Matthew Kirby’s latest novel Icefall is claustrophobic, suspenseful, and mystical. Kirby has written an intriguing piece of historical fiction unlike anything you have ever read.

The Clockwork Three author actually stopped by Book Box Daily to talk about everything from Icefall to Viking storytellers. He even shares some advice for burgeoning storytellers! Read on to find out and look for Icefall in November’s TAB!

Book Box Daily: We all fell in love with your first novel, The Clockwork Three. How did you decide to make the jump from its steampunk, Victorian setting to the Viking-like north?

Matthew Kirby: I always try to go where the story leads me. From the beginning, Solveig’s voice and story were extremely compelling to me, and so I followed her to ancient Norway. I didn’t intentionally set out to write something so different from THE CLOCKWORK THREE, but that’s how it turned out.

BBD: What figure in Norse mythology do you think Solveig is most like?

MK: Solveig is a shieldmaiden. In Scandinavian folklore and mythology, a shieldmaiden was a woman who went to battle alongside the male warriors. By the end of the book, I see Solveig as having that kind of spirit, even if she wields a very different kind of weapon than a sword or a spear. Her arsenal is made up of her stories, and they turn out to have their own kind of power.

BBD: Which figure are you most like?

MK: Well, simply because I’m a writer, I guess I would say I’m most like a skald, though it would be very difficult for me to do what the skalds did. They were the Viking storytellers and poets, and their art form followed extremely complex rules of sound and rhythm. They were known to compose their verse on the spot, in front of a live audience, something to which I don’t think we really have a modern equivalent. But then again, I don’t know that an ancient Viking would know what to make of a modern big-budget popcorn movie, or even a novel. Every society in every time period has had some form of storytelling, and in any form, I think that’s what I would be trying to do.

BBD: What inspired you to write a book about storytelling? Do you agree with Alric’s ideas on the power of stories and storytelling?

MK: The odd thing is that when I began writing ICEFALL, I didn’t intend for it to be a story about story. I thought it was going to be a straightforward Viking survival tale. But that all changed when Alric quite literally sneaked into my book. Until he emerged from between the berserker warriors, I hadn’t planned on him being there with Solveig and her siblings. But he came anyway, and suddenly he was talking about the power of story and inspiring Solveig to such a degree that it changed her story as well. I do agree with much of what he says, though not all of it. I don’t think I’m as cynical about storytelling as he is. I’m not attempting to manipulate an audience the way Alric tries to do. But I do believe stories have the power to move people psychologically and emotionally.

BBD: What is your favorite part of writing? And what part of a story do you find the most difficult to tell?

MK: My favorite moments while writing are those where some kind of unexpected, unpredictable inspiration strikes (like Alric walking into my book). That’s when the story feels truly alive, dynamic, and organic, because it almost seems to be emerging by its own will rather than mine. The most difficult moment is when I’m writing the ending. For me, the best endings are those that are surprising, yet also inevitable. After reaching the end of one of my books, I want the reader to say, “Wow, I didn’t see that coming,” followed by, “But there’s no other way it could have ended.” Finding a way to navigate that tightrope is a challenge.

BBD: You are both an author and a school psychologist: does your work with students inform your writing? Do you ever think about a particular audience or group when you write?

MK: My work in the schools informs my writing only in the most general of ways. When I’m working individually with a student, first and foremost I’m building a relationship with them based on trust and respect. They open up and share their experiences with me, their innermost feelings and thoughts. To use any of that in one of my books would be a violation of trust, and I wouldn’t want any student to feel that I had somehow exploited them by appropriating their story. So I stay as far away from that as I can. That being said, being in the schools does help keep me in tune more broadly with what young readers are interested in. I do watch closely which books are getting checked out of the library, which stories and ideas kids are really into.

BBD: How much do you think your experiences as a child in a military family influence your writing? Do you think your childhood experiences moving help you understand the world and people in a different way?

MK: I’m not sure I can point to anything directly. We’re all the sum of our experiences, so I’m certain that each and every place that I’ve lived, and everyone that I’ve known, is somehow behind my writing. The one thing I can say is that the variety of experiences I had as a child helped me grow up curious. And curiosity is, I think, an author’s greatest tool, perhaps second only to empathy.

BBD: With Solveig, you seemed particularly in tune with the challenges of middle children (both real and imagined). Where did this sympathy and understanding come from?

MK: I’m not sure. I’m the oldest in my family, so I can’t say it came from personal experience. When writing Solveig, I wasn’t really thinking of her as representing middle children. I was just putting myself in her shoes, in her specific family, with the older sister she had, and the younger brother she had, and imagining how that might affect her self-image and her relationship with her father. But of course it’s very gratifying if something about her experience resonates with other middle children who might read the book.

BBD: It’s a very moving scene when Hake talks to Solveig about her fear of trying and failure (p. 267). He tells her, “Above all, be right with yourself.” Is this the most important advice a person needs to hear? What is the most important advice you ever received?

MK: I think Hake’s message is something we all need to hear, throughout our lives. While ICEFALL is about the stories we tell each other, I think it’s more about the stories we tell ourselves. Solveig’s inner narrative in the beginning of the book, what she tells herself about herself, holds her back. Her real triumph is the realization that she controls her narrative. She has the power to be the hero of her own story. It is important for all of us to live so authentically and empowered, and to be true to who we are.

As far as the most important piece of advice I’ve received, that would be hard to choose. But I can certainly share the advice that most influenced the writing of ICEFALL. It wasn’t intended for me, but it helped me. When I first got the idea for ICEFALL, I honestly doubted whether I was a good enough writer to do right by Solveig. But I came across some advice that M.T. Anderson gave to someone else, which was, “Write what you think you can’t.” That gave me the push I needed to give ICEFALL my best.

BBD: Do you have any advice for all the young storytellers out there?

MK: Read as widely as you can, in as many genres as you can. The best readers make the best writers. Beyond that, get into the habit now of writing every day. It doesn’t have to be much. It’s for practice and for building a habit that will carry you forward throughout your life and career.

Remember, you can find Icefall in November’s TAB!

Tags: Authors, interview, Middle Grade