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WORK TITLE: SWORD IN THE STARS
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WEBSITE: http://www.corimccarthy.com/
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LAST VOLUME: SATA 300
http://greenhouseliterary.com/index.php/authors/profile/mccarthy_c/ http://www.thecompulsivereader.com/2013/03/the-color-of-rain-by-cori-mccarthy.html Identifies with the pronoun they/them.
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born on Guam; married; children: one son.
EDUCATION:Ohio University, 2005, B.A.; University of California, Los Angeles, graduate certificate in screenwriting; Vermont College of Fine Arts, M.F.A. (writing for children and young adults), 2011.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and editor. Cofounder of Rainbow Boxes initiative. Worked as an afterschool-program administrator.
AVOCATIONS:Reading.
AWARDS:Katherine Paterson Prize in middle-grade category, 2014, for manuscript “Name Me America.”
WRITINGS
A film version of Breaking Sky was in development at Sony Pictures.
SIDELIGHTS
SUBMITTED IN SGML FORMAT.
Author Cori McCarthy was born on the Pacific island of Guam, a U.S. territory, and grew up in New England and the Midwest. She aspired to become a writer at a young age and studied poetry and screenwriting during college. After earning her M.F.A. in writing for children and young adults, McCarthy embarked on her publishing career with the futuristic novels The Color of Rain and Breaking Sky. She also entertains teen readers in You Were Here.
The Color of Rain introduces Rain White, who hopes to leave Earth City and find medical attention for her critically ill brother. Spaceship captain Johnny offers her this opportunity, but on his ship she discovers several captives who are stricken with the same disease as her brother. Forced into desperate circumstances, the teen draws on her resolve and, with the help of Ben, a cyborg and security officer, attempts to free Johnny’s captives, thereby saving them from a terrible fate. “McCarthy’s poetic language glows throughout her descriptions of a desolate and melancholy universe,” noted a Publishers Weekly reviewer in appraising The Color of Rain, while Voice of Youth Advocates critic Sarah Flowers wrote that McCarthy’s mix “of psychological thriller, adventure tale, and even some romance, is fast-paced and thought-provoking.”
McCarthy sets Breaking Sky in 2048, twenty years after the United States embarked on a cold war with the forces of Ri Xiong Di, dictator of the New Eastern Bloc. Di’s government deploys drones that have suppressed U.S. forces, but there is hope in the experimental Streaker aircraft. Chase Harcourt, call sign “Nyx,” is a spectacular pilot destined for one of the two Streakers, but when she sees a third Streaker with foreign markings, her obsession with this mysterious aircraft may get her drummed out of the Air Star Academy.
McCarthy’s “thriller is a heart-stopper, both for its adrenaline-fueled descriptions of flying maneuvers and its nuanced daredevil lead character,” wrote Krista Hutley in Booklist, while a Publishers Weekly critic noted of Breaking Sky that the author “deploys breath-stopping depictions of high-stakes piloting with enviable ease.” “Strong characterizations, action, adventure, and emotion combine to-produce a sci-fi novel that is more than just the sum of its parts,” concluded School Library Journal critic Kelly Jo Lasher, and a Kirkus Reviews contributor dubbed Breaking Sky “smart, exciting, confident—and quite possibly the next Big Thing.”
Featuring a contemporary setting and formatted as a graphic novel illustrated by Sonia Liao, You Were Here “delivers a skillful blend of storytelling, emotion, and adrenaline-fueled daring, spun through with romances new and old,” according to a Publishers Weekly reviewer. Jaycee is about to graduate from high school, and memories of her daredevil brother Jake are still sharp five years after he died. In honor of his memory, she decides to recreate his exploits, joined by four others who have their own reasons for following Jake’s map of urban exploration. The novel’s multiple narratives rotate among these five teens, which include Jake’s nearly mute friend Mik.
“The mix of forms as well as the insights each character gleans through their urban explorations render this book both readable and teachable on multiple levels,” asserted Karen Coats in her review of McCarthy’s novel for the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books. “Jaycee’s sarcastic, world-weary first-person narration captures her rage, grief, and confusion,” wrote a Kirkus Reviews critic, and in School Library Journal Ragan O’Malley predicted that “the topic of urban exploration and the inclusion of graphic novel style chapters will appeal to teens.” “A beautiful coming-of-age story,” in the view of Voice of Youth Advocates critic Jennifer Rummel, You Were Here “will leave readers thinking about it long after they close it.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, March 1, 2015, Krista Hutley, review of Breaking Sky, p. 53.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, May, 2015, Alaine Martaus, review of Breaking Sky, p. 456; February 2016, Karen Coats, review of You Were Here, p. 317.
Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 2013, review of The Color of Rain; January 1, 2015, review of Breaking Sky; December 15, 2015, review of You Were Here.
Publishers Weekly, January 5, 2015, review of Breaking Sky, p. 74.
School Library Journal, October 24, 2013, Kathy Piehl, review of The Color of Rain, p. 132; February, 2015, review of Breaking Sky, p. 105; January, 2016, Ragan O’Malley, review of You Were Here, p. 107.
