It took me a little bit to get into this story, but once I did, I thought it was brilliant! I described to my teen son the hook, a character afraid to write because he idolizes the ideal of producing one perfect, "very best idea" -- in this case a poem. But my son immediately related it to his music writing / composing, and how sometimes he's so disappointed with the music he writes because it isn't exactly the way he hears it in his head. He likened it to being paralyzed by perfectionism, which I thought was a great way to connect with the story.
Mulrox is a poetry-writing ogre, and he comes up with some terrible ideas when he's trying to rhyme: "like a tree with frog legs," "death with a kiss," and "rock like skin."
His truly horrible Aunt shows up one day, discovers his poetry notebooks, and declares he's a disgrace to ogres and she's taking the little hut his missing parents left him away from him, to use as her own.
He's very unhappy about it, flops around on his bed and confides in his pet toad, Geraldine, but there's really nothing he can do about it. But if he can win the upcoming poetry contest, with the perfect idea, the best idea he's ever had (but hasn't had yet), then he might redeem himself.
Then these weird creatures show up, including one named Yvwi. They plead for Mulrox's help. They've escaped the Sounus into the real world, "Veralby," because they're being wiped, erased by a creature called the Vaccus. And only Mulrox can save them. They want to take him to a portal in the forest so he can fight the fearful creature on their behalf.
But Mulrox doesn't want to be considered any more a failure as an ogre than he already is. He just wants the creatures to go away.
Then Yvwi sneezes on the town's ogre-bully, Groxor, and he runs screaming into the Wild Woods, where no ogre ever goes. Mulrox's neighbor, Yahgurkin, who isn't exactly a shining example of an ogress herself, as she plants a garden and is into healing herbs and things, convinces Mulrox Groxor's illness is partially his fault and he should go with her to find Groxor and cure him.
All the while, Mulrox just wants the bad ideas -- because that's what the creatures who've found him are, they're all his bad ideas, come to life -- to go away. (Yvwi is short for Your very worst idea.)
As they get closer to the portal, they find Groxor but they can't cure him. Then a herd of enchanted sheep camouflaging a buzz-saw like creature chases and tries to kill them. When they get to where Yvwi swears the portal should be, there's nothing but a teeny, tiny hole. They can't get into the Sonous that way.
But it's like the old saying, "you can never go home again." Mulrox inadvertently cures Groxor, who does head home, post-haste, to encounter a town mesmerized by an entity that wants everything just so -- absolutely perfect -- for her arrival. At the poetry contest.
And that meant, getting Mulrox out of town. Permanently.
I won't spoil the twists still coming. It's quite a complicated plot, but never without laughs, and it gets better as you get deeper into the story. The ending was what clinched it for me. I thought it was fantastic!
Enjoy!
For Teachers: I know, I promised not to post anything for teachers over the summer, but I can't help myself with this one. Please make sure to bookmark the author's web pages. There's a really good set of teaching materials for this , including comprehension questions by section and even a recipe for the "snot" featured in the book (that infects Groxor). It's a fantastic teaching unit and the message of the book is such a wonderful literary metaphor. She also offers an audio book version of the first chapter, and if you book an author visit, I have it on good authority she does a great activity with the plants featured in the book, too!
This interview is part of a periodic series of interviews with successful indie-published authors, hoping to shed some light on the indie publishing path to publication.
10 Question & Answer with Kerelyn Smith, author of MG fantasy, Mulrox and the Malcognitos
1. What was your inspiration for writing Mulrox and the Malcognitos?
I’d say the inspiration from Mulrox and the Malcognitos came in a couple different forms. Before I started writing Mulrox, I had been working on an adult literary fiction novel for 7 years. I was deep in edits, but I still wasn’t happy with it. It was a time in the world where things were looking grim, and I was having a hard time being optimistic. As I was figuring out what to do next, I was thinking a lot about my love of reading, and when I was the most excited about books and stories. The answer was easy: I was in late elementary school, early middle school. At that time, I was always reading, talking about books with my friends, living inside these new worlds, and relating deeply to the characters. I loved the books I read at that age so much and they had a profound and lasting effect on me.
