Readers know Amanda Foody as the author of Daughter of the Burning City and The Shadow Game series. The Nerd Daily recently had the absolute pleasure of sitting down with Amanda, and we got to talk to her about her upcoming middle grade fantasy novel The Accidental Apprentice, which is the very first book in the Wilderlore series! If you are a fan of Pokémon or How to Train Your Dragon, and if a quirky, fun middle grade fantasy with a delightfully diverse cast of characters sounds like your jam, The Accidental Apprentice is a book you’d want to watch out for!
Hi Amanda! Thank you so much for doing this interview! Would you tell us a little about yourself?
Absolutely! I write fantasy books for kids and teens—I adore any story that has a hint of magic! I’ve also wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember, so, naturally, I started off my career in public tax accounting. I now write full-time, and I live in Boston with my fiancé and our cat named Jelly Bean.
The Accidental Apprentice hits shelves on March 30! What can readers expect when they pick up the book?
The Accidental Apprentice is a fantastical adventure, set in a world that is full of magical creatures known as Beasts. Some people, called Lore Keepers, bond with Beasts and share their magic. But Barclay Thorne is no Lore Keeper. He’s an apprentice mushroom farmer, and all he’s ever wanted is a boring, not-so-magical life. But after he accidentally bonds with a Beast, Barclay must set out on a quest through the dangerous Woods to figure out how to break his bond and return home.
The story combines all my favorite elements of MG fantasy, including a sprawling cast, epic action scenes, and a quirky, endearing heart. It also sets the stage for a longer series to come… with even more places to explore!
The Accidental Apprentice is your first foray into middle grade fantasy! How is writing MG different from writing a YA novel? Did you need to change your writing process?
The biggest difference between MG and YA is the style. Initially, I was very intimidated by writing MG, as my YA actually straddles the dividing line between the teen and adult market. But I fell in love with MG so quickly that I can hardly believe I started my career elsewhere. I’m the sort of dork who never grew out of their 12yo “cool” factor. A mysterious and powerful mentor? A magic tournament? An epic battle sequence? I’m there!
My writing process itself didn’t undergo any dramatic shift. The key difference was planning—Wilderlore is the longest and most ambitious series I’ve ever attempted, and I couldn’t put the finishing touches on The Accidental Apprentice until I had a cohesive of idea of everything that was to come. My Wilderlore outlines and encyclopedias could rival the actual story in length!
If you had to describe your main character Barclay Thorne in five words, what would they be?
Stubborn. Clever. Dedicated. Proud. Restless.
What did your process of constructing the extensive Wilderlands look like? And what inspired you to conjure up the many Beasts we meet in The Accidental Apprentice, including Barclay’s Lufthund and Viola’s baby dragon?
The Wilderlands, which are the regions of the world where the Beasts live, are each inspired by different environmental biomes, including the Woods, the Tundra, the Mountains, etc. So a lot of inspiration came from the natural world and good ol’ science class.
Viola’s baby dragon was inspired by my cat! They are both mischievious and always getting into trouble. Barclay’s Lufthund wasn’t inspired by any particular animal I know. I’ve just always thought that dogs or wolves made such quintessential fantasy companions. Plus, I wanted to choose a Beast that was a tad bit frightening!
Without spoiling anything, can you tell us about a particular scene you enjoyed writing the most?
No fantasy series would be complete without a mysterious and powerful mentor character! In Wilderlore, that is Runa Rasgar, otherwise known as the “Fang of Dusk.” She’s famous arch-enemies with another Lore Keeper named Cyril Harlow, or the “Horn of Dawn.” There’s a brief encounter between them in The Accidental Apprentice that I was dying to write, as they haven’t spoken to one another since they attempted to duel to the death. I’m all about an epic rivalry!
Did you put parts of your own younger self in any of the characters in The Accidental Apprentice – whether as a conscious decision or just something you became aware of afterwards?
I wrote a lot of the story with my younger self in mind, but there are no specific characters that I based off of myself. I did give Viola a backstory with some similarities to my own. Her parents are divorced, and she splits her time between their two houses. That very much reflects my own childhood, and growing up, divorce was never something I saw discussed in fantasty books, as though the topic was too mundane in a world with magic. Reading about that would’ve meant a lot to me while I was young.
If you were a Lore Keeper, what sort of Beast do you think you’d want to bond with?
How can I say no to a Beast like Mitzi when she’s inspired by my own cat? A baby dragon sounds amazing! Plus, dragons are from the Mountains, and I grew up in the Appalachian region of Pennsylvania, with a sprawling, high up view from my bedroom window. It sounds like a perfect fit!
Can you give us a little teaser as to what’s in store for Barclay and his friends in Wilderlore book 2?
Each book of the series is set in a different Wilderland, so Barclay has a whole new biome to explore! And the whole Runa and Cyril thing? It would seem their apprentices have inherited their mentors’ rivalry…
Aside from the sequel to The Accidental Apprentice, what’s next for you?
My next YA novel, All of Us Villains, releases from Tor Teen on November 9th! It’s sort of like The Hunger Games but with magic, and if every character was a bad guy. I had the most amazing time co-writing it with fellow YA author Christine Lynn Herman. It doesn’t get better than writing a death tournament book with your best friend!
And finally, what are some of your favourite middle grade fantasy novels?
I have a mixture of modern and nostalgic favorites, including the Septimus Heap series, Amari and the Night Brothers, Inkheart, Princess Academy, Ghost Squad, and The Chronicles of Narnia.
