Friday, August 7, 2015

Author Interview with Cornelia Funke


The DMS recently reviewed Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke. We were lucky enough to host an interview with this creative author after Lizzy reviewed her story Inkheartand it was great to share our thoughts about it and hear yours. So, without further ado... take it away, Cornelia!

What inspired you to write the Inkworld trilogy?

I think every reader secretly believes that the characters you meet in a book are real. Sometimes they do in fact feel more real than the people around us, because the pages tell us so much about them. So...I thought for quite a while about a story that brings them out of the book and how that might happen. But Inkheart came to life in many ways - there was a scene I had thought about for The Thief Lord which turned out to be part of this story and there was always Dustfinger...though I had to see fire eaters on a medieval market in Europe to understand who he is. :)

How long did it take you to write Inkheart? Which book in the series took the longest to write?

They all took about two years - which is my normal time to finish a book. Inkspell was easiest, as far as I remember. The first book is always more difficult than the sequels in my experience, as one has to open the door to a new world.

What was your inspiration for the characters Meggie and Dustfinger?

Many girls, who read my book The Thief Lord complained - rightfully so - that there was no one girl in it, but many boys, so I promised them that the next book would have a female heroine...which was Meggie. She is a bit like I was as a girl, a bit like my daughter (though that is only true for Inkspell) ...and then like all characters she just brought herself. :)

What are some of your favorite books from childhood? Were there any specific authors who inspired you?

There was first of all Michael Ende, the German fantasy author and Astrid Lindgren, the famous Swedish writer, who enchanted every child of my generation. Then there was Narnia and Tom Sawyer. I always loved adventure, fantasy , and science fiction books

If you could live anyplace real or fictional, where would it be? Why?


I love to live where I live - in Los Angeles, which is both big city and wilderness, endlessly inspiring, challenging, showing everything that's wonderful and terrible about our world and time. As it is so different from Europe, where I grew up, it still feels to me like a new world...and of course compared to Europe it is.

If I had to choose a fictional place I would just ask for a Tardis. :)

If you could befriend a character from one of your books, who would you befriend? Why?

The dragon in Dragon Rider of course. To ride it. :) If you want a human choice - Jacob and Fox from my MirrorWorld series. They are both my alter ego - the female and the male side. :)

The Inkworld trilogy has characters coming out of books and people going into stories as well. Is there any character you would like to have read out of a book or is there a book you would like to be read into? Why? 



My favourite book of all times is The Once and Future King by T.H.White, but I am not sure I'd enjoy to live in King Arthur's world for too long as a woman. I guess at the moment I would just like to be Fox behind the Mirror- with visits to this world whenever I want.


Are you currently working on a book? If so, can you tell us a little bit about it? 

I am working on two projects at the moment. I am preparing for the third draft of Heartless, the 3rd book in my MirrorWorld series which took me all the way to Russia, and I am developing a living storybook for the IPad based on my book Dragon Rider with Mirada.

(Her website is amazing! You should definitely stop by to check it out :)




40 comments:

  1. An author and a series who sound right up my very broad street.
    I loved all the books she mentioned by other authors - and still reread most of them.
    And too many dragons would be barely enough.

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    1. Elephant's Child- I love your comment. Your last line is just perfect! :) ~L

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  2. What a lovely interview. Greetings!

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  3. Great interview. I always find it interesting to read of what inspires authors.

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    1. Tracy- I love to find out what inspires authors too! :) ~L

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  4. I love this interview.really interesting:)

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  5. I love this interview.really interesting:)

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  6. I love this interview.really interesting:)

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  7. Great interview; I loved that she listened to her audience and wrote a book with a girl as the heroine :)

    betty

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  8. Always nice to hear the inspirations for the stories

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    1. Brandi- I love to hear about what inspires a story too. :) ~L

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  9. I loved Inkheart! How great to read this interview about the author today.

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    1. Lee- Inkheart is a magical book. Very creative! :) ~L

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  10. Such a lovely interview! And I would absolutely want a Tardis, too!

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  11. I need to start watching Dr. Who so I can learn what the Tardis is lol! and it takes me well over a year to complete a MS too so I'm glad I'm not the only one :)

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    1. Beth Ellyn Summer- I loved hearing that it takes her a while to complete a MS too! Good to know that it takes everyone a different amount of time. :) ~L

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  12. My students and I love Inkheart! Looking forward to reading Dragon Rider too :)
    A Tardis is a great choice!

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    1. Jemi- Awesome that you and your students love Inkheart! I think you will all love Dragon Rider too! :) ~L

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  13. I think we need more authors who give their readers what they suggest... especially when it's a strong female heroine. We need more of these.♡ xox

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    1. Launna- Strong female characters are SO important! I agree with you and l love that Cornelia listened to her fans. :) ~l

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  14. I love Cornelia's books. Thanks for this interesting interview.

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    1. Rosi- Me too! Glad you enjoyed the interview. :) ~L

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  15. Great interview especially to find out what inspires them and where they love to love. I'd love to fly on a dragon too

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    1. Birgit- Wouldn't it be awesome to fly on a dragon? :) ~L

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  16. Nice interview and I just checked out Cornelia's website--you're right, it's amazing!

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    1. Marcia- Glad you enjoyed the interview and that you checked out Cornelia's website. :) ~L

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  17. Great interview. I'd like to read Cornelia's series. LA is a wonderful city and I enjoy visiting it.

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    1. Medeia- Thanks! She has lots of wonderful books for you to choose from. The Inkspell series is awesome. :) ~L

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  18. Hello, Cornelia! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

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    1. The Armchair Squid- Thanks for visiting! :) ~L

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  19. I can't believe how lucky you girls are to get to interview Cornelia Funke! I loved Inkheart although I didn't continue on with the series ): ~ I think I was planning on reading others and the series was long... I know. It's no excuse.

    The Tardis? I would assume I would get killed and/or eaten with the places it took me. Also, changing events in the past worries me.

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    1. Adriana- Thanks! We feel very lucky that Cornelia agreed to do an interview with us. Check your local library to see if they have the Inkheart series available on audio. I am planning to get the second one to listen to- it is read by Brandon Fraser- and I loved his reading of Dragon Rider. Might be a great way to finish the series. :) ~Stephanie

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  20. Fantastic interview. I'm starstruck. Love Inkheart. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! I really enjoyed reading that you stuck to your promise and wrote Meggie. I love Meggie. You sure understand characterization. Brava.

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    1. Robyn- So glad you loved the interview. We are starstruck too! Awesome to hear you are a fan of Inkheart! :) ~Stephanie and Jess

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  21. ooh, want to read this and adore the cover!

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