Voice of Youth Advocates, October 24, 2013, Sarah Flowers, review of The Color of Rain, p. 79; February, 2016, Jennifer Rummel, review of You Were Here, p. 61.
ONLINE
Cori McCarthy website, http://www.corimccarthy.com (April 4, 2016).
Greenhouse Literary Agency website, http://greenhouseliterary.com/ (November 21, 2013), interview with McCarthy.
Publishers Weekly online, http://www.publishersweekly.com/ (August 5, 2013), review of The Color of Rain; (February 22, 2016) review of You Were Here.
SHORT BIO:
Cori McCarthy [they/them] is the acclaimed, bestselling author of five released children’s books and just as many forthcoming titles. Their books have been translated into several languages and have appeared on the Bank Street, Barnes and Noble, Book Riot, and Tor best books list, as well the Amelia Bloomer list of feminist children’s fiction. Their upcoming titles include a middle grade trilogy and nonfiction picture book. They teach at Vermont College of Fine Arts and, like many of their characters, are a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
LOQUACIOUS BIO W. THE BRAGS:
Cori McCarthy [they/them] earned degrees in poetry and screenwriting before falling in love with writing for children at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Cori is the author of four released young adult books, spanning contemporary to mixed media to science fiction, as well as a coauthored space fantasy duology.
Kirkus hailed their dark, lyrical science fiction debut The Color of Rain (Running Press ‘13) as “an elegantly written and emotionally cathartic page-turner.” Cori’s futuristic thriller Breaking Sky (Sourcebooks ‘15) received starred reviews, has been translated into three languages, and is in development to become a major motion picture.
Their third title, the contemporary You Were Here (Sourcebooks ‘16), combines word art poetry, graphic novel, and prose and made the Tayshas and Bank Street Book’s Best Children’s Books of the Year lists. Cori’s nerdy romcom Now A Major Motion Picture (Sourcebooks ‘18) made the 2019 Amelia Bloomer list of feminist children’s literature and was hailed by Entertainment Weekly as “irresistible” and “a war cry and a love letter all at once” by Kirkus.
Screen Shot 2019-08-10 at 1.37.33 PMIn 2019, Cori and their partner, Amy Rose Capetta, released Once & Future. This bestselling first title in the Arthurian space fantasy duology was published by Jimmy, James Patterson’s Little, Brown imprint in the US and Rock the Boat in the UK. Once & Future received four starred reviews, appeared on many buzz and best of lists, and was a finalist for the New England Book Award. The sequel, Sword in the Stars, releases April 7th 2020.
In 2015, Cori and Amy Rose cofounded Rainbow Boxes, a charitable initiative to send LGBTQIAP+ fiction to shelters and community libraries in every state. Next, in 2018, they cofounded the annual Rainbow Writers Workshop, an in-community retreat which provides professional development for aspiring queer writers.
Cori is on faculty at Vermont College of Fine Arts and freelance edits with Yellow Bird Editors. In their spare time, they enjoy many creative pursuits including guitar, poetry, painting, and drawing. They live in Vermont with their partner, author Amy Rose Capetta, and young child.
Forthcoming titles: In addition to Sword in the Stars (Little, Brown, ‘20), Cori is currently writing a middle grade science fiction trilogy entitled B.E.S.T. World (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt ‘21, ‘22, ‘23). Lastly, their nonfiction picture book, Hope Is An Arrow: The Story of Lebanese-American Poet Kahlil Gibran will be released by Candlewick in 2021, illustrated by Coretta Scott King Award-winner Ekua Holmes.
Cori McCarthy
Cori McCarthy started writing when she was thirteen. She earned a B.A. in Creative Writing from Ohio University in 2005, with a focus in memoir writing and poetry. After graduation she completed UCLAs Professional Program in Screenwriting. Cori then served as an AmeriCorps volunteer at an elementary school in Appalachian Ohio before realizing her love for writing for young adults. In 2011, she earned an MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts.
In geographical history, Cori was born in Guam, grew up in New England and the Midwest, studied abroad in Dublin, Ireland, and now lives in Michigan with her family.
New Books
February 2020
(paperback)
Once & Future
(Once & Future, book 1)April 2020
(hardback)
Sword in the Stars
(Once & Future, book 2)
Series
Once & Future (with Amy Rose Capetta)
1. Once & Future (2019)
2. Sword in the Stars (2020)
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Novels
The Color of Rain (2013)
Breaking Sky (2015)
You Were Here (2016)
Now a Major Motion Picture (2018)
Cori McCarthy [they/them] is the acclaimed author of many young adult novels, as well as a forthcoming middle grade series and a nonfiction picture book about Kahlil Gibran. Cori holds a BA and MFA in creative writing as well as a degree in screenwriting. They cofounded the annual Rainbow Writers retreat with their partner and, like many of their characters, are a member of the LGBTQ+ community. Cori lives in New England. Learn more at CoriMcCarthy.com
5 Questions With: Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy, Authors of ‘Once & Future’
By: Aurora Dominguez
March 31, 2019
[Note From Frolic: Our resident YA expert Aurora Dominguez got the opportunity to interview authors Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy and ask them five(ish) questions. Their novel ‘Once & Future‘ is out now!]
