The Authors of Upside-Down Magic Talk Flying, Fluxing, and Skunkephants
What do you get when three superstar authors, all brilliant in their own right, join forces to write a magical middle grade series? Not what you’d expect! With Upside-Down Magic, Emily Jenkins (of the Toys Go Out series), Lauren Myracle (of the Winnie Years series), and Sarah Mlynowski (of the Whatever After series) have created a surprising and fun new book that transports us to Dunwiddle Magic School’s Upside-Down Magic Class and introduces us to a world of Flyers, Fluxers, Fuzzies and…Drittens. The New York Times bestselling authors spoke with the Barnes & Noble Kids Blog about writing, magic, and of course, composite animals.
Upside-Down Magic (Upside-Down Magic Series #1)
Hardcover
$12.10
$14.99
Upside-Down Magic (Upside-Down Magic Series #1)
By Sarah Mlynowski , Lauren Myracle , Emily Jenkins
Hardcover
$12.10
$14.99
How did you guys come up with the idea for Upside-Down Magic?
Sarah: We consulted a unicorn. Oh, wait, it was an editor at Scholastic named David Levithan.
Lauren: He is quite magical, though.
Emily: We told David that we wanted to write a book together and laid out all these elements we thought it should have—funny magic, eccentric characters, emotional truth, ridiculous composite animals, flying sequences, and so on.
Lauren: He nodded and looked wise and templed his fingers. All four of us talked, and David helped us shape the idea of a magic school with a class for, well, magical misfits.
If I could pick any magic talent it would be __________ , but knowing me, I would probably end up __________.
Emily: The magic in Upside-down Magic comes in five categories: Flyers (they fly), Fluxers (they transform into animals), Fuzzies (they can talk to animals), Flares (they make fire) and Flickers (they can turn invisible.) But the characters in the story have messed up magic—they freeze instead of flare, frighten animals instead of talking to them, or turn into animals that don’t exist and probably shouldn’t. I’d like to be a Fluxer and learn to do a tiger, but knowing me—well, actually, knowing me, I’d just keep at it until I could do a tiger, no matter how long it took.
Lauren: She would! Because she is very determined, very fierce, and very good at everything she undertakes! She’d master “tiger” in, like, two seconds. Me? I’d pick Flyer, because c’mon. It would be so cool to be able to fly. But I’d get lost all the time. I get lost every time I try to find my car, which is why I ended up putting polka dots all over it.
Sarah: True! Lauren’s car really is polka-dotted!
Lauren: But yeah, I’d be in serious trouble trying to navigate in the air.
Sarah: Flicker! I would want to be a Flicker. I am very messy and I would love to make the large pile of candy wrappers and papers in my living room disappear. But I would probably go to extremes with my flicker power and make all my stuff disappear and then forget where I put everything. Like my shoes. My couch. Lauren’s polka dot car. Sorry, Lauren.
Nory’s upside-down magic causes her to turn into composite animals. Which is your favorite?
Emily: Dritten. Dragon + kitten. It’s Nory’s signature animal.
Lauren: Skunkephant! Skunk + elephant. (If you see the skunkephant….RUN.)
Sarah: Mitten. Mosquito + kitten. Book two. Get ready! It’s awesomely disgusting.
What was the process like writing together? What was the best + worst part?
Emily: The worst part is nothing. There is no worst part. Sarah and Lauren are hysterically funny and flexible writers. They are true professionals and Lauren can even stand on her head.
Sarah: It’s true! She can! Here’s a picture!
Lauren: The best part is that we divide the labor so that we each get to do what we’re good at and what we enjoy most. Another great part is that since we’re writing together, none of us is in this alone. Writing is often a solitary activity. It’s much more fun to write with your buddies.
Sarah: The best best part is that we send each other presents. Lauren sent Emily and me toy Drittens, and Dritten necklaces. Emily sent Lauren and me Dritten stamps. I made Dritten tattoos. Lauren came up with the Dritten. Or maybe it was Emily. Or me? I honestly don’t remember. That’s how it is with the three of us. We’re just a team. Team Dritten!
