I’ve just started to think about what I’m going to do in my Edinburgh Book Festival event next Saturday morning. The first thing I do is read the programme, so that I can plan to talk about what the audience hoped they were coming to hear.
And this time, apparently, I am going to…
… tell you about her award-winning Fabled Beasts series set in Scotland but featuring monsters and heroes from Greek and Celtic myths. She’ll share her favourite legends and tell all about the heroes who face their fears and destroy the monsters.
So when you’re reading that and thinking, “that’s sounds fun, let’s go and hear Lari do that,” I’m reading it and thinking, “that’s sounds fun, how on earth am I going to do that…?”
And this is what I’m thinking:
Alright. All three books in the series. In 55 minutes. I’ll have to find short readings…
Celtic and Greek myths? Ok, I am inspired by Celtic and Greek myths (hard to deny that with a centaur and a minotaur in First Aid for Fairies, and Tir nan Og in Wolf Notes) but I also love Viking myths, and Storm Singing was mostly influenced by Orcadian legends and an Inuit myth, but I’m happy to chat about Celtic and Greek.
Then heroes destroying monsters. Great. I love destroying monsters. No. Hold on. Wait a minute. Heroes? HEROES? What about heroines? What about Helen and Rona and Lavender and Pearl and Emmie and all the GIRLS I write about defeating baddies?
Ok. NOW I’m inspired. Now I know what I’m going to do. I’m going to find lots of heroines from Greek and Celtic myth (and beyond), and tell you how they inspire me. And if they’re new to me, if they haven’t inspired me already, then their stories can inspire the next First Aid book. Because I’m not sure how to defeat that final baddie, and perhaps I need help from a few more heroines…
So, I’m off to start searching for legendary and mythical heroines. If you have any favourites, do let me know!
(And if you want to come along and hear about heroines and heroes defeating monsters, I’m at the Edinburgh Book Festival on Saturday 27th August, at 10.30 am, and you can get tickets at edbookfest.co.uk.)
We’re already booked! And that was a fab speech you did at the Kelpies award ceremony last night. My friend Clare and I were completely knotted up with the suspense, so goodness knows how the shortlisted authors managed to stay upright!