Once & Future
Aurora: What was your inspiration behind your most recent novel?
Amy and Cori: Our inspiration for Once & Future came from two main places. The first is the obvious one—Cori had the idea of writing Girl King Arthur for years. And right after the 2016 election, when things got very scary both politically and personally, we realized that we both needed a story to get ourselves to the other side of this. A story that gave us hope. Our favorite version of the Arthurian legend, T.H. White’s The Once & Future King, was written as resistance literature in the shadow of world war. There’s something about King Arthur that people come back to in difficult times, and the story was there for us when we most needed it.
What character do you most relate to and why?
Cori: Lamarack and Ari. Gender-wise, I relate to Lam as a nonbinary person who uses they-them pronouns and has an affinity for leather armor. For everything else, I’m quite a bit like Ari. I am pansexual and of Arab descent on my mom’s side, have battles with my brothers, an honesty addiction, and a sincere love of swords.
Amy Rose: I have a lot in common with Merlin. “Queer mage” is pretty much my default setting. But another character I relate to just as much is Gwen. Our Gweneviere is the Queen of a Renaissance Faire Planet. Besides the extreme nerd factor inherent in caring so much about the Ren Faire, she’s really ambitious. And yet that doesn’t get in the way of how much she cares. We so often see characters who are one or the other: ambitious or caring. Gwen can’t turn off either part of herself.
Why do you feel young adult books are so popular and have such a voice right now?
Books for teenagers are necessary. We put them through so much in this society that to not give them stories crafted for them would be insult on top of injury. Also, a lot of people feel that their lives and experiences are reflected in YA books, regardless of age. Many people we know grew up without YA and without real reflections of themselves in the stories they loved, and it’s wonderful to believe that that is changing for the better.
That’s one of the reasons we wanted to write Once & Future. It throws open the door to a well-loved story and invites more people in.
Please describe the content of your latest book and what can readers expect from the read.
Once & Future has parallels to our society’s political, economic, and capitalistic challenges, and at the same time its epic space fantasy fun. Readers can expect banter, spaceships, magic, queer love, fighting of good fights, identity freedom, and the best group of friends.
What’s next for you in the book world?
We’re at work on the sequel right now! It’s called The Sword in the Stars and it brings the duology to a close. Many things we want to share about it are spoilers, but we can say that we’re putting even more of a twist on the original canon in the second book.
What’s your favorite writing method that you follow for inspiration?
We both have screenwriting backgrounds. Cori also has a degree in poetry and Amy Rose has one in theater. We met while pursuing MFAs in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts. We pull from a lot of different places when we write. The most helpful is Cori’s structure system, which allows us to see the whole story as we go and co-write a coherent narrative. Without it we would probably still be fighting our rough draft!
Cori McCarthy – The Writer vs. The Adult Interview
April 4, 2018A New Look On Books1 Commenton Cori McCarthy – The Writer vs. The Adult Interview
CM Headshot2.jpgMeet Cori McCarthy
Cori McCarthy is the author of the science fiction thrillers The Color of Rain and Breaking Sky, as well as the contemporary mixed media novel, You Were Here, and the forthcoming feminist rom com, Now A Major Motion Picture. Cori started writing at the age of thirteen, and studied poetry, memoir writing, and screenwriting before falling in love with YA at Vermont College of Fine Arts’ MFA program. Cori spends most of their time at home in Vermont with their partner, fellow YA author Amy Rose Capetta, and their small son—and they are excitedly looking to get a puppy! On the horizon for 2019, Cori and their partner coauthored a duology entitled, Once & Future, a space fantasy about a girl King Arthur with an inclusive cast of the new knights of the round spaceship.
Find out more at CoriMcCarthy.com or tweet your favorite nerd .gif @CoriMcCarthy. You can also find me on Instagram. My account is locked to keep out the riff-raff, but if you’re a reader just request and send a note, and I will approve you 🙂
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The Interview
The writer vs. the adult. What do you struggle with in terms of balancing your writing live with your personal life?
On most days, I have three full-time jobs. I am a writer, an editor, and a parent. This is tricky at best…and like living in a swamp at worst. To help me stay balanced, I make small to-do lists and try to clear the deck of life’s etc. so that I can spend as much time as possible playing LEGOs with my son and writing as many books as possible.
What inspires you as a writer?
My mistakes and National Geographic. Not a lot of people know this about me, but I love to research. When I worked on Breaking Sky, I got to research the military, the Cold War, our global history of militarized youth, as well as amazing firsthand accounts of fighter jet pilots. When I worked on You Were Here, I devoured the NatGEo show Secrets of the Underground for urbexer inspiration—as well as going to the urbex locations in that story firsthand.
I draw heavily from history, culture, travel, and adventure when I write, but I also delve pretty deeply into the mistakes I’ve made and the problems I’ve faced. My writing thus becomes a kind of catharsis—a way to understand why things happen the way they do. I’ve always found that fiction is a balm for the aching places in the soul. For example, I wrote You Were Here as a way to understand my friend’s death many years ago. I never thought I’d be able to process what happened—and why the adults in my life were so ill-equipped to help us deal with the loss. But then along came Mik, Jaycee, Natalie, Zach, and Bishop…and they helped me out.