So I decided I wanted to write a middle grade fantasy adventure novel, like the books I had loved at that age. A book that would take me and the reader back to that place of excitement. Since I was feeling hopeless, I wanted to infuse the book with as much joy as I could. I wanted to put something out into the world that would make people laugh, and smile, and be happy. I wanted to create a book that people would come back to read again and again, just to live in the world again, hang out with the characters, and think about the ideas. Some books feel like a warm hug, and I wanted to create something like that.
The idea for the malcognitos, bad ideas come-to-life, came from an unexpected place. My husband and I had recently moved to a smaller apartment. We took his chalkboard with us, but there was no place for it inside the new place. So we wrapped it in a tarp and stuck it outside on the balcony. A few months later, I unwrapped it and discovered that the remnants of the chalk markings on the chalkboard had molded and left these strange patterns. We had to throw the chalkboard out, but that image sparked something in me. The idea of these erased ideas suddenly sprouting life, or mold in this case, stuck with me and I knew I wanted to incorporate it into a story. The image of Mulrox standing at the chalkboard, trying to write poetry but destroying everything he writes, cloaked in a cloud of swirling chalk dust of bad ideas just waiting to come to life was the first scene that inspired the novel and has been in every iteration.
Finally, when I write books, I like to write about issues I’m currently struggling with. Mulrox’s inner journey of learning to overcome his self-doubt and embrace his imperfections was front and center for me at that time. I had been serious about my writing for at least ten years at that point. I would get up every morning before work and to write. Despite that, I basically refused to let anyone read my work. I didn't submit anywhere, I didn't even think about getting published. I just tried to learn to write well. Part of this was focus, but a larger part was fear: fear of judgment and rejection, and not being good enough. I knew it was time for me to face up to my fears and publish.
I think many creatives will recognize themselves in Mulrox, the simultaneous coexistence of huge aspirations and crippling self-judgment. For me, I was ashamed of both, and I channeled as much of that into the characters of Mulrox and Tabiyeh as I could. Being an artist and sharing your work is such a scary and bold act for so many, especially for the often introverted and sensitive artist. It can be so hard to have such grand ambitions for yourself, and then to reconcile that with the reality of what you’ve created. And so this divide is central to the story of Mulrox.
2. What were your most significant challenges when writing Mulrox and the Malcognitos?
Well, in keeping with the answer above, I think the biggest challenge was being able to let go of the book and say it was done. I did something like 17 full drafts of the book before I published it. I always think there is more I could do to make something better. It's really hard to ever say something is good enough. I had to work through a lot of fear before I was ready to let go. But I tried to use my characters as inspiration to remind me that it would be okay no matter what, and even if the book was full of malcognitos, that wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
3. Did you pursue a traditional publishing route for Mulrox and the Malcognitos at any point? Querying agents, etc.? Why or why not?
No, I never pursued traditional publishing for Mulrox. When I was younger I always thought I’d go the traditional publishing route. I even almost took an internship at a publishing house after college. But when I got to the point where I was looking to get serious about sharing my work with the world, I did a lot of research about the publishing process and the different publishing options. It soon became clear to me that independent publishing was the route that best suited me and my work.
4. What led you to go the indie-publishing route?
One of the best things about indie publishing is the control it gives you. I got to hand-select the team of professionals that would collaborate with me in the process. I worked closely with the illustrator and cover designer to make sure it matched with both the genre and themes. I selected the editors that I thought would be the best fit for the book and made sure they were able to spend as much time as they needed to make the book the best it could be. I was able to make decisions that weren’t based on what the market would most like, or what was most cost-effective, and instead focus on making the very best art I could.
Another thing I love about independent publishing is it empowers authors. It puts them in the driver’s seat to make their own business decisions about their work. They decide the formats and languages they publish in, the pricing model, when and how to do giveaways, and how to manage rights distribution. I’m free to do whatever I want with my book, and my characters. I can write a sequel or not. I can record an audio book. I can give librarians the right to read my book out loud on webcasts. It puts the power back into the hands of the artist. I don't think most people realize how little most authors make from their books despite books funding a whole industry. To me, the percentage split seems much more reasonable in the indie publishing model.
