Keir Graff: Accidental Children’s Author

You’ve written four novels for adults—what made you think you could write for children?

I am definitely an accidental children’s author! But I have always loved children’s literature and story time with my two sons is one of my favorite parts of the day. Like a lot of parents, I’ve read some books that made me think I could do better. But, as a writer, I wondered if it might be harder than it looked. I worried that I might not have the right tools in my toolkit.

And yet you wrote a middle-grade novel.

I didn’t know I was writing a novel when I started. When my older son, the real Felix, was four, he started having really scary dreams in which he was chased by monsters. This happened night after night until he was afraid to close his eyes at bedtime. My adult perspective—dreams aren’t real, the monsters can’t hurt you, et cetera—didn’t help him at all. The dreams were too real and terrifying.

Then, one night when I was tucking him in, he told me that he wasn’t afraid to go to sleep anymore. He had dreamed about the monsters again but, in this dream, there was another boy who looked just like him and had the same name. And this Felix knew how to fight monsters.

That seemed like a story to me! I made some notes right away and, a little while later, I started writing. I thought it would be a short story that I could read to Felix and his little brother, Cosmo. But I had so much fun that, before I knew it, I had a book. And at that point I wondered if I might be on to something. I showed it to my friend and colleague, Ilene Cooper, who has written lots of children’s books. She liked it and thought that, with work, I could publish it. She read it twice and gave me invaluable notes. I wrote another draft and it made its way to Roaring Brook.

How is writing for children different from writing for adults?

First of all, writing for kids is a lot more fun. It’s more purely creative—I write fiction because I like to make things up and, writing for kids, there’s even more I’m allowed to make up. And because I wasn’t writing with publication in mind, all the pressure was off.

The craft wasn’t as different as I feared, either. I actually approached characters and plotting the same way as when I’m writing for adults. Characters want something and have obstacles to overcome and it all flows from there. Of course, the challenges must be appropriate to the characters: in my thriller The Price of Liberty, the characters face life-or-death situations; in The Other Felix, the stakes aren’t quite so high.

I did have a lot to learn about how kids perceive characters, and how to make characters’ ages consistent and convicing. I know I still have more to learn. Fortunately, I’ve had help from Ilene, from my wonderful editor Kate Jacobs, and from the many kids in my life.

The biggest revelation was how little I had to dumb it down. In early drafts, I tended to add these little sentences explaining what characters were thinking or what things meant, the kinds of things I would never spell out in my adult fiction because the answers are implied. But Kate told me I didn’t need to do that, that I could trust my readers even though they are younger than I’m used to. She was right.

So what did your sons think of the book when it was done?

Ironically, even though I wrote it for them, they didn’t get to read it until earlier this year. Once I realized there was a chance it could be published, I decided to wait to show it to them. How many kids get a chance to see an idea turned into a book? Once I had an Advance Reader’s Edition, though, I couldn’t wait any longer.

They liked it a lot, fortunately. And Felix has very sweetly told me that his favorite two books are The Other Felix and the one I’m working on now. But he’s a science fanatic and I suspect that his real favorite book is Theodore Gray’s The Elements.

Why did you use the real Felix’s name for The Other Felix?

When I was writing the book, I wasn’t planning to publish it—I just thought I’d read it to my kids. Once I knew it would be a real thing out in the world, I did try to change the name. I worried that it would expose him to the public eye and even that he might get a big head if the book was popular. If it didn’t do well, I was afraid I might take criticism of the book as criticism of my child.

I tried a hundred other names (The Other Alex, The Other Arthur, The Other Eric) but none of them seemed to fit. In the end, I decided I was overthinking it. The original idea came from Felix’s dream and so in many ways, it’s his book, too. And how often can a father dedicate a book to his son in the title?

You do have two sons, right?

My wife reminded me of that, too! Yes, I have a younger son named Cosmo. And, fortunately, Roaring Brook liked The Other Felix well enough to buy a second book. The second book won’t be called The Other Cosmo, but it does have a wonderfully energetic character called Cosmo van Dash who is inspired by the rambunctious spirit of the real Cosmo.

What is your next book about?

The next book, which I’m calling The Matchstick Castle for now, is very different. The Other Felix is in many ways a quiet, serious novel—albeit with some scary monster scenes. The Matchstick Castle is faster, funnier, and filled with adventure. It’s about a city kid named Brian Brown who is exiled to exurbia for the summer. In the woods, he meets a boy who lives with his father and four eccentric uncles in a house they call the “Matchstick Castle.” My love of Roald Dahl will definitely be evident.

Which children’s authors have influenced you?

I haven’t set out to emulate anyone, really. I think authors are helpless victims of everything they’ve read and liked. When I was a kid I read everything I could get my hands on, including the nutritional panels on cereal boxes. But my favorites were Lloyd Alexander, Ursula LeGuin, Ray Bradbury, and J. R. R. Tolkien. I also loved mystery and adventure, including the Famous Five, the Hardy Boys, Encyclopedia Brown, and Tintin.

As a grown-up I love books with language that’s fun to read aloud, and I find I lean toward authors from earlier eras: Roald Dahl, C. S. Lewis, Kenneth Grahame.

I do take Russell Hoban as a career model: he’s written a diverse array of books for adults, including the groundbreaking dystopian novel Riddley Walker (1980), but he also wrote the Frances books, which for my money are among the most perfectly voiced in children’s literature.

Do you plan to write for young adults?

There is so much excitement about YA right now! When I am introduced as a new children’s-book author, many people automatically assume I write YA. There are so many imaginative and exciting books for teens right now that I’m not sure I have anything to add. Then again, I guess I felt that way about children’s books. Let’s just say I have no plans at present.