I see you freelance edit and are a writing coach. Does your editor brain clash with your writer brain when you are working on your own projects?
Nope! My editor brain and my writing brain don’t seem to be friends, let alone acquaintances. There are so many times when I’m advising a writing client, and I realize that the mistake they’ve been making is something I also need to work on in my own manuscript. I tend to write loose and fast, making all the mistakes as I go—only to smooth them out later. While I don’t necessarily tell other writers to do the same, I do encourage writers to be more willing to write badly. After all, you can never write a perfect book from the get-go. So go ahead and write it badly first! It’s faster to revise a draft than to wait for the perfect (imaginary) pages.
From to memoirs to poetry to screenwriting to YA to picture books… you’ve dabbled in it all! Tell us about you and how it influenced your decisions to branch out into different genres shaped your writing.
I find that they’re all related! When I write picture books or novels in verse, my poetry background leaps forward. When I’m plotting novels, my screenwriting education takes the wheel and makes sure I don’t get lost in the land of over-plotting nonsense. When I worked on You Were Here, I had to write scripts for the graphic novel sections, and poems for Bishop’s poetry, and then I needed all my education to make Zach, Jaycee, and Natalie’s prose voices sound unique. It was the best kind of juggling.
Are there any stereotypes or stigmas that you really want to tackle in upcoming projects? I have to point out here I am anxiously awaiting for everything you have in the works and continue to read You Were Here whenever I need the facts (but hope!) during rough times.
This is such a great question!
My upcoming book Now A Major Motion Picture is lighter than my other books—well, it is a rom com! That being said, I’d love for readers to look at what’s woven into the sweetheart romance and the ridiculous fantasy nerd shenanigans. Iris, the main character, is waking up to how women are blatantly mistreated in Hollywood—and the world and in her own family. This kind of awakening is tough to write about, and I’m hoping that it sneakily reaches everyone out there who needs a boost in fighting back against the most recent surge of patriarchal nonsense.
I’m also starting to write more about the LGBTQ+ community, and my experiences being a nonbinary, pansexual, mixed race Arab American. I have been afraid to write openly about these things in the past because publishing hasn’t had the best track record with uplifting marginalized identity stories and the writers who are brave enough to write them. But things are changing. And I’m done being afraid. Right now I’m working on a story that is similar to You Were Here in tone and depth, only this time it’s about my experiences growing up in a rural conservative community that abhorred difference. We’ll see how it goes…and if I can convince anyone to publish it!
Do you have a go-to author, book, or activity that helps you destress from writers block? If not, how do you tackle writers block? (Feel free to answer both if time permits or inspiration strikes!)
Keep in mind that if you are a writer, you should always be writing. Every day. But if you’ve hit a wall, maybe you should be writing something else? I once heard Philip Pullman say, “Don’t write when you’re not inspired. That’s like looking for a shadow with a flashlight.”
If there’s something you’ve burned out on, move along to a different project. When I was worn down from the heaviness of You Were Here, I ended up writing a rom com and a picture book biography about Kahlil Gibran—both of which surprised me. So yes, always write, but don’t make yourself write one book at a time. This business is tough enough, and you might as well have fun while you’re doing it 😉
Fangirling aside, is there anything you’d like to share with the readers today?
I think this is it! Great questions! Thank you for reaching out, and I’m really hoping to meet you one day!
Thank you Cori for stopping by! Had a blast 🙂
Now A Motion Picture is out now!
Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy Talk The Brilliant Death, Being Nonbinary, and Empowering Magic
by B&N Editors/October 30, 2018 at 11:55 amShare
Amy Rose Capetta’s lush, Italian-influenced fantasy The Brilliant Death is out today, telling the tale of a magic-wielder, or strega, who hides her powers, and the genderfluid fellow strega who helps her embrace what she is and what she can do.
Teodora’s transformative ability has long allowed her to turn her family’s enemies into objects, but now she herself is transformed: into a boy, to travel to the capital at the command of Vinalia’s ruler. He has poisoned the heads of the kingdom’s five most powerful families, including Teodora’s father, and obeying the royal summons may be the only way to save him. Teo makes the journey alongside strega Cielo, who can switch their gender easily, discovering frightening truths—and possibly love—along the way.
To celebrate the release, Capetta talked with partner (and coauthor, of the forthcoming Once & Future) Cori McCarthy, about being nonbinary, favorite tropes, and the endless possibilities of fantasy.
The Brilliant Death
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Cori McCarthy: Hey, girl.
Amy Rose Capetta: Umm…actually. I’m nonbinary! Specifically, demigirlflux. Basically, my gender fluctuates from “mostly femme” to “no, thanks.” I never felt like I fit into the gender binary, but it took me a long time to find the words that fit best.
Also, I like saying demigirlflux because it sounds like a superhero.
McCarthy: I’m so glad I tricked you into that, Ryan Gosling–style. I, myself, am a trans masc nonbinary person. Which means I’m fairly masculine-ish on the inside and pretty much painted by those numbers on the outside.
Shout out to everyone who has just opened a second tab on the screen to look up the word “nonbinary.” You’ve taken your first step into a larger world.
