I am excited to have Angela Kecojevic on my blog today as a special guest to tell us a little about her latest book for middle grade, Scareground, published by Neem Tree Press.

Angela Kecojevic is a senior librarian, author and creative writing tutor. She has written for the Oxford Reading Tree programme and the multi-award-winning adventure park Hobbledown where her characters can be seen walking around, something she still finds incredibly charming!

She is a member of the Climate Writers Fiction League, a group of international authors who use climate issues in their work. Angela lives in the city of Oxford with her family.

********

Thank you Angela for joining us today. I have had the pleasure of interviewing you before for Writer’s Forum about another of your novels, Train. Scareground is very different, so I am eager to find out more.

Why did you decide to write a spooky middle-grade book based in Greenwich?

I used to live in London, so Greenwich was somewhere I loved to visit.  There was something very special about its maritime connections and wonderful history. Plus, the Victorian rooftops made for a great story setting! Throw in a spooky funfair and you have the beginnings of a story. The idea for Scareground came whilst I was driving past Battersea Power Station in London. This was when it was unused – abandoned – a word that sounds far more dramatic and exciting! It looked so dark and eerie that my imagination went wild. I pictured a funfair – one that would be spooky and macabre rising from its depths. And then I remembered Greenwich and decided it would make the perfect setting.

What are the underlying themes of Scareground?

I wanted Scareground to be about more than just the ‘scare’, although this element was lots of fun to write! But I wanted to include friendship and bravery too. Good friends will support our fears – and maybe even work with us to face them, just like Nancy and Arthur do in Scareground. Everyone is afraid of something, and I wanted to highlight this.

Which comes first for you the plot or the characters and why?

In this instance, it was the characters. I pictured Skelter Tombola straight away. He was a charismatic mix of P. T. Barnum and Jack Skellington, the ultimate showman and the ultimate Pumpkin King. Skelter’s walk would be crooked. He would be charming and riddled with mystery. Most importantly, he would help provide the ‘scare’ in Scareground.  The plot had been at the back of my mind for a while, but I didn’t want to write about an ordinary funfair.

If you could meet Nancy and Arthur, what would you say to them?

I love this question! I would ask Nancy to teach me to talk to the sky. Her gift is very special and given how unpredictable the British weather is, it would be incredibly helpful. I’ve always been fascinated by the clouds, and this element of the story came from cloud watching! There is also something peaceful about the sky. I imagined it as Nancy’s greatest friend, something she could talk to and confide in. As for Arthur, I would ask him about his adventures as a great explorer, and whether he had met any pirates at sea!

Is there a particular place you like to write?

We live by the river, so I’m lucky that my writing desk looks out over fields and woodlands. There are rabbits everywhere! (And the occasional spider!)  It’s quite special. I like to have tea and biscuits at hand, and I often have a spooky soundtrack playing in the background.

Have you ever been on any literary pilgrimages?

No – but now I wish I had. I’m a big fan of J.M Barrie’s ‘Peter Pan’. If I could enter his fictional world, I would jump on a pirate ship and head for Neverland. Or fly past the Second Star to the Right and head down to Mermaid Lagoon! A sword fight with Captain Hook would be pretty cool too! That would be my dream pilgrimage!

If you could tell your younger writing-self anything, what would it be?

To plot a little better. Once I have a new idea, I am always so eager to get started that I can put this vital process off for a while. I prefer to write the first chapter and let my imagination do the work. Then I stop and plot. I like to fill books with story ideas and cut-out images of places and characters. I’m definitely a writer who likes to use visuals for inspiration. But the power of plotting must never be underestimated and it took me a while to make that a priority.

Is there anything else you would like to tell readers about your books and writing for children?

I know this sounds cliché, but never give up on something you are passionate about. I have several unpublished books in my drawer, and they are quite happy napping there for a while! Those books taught me many things; they were the books I learnt from and each one meant something different to me. I don’t view them as failures or unsold books. They are my secret projects and it’s OK to love them just as they are!

********

To find out more about Angela and her books on her website: angelakecojevic.com and by checking out her Linked Tree: https://linktr.ee/akecojevic

You can read highlights from my Writers’ Forum interview with Angela here: An interview with… Angela Kecojevic

You can buy a copy of Scareground by Angela Kecojevic direct from the publisher here: Neem Tree Press or online at uk.bookshop.org, an organisation with a mission to financially support local, independent bookshops.