| Interview by Piranha T. and Super Kitty Alexandra Ott is the author of the Rules for Thieves duology, Seekers of the Wild Realm, and its sequel, Legend of the Realm, which will be released this summer. We loved Seekers of the Wild Realm for its cool worldbuilding and strong characters. We were thrilled to be able to interview her for this month’s post! RapunzelReads: Seekers of the Wild Realm has many interesting, well-developed characters. Do you have a favorite among them? If so, why? Alexandra Ott: It’s so hard to choose! They’re all fun to write. But I think Bryn is probably my favorite; I just love how determined and ambitious she is and how she doesn’t let anything stand in the way of accomplishing her goals. I also have big soft spots for Ari and Runa. Ari is such a genuinely sweet, empathetic character, and Runa is so smart and resourceful. I actually wrote an even bigger role for Runa in the second book in the series, because I just wanted to keep writing about her! RR: The Wild Realm, including its magic, is interesting and unique. What inspired it? What is your favorite part about it? |   Author photo credit: D. Young |
AO: I’m so glad you like the Wild Realm! It was hard to get it right; I wanted something that felt really mysterious and magical, and it also needed to have lots of different types of environments so that it would be well-suited to all kinds of magical creatures. I actually modeled some of the Realm’s geography on the real geography of Iceland, because it has so many of the features I wanted to use—waterfalls, glaciers, volcanoes, beaches, and so on. I wanted to have a lot of environments that are fun and unique while also coexisting well together, and I’m really happy with the final result. :)
RR: What books inspired you when you were growing up?
AO: So many! I was a really avid reader when I was growing up, which is a big part of the reason I love writing children’s books. I’ve always loved stories with lots of fantasy and adventure, like Artemis Fowl, Percy Jackson, Magic Tree House, The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner, all of Cornelia Funke’s books, and so many more!
RR: What was your favorite part of writing Seekers of the Wild Realm?
AO: Again, it’s hard to choose a favorite! I really loved inventing the magical creatures within the Realm. Some of them, like dragons and unicorns and phoenixes, will be familiar to readers, but I tried to give them a few unique traits within this world. I also created a few magical creatures of my own, like icefoxes and gyrpuffs, to inhabit the Realm as well! I had so much fun figuring out what types of creatures would live in this world and what their magical abilities and traits would be. I hope they’re as fun to read about as they were to write. :)
RR: What books inspired you when you were growing up?
AO: So many! I was a really avid reader when I was growing up, which is a big part of the reason I love writing children’s books. I’ve always loved stories with lots of fantasy and adventure, like Artemis Fowl, Percy Jackson, Magic Tree House, The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner, all of Cornelia Funke’s books, and so many more!
RR: What was your favorite part of writing Seekers of the Wild Realm?
AO: Again, it’s hard to choose a favorite! I really loved inventing the magical creatures within the Realm. Some of them, like dragons and unicorns and phoenixes, will be familiar to readers, but I tried to give them a few unique traits within this world. I also created a few magical creatures of my own, like icefoxes and gyrpuffs, to inhabit the Realm as well! I had so much fun figuring out what types of creatures would live in this world and what their magical abilities and traits would be. I hope they’re as fun to read about as they were to write. :)
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