Liz Montague is the author of the new middle grade novel School for Unusual Magic: The Equinox Test. Her other books include the graphic novel Maybe an Artist. Also a cartoonist, she lives in Philadelphia.
Q: What inspired you to write School for Unusual Magic: The Equinox Test, and how did you create your characters Rose, Amethyst, and Lav?
A: I really wanted to write a fun magical story that felt real! My favorite books as a kid were the ones that felt like I, too, could stumble upon a magic world and I really wanted this series to feel like that and be populated with characters that looked and felt familiar to me.
When coming up with the characters throughout this book I was really guided by a color theme that I came up with to keep things cohesive.
Purple is the main color of this series and it subtly shows up a lot. One of the many great things about purple is that it can be warmed up to reddish color and cooled down to blueish color.
When populating this world I chose to have the warmer colors relate to land and the cooler colors relate to water. Based on that foundation I then picked corresponding things in nature to fit into those colors and then filled out their personalities based on their relationship to what their color represents.
Rose, as a warm reddish purple, she’s really attached to her school and things staying the way they are. Lav, as a cool bluish purple, really misses the island he grew up on and is torn between ideas of home. Amethyst, our one fearless purple, isn’t quite sure where she fits yet (stay tuned!) and that unease really guides her character.
I’m a super visual person and definitely approached this like an artist but it worked for me!
Q: Without giving anything away, did you know how the story would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?
A: My initial idea for the series actually starts with the second book (which comes out Nov. 12 of this year) and then I had to fill out a world and scenario where that idea could happen! So in that sense I knew where things were leading but I wasn’t sure how I would get there.
I made a lot of changes. I rewrote this first book probably three times. Initially the book was just from Rose’s perspective with the focus being on her and Amethyst’s friendship while Lav was just a peripheral classmate. As I was writing and the characters grew it allowed me to explore so much more than I initially set out to!
Q: Although this is a tale of magic, it’s set in Brooklyn. Why did you choose this location, and how important is setting to you in your writing?
A: My parents met and went to school in Brooklyn (my dad’s a born and raised New Yorker) so I grew up visiting a lot and additionally my mom was an architect for NYC School Construction Authority (they build/design NYC public schools) for her entire career!
She commuted to the city everyday from NJ and a lot of her projects were in Brooklyn so I grew up hearing very detailed stories about Brooklyn schools.
Additionally, I always wanted to be a city kid but grew up in a rural New Jersey suburb instead so this was my chance to live my fantasy.
Q: What do you hope kids take away from the story?
A: I hope kids feel like magic is always waiting just around the corner and that nature is really cool.
Q: What are you working on now? What's next in the series?
A: I just finished the copy edits for the second book in this series which comes out Nov. 12, 2024, and I’m finishing up the final art for a graphic novel I have coming out in 2025.
As far as what’s next in the series: we’re going straight from the fall equinox into winter break and I can’t wait for you all to see what the gang gets up to!
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: I love this series and these characters SO much and I can’t wait for you all to come on this adventure with me!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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