Finally, so many incredibly talented and worthy authors struggle for years trying to get traditionally published and are forced out of the industry, give up, or are completely beaten down by the process. Success or failure often has little to do with the quality of the work. So much has to do with luck, timing, and the limited budgets, and slates of publishers. It breaks my heart to see authors, aspiring and published, suffering and internalizing the results of this process uncessessarilly. I really value that indie publishing can flip the script on this process. Instead of waiting to be picked and told you are good enough you have to have the courage to value yourself and your work and say that you are good enough. This, of course, puts a lot of responsibility on you to make sure you are publishing something of quality, but you can do it.
I also believe that the traditional process is harder and worse for diverse authors. There's a severe need for diverse stories and voices right now, and while traditional publishing has improved in recent years with representation and the number of diverse titles, there is still a long way to go. I love that indie publishing remains a pathway for those stories to get into the hands of the readers who need them.
There’s a big push to support independent businesses, farmers, musicians, bookstores, and other creators who are taking back control and running their businesses according to their own values. I’d love to see that support extend to independent authors and publishing houses. It's good for readers and it's good for authors.
5. Can you discuss, briefly, some of the challenges of the indie-publishing process? What was most difficult and why?
Several of the practical business elements stopped me for way longer than they should have (things like creating my own business and getting a business bank account) because I was afraid. Lots of people have no problem doing stuff like this, but if you are like me and are scared, I encourage you to just do it. You will figure it out as you go, and no matter how prepared you are, you will still make mistakes.
Being indie-published also tends to heighten the feeling of imposter syndrome. Especially in children's fiction, a lot of the awards, programs, author groups, reviewers, etc. explicitly require that you be traditionally published, or only offer a lower class option to independent authors. Things are starting to open up more, which is fantastic, and incredible people like you are even spotlighting indie authors. Thank you! It can be hard to constantly run up against people excluding you. My best advice for dealing with this is finding a community of authors/writers to support you. They can be both traditional and independent. Some people will reject you, but many don't care how you publish.
I will also say there are a lot of details to manage as an independent author with a small press. You have to keep track of a lot of simultaneously moving parts, and wear many hats. You have to learn to set reasonable expectations for yourself. You can’t do it all, especially if you are also working full-time. So you have to be smart about where you spend your time and energy.
6. My blog features books that kids and teens can get through their public library. Many indie-published works, unfortunately, are not approved for library purchase. Did you make any publishing decisions to consciously ensure Mulrox and the Malcognitos could be bought by libraries and read by library patrons? If so, what were they?
Yes, this was a big consideration for me. It was super important to me that my book be available to everyone whether or not they could afford to buy the book or had an e-reader or any of the other barriers to entry. It's also something I plan to do for all my future books.
It’s been a few years now since I went through the process so I may not have all the details right, but here are a few of the things I remember. At the time, I believe you had to not be exclusive to amazon for your ebooks because they did not distribute to libraries. I bought my own ISBN numbers so that they would be traced back to my company for intellectual property rights, and I used a different one for each edition (paperback, hardback, ebook). I also decided to offer my book in all three formats as I believe some libraries only take hardbacks.
I needed to file with the Library of Congress, to receive an LCN (library of congress number). To do that, I believe I needed a TIN instead of an SSN, which is part of why I officially created a business for my publishing company. I worked with a professional to create a CIP Data block as I believe many librarians require this to stock your book. This involved things like selecting the right BISAC codes. I also try to make my library pricing affordable to libraries to encourage them to stock my book.
For getting into the details, I found this book incredibly helpful: Register Your Book: The Essential Guide to ISBNs, Barcodes, Copyright, and LCCNs by David Wogahn.
7. What MG books and/or authors inspired your writing?
There are so many books that played a big influence on me growing up, but for Mulrox I think the biggest influences were Patricia C. Wrede’s Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Bruce Coville, particularly Jennifer Murdeley’s Toad, L. Frank Baum’s Oz series, and The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.
Wrede has strong, no-nonsense women characters, humor, and playful twists on fairy tales. L. Frank Baum has all sorts of unique creatures, places, and the books are just alive with imagination. The Wind in the Willows has this incredibly beautiful narrative voice paired with humor, and adorable characters. And Bruce Coville's books have so much fun-loving, laugh-out-loud, heart.
