We chat to author Julie Berry about her new middle grade novel, Wishes and Wellingtons! Julie talks about when she first fell in love with writing, book recommendations, and more!
With the current state of the world, what are you doing to cope with the changes we’ve had to make with our day-to-day?
Sigh … this is such a hard time. I try to remind myself that getting through the day is an achievement in unsettling times like these. I’m not usually the most structured, scheduled person – far from it, in fact – but I’ve found that sticking to a strict schedule has been a lifeline for me and for my family during the pandemic shutdowns. It’s helped us all. Wake-up time, exercise time, work time, playtime, bedtime. It’s like we’re all back in second grade, but it has helped. We were going feral before we got on the schedule train.
When did you first discover your love for writing?
I think I Ioved writing from the moment I could first watch my little fingers make a mark on a paper with a crayon or a pencil. I always remember, and still feel, the immediate, visceral pleasure that comes from watching the ink ribbon that I made unfurl. It’s leaving your mark on the world; every mark you make changes the world. From our first cave-painting ancestors, to modern publishing in the digital age, I think it’s the same magic. It’s the thrill of being the first to dunk your knife into the new jar of peanut butter. There’s just something about it.
Your new middle-grade novel, Wishes and Wellingtons, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Hmm, let’s see: “Tomboy, djinni, rascals, peril, outfoxing.”
Or: “Think fast, wish, choose well.”
Now tell us a little more! What can readers expect?
Maeve Merritt is a feisty, impulsive boarding school girl who thinks with her feet, and her fists. She can’t resist a challenge from a bully. When she finds an ill-tempered, surly djinni in a sardine tin, she’s nearly met her match – even more so when an assortment of Dickensian rascals learns of her djinni’s existence, and plots to wrest him away from her. Some foes become friends, while others remain locked with Maeve in contests of wit and willpower. Not even magical wishes can solve some problems, and it will take all of Maeve’s courage and sass to get herself out of her magical mess.
What inspired you to write this novel?
It all began on a redeye flight. Somehow the words “sardiney djinni” popped into my head. I’m not sure why. But the rhyme made me laugh. I immediately started thinking – a djinni in a sardine tin? When? Where? Who would find it? Why not a girl? The first chapter of the story just tumbled out. Maeve’s voice appeared right away. “I’ve always been too prone to solve problems with my fists…” And we were off.
Is there anything you hope your readers will take away from reading Wishes and Wellingtons?
I hope they laugh a ton, and I hope they’re completely swept away into the dark streets of late Victorian London winter’s nights, and magical journeys across the globe. I hope they love Maeve, Alice, Tommy, and Mermeros, and all their “friends and relations,” as much as I do. High entertainment is my target, every time. Perhaps, along the way, they’ll consider, along with Maeve, the complexities of wish-making. Stories about wishes are really stories about choices, values, and self vs. others. So, though most of us, I presume, will never be granted three magical wishes, wish-granting tales still have a lot to tell us about being human in the real world.
What’s next for you?
A nap? If only. I have a picture book coming out next spring entitled Cranky Right Now, a companion book to Happy Right Now, and another in 2022 called The Night Frolic, which I’m very excited about. A sequel to Wishes and Wellingtons, entitled Crime and Carpetbags, will come soon, though I’m not certain of a publication date yet.
Lastly, are you currently reading anything and do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
I’m rereading The Hero With A Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell, and reading Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi. Not a kids’ book. I just read an upcoming YA novel called Fadeaway by Elaine Vickers that enjoyed tremendously. There’s a copy of Midsummer Mayhem by Rajani LaRocca waiting for me at my local bookstore, and I’m eager to dive in.