What’s up next for you all? Are there more books planned in this series? Can you see this as a movie?
Emily: There are at least two more books in the series.
Lauren: And we want to do more! A squillion more! Are you reading this, David?
Emily: And there’s a TV show, possibly—the series was optioned by the Disney Channel.
Sarah: Fingers crossed. Premiere party at my house! Don’t worry, I will flicker up, first.
Upside-Down Magic is on B&N shelves now. The sequel, Sticks & Stones, will arrive in May 2016.
How did you guys come up with the idea for Upside-Down Magic?
Sarah: We consulted a unicorn. Oh, wait, it was an editor at Scholastic named David Levithan.
Lauren: He is quite magical, though.
Emily: We told David that we wanted to write a book together and laid out all these elements we thought it should have—funny magic, eccentric characters, emotional truth, ridiculous composite animals, flying sequences, and so on.
Lauren: He nodded and looked wise and templed his fingers. All four of us talked, and David helped us shape the idea of a magic school with a class for, well, magical misfits.
If I could pick any magic talent it would be __________ , but knowing me, I would probably end up __________.
Emily: The magic in Upside-down Magic comes in five categories: Flyers (they fly), Fluxers (they transform into animals), Fuzzies (they can talk to animals), Flares (they make fire) and Flickers (they can turn invisible.) But the characters in the story have messed up magic—they freeze instead of flare, frighten animals instead of talking to them, or turn into animals that don’t exist and probably shouldn’t. I’d like to be a Fluxer and learn to do a tiger, but knowing me—well, actually, knowing me, I’d just keep at it until I could do a tiger, no matter how long it took.
Lauren: She would! Because she is very determined, very fierce, and very good at everything she undertakes! She’d master “tiger” in, like, two seconds. Me? I’d pick Flyer, because c’mon. It would be so cool to be able to fly. But I’d get lost all the time. I get lost every time I try to find my car, which is why I ended up putting polka dots all over it.
Sarah: True! Lauren’s car really is polka-dotted!
Lauren: But yeah, I’d be in serious trouble trying to navigate in the air.
Sarah: Flicker! I would want to be a Flicker. I am very messy and I would love to make the large pile of candy wrappers and papers in my living room disappear. But I would probably go to extremes with my flicker power and make all my stuff disappear and then forget where I put everything. Like my shoes. My couch. Lauren’s polka dot car. Sorry, Lauren.
Nory’s upside-down magic causes her to turn into composite animals. Which is your favorite?
Emily: Dritten. Dragon + kitten. It’s Nory’s signature animal.
Lauren: Skunkephant! Skunk + elephant. (If you see the skunkephant….RUN.)
Sarah: Mitten. Mosquito + kitten. Book two. Get ready! It’s awesomely disgusting.
What was the process like writing together? What was the best + worst part?
Emily: The worst part is nothing. There is no worst part. Sarah and Lauren are hysterically funny and flexible writers. They are true professionals and Lauren can even stand on her head.
Sarah: It’s true! She can! Here’s a picture!
Lauren: The best part is that we divide the labor so that we each get to do what we’re good at and what we enjoy most. Another great part is that since we’re writing together, none of us is in this alone. Writing is often a solitary activity. It’s much more fun to write with your buddies.
Sarah: The best best part is that we send each other presents. Lauren sent Emily and me toy Drittens, and Dritten necklaces. Emily sent Lauren and me Dritten stamps. I made Dritten tattoos. Lauren came up with the Dritten. Or maybe it was Emily. Or me? I honestly don’t remember. That’s how it is with the three of us. We’re just a team. Team Dritten!
What’s up next for you all? Are there more books planned in this series? Can you see this as a movie?
Emily: There are at least two more books in the series.
Lauren: And we want to do more! A squillion more! Are you reading this, David?
Emily: And there’s a TV show, possibly—the series was optioned by the Disney Channel.
Sarah: Fingers crossed. Premiere party at my house! Don’t worry, I will flicker up, first.
Upside-Down Magic is on B&N shelves now. The sequel, Sticks & Stones, will arrive in May 2016.