Interview with Elana K. Arnold for Red Hood
Red Hood
by Elana K. ArnoldPublisher: Balzer + Bray
Release Date: February 25th 2020
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Retellings, Fairy Tales
Synopsis:
You are alone in the woods, seen only by the unblinking yellow moon. Your hands are empty. You are nearly naked.
And the wolf is angry.
Since her grandmother became her caretaker when she was four years old, Bisou Martel has lived a quiet life in a little house in Seattle. She’s kept mostly to herself. She’s been good. But then comes the night of homecoming, when she finds herself running for her life over roots and between trees, a fury of claws and teeth behind her. A wolf attacks. Bisou fights back. A new moon rises. And with it, questions. About the blood in Bisou’s past and on her hands as she stumbles home. About broken boys and vicious wolves. About girls lost in the woods—frightened, but not alone.
Elana K. Arnold, National Book Award finalist and author of the Printz Honor book Damsel, returns with a dark, engrossing, blood-drenched tale of the familiar threats to female power—and one girl’s journey to regain it.
Can you briefly describe RED HOOD and its characters?
Thank you for having me! Here’s the official flap copy, which I think encapsulates the book pretty well:
Elana K. Arnold, author of the Printz Honor book Damsel, returns with a dark, engrossing, blood-drenched tale of the familiar threats to female power—and one girl’s journey to regain it.
You are alone in the woods, seen only by the unblinking yellow moon. Your hands are empty. You are nearly naked. And the wolf is angry.
Since her grandmother became her caretaker when she was four years old, Bisou Martel has lived a quiet life in a little house in Seattle. She’s kept mostly to herself. She’s been good.
But then comes the night of homecoming, when she finds herself running for her life over roots and between trees, a fury of claws and teeth behind her.
A wolf attacks. Bisou fights back. A new moon rises. And with it, questions.
About the blood in Bisou’s past, and on her hands as she stumbles home.
About broken boys and vicious wolves.
About girls lost in the woods—frightened, but not alone.
RED HOOD is, I think, my most “ensemble” book—that is, while it is certainly Bisou’s story, it’s also a book about companionship, and allyship, and inherited trauma. So the entire cast of characters really works together to make RED HOOD the book that she is.
Who would you say is your favourite character from the story and why?
I really do love all of these characters—well, most of them anyway (there are some pretty villainous characters, too, pretty unlovable). I don’t want to give anything away, but I’d say that I really love and am proud of Bisou’s support system of friends and family.
Interestingly, I think that I wrote this book at this time in my life because I am surrounded by such a strong network of friends and allies, whereas I’ve felt more isolated and solitary at other points. These incredible characters came from the feeling of being uplifted, understood, and truly seen by family and friends. Maybe that’s why I love these characters so much.
How did the story occur to you? Did you find inspiration anywhere?
I find inspiration everywhere. The world is vast and beautiful, and scary, too, and once you start looking, you’ll find that everything is grist for the storytelling mill.
This first piece of this book fell into place three and a half years ago. I was ice skating at night, under a full moon, up near Yosemite, in a rink ringed with trees, and I had my period. And I asked, as I often did—what if? What if there was a girl whose menstrual cycle was tied to the moon in the same way—sort of—that a werewolf’s transformation is tied to the moon? What would happen?
I couldn’t wait to find out. So, I wrote the book.
If you could choose one song to describe your book, which one would it be?
I’m not terribly musical, but luckily for me, my wonderful editor is. He sent me a few songs that he listened to while editing the book, and I listened to them over and over again as I worked on revisions.
One song that particularly strikes me (though they are all beautiful) is “In for the Kill” (Skream’s Let’s Get Ravey Remix). Okay, I’m not someone who thought she’d be into “remix” or “ravey” or an intentional misspelling of “scream.” But the song is incredible and is an amazing tonal match for the dark, unsettling, strange world of RED HOOD.
If your book was going to be made into a movie, who would play your characters?
I don’t have a good answer to this question. But I’d love readers of RED HOOD to let me know what their opinions might be!
What drink and place do you think will go with your book to have a perfect book date?
I wrote much of this book in front of fireplaces. Whenever possible—at home, at my friend’s house, at restaurants—I pushed myself as close as I could stand to the heat of a blazing fire as I worked.
I think in front of a fire is the perfect place to nestle in and read RED HOOD. It’s a wintry book, with forests and danger and dark nights. Steep yourself a pot of tea and find a soft blanket, and settle in.
Can you recommend your readers any other books in case they are left hungry for more once they finish RED HOOD?
I have long been a fan of reading and writing fairy tales. I’d encourage readers to reach for DAMSEL, my last book, which is in many ways a thematic sister to RED HOOD, and further back into my catalogue as well, as fairy tales, mythology, and religious lore weaves through all of my YA work.
I’d also suggest the work of Margo Lanagan, especially her devastating TENDER MORSELS; the work of Anna-Marie McLemore, especially their newest book, just out, DARK AND DEEPEST RED, and the fantastic collection of stories, MY MOTHER SHE KILLED ME, MY FATHER HE ATE ME, edited by Kate Bernheimer and Carmen Giménez Smith.
What would you say is the most difficult part of writing a book?
Each book has its own most difficult part. For RED HOOD, it was plot revision. As this is a book that is based in part on Little Red Riding Hood, there were certain plot constructs that I wanted to remain true to, while reimagining them in my own way. This meant lots of drafts, lots of hard revision. I was lucky to have an incredible editor who got on the phone with me for more than a couple of very long calls to untangle plot issues, as well as wonderful friends and sisters who read multiple drafts of the book.
What’s next for you?
Right now, I’m working on my next middle grade novel, entitled THE HOUSE THAT WASN’T THERE, and I’m doing research for my next YA, which will be a historical novel that is especially close to my heart and a real challenge.
ELANA K. ARNOLD is the author of critically acclaimed and award-winning young adult novels and children’s books, including the Printz Honor winner Damsel, the National Book Award finalist What Girls Are Made Of, and Global Read Aloud selection A Boy Called Bat and its sequels. Several of her books are Junior Library Guild selections and have appeared on many best book lists, including the Amelia Bloomer Project, a catalog of feminist titles for young readers. Elana teaches in Hamline University’s MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program and lives in Southern California with her family and menagerie of pets.
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