I heard a rumor that your new book, the magical, sexy, Italy-inspired fantasy The Brilliant Death is about two nonbinary people in love. The rumor is coming from inside the house.
Capetta: It’s all true!
At a book event recently, someone asked about favorite and LEAST favorite story tropes. Mine are the same: the “pants” role, when a girl disguises herself as a boy. I’ve always been drawn to these stories. Shout out to Viola in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, the original Italian femme in slacks. But there usually wasn’t much gender exploration beyond showing that boys and girls were treated differently, which I already knew. And the story always ends in a very cisgender, heterosexual way.
But this is TwentyGayTeen, and The Brilliant Death casts nonbinary characters in the lead roles and takes my favorite/least favorite trope for all it’s worth.
P.S. You look cute scheming up questions on the other side of the kitchen island.
McCarthy: I’m not cute. I’m a scoundrel.
Tell me about the gender identity journey of main character Teodora di Sangro, mafia daughter and secret magic user who turns men—enemies of her family—into objects. Is it *cough* #ownvoices?
ARC: There are two answers to this question. The first is that Teodora’s identity journey is very much patterned after mine. At the start of the story, she’s somewhat aware of her queerness, but she’s keeping a lot about herself quiet, including her identity as a magic user—a strega. She feels lonely and different, but she’s resigned herself to that fate. Before she meets Cielo, she doesn’t know there’s anyone else like her.
We all need to see the pieces of ourselves in the world around us, in another person or a community, a book or a movie. Our brains are story machines, and we need stories like ours to understand our own. That’s a big part of why people are fighting so hard to take LGBTQIAP+ visibility away. It took many years for me to see myself reflected. And when I finally did, it felt like long-awaited magic.
The second answer is that, due to magic, the way I wrote this story could only happen in the world of Vinalia. I’m not sure I can call a magical gender exploration #ownvoices, but I’ve always felt playful about gender—it’s one way to subvert a rigidly constructed gender binary. The transformation magic of Italian folktales allows such beautiful possibilities, and I could see ways for them to empower nonbinary characters and get under the skin of Vinalia’s patriarchy.
I love when magic empowers marginalized people so I’m not going to limit the options in order to be more “realistic.” I’ve never been a big fan of the way LBTQIAP+ people are treated in the normal world, anyway.
Once & Future
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McCarthy: What are you talking about? We’re one of the most sneezed-on items at the salad bar! Just kidding; that was all super important and your brain is full of starlight.
I heard another rumor that the love interest, the sexy, occasionally overconfident magic tutor, is based off of someone you know. Maybe off of someone you live with? Someone who might even be interviewing you on the Barnes & Noble Teen Blog? Would you like to talk about this person?
Capetta: I wrote the book for this person! In a very literal sense. I’d been wanting to create a fantasy based on the remote, mountainous part of Italy my father’s family came from since I was a ferocious fantasy reader as a kid. I researched for five years. But when I started to write—I couldn’t actually turn out more than five pages.
I had just started to live with THIS PERSON (who is currently twirling their dark hair in a rascally handsome way) and they gave me the perfect idea: drafting it longhand in a large, unlined notebook. Then they listened to me read every chapter out loud, which made the story feel real in a way it never would have just living inside my head. And they made the most brilliant, wonderful story demands—most of which involved more flirting scenes. This person not only made me feel brave enough to write The Brilliant Death, they brought me back to the delighted love of writing that I’d had when I was younger. And they gave me TONS of glorious inspiration.
I think I should admit: I’m inspired by a love story that’s more epic than anything I could ever write.
Wait! I have a question for you! If Teodora di Sangro changed our love into something, what would it be?
McCarthy: I’m all blushy now. That was really sweet. And I think Teo would change our love into a brass candlestick. Old school, fashionably tarnished, a carrier of light.
Oh gods, we’re so cheesy. I love you.
One last question, and this one pertains to the promised title. What are nonbinary gender roles?
Capetta: For nonbinary people, gender identity (what your gender is) and presentation (how it looks to the world) cover a wide range. It’s not about finding a third box to put people in: it’s about exploding the notion that there are only two boxes. Patriarchy relies on controlling and confining gender definitions. Teo starts out being treated as less because she’s born as a daughter, because she’s seen as a girl. Being a man is power in her world. But the world doesn’t have to be that way and living outside of the binary makes that clear. Nonbinary people don’t have set gender roles. They’re:
Personal. Changeable. Different. Or nonexistent.
In short, they’re whatever we want them to be. Teo and Cielo get to define who they want to be in their lives and in their love story. Their quest is epic: they have to do nothing less than transform their world. Much like we have the chance to transform ours. Fantasy pushes at the boundaries of all of our maps. That’s why it felt like the perfect space to tell a story about gender, power, and a love that changes everything.
McCarthy: Thank you so much for having dinner with me and answering my bantery questions! Now, we need to go work on the sequel of that series we’re writing together. You know, the one with all the queer love, mythical swords, and space dragons…
The Brilliant Death is out now!
