We’re talking today to Kailin Gow, one of the most prolific young adult authors I’ve seen in a long time. Her latest book is Rise of the Fire Tamer, involving five teens – who are invited to stay at Wordwick Games inventor Henry Word’s mysterious castle and play the newest level of Workwick Games. Little do they know, the castle is the doorway to a wondrous world call Anachronia where words can be used as weapons, power, and commodity.
Q. Thank you for this interview, Kailin. Can we begin by having you tell us why you chose to write young adult fiction?
I’ve always loved reading books in this genre, and they have helped shape who I am today. I grew up reading Judy Blume, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien. And I read all the Sun Fire series and Sweet Valley High series.
There is so much going on in this age group that is rich for writing and also for discovering. Things are new, things are dramatic, things are always a life and death situation. I love that. I can relate to that, but I’m also much older and have a lot more life experience to provide a wider perspective for teens.
On a personal note, I find myself becoming an informal mentor to a lot of teen girls and I’m constantly being asked for advice on relationships, career, whatever. My mom friends also point their teen daughters my way whenever they want them to have a mentor or role model. I’ve been a teen mentor, in this way, and even a college/young adult mentor, for years since I was in college.
Q. Did you outline before you wrote your book or did you just go with the flow?
When I first began writing, I used to go with the flow, but writing books, especially series require a lot of discipline. As I started writing series, outlining the book is the way to go in order to get all your plot points and story arcs into the book and prepare for the next book.
Q. Who was your favorite character in Rise of the Fire Tamer and why?
All the characters in The Wordwick Games Series can be studied in detail for what constitutes leadership qualities and qualities people would look for in friends and romantic relationships.
I have a few favorites, but the obvious pick for me would be Gem because she’s more complex than she looks. She also has backbone, stands up for her convictions, and has clear leadership abilities. She’s an amazing role model for girls and boys. She’s based on the qualities I’ve seen in some amazing CEOs and world leaders I’ve met in life. Yet she’s also a teenager, and she knows her limitations.
I love all five teen characters in The Wordwick Games. They’re all distinct. A reviewer for The Bookshelf said that if she was to cast the characters in The Wordwick Games, they would be:
“Gem: Hilary Duff, Elisha Cuthbert or Anna Sophia Robbs...it’s tough to find one to fit the age too. Sparks: Hayden Christensen would be good in it or Chace Crawford maybe.
Ellen Page would be cool as Kat I think, Anton Yelchin for Jack or Jamie Bell.”
Q. Who was your least favorite character?
I can’t say I have one because even the most minor characters or villains have a redeeming side to them.
In Book 2, though, a very “bad ass” character shows up to shake everything up, and this character is so bad, there doesn’t seem to be any redeeming qualities in this character.
Q. Can you tell us about the setting and why you chose it?
Anachronia is another world. Based on the word, “Anachronism,” it is where everything is out of sync. It is a fantastic world set in a fairy tale setting where there are castles, knights and ladies, dragons, ogres, trolls, werewolves, zombies, and wizards. The world of Anachronia looks familiar to us because of its medieval appearance, yet it is meshed with modern day technology, thanks to The Wordwick Games.
