Spotlight on Shannon Messenger

Shannon Messenger graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where she learned—among other things—that she liked watching movies much better than making them. She’s studied art, screenwriting, and film production, but she realized her real passion was writing stories for children. She’s the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of the award-winning middle grade series, Keeper of the Lost Cities, as well as the Sky Fall series for young adults. Her books have been featured on multiple state reading lists, published in numerous countries, and translated into many different languages. She lives in Southern California with her family—and an embarrassing number of cats.

Q: Flashback is book seven in the series, which means you’ve been with Sophie and her friends for over five years now. Do they feel like a part of your family? What’s the best part about being able to spend so much time with a character like Sophie?

I actually came up with the idea for Keeper of the Lost Cities way back in 2008, so Sophie and her friends have been living in my head for a decade, if you can believe it. Which makes them almost feel like they’re my children—despite all the near-death experiences I put them through. :) There’s something so special about getting to watch a character grow and change on the page—especially Sophie. She was always a brave, powerful little girl, but as the series has progressed she’s gotten so much more fearless and comfortable in her own skin, which is such a joy to see. I try to never control her. I write her by sitting back and thinking about everything she’s been through and everything going on at that moment in the story and asking myself, "okay, what is Sophie going to do now?" And she never ceases to amaze me with her strength and confidence and courage.

Q: The Keeper of the Lost Cities series is full of action-packed adventures, magical creatures, and shadowy organizations. Were you a fantasy reader as a kid? Did you ever wish for a telepathic power like Sophie’s?

Strangely enough, I wasn’t—but that was mostly because I grew up right before Harry Potter came along, and most of the fantasy books I was steered toward were older books that didn’t really grab me for some reason (Narnia being the big exception). So KEEPER is the series I wish I’d had when I was younger, and so many elements of the story are based on the things I loved back then: alicorns! superpowers! sparkles! (oh, who am I kidding? I still love those things!) And the idea for Sophie’s ability did come from me asking myself, "if I could have any superpower, what would it be?"—though my answer has changed over the last few years. Now that I have to travel so much for work, I would love to teleport and never have to deal with airports again!

Q: Did you always intend for Sophie’s story to become a multi-book series? How have the characters or plots surprised you along the way?

I knew that the problems Sophie was facing—and the villains she was up against—were much bigger than anything I could address in a single book. But I wasn’t exactly sure how many books the story would need. Honestly, I’m still not sure. I tend to be a little overly ambitious and start writing each draft with a long list of Things I Need To Cover In This Book, and only end up making it through a portion of them by the time I get to the end. And the story has definitely surprised me along the way. Usually it’s the villains who shock me with the coldness and cleverness of their schemes—and make me seriously question my dark side. But the plot has also curved a lot of ways I never expected, and I’ve gone along with those shifts because I feel like a story this big needs room to grow, rather than trying to force it down too rigid of a path. At the same time, every book always has plenty of moments that I planned from the very beginning, and it’s always so fun to see those play out on the page after having them live in my head for so long.

Q: Have you gotten to meet some of your middle grade readers over the years? What are some of your favorite memories of seeing fans responding to the series?

I have! I’ll never forget the first time a reader showed up in a Sophie costume. I was on tour for Exile, so it was still very early days for the series, and her costume was a spot-on recreation of what Sophie’s wearing on that cover. I’ll admit, I got a little choked up, seeing such visible proof that a reader had connected so strongly with my character. And that feeling never goes away. I’ve now seen thousands of “Sophies” at events (and plenty of other characters in the series too) and every time I’m overwhelmed by that enthusiasm. There’s also nothing cuter than seeing readers holding stacks of books—which are sometimes half as tall as they are—and hearing them talk to each other about series the way my friends and I used to do with the things we loved when we were that age: all the friendly debates, and the wild speculating. To see that happen and know it’s now about something that once lived only in my imagination is seriously the coolest feeling ever.