do you know how much easier it is to have characters that can bend time and space to jump magically between crime scenes to save on all the travel in between? Or a poltergeist that I sneak into an office in the middle of the night and steal paperwork?
And I guess the main challenge is the fact that none of the fantasy creatures I write about exist – as far as we know. So I don’t have any reality to draw inspiration from. There aren’t any documentaries I can watch on murdered werewolves or angry witches, or anything like that. So I’ve still, to an extent, had to heavily rely on the humanity of my fantasy characters to keep them somewhat relatable for my readers. I think, at least I hope, I’ve got that balance right!
Your new book, All the Lost Souls, is out now. How did the writing process differ to All the Hidden Monsters?
Massively – and although you not asked about it here, I’m currently in the editing process for book 3 in this series, All the Cursed Creatures. And the process there has been different as well. At least, by different, I mean that there has been a clear evolution in my ease, my creativity and my ability to solve problems or overcome hurdles.
All the Hidden Monsters was very much a joint project as Rachel taught me how to write and edit a book at the same time. We rewrote the opening of that manuscript countless times just to try and get it right! But by the time Lost Souls came about, I was reasonably confident when I turned it over to Rachel that we wouldn’t have to do any major rewrites like that again. I’d been able to take everything I’d learned from her the first time around in terms of plotting and story telling, and craft something that I was more confident would work. We still had to do some shuffling around of chapters, and I also felt I improved a lot in terms of understanding and developing pacing and structure whilst working on Lost Souls with Rachel.
But the real difference came when I handed in the first draft of All the Cursed Creatures at the start of this year. It was the first time I felt excited to hand something over, knowing in my bones that I had got it right. Not that it wouldn’t need editing and working on, but it was the first time that I really felt like I’d got it right from the beginning. I had real faith in what I’d written, knew that the plot worked and all tied in together, and all Rachel would really need to help me with was the (again) massively overshot wordcount. But that it would be the first manuscript that I knew wouldn’t need major rewriting or restructuring.
That was a real moment of achievement for me, and something I continue to feel really proud of. And I totally credit all that progress to Rachel, and her mentoring throughout our time working together.
If anyone is interested – I get a new tattoo every time I feel like I reach a new milestone. Upon that realisation, I got a tattoo of a red eyed Mothman, one of Rachel’s most liked background characters in Lost Souls, on the inside of one of my arms.
What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received?
Write what you love, not what you think everyone else will love, because the amount of time you spend working on and editing it will make you absolutely despise it if you go into the process without your heart being completely in it.
And I don’t really feel like I need to explain it much more than that, other than to say that I now know that it’s absolutely true. I do love my stories and my characters, but trust me when I say I never wanted to look at that manuscript again once I handed in the final draft of Hidden Monsters. It took until the audiobook came out before I could revisit it with fresh appreciation for what I’d created. I cannot imagine what that would be like on a project I wasn’t 100% in on!
Q&A with editor Rachel Leyshon
What made Amie’s book stand out when you read it as an entry to the Times Chicken House Competition? What do you like most about her writing?
Some authors just have a writing charisma that can’t be taught – and all editors know and wait for that rare moment when the publishing goosebumps arrive! Often it’s instant – on the first page – and with Amie it was the feeling that here was an author with a dynamic storytelling voice and something to say. Put this with a werewolf/warlock crime-fighting duo who are battling their attraction – and it was an irresistible combination!
You’ve said that the book went through multiple drafts. What did you ask Amie to do and how did you work on it with her?
I asked Amie to think about the voice first. To expand the world and give her more options for future books in a potential series, I asked her to experiment with two third person POVs rather than the first person narrative she had initially chosen. We also looked at the intricacies of the crime plotting, developing the world of Downside (the supernatural city underneath Manchester) – and working on the slow burn romance between the two main characters.
What are the particular things for new authors to bear in mind when writing a series?
I would say, interesting arcs for the main cast, the relationships between them, and developing a unique world. Also, not to box yourself in with specific/limiting decisions – sometimes this can’t be helped! But the most important thing is to make sure the first book is as spectacular as possible – not ‘saving’ all the good ideas for future books.
Are there things you advise authors to be alert to when writing fantasy adventures – or ways to ensure the world building is convincing?
Keep thinking about ways to make the story fresh – if you have evergreen ‘tropes’, as there often are in fantasy adventures, then how can you reverse or switch up? And whenever you’re at a crossroads, be brave! Finally, my mantra is often (not always) ‘less is more’… better to concentrate on developing fewer unique aspects than throwing in everything but the kitchen sink.
You’ve won the Branford Boase Award and been shortlisted twice. What do you think are the most important skills for a successful editor?
Listening very carefully to an author, and remembering throughout an often long process that it’s their story and so you should be flexible and try to make their dream a reality. Having said that, it’s important to have a creative vision yourself, so that in mid-edit – when things are tough – you can be a clear head and guide. Basically, it’s therapy!
What advice would you give to anyone wanting to become a children’s books editor?
Read as much as you can – and widely too, not just in the children’s world. Fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels, poetry…. Listen to music, watch film. Anything! Whatever makes you feel engaged and creative and what it was like to be a child. It’s all meant to be fun
All the Hidden Monsters is published by Chicken House, 978-1915026118, £8.99pbk
Thank you to Amie Jordan and to Rachel Leyshon for answering our questions.
