The Ten Riddles of Eartha Quicksmith The Ten Riddles Interview with début author Loris Owen (OB) • The Ten Riddles of Eartha Quicksmith
(Zimbabwe) and that really was momentous for a nine-year-old who loved to invent worlds. My pen’s never really run out of ink since then – poetry, screenplays, short stories, and now novels! In 2015 my mum offered me the idea of a secret school for inventors. Stories evolve, and Ten Riddles is very different now from that original spark, but there are still oodles of secrets and madcap inventions.
being given a lot more to learn from, and this helps them figure out who they are. And I wanted to avoid stereotypes, so while Kip, the protagonist, and his friends are puzzle geeks, they’re also outdoorsy and funny and brave, not just the classic action hero or the closeted genius who hides behind a laptop.
Family is very important in Ten Riddles. Has this migrated across from your own life? Olivia Clements (OB 09–16) was part of the BGS Literary Events Committee between 2013–16. Now a bookseller for Max Minerva’s Bookshop, and Waterstones, she here interviews author Loris Owen (OB 89–92) about her children’s fantasy series début, The Ten Riddles of Eartha Quicksmith (Firefly Press).
Absolutely! My partner has two boys, so I wanted to write something for kids. All writers are influenced by the people around them, and writing for children really helped me see through my stepsons’ eyes a bit better. And did they enjoy it? They did! Albert, one of the main characters, is based on them. They were both like dynamos at the time and have a great sense of humour, so he was the easiest to write. I was struck by your vivid characters. As a bookseller, I’ve noticed that children’s fiction is diversifying massively. It’s lovely to see a range of children in Ten Riddles who are different from the crowd and are heroes in a nontraditional sense.
How did Ten Riddles come about? Have you always written? My earliest writing memory is hearing my stories read out in primary school in Harare
Bristolienses - Issue 60
Someone once told me that writing, especially for children, is ‘trying on different lives’. And I think it’s so important that children are offered a wide range of stories to try on, so they can think ‘Am I like this person, or do I recognise myself in this character?’ Now they’re
Puzzles are such a key feature of Ten Riddles: have you always been interested in them? Mysteries, codes and puzzles are my brain candy. My dad taught me to do cryptic crosswords and to ‘think sideways’, which is a phrase I’ve worked into the book. Having so many riddles made editing hard – moving any scene was a major headache, as each riddle put out roots that needed to be carefully removed, replanted and rethreaded into the plot. My flat was covered in post-it notes, like the lair of someone hunting a serial killer! I was in awe of the amazing world-building of Ten Riddles; how did you create such a wonderful setting for Quicksmiths College without straying into Hogwarts territory? Thank you! It didn’t really occur to
26
