Every year the Federation of Children’s Book Group (FCBG) host an award entirely judged by children. Across the country children first narrow nominees down to Top 50 Pick of the Year. From here, 10 finalists are selected that cover three categories – Younger Children, Younger Readers and Older Readers – and then countrywide voting opens! Since beginning in 1981, the FCBG Children’s Book Award has recognised both big name authors alongside newer and less well known ones and it will again 2025!
Alex Atkinson is a finalist in the Younger Readers category with Spooksmiths Investigate: The Cinderman.
She has very kindly answered some questions for us about her book…
What drew you to writing a spooky/laugh out loud combo?
The spooky and funny combination is something that I love and that I grew up with. My Dad was a master of make-believe, and he dreamed up the most hilarious and terrifying bedtime stories for my brother and me involving exploding volcanoes, zombies and monsters. We’d be hiding under the covers one minute and then laughing our heads off the next. I think it works really well to have a scary moment followed by something funny. The Cinderman is a ghostly ash monster and if I’ve done my job right, I’m hoping you’ll find him quite scary. However, the ghost defences that my main characters, Indigo and Rusty, use against him are quite silly and they will hopefully make you laugh. I’m hoping readers will enjoy the scary/funny roller-coaster of emotions as much as I do.
What experiences and/or research was involved in bringing this particular story to life?
The town of Greyscar is loosely based on my favourite place in the world: Saltburn-by-the Sea. It’s a seaside town in North Yorkshire, not far from where I grew up. It has a huge beach looking onto the North Sea. It’s very wild and beautiful, but further down the coast you used to be able to see the steelworks in Redcar and the industrial buildings of Teesside. I loved the contrast between the two, so I worked it into this book. The Victorian period has always fascinated me; their morals, tastes and ideas were so different from today and it was really useful for me to immerse myself in this world to build the backstory of the Cinderman. I discovered all sorts of weird facts from the Victorians love of taxidermy and exotic animal supper clubs to Egyptian mummy unwrapping parties.
Why do you think this title will draw in student readers?
It’s a fast-paced, mystery adventure with plenty of scares and laughs so I really hope readers will be drawn to it for pure escapism. My main characters are a brother and sister called Indigo and Rusty who bicker and fight with one another in a very relatable and funny way.
How long did it take to write?
Roughly a year because I was also working on another book at the same time. I did a round of edits with my lovely agent Lina and then three rounds of edits with my amazing editor, Sarah.
Do you think Indigo or Rusty (or both/neither) would read this book? Why/why not?
It’s got their name on the cover and depicts them both as the heroes of Greyscar, of course they would both read it! Indigo would enjoy all the scenes with her sidekick Phrank the pheasant and Rusty would love all the fighting, although he’d probably give me notes on how to play his favourite game, Battle Beast.
What do you hope readers will take from your story?
Spooksmiths Investigate is first and foremost a fun, spooky adventure, but the broader message of the story is to do with being kind and realising it’s never too late to change. At the start, Indigo is great with animals but not so great with people, she’s quite spiky and judgemental. Rusty struggles to talk about his emotions because he’s still processing the loss of their grandpa. All the characters in the book have to face up to their emotions at some point. I hope this adds extra layers of interest to the story.
What conversations do you hope it might elicit?
I hope it gets readers talking. Real life can be pretty weird. If you think zombies don’t exist check out the cordyceps fungus and what it does to ants in the Brazilian jungle. Also, you’ve got to debate the big question: do you believe in ghosts?
The cover is enticing – who illustrated it and how much are you involved in a cover’s creation?
My input to the cover was to describe the characters and the setting and then it was interpreted by Usborne’s amazing art designer, Kath Millichope. She created the ‘look’ and then it went off to the brilliant artist, Miriam Serafin, for the final designs. I saw the proofs and added a few comments, but I didn’t need to say very much because I loved it the moment I set eyes on it.
Who was the most difficult character to write and why?
It was probably Rusty. Putting myself in Indigo’s shoes was easy. She was the first character I developed for this story and Rusty played a much smaller part in earlier drafts, but as I got to know him more, I realised how funny he was. So, after a chat with my editor, we decided to give him a bigger role. I think it’s worked out well. After Phrank the pheasant, he might be my favourite character.
Your proudest part of Spooksmiths Investigate the Cinderman?
Hand’s down school visits. They are the best. It’s magical getting to chat to readers about my book and to answer their questions.
Bonus barely related question: what’s your worst spooky joke?
Why didn’t the zombie go to school? He felt rotten.
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Many thanks again to Alex for her time spent answering our questions.
You can find out more about Spooksmiths Investigate: The Cinderman and the other titles in the FCBG Children’s Book Award using the links below or find the full Top 50 with great discounts for schools by clicking here.
