Title: The Peculiars
Author: Maureen Doyle McQuerry
Author: Maureen Doyle McQuerry
Publisher: Amulet Books
Release Date: May 1, 2012 (Today!)
Release Date: May 1, 2012 (Today!)
Pages: 354
Buy Here: Amazon/Barnes & Noble/Book Depository
This dark and thrilling adventure, with an unforgettable heroine, will captivate fans of steampunk, fantasy, and romance. On her 18th birthday, Lena Mattacascar decides to search for her father, who disappeared into the northern wilderness of Scree when Lena was young. Scree is inhabited by Peculiars, people whose unusual characteristics make them unacceptable to modern society. Lena wonders if her father is the source of her own extraordinary characteristics and if she, too, is Peculiar. On the train she meets a young librarian, Jimson Quiggley, who is traveling to a town on the edge of Scree to work in the home and library of the inventor Mr. Beasley. The train is stopped by men being chased by the handsome young marshal Thomas Saltre. When Saltre learns who Lena’s father is, he convinces her to spy on Mr. Beasley and the strange folk who disappear into his home, Zephyr House. A daring escape in an aerocopter leads Lena into the wilds of Scree to confront her deepest fears.
Maureen: The story started, as my book ideas often do, with an image. It was the image of a girl with unusually long hands sitting on a steam train. I never know where the images come from, but I know that I should pay attention when they do. Lena’s voice came soon after that. I knew that she was embarking on a journey and that the journey had to do with discovering who she is. I always have questions I’m trying to explore when I first start writing. In The Peculiars, the story question was “Will we become who our parents are?”
As the story progressed other questions emerged. What does it mean to be different and how does society treat people who are? What defines us as individuals and of course that brings up the eternal question of environment VS heredity. I wanted explore that in a time period when less was known about genetics than we know now.
Kayla: How did the process of getting published work out for you?
Maureen: It was such a long journey! I’ve known ever since I was a little girl that I wanted to be awriter, but it was one of those dreams that you put on hold because life gets in the way and maybe because you’re afraid it may never come true. I published poetry for years in literary journals, but didn’t start writing fiction until my own kids were almost grown. My first publisher was a small independent press and they really gave me my start. They took on an unknown, unagented writer. Because the press was so small, there was little distribution, and so I decided to look for a larger home for my work. After many queries I found an agent who believes in my work and she found it a home at Amulet.
Kayla: How does it feel to know the Peculiars' release date is just right around the corner?
Kayla: How does it feel to know the Peculiars' release date is just right around the corner?
Maureen: I just got a box of the hardbacks yesterday and it was a thrill, especially because it was a surprise! I wasn’t expecting them form several weeks. I’m so pleased with the care and attention that went into making the book beautiful visually, and it was great to actually hold it in my hands. Release time is also a season of marketing and waiting for reviews. Both these things can produce lots of anxiety. Once the book is sent out into the world, there’s nothing I can do to influence what reviewers think; that’s difficult. It’s too easy to get caught up in the ups and downs of reviews and the whirlwind of marketing and forget to be grateful for just having a book published. I’m trying to remember gratitude and thank everyone who has come beside me on this journey. And I want to enjoy this season and not be consumed with stress.
Kayla: Who designed the AWESOME cover for The Peculiars?
Kayla: Who designed the AWESOME cover for The Peculiars?
Maureen: Cliff Nielsen designed the totally awesome cover. I particularly love the font with all the little gears! Amulet went through three cover variations before settling on the current version which I love.
Maureen: So many authors and a few teachers as well. I fell in love with poetry: T.S. Elliot, Yeats, Rilke. I wanted to write like J.D. Salinger, Joan Didion, Tolkien and Dorothy Sayers. In college, I had two professors who encouraged me and made me believe the dream of writing was possible.
Kayla: If you could consider someone your mentor who would it be and why?
Maureen: I have learned so much from many different writers, those I’ve know personally and those I’ve only known through their work. I stand on many broad shoulders. But my critique partner stands out. Stephen Wallenfels, author of POD, has taught me more about the craft of creating a good narrative than anyone else. He has an amazing eye for story structure, for building tension and for asking just the right questions at the right time. He challenges me to always improve and doesn’t let me get away with being complacent. But we work as colleagues and I’d hate to admit to him that he’s my mentor because he would gloat!
Maureen: Idea generating, crafting the words on the page, talking to student writers. It’s all fun! I believe that there’s something in the human heart that responds to story. We are designed for narrative. It’s a gift to be part of that process.
Kayla: Are you currently working on any upcoming projects, and if so could you tell us a little about them?
Kayla: Are you currently working on any upcoming projects, and if so could you tell us a little about them?
Maureen: I’ve been immersed in a Seattle noir story that’s definitely sci-fi and surprisingly a romance. It starts with the premise that two people are connected by an experiment that happened before they were born. What would it be like if your life was suddenly interrupted by someone else’s thoughts? Someone you didn’t know. The story explores questions about what it means to be connected to someone else, and asks what we are willing to risk to know and be known by another.I also have two middle-grade Celtic fantasy novels, Beyond the Door and Time Out of Time, coming out with Amulet in the next year or so. Watch for them!
Kayla: Where do you picture yourself a year from now?
Maureen: I wish I knew...or maybe not. I plan to keep writing. I have lots of story ideas that need to be explored, lots of characters waiting to be heard. I also plan to keep involved in the schools. Teaching and talking about writing is in my blood.
Kayla: Were you always just a "writer" or were you an avid reader before you started writing?
Maureen: As I tell students, the best writers are great readers. Read wide. I’ve always loved books. They’ve been the best of friends and gotten me through the best and worst of times. Growing up, i read in the walnut tree in our yard in California. Now I hardly ever sit in trees to read, but I still love reading.
Maureen McQuerry is a YA novelist, poet and teacher. The Peculiars, her YA Steampunk novel, debuts in May with Abrams/Amulet followed by Beyond the Door and Time Out of Time. She is also the author of two non-fiction books: Nuclear Legacy and Student Inquiry. Her poetry has been published in many literary journals including Smartish Pace, Quidditty and The Southern Review. Her chapbook Relentless Light was the winner of the New Eden Chapbook award. Maureen teaches writing at Columbia Basin College and lives with her family in Richland, WA.
-Thanks so much Maureen for doing this Interview with me, I truly appreciate it. I wish you the best book birthday today, and I hope it is awesome!
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