Malinda Lo
Blog
Jan 26, 2009
Fairies, fairies, everywhere fairies
When I began to write Ash, way back in 2002, I was not an avid reader of young adult fiction. I didn’t know what was "hot" in YA fiction at the time; I didn’t know who the up-and-coming YA writers were; I only recognized that Ash was a YA novel after I wrote it.
So imagine my surprise when, this past year, I started reading YA fiction (checking out my competition — ha!) and discovered that one of the hottest things in YA at this very moment is, apparently, fairies. Not plump fairy godmother fairies, but dark, brooding, mysterious, sexy fairies from the Irish and English tradition. The kind who manipulate girls, are very powerful, and are irresistible. For example, these books:
Melissa Marr’s bestselling Wicked Lovely and sequels, whose main character happens to be named Aislinn (ack! my girl’s name is Aisling!).
Wicked Lovely (2007), Ink Exchange (2008),
Fragile Eternity (coming April 2009)
All these books coming out in 2009:
Bones of Faerie (coming Jan. 27, 2009), Faery Rebels (coming April 2009),
Fairy Tale (coming June 2009)
Not to mention these:
Tithe (2002), Valiant (2005), Wondrous Strange (2008)
In Ash, there is also a dark, brooding, mysterious, sexy fairy from the Irish tradition. His name is Sidhean. (That’s pronounced Sheen, FYI.) The name is based on the Gaelic word Sidhe, which refers to a separate race of people akin to fairies or elves. When I first invented him, I was initially inspired by Spike (I ♥ Spike), but Sidhean has since become his own person. (Spike has a much better sense of humor, for example.)
The fact that Ash falls more or less within this dark fairy trend is both exciting and terrifying to me. I really didn’t mean to do that when I wrote it, for one thing. At the time I was reading a lot of crime fiction, mostly by Michael Connelly and Robert Crais, about wise-cracking and/or hardcore L.A. cops. I thought I was being so original with Sidhean. Ha hahahaha.
I haven’t read the books I listed above (though they’re on my massive reading list), and there are clear differences (many of them are urban fantasy, and Ash is decidedly not urban), but still … I think it’s kind of funny that my book is coming out during this trend that I wasn’t aware of. I hope people won’t be sick of dark fairies by the time September rolls around and Ash is on the shelves.
Hiya
I’ve been reading your blog for a while now – as a budding writer who can’t quite get pen to paper it’s incredibly inspiring reading about someone who has actually done it!
I just wanted to let you know how excited I am about your book – I’ve read Holly Black’s Tithe, as well as Cassandra Clare’s books recently and am revisiting my (mis-spent) youth through all these YA books. Knowing that you’ve written a more queer-centric book for teen readers makes me incredibly happy and want to be fifteen again
With anticipation and excitement from the UK,
K
Malinda, There’s also Lament by Maggie Stiefvater which has dark fairies too. It’s a great read.
I didn’t realize Ash had dark fairies in it. From your description, I thought it was very light–a retelling of Cinderella. Loving fairies myself, this makes me even more excited to read Ash. I wouldn’t worry about all the fairies popping up in books right now. They’re there because readers can’t get enough of them and your story sounds like it’s going to be different enough from the norm to capture people’s interest.
-Raynbow
Hi Kayleigh — Thanks for your comment! I love the UK.
Hi Raynbow — Wow, more fairies! Yes, ASH is quite a dark fairy tale, although there are some lighter moments. It *is* still Cinderella in the end.
Hey Malinda,
I wouldn’t worry too much about oversaturating the market, I loved books about fairies a few years ago (I’m 24 now and still do a little) and would read anything going. Maybe it’s a British thing, but I could never stand the Tinkerbell type fairy, they were always wicked and seductive in my fairytales.
In terms of gay YA fiction, I think that for some questioning kids the fairy aspect might almost ‘disguise’ the book a little. Plus, I’d much rather read a book that was on-trend and gay, why should books with a gay theme always be staid and out-dated? I’m happy to hear it has a Cinderella ending though.
Can’t wait to see Ash’s cover, some of these look great.
Hi Jennifer — I definitely don’t think gay-themed books should be staid or outdated, and I’m glad to be part of a trend, since I didn’t realize I was going to be! Stay tuned for the cover — I’ve seen it and I think the cover of ASH is fantastic.
yes. i got the harpercollins summer catalog and i think there’s at least 5 or 6 faery books coming out? don’t forget wings by aprilynne pike and faery rebels by r.j. anderson. i’ve read and enjoyed both!