Though our books are pretty different, Jennifer Murdeley’s Toad worked as a sort of model for Mulrox. Both of our main characters are forced to take care of and protect someone they’d rather be rid of. But it's precisely those troublesome characters who ultimately help the main characters to better understand and appreciate themselves. All of these books also have fantastic ensemble casts, which I’ve written about in this Shepherd article: https://shepherd.com/best-books/fantastically-fun-ensemble-casts
8. What do you hope readers will take away or learn from Mulrox's story?
The most important thing I hope readers take away from my book is to learn to not let fear stop you from exploring what you love. I’ve seen so many adults and children afraid to try things because they are afraid they will look silly. Life is so much more fun and rewarding if you try new things and learn to laugh off your own missteps.
No matter how big your aspirations or how good you are at something, you have to keep trying new things and growing. Making mistakes is part of the process. The moment you stop making mistakes, you stop learning, and that’s so detrimental to the creative process. The more you can learn to appreciate your mistakes and bad ideas for what they’ve taught you, the better off you’ll be.
As Svenn the six-fingered slug says, “Hold onto those terrible ideas. The good ones change others, but the bad, they change you. There’s nothing more powerful than that.”
9. How important are book reviews?
Reviews are incredibly important for raising the credibility of a book, especially for new and independent authors. We don't have big marketing teams hyping our books, so we need help from our readers. People tend to shop by looking at reviews, and a book with a lot of great reviews can encourage readers to take a chance on a book they might not have heard of otherwise. On sites like Amazon, the number of reviews even affects a book's visibility: how often it shows up in search results, and how easy it is to find. If you want to support an author, leaving a review is one of the best things you can do.
10. Are there any plans for a sequel? Or are you writing a new book you would want to share about?
There aren’t plans for an immediate sequel. I don’t want to give anything away, but with the way Mulrox ends, I think it would be hard to write a more traditional sequel. But I’m definitely open to writing more in the same world. I have some ideas for giving Yahgurkin her own story that I think would be really fun. I’ve also toyed around with writing the story of how the innkeeper Trolzor and Svenn the six-fingered slug came to be such good friends.
I also have a spooky middle grade and a YA novel drafted but on hold.
I am currently working on an Adult Sci-Fi/Fantasy novel about Fen, a thief and con artist desperately trying to scrape together enough money to buy off her insurmountable debt before her deadly past catches up with her. But all of her maneuverings only land her deeper in debt, until by chance she witnesses something that shakes her to her core. When she’s hauled in before the queen, she’s given a chance to earn her freedom if she helps to uncover and stop an international conspiracy. Fen accepts, but as the shadows of her past close in, her loyalty is pushed to breaking. Will she betray her new companions and let the nation fall, or accept her fate and fight for her friends, her home, and her freedom?
No publication date as of yet, but hopefully it will be in readers' hands in the next year or so. I’m trying to get better about releasing things into the world more quickly, but if I’m honest, it still takes me a long time. If you want to make sure to know when my next book comes out, you can sign up for my author newsletter. I send this out once a month, and talk about what I’m reading and learning, wildlife sightings, gardening, and of course any book news and updates.
BONUS QUESTIONS
11. How can young readers help indie authors like you, especially if they can't buy/purchase your books?
I love this question, and we love the help! :)
You can check the book out from the library or ask your library to carry the book. You can share your enthusiasm for the book or lend the book if you have a copy to your teacher, librarian, and friends. You can ask your parents to help you write or film a review for the book. You can ask your teacher about setting up a school visit with the author, or you could suggest reading the book as part of your reading group, book club, or other events. Personally, I know how tight school budgets are, so I’m always happy to try to work something out if schools are interested in having me come talk.
12. If you have any words of wisdom for new/budding authors out there...please share.
Read! Read everything you can. Figure out what you like and don’t like. You can learn so much from reading across genres. Write! Write whenever you can. Just get in the habit of putting thoughts down. The more you do it, the better you will get. Tell stories out loud to your friends and family. Figure out what keeps them interested and where they lose interest. Writing is hard. Being an author is hard. But you can do it! You have to believe in yourself and put the work in. If you do that, you will write wonderful stories that the world needs. Believe that your stories and your voice have value, because they do.
