Q&A with Will Taylor

 

 

 

 

Will Taylor is the author of the new middle grade series The School for Wicked Witches. His other books include The Language of Seabirds. He lives in Seattle.

 

Q: What inspired you to write The School for Wicked Witches series, and how do you see your books relating to The Wizard of Oz?

 

A: The project itself was inspired by the then-upcoming release of the Wicked movies. I’m a diehard fan of the musical and jumped at the chance to unite my love for Oz with my own silly, bouncy fantasy writing.

 

The School for Wicked Witches is absolutely a Wizard of Oz tribute. Oz is a rich and extremely accommodating world, and I had the best time weaving in elements from L. Frank Baum’s original series alongside nods and winks to my other favorite fantasy worlds and tales.

 

I’ve described what I wrote as a “comedically reimagined Oz” in previous interviews, which still feels right. Three books in, it’s actually starting to feel like home.

 

Q: How did you create your character Ava, and do you think she changes from one book to the next?

 

A: Ava showed up very much herself—direct, confident, opinionated, and wrong about some pretty important things. Writing her has mostly been a matter of getting out of the way so she can try out the things she wants to do and face the consequences.

 

Her stubbornness definitely leads the charge in book one, and in book two Ava is much more willing to ask for and accept help from her friends (and enemies, in some cases).

 

In book three Ava makes a whole heap of new mistakes, big ones, which leads her to figure out some core issues with how she sees the world and other people. It sounds heavy, but basically Ava is growing up, learning magic, and figuring out who she is—very much an 11-year-old arc.

Q: How would you describe the relationship between Ava and Tinabella?

 

A: Ava and her roommate Tinabella are classic frenemies, both very sure of who they are and determined to achieve certain goals, especially in book one.

 

Sometimes this means they work well together, but other times they’re at odds, which has been super fun to write. They constantly annoy one another, which the reader can see is because they’re so similar—not that either of them would ever admit it.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the series?

 

A: First and most importantly: entertainment. These are silly, rompy adventure books, and I hope readers of all ages get swept away in the fun and have a few laughs.

 

Second, books one through three are dedicated to the kids who don’t fit in, the kids who ask questions, and the kids who are still searching, so my hope is that readers who need encouragement as they look for their own place in the world find inspiration and community in these stories.

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’ve got nothing under contract, but my top projects at the moment are a very silly detective story I hope will become my first grownup book and a YA idea about a kid writing a baking musical for his senior project. There are a couple middle grades tapping me on the shoulder too, of course, so we’ll see who gets written first!

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I might have some pretty exciting news coming out later this year, so if any of your readers want to keep in touch they can sign up for my super short, super silly monthly newsletter (think glorified comic strip) at willtaylorbooks.com.

 

Enormous thanks for having me, Deborah!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Will Taylor.