QUEERING KING ARTHUR: AN INTERVIEW WITH AMY ROSE CAPETTA & CORI MCCARTHY, AUTHORS OF ONCE & FUTURE
Christina Orlando May 21, 2019
All someone had to say were: “queer,” “retelling,” and “King Arthur”—immediately I was like, DJ, TURN IT UP, THIS IS MY JAM. If you’re anything like me, you’re a sucker for queering the canon, especially when it comes to stories so integral to our culture as the King Arthur myth is. I remember reading Le Morte D’Arthur in the original Middle English during my college years and marveling at how complex and dramatic the stories of Arthur and his Knights were, and how many echos there are of them in stories throughout time and history.
once and future by amy rose capetta and cori mccarthyCori McCarthy and Amy Rose Capetta are a real life couple who have reimagined the Arthur myth as a thrilling queer space adventure in Once & Future. In this book, Arthur is reborn as Ari, a brave young girl searching for her origins. She pulls the proverbial Sword, this time lodged in a tree stump on Old Earth, and together with her brother Kay, Merlin, Queen Gwen, and an inclusive team of Knights, they’re off to save the galaxy. So, knights and a wizard? Sign me up. Genderfluid, queer knights and a gay wizard? I’m leading the whole damn parade. I chatted with the authors to find out how it all came together.
All right, let’s start at the beginning. You’re both accomplished writers on your own, and this is the first time you’ve produced a book together. How did the conversation about working together come about, and what was the process like? Why was this project the right one for you to collaborate on?
Every few months, we sit down and write out a list of all our dream books. It’s a sprawling list with no rules, just stories that are forming or simmering in the back of our heads. Cori used to end every list with “and I’d like to write Girl King Arthur.” It was an intimidating idea to step into the Arthurian canon and add your own take, and while Cori wanted to do it, it wasn’t until they asked Amy Rose to write it with them that it started to take shape.
The process had two stages. In the rough draft stage, Cori wrote one POV character (can you guess which one?) and Amy Rose wrote the other. After that first draft, however, we edited large sections on our own, keeping an eye on continuity and character. We never used track changes and let one another make cuts and additions. It took a lot of trust, but we were prepared—we’ve been editing each other’s books since debuting in 2013.
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There are elements of both the original Arthur myth in here, as well as some references to the Disney animated movie. What was your research process like? What sources did you use, and what was the decision making process in regards to what to keep and what to reinvent for your story?
One of the important bits we were drawn to is the mystery of the ending. Arthur’s body disappears after his death. Some stories say it’s in Avalon, but there’s always a sense that Arthur is missing. That in times of need, he might even come back. That’s how, canonically, we end up with the spirit of King Arthur still in play in the future. That’s how we get to Ari, the 42nd reincarnation of the legend—and the first girl in the line.
There are other aspects of Arthur’s story that we didn’t shy away from even though they’re hypocritical or outright awful. We talked a lot about how to deal with those parts of the mythos, instead of sanitizing it to a Disney sparkle.
And yet we do love some elements of that Disney movie, who wouldn’t? Even in a whimsical rendition for little kids, Merlin is a removed misanthrope in rainbow Bermuda shorts, and Arthur is painfully lonely even when he’s given the mantle of the hero. Actually, his loneliness increases when he pulls Excalibur. At the heart of this retelling, we found an emotional truth worth preserving about the hero’s journey and fantasy tropes.
That being said, the version we drew on most for inspiration was definitely T.H. White’s The Once & Future King. It grapples with some of the gravest questions of White’s time. He wrote it in the shadow of the world wars. It’s a piece of resistance literature that sings with hope and humor, and that balance was absolutely at the forefront of our thoughts in our own retelling.
What is it about the Arthur myth that you think still keeps audiences enchanted today? Why has it become such an integral part of Western folklore?
Camelot is a story of hope in the darkest of times. The round table might be Western civilization’s first legend that enshrines equality (though very imperfectly). The love stories involved famously dealt with romance as a driving factor, giving agency to a woman’s choice in who she loves. There are ideals embedded in here that most of us care deeply about and carry with us as we move forward.
By making ours a reincarnation story, we could be literal about it—there’s something here that just won’t die. King Arthur is always with us, as we keep descending into new versions of the dark ages.
So: what now? Can we escape this cycle? How does the story need to change?
The Knights of the Round Table are essential to Arthur’s story, and therefore to Ari’s success. Her diverse group of friends supports her and helps her execute plans against the Mercer Company throughout. We see new incarnations of Lancelot, Lamorak, and Percival in this story. What was it about those knights in particular that were essential to this retelling? Will we see more knights in the sequel?
We picked Lamarack and Percival because they’re siblings. Our story takes on the idea of family, both born and chosen, at every turn. It’s also worth noting that Lam’s disability—the loss of a hand—comes from the original tale.
You can’t really do an Arthurian retelling without Lancelot and the love triangle, and this is no exception, but we haven’t gone the traditional route. If you read the sequel, though, the role of Lancelot gets a very serious shake-up. We wish we could say more without giving spoilers!
There will definitely be more knights in the sequel. The main cast is set, but expect lots of fun Arthurian legend cameos!
