Lurking In the Shadows with Marie Rutkoski and THE SHADOW SOCIETY
I’d already fallen in love with Marie Rutkoski’s THE CABINET OF WONDERS before I met her. And then when she came to the AJC Decatur Book Festival at my invitation, it wasn’t just her book that I admired and adored. Marie is a great writer (and so stylish!) for both kids and YA, and I’m very excited about her new book, THE SHADOW SOCIETY. Marie was kind enough to spend some time answering questions about bodilessness, her process, T. S. Eliot and then some. Here’s what she had to say!
Summary:
Darcy Jones doesn’t remember anything before the day she was abandoned as a child outside a Chicago firehouse. She has never really belonged anywhere—but she couldn’t have guessed that she comes from an alternate world where the Great Chicago Fire didn’t happen and deadly creatures called Shades terrorize the human population.
Memories begin to haunt Darcy when a new boy arrives at her high school, and he makes her feel both desire and desired in a way she hadn’t thought possible. But Conn’s interest in her is confusing. It doesn’t line up with the way he first looked at her.
As if she were his enemy.
When Conn betrays Darcy, she realizes that she can’t rely on anything—not herself, not the laws of nature, and certainly not him. Darcy decides to infiltrate the Shadow Society and uncover the Shades’ latest terrorist plot. What she finds out will change her world forever.
TEM: In THE SHADOW SOCIETY, our hero Darcy Jones finds out that she is a Shade. Tell me a little bit about why you picked this particular supernatural form for her, and how you developed/researched the rules about Shade life?
MR: Although I love reading books about all kinds of traditional supernatural creatures rooted in centuries’-old mythology (fairies, werewolves, vampires, what have you), I found myself wishing for something new. When I created Shades, I knew a few things about them: they were visually identifiable (they have extreme black and white coloring), they could vanish at will, and they were hugely resented by humans for their abilities. Deciding how they live grew naturally from these attributes. For example, they clearly couldn’t live out in the open, because of the war between them
and humans, so I gave them something that humans would call a lair and Shades call their sanctuary. Shades also have cultural codes about when it’s ok (or not) to touch someone, even casually, since they do not have to remain in physical form. When they do, it’s special.
If you’d like to know more about my construction of Shades’ history and culture, there’s a story that I wrote set in the world of The Shadow Society. It’s called “Jacks and Queens at the Green Mill” and you can read it for free here: http://
www.tor.com/stories/2012/10/jacks-and-queens-at-the-green-mill
TEM: Like your other books, THE SHADOW SOCIETY so wonderfully combines a bit of history with some magic sprinkled in, as well. Can you just talk a bit about the past, and what makes it so magical for you?
MR: I’m fascinated with the construction, evolution, and analysis of culture. I suppose I’m drawn to history because it allows me enough distance to see its shape–or think I do. Also, this distance creates some holes, some missing pieces, and it’s fun for me to imagine what might fill in those blanks.
TEM: The Kronos Chronicles (that delicious trilogy) was middle grade, yet THE SHADOW SOCIETY is YA. How has the transition been for you?
MR: Oh, I love writing YA. My next book, in fact, is the start of a YA trilogy. The first book is called The Winner’s Curse. But middle grade has a special place in my heart. After the trilogy is complete, I plan to write another book for younger, middle grade readers.
TEM: One of my favorite parts in THE SHADOW SOCIETY is when Conn asks Darcy what she would eat right now if she could. (Since, in her invisible Shade form, which she’s been in for awhile at that point, she doesn’t need to eat.)
The foods Darcy chooses are so vivid. So, I’m curious, what foods would you would miss most if you didn’t need to eat any more?
MR: A lot of what she lists! I would also add Indian food. Mmm…samosas…dal…mint chutney…delicious.
TEM: Slightly connected to that question: It was interesting for me, thinking about Darcy’s situation. She had a body for so long, and then didn’t always have one—total disorientation. I’m trying to think of answers to this myself as I ask, but what sorts of things would you find strangest/miss most about having a physical form?
MR: I would miss holding the people I love. And eating! I would find all the details that go into caring for a body strange. Though I’d miss long, hot showers. Also, sickness would be hugely upsetting, even more than usual.
TEM: In THE SHADOW SOCIETY, there are two parallel worlds—our world as we know it (the Alter), and the world where the Shades subside and where Conn and the IBI are stationed. What were the thrills and challenges of creating
these separate, but similar universes?
MR: Sorting out the logic of it was both thrilling and challenging. For example, I had to ask myself whether the same physical person would have an alternate self in the other dimension. The split between worlds was caused by the Great Chicago Fire, so I decided that anyone alive before the fire would, indeed, have alternate selves, one in each world, the one where the fire happened and another one where it didn’t. But anyone born after that date in 1871 would not have a parallel self. This is because I am too aware of how easily we could each be born slightly differently— or not at all. Take two people who each have versions of themselves living in an alternate world. In one world, they meet, fall in love, marry, and have kids. But would they necessarily do that in the other world? Probably not. Even if they met, they might
not fall in love. Even if they did fall in love, they might not have kids, and even if they did, the odds of them conceiving children with the exact genetic makeup as their kids in the other world are almost impossible. So, essentially, the world where the Great Chicago Fire never happened has the same genetic pool from 1871, but how it developed is utterly different.
TEM: “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (which happens to be my most favorite poem in the world) plays an important role in THE SHADOW SOCIETY. What brought you to use that poem, and why is it so important to Darcy?
MR: I first read that poem as a junior in high school. Before then, I loved books and poetry, but not until then did I know what it meant to fall in love with understanding how fiction and poetry are constructed. T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” marks the beginning of my lifelong need to analyze literature (I’m a professor of Shakespeare, among other things), which in turn is very much related to writing books. So the poem has a very special place in my heart, and is one of the reasons I named my older son Eliot. He had just been born when I started working on this book (almost four years ago!), so I was thinking about that poem a lot anyway. And I have whole passages memorized from long ago, passages that just floated into writing this novel.
As for why the poem’s important to Darcy, I’d say that’s because its questions, such as the emblematic “Do I dare disturb the universe?”, resonate so strongly with teenagers. At least, they did for me when I was one.
p.s. I should add that T.S. Eliot himself, as an individual, was not a nice man. But, oh, his poetry! I named my Eliot after his poetry, not him.
TEM: Another thing I really liked about THE SHADOW SOCIETY was how it ended in a way that could make it a stand-alone, but also could potentially have a sequel. I felt the same way about THE CABINET OF WONDERS. How do you manage this amazing trick? And are there in fact plans for more of Darcy and her Shade life?
MR: Ah, you noticed! Yes, I supposed I could write a sequel, though I’d be more likely to write a prequel. But I really think of this novel as a standalone and want it to remain that way. When I began writing this book, I had just reread Pride and Prejudice while in the hospital with my infant son (the aforementioned Eliot—also an Austen name, come to think of it….Anne Elliot from Persuasion). I was so satisfied with one story complete unto itself, and with the pleasure of rereading it instead of jumping forward to a sequel (though that has its pleasures, too….and I would NOT turn down a sequel to Pride and Prejudice, had Jane Austen written one). I’ve no immediate plans for writing more about Darcy or her world….though I’d never say never. Thanks so much for your questions, Terra!
And thank you, Marie, for a delicious new supernatural, just in time for Hallowe’en! To learn more about Marie, her books, and her life, visit http://www.marierutkoski.com/.