Sarah Rees Brennan is back with an amazing new book, Fence: Striking Distance, inspired by the popular graphic novels, Fence! We were lucky enough to chat with her about this upcoming new release, including the Fence characters to what to expect of this contemporary novel about fencers, we covered it all in today’s interview! So keep on reading if you adore the Kings Row boys as much as we do!
Hi, Sarah! Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Why hello there! I’m an Irish writer who’s been writing works of—mainly—YA fantasy for several years now. I live near a cathedral and a river, and I grew up by the sea. I love to read and write things that induce tears, fear and laughter. All three are essential!
Fence: Striking Distance is a novel inspired by Fence, the graphic novels! What did the writing process for it look like? How much did you collaborate with C.S. Pacat regarding the storylines and characters?
C.S. Pacat was incredibly open and helpful in collaborating! When I lived in Australia for six months, C.S. Pacat and Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff were all basically petal darlings who wrote with me and showed me the ropes. (Some of the ropes were attached to pirate ships on the Yarra river.) So we were used to having involved conversations about our work. We would get on video chat and planned out the book together, cooking up plots and backstories in detail, then I sent her bits as I wrote them, then we had a mid-way chat and a revisions chat scheduled, and if there was a hiccup in the process we’d get on skype again. There’s a prank war in the book, and several very bad pranks suggested were actual suggestions I made while C.S. Pacat looked at me scornfully. (Not really. But I deserved to be looked at scornfully.)
This is one of your first dips into writing YA contemporaries! How does it differ from writing a fantasy book? Did you have to get into a particular headspace, faced any new challenges?
That was actually my biggest challenge! I do love me some magic, monsters and murder giving my story shape. I did ask C.S. Pacat if I could put in a murder for the fencing team to solve… maybe I’ll get to do a murder someday. (She says wistfully, getting strange looks.) But I have a long-time love for a swashbuckling swordfight, and I did fencing class in school, plus I love characters and the connections between them the most. Having very different people in the insular world of an elite boarding school, with this competitive sport binding them together and ratcheting up tension, is a way to turn an island of misfit toys into a found family. I think that’s why people love team stories, so to get into the headspace of a contemporary I’d think about the teams I’d loved, from the Mighty Ducks to Naruto, and how building a team is a great way to tell a love story.
If you had to describe this book in five words, what would they be?
Fake dating, band of misfits! And if the words ‘fake dating’ mean nothing to you, well, you’ll see…
Now tell us a little more! What can readers expect from this fun story about the fencers at Kings Row?
I was thinking about team building… and the boys’ coach is too! Fresh off their first major fencing victory, Coach sets the team—responsible captain Harvard, carefree playboy Aiden, well-meaning prankster Eugene, fencing prodigy Seiji and Nicholas from the wrong side of the tracks—a series of challenges in order to bond as a team. These challenges escalate beyond anyone’s expectations. Suddenly Harvard is dating, Aiden is losing his mind about it, and serious Seiji may have become a criminal mastermind. I hope the story works as a fun time for existing fans, and a fun place to jump in for those intrigued by fencing and friendship… and more than friendship…
Fence: Striking Distance is told from four points of view! Did this prove challenging to write? Which character’s perspective did you love writing most and why?
I love playing games with points of view, actually! It’s fun to show that everyone is living in a different world inside their minds, drawing conclusions from what they see and hear which may be completely at odds with another characters’ conclusions. I also wrote tie-in novels for Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and I found when you’re writing tie-ins for a visual media, where you’re used to seeing many scenes with many different characters, you definitely need the books to have several points of view to give the same effect of having scope. Plus books provide the opportunity to dive deeper into a psyche, showing you what people are thinking and their pasts as visual media can’t, and I thought readers would appreciate getting that perspective on more than one character.
I loved writing Seiji Katayama’s perspective the most. He’s a guy of few words and intense focus, and presents a cool façade that covers up loneliness and social awkwardness. It’s an interesting challenge to write someone so talented he never really thought he needed to be anything else, learning otherwise at last. He’s the most different internally as opposed to externally. He’d be formidable and unreadable in other points of view, and then I’d get to flip the script.
What was your favourite part of writing Fence: Striking Distance? Are there any characters or parts of the story that didn’t make it into the final version of this book?
There is a whole kiss scene that didn’t make it into the final version of the book. C.S. Pacat thought we should cut it, and was totally right. But I just wanted you all to know there’s a kiss scene you didn’t see. Who is it between? What happens? You can only imagine.
If Fence were to be adapted, what format would you prefer and why?
I’d love to see it as a TV show, either animated in Johanna’s style or live action! The way the fencing contests are set up lends itself to episodic telling, and the setting of Kings Row is so much fun visually. C.S. Pacat sent me a folder of pictures to consult for the school, and I’ve spent a lot of time in the Massachusetts and Connecticut area, and now I’m freaking out my friends there by being like ‘send your children to stately academies! Pics please.’ Old red brick buildings, deep woods and a deeper lake, and a school motto. I’d love to see that in motion!
What’s next for you? Can you tease any new projects (maybe even in the Fence universe)?
Maybe even so in the Fence universe! I’ve been told the end of Fence: Striking Distance was mean, so maybe I make it up to people in the next installment. Or maybe… I get even meaner…
Let’s finish this interview with some recommendations! Which new releases should we keep our eyes peeled for?
Naomi Novik’s A Deadly Education is coming out in September. She’s an amazing writer and it’s such a fun, scary, thoughtful take on a familiar setting.