Merlin’s plight is to age backwards as he continues to try and break the cycle of this curse—every time a new incarnation of Arthur is born, he must find them, train them, and nudge them onto the nearest throne. But throughout the story, Merlin grapples with his past and the knowledge that he doesn’t have much longer to break the cycle. What excited you about writing Merlin, one of the most iconic characters of all time?
Merlin is the ultimate mage, and the idea of writing him was intimidating! But the difference between worrying about it and writing turned out to be blissfully huge. When Amy Rose sat down to draft, Merlin’s voice came out like it had always been waiting. We think part of her really is a grumpy queer mage. But it’s bigger than that, too. There is a strange powerlessness that comes with being a teenager, when you understand so much about the world but you feel trapped by your age, by the way other people see you and underestimate you. Writing aged-backwards Merlin was an amazing way to exorcise that feeling.
This story is—dare I say it—queer as hell. What was important to you when telling not one but two queer love stories?
For Merlin, this is finally a chance to be who he is, openly and without fear. Of course, letting go of centuries of baggage is hard. It was important to us that Merlin finally gets a shot at love. He’s hardly ever been given that in the many tellings and retellings.
With Gwen and Ari, we had a choice: since we were gender-swapping Arthur, could we also gender-swap Gweneviere? We decided, emphatically, NO. We had always wanted to see Gweneviere as powerful in her own right. Our Gwen rules her own planet, calls her own shots. She and Ari are two girls who’ve never made themselves smaller to fit into anyone’s expectations. It felt amazing to write this powerhouse queer couple.
The future we’re writing about has no heteronormative or cisnormative expectations. People are who they are. They love who they love. We gave our characters complete freedom, and it felt like giving ourselves a long overdue gift. Hopefully, it will feel that way to our readers, too.
McCarthy, Cori ONCE & FUTURE Jimmy Patterson/Little, Brown (Young Adult Fiction) $18.99 3, 26 ISBN: 978-0-316-44927-4
A girl with a sword and an impulse problem embarks on a perilous quest to save her family and free the galaxy from the clutches of a power-hungry corporation.
When Ari, an on-the-run refugee from planet Ketch, pulls Excalibur from a tree on Old Earth, she sets a centuries-old cycle into motion. By claiming the sword, she unknowingly attracts the enchantress Morgana and awakens the backward-aging magician Merlin, both of whom are doomed to an eternity of reliving the same story of King Arthur's rise and fall. Honest to the core and averse to pageantry, Ari rejects her destiny as "the one true king" until she discovers her connection to the Arthur cycle may help her raise a resistance against the Mercer Company, who imprisoned her mothers and are threatening everyone Ari loves. In this intergalactic reimagining of Arthurian legend, a racially diverse queer and trans ensemble of characters leads the battle against the tyranny of capitalism. Capetta (The Brilliant Death, 2018, etc.) and McCarthy (Now a Major Motion Picture, 2018, etc.) develop complex conflicts on multiple fronts, including a passionate, whirlwind romance between Ari and her Gweneviere. The women in the story grow together through their challenges with one another and learn from their differences.
All hail this worthier-than-ever, fresh, and affirming reincarnation of the legendary king and her round table of knights which dazzles with heroic flair, humor, and suspense. (Science Fiction/Fantasy. 14-adult)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 Kirkus Media LLC
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"McCarthy, Cori: ONCE & FUTURE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Jan. 2019. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A567651618/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=64ff7c05. Accessed 2 Mar. 2020.
Capetta, Amy Rose, and Cori McCarthy. Once &. Future. Little, Brown, March 2019. 368p. $18.99. 978-0316449274.
3Q * 4P * S * NA
Adept at lying low, Ari and her big (foster) brother Kay have managed to stay off the radar of the Mercer Company, a tyrannical galactic corporation, until Ari inadvertently triggers the corporate alarm net. Ari heads to the one place she thinks they can be insignificant and out of sight: Old Earth. But when they crash-land on what is supposed to be the preserved "ancient home of all humanity," they discover the truth of Mercer's deforestation and destruction. Rising out of the middle of the devastation is a thousand-year-old oak tree with a sword buried in its trunk. The one thing Ari knows for certain is that this tree is calling her to set it free. Free it she does, by removing the sword. And with Excalibur free, Merlin awakens in the Crystal Cave once again, for the forty-second cycle of his ongoing incarnations with Arthur. Getting younger each time, Merlin is now a teenager, but he still has his magic and knows the steps of the Cycle: "Find Arthur. Train Arthur. Nudge Arthur onto the nearest throne. Defeat the greatest evil in the world. Unite all of mankind." Even in space.
Highly original, replete with popular culture references and humor, filled with epic space action and juicy human intimacies and betrayals, this completely unpredictable fantasy/science fiction/LGBTQ+ romp is exactly what the authors characterize it as: "queer King Arthur in space." Mature readers ready to explore new territories with almost-familiar characters will delight in this inclusive remaking of the "Once and Future King."--Kim Carter.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC
http://www.voya.com
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Carter, Kim. "Capetta, Amy Rose, and Cori McCarthy. Once &. Future." Voice of Youth Advocates, vol. 41, no. 5, Dec. 2018, p. 76. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A571836515/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=c40dddf3. Accessed 2 Mar. 2020.
