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Editor's Corner August 2009 Want to know what excites an RHCB editor? Tune in to the Editor’s Corner each month to get the inside scoop on a different editor’s latest and greatest project, from tomorrow’s bestseller to a literary masterpiece!
Allison Wortche: It was a few years ago now: the icy February chill hung in the air, Joan Slattery was on maternity leave, and THE HOLLOW BETTLE arrived. I was reading Joan's submissions in her absence, so I opened the box from the agent to a not-uncommon sight: a fantasy trilogy by a first-time author. Was there really room out there for another? But then I read the first sentence: "It's an astonishing feat that young Ivy Manx was not poisoned during Mr. Flux's tenure as her taster." I was intrigued. As I continued, it didn't take long to realize that this was something special. The voice was wry and witty (with a perfect touch of the macabre) and had the confidence of a gifted, experienced writer. The world of Caux felt irresistibly fresh, filled with poisoners, tasters, apotheopath healers, and herbs that "sparkled and pulsed with an odd shivery force." And the characters were wonderful - from Ivy, the spunky eleven-year-old healer/poisoner, to the slimy taster Sorrel Flux, to the smaller characters like (my favorite!) the funny and subversive Royal Diarist. By the time I got to the end of the first chapter, I knew I was in the hands of one talented author and that this was a project Joan and I would want to pursue. I encouraged Joan to read THE HOLLOW BETTLE as soon as she returned, and unsurprisingly, she was just as excited as I was. We acquired the trilogy, and with the brilliant Susannah Appelbaum, delved further into the magnificent world of Caux. We went through a number of revisions with Susannah, tightening passages, strengthening characters' motives, and getting straight the rules, customs, and history of a world so different from ours. Each time a new draft came in, there were new things to love - the appearance of the creepy Mildew Sisters, the touching and strengthened relationship between Ivy and her uncle, and the moment in which Clothilde's stark white dress swirls into a terrifying crimson. It was exciting and gratifying to see this novel take shape, and I was a little sad to let go of Ivy and place her in the capable hands of Copyediting. Luckily for Joan and me, THE TASTERS GUILD (book II) manuscript had just arrived! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Joan Slattery:
Well, I have Allison Wortche to thank for handing me THE HOLLOW BETTLE when I returned from maternity leave and saying "Welcome back. Read this." It went right to the top of the (very large) pile. Like Allison, I was immediately drawn in by the funny-scary writing, a hugely imaginative new landscape, and that smart, reckless, plant-savvy girl we meet in the opening pages ("Poison Ivy: inheritances hurried, rivals exposed, revenge awarded"). We were thrilled to acquire it. When it came time to think about a cover, Associate Art Director Kate Gartner read the manuscript and soon showed us the darkly witty artwork of Jennifer Taylor. Perfect match. Kate then art directed Jenn on that head-turning jacket and more than two dozen black-and-white interiors, which range from funny to luminous to downright scary (I refer you to the Mildew Sisters). Actually, I should say green -and-white interiors: as a finishing touch on the package, we arranged to do the first printing in green ink, a perfect accent to such an herbaceous story. Allison and I got a chance to meet the author when she made the trip down the Hudson Valley to visit us for lunch. And, not surprisingly, Susannah was as smart and charming as her writing would suggest (and not at all wicked). It was a pleasure to chat with her over pasta and gelato and to learn that she's been working on this story - well, the seed of it - since she was just a child. She points to the moment when she was crossing a footbridge as a girl and thought, "What if a little man lived under here?" The idea of trestlemen - featured in her trilogy - was born then and there. As we were polishing up the jacket design, Susannah sent in a picture of herself at about age six or seven, face lifted skyward, hands planted on hips, skinny arms jutting out. (A young Ivy!) It now sits on the back flap above her author bio. We hope you enjoy this wonderful debut to the Poisons of Caux trilogy. And you won't have long to wait for Book II, The Tasters Guild, which Knopf will publish in Summer 2010.
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