McCarthy, Cori. Now a Major Motion Picture. Sourcebooks Fire, April 2018. 400p. $10.99 Trade pb. 978-1-4926-5238-0.
4Q * 4P * J * S
Iris is not looking forward to spending the summer before her senior year accompanying her eight-year-old brother Ryder to Ireland. Iris's grandmother, M. E. Thorne, is the author of Elementia, a much beloved fantasy series that is now being made into a movie. Iris has grown up watching her father struggle to become a published writer and she has felt her grandmother's shadow loom over both of them. She has also seen glimpses of the series' rabid fans, one of whom almost kidnapped her brother. Iris distances herself from the Elementia world completely and spends her time writing songs on her guitar. Ryder, however, is obsessed with the series. Iris and her dad do not want to deny him the opportunity to see his favorite books come to life, so Iris reluctantly plays chaperone. When they reach the film set, however, Iris cannot help but become immersed in the world of her grandmother's imagination. The crew takes Ryder under its wing and Iris befriends the young and devoted cast, including cute Eamon, who proudly sports his elf ears off camera. Iris starts to see the positive side of her grandmother's influence and decides that she wants to learn more about M. E. Thorne.
This novel has something for everyone. McCarthy has provided a complex family dynamic, a charming romance, and a peek into the world of moviemaking. Many readers will find much to enjoy here. --Kirsten Pickel.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC
http://www.voya.com
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MLA 8th Edition APA 6th Edition Chicago 17th Edition
Pickel, Kirsten. "McCarthy, Cori. Now a Major Motion Picture." Voice of Youth Advocates, vol. 40, no. 6, Feb. 2018, p. 58. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A529357129/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=d2588741. Accessed 2 Mar. 2020.
MCCARTHY, Cori. Now a Major Motion Picture. 400p. Sourcebooks/Fire. Apr. 2018. pap. $10.99. ISBN 9781492652380.
Gr 8 Up--Iris Thorne is tired of living in the shadow of a grandmother she barely knew and tired of babysitting her eight-year-old brother Ryder. She accompanies Ryder to Ireland, where the movie adaptation of her grandmother's popular high fantasy book trilogy "Elementia" is being filmed. Iris dislikes fantasy and resents "Thornians," the Elementian fandom. That includes nerdy debut actor Eamon O'Brien and director Cate Collins, who has declared the series to be "the feminist answer to Tolkien's male-dominated world." But Iris gradually develops a crush on Eamon, a begmdging respect for Cate, and even an appreciation for fantasy. Meanwhile, Ryder's need to assert his independence from Iris's overprotection forces her to come to terms with her dysfunctional family dynamics and a recent trauma. Major side plots include Cate's challenges as a female movie director and actress Shoshanna's similar experiences with "winning tire intersectional bingo," as she is neither white nor straight. This is simultaneously a whimsical teen romance (borderline saccharine at some points) and an emotionally compelling story about family, creativity, and courage. McCarthy delves into the backstories and motivations of most major characters, and Iris herself is a well-developed and complex protagonist with a believable blend of ambition, fear, and fierce loyalty. VERDICT With its adept characterization, positive messages, and appeal factors for fans of multiple genres, this is a first purchase for most YA collections.--Magdalena Teske, West Chicago Public Library District
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
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MLA 8th Edition APA 6th Edition Chicago 17th Edition
Teske, Magdalena. "MCCARTHY, Cori. Now a Major Motion Picture." School Library Journal, vol. 64, no. 2, Feb. 2018, p. 105. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A526734129/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=d27a5160. Accessed 2 Mar. 2020.
McCarthy, Cori SWORD IN THE STARS Jimmy Patterson/Little, Brown (Young Adult Fiction) $18.99 4, 7 ISBN: 978-0-316-44929-8
A band of heroes travels through time to put an end to King Arthur's tragedy and save their future from corporate corruption.
In this second and final installment of a science-fiction reimagining of Arthurian legend, Ari, Merlin, and their friends crash into the past to steal a magic chalice from Camelot. They are guided by their quest to set the spirit of King Arthur free from his cycle of reincarnation and put a stop to Mercer, a murderous mega-corporation. However, their plans fall apart when they find themselves entangled in the legend--love triangle included--with Ari in the role of Lancelot and Gwen married to Arthur. Meanwhile, Merlin ages backward every time he uses magic. One false move could disrupt their whole timeline. Capetta (The Storm of Life, 2020, etc.) and McCarthy (Once & Future, 2019, etc.) have crafted a fast-paced, turbulent plotline with satisfying twists and luscious queer romance. Throughout they critique the whitewashing of medieval European history and, particularly, Arthurian retellings. Their cast of characters displays an intentional diversity of identities, including polyamorous. Encounters with Merlin's past self and conflict with the Lady of the Lake explore the question of what makes someone a villain. Without rushing, the story resolves through a path of healing from the trauma of the past.
A heroic finale. (Science fiction. 14-18)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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MLA 8th Edition APA 6th Edition Chicago 17th Edition
"McCarthy, Cori: SWORD IN THE STARS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Feb. 2020. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A612618963/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=0b2210e6. Accessed 2 Mar. 2020.