I’m delighted to welcome Sarah and Rodney Matthews into The Reading Realm today to talk to me about their quirky, fun-filled adventure Oddney’s Otherland!
Before we sit down in The Reading Realm and talk about your new book, what’s your drink and snack of choice?
Rodney: I drink gallons of tea when I am working on book illustrations, rather like our title character Professor Clive Oddney. He, incidentally, snacks on cheese and pickle sandwiches, and likewise, it’s anything with cheese for me!
Sarah: I too love a cup of tea and a slice of toast with lemon or cherry jam.
What can you tell us about your new book Oddney’s Otherland?
Sarah: When Professor Oddney discovers a tunnel beneath his shed leading to a secret world, his old adventuring-instinct kicks in. The retired naturalist knows he must investigate and so with his trusted friend, Magnus the talking magpie, by his side, the pair soon find themselves in Otherland, a place inhabited by Grumpy Meadow Gnomes, Bloated Hobgoblins, Great Leaping Buttock-Biters and dragons … ONE DRAGON IN PARTICULAR!
Rodney: As an illustrator of fantasy, I am unable to visualise anything straight or completely factual. Oddney’s Otherland is an adventure in a world of wonder and strange creatures that is, nevertheless, sufficiently anchored to reality for children and adults alike to feel immersed and thoroughly involved.
Is there a special memory that inspired this story?
Sarah: The idea for our book is very much Rodney’s. It was something he came up with long before we met. I remember one day he presented me with the concept – an outline of the plot, piles of notes and years’ worth of paintings – and asked if I would write the story. “Erm, yes,” I replied hesitantly, while thinking to myself, but I’m not an author. I am so glad that I did say yes. Building the characters has been so much fun and came easier than I thought once I started to think of Rodney as Oddney and myself as Magnus. Their personalities certainly mirror ours and I have been able to write in lots of little nods to memories that Rodney and I have shared together.
Rodney: Some of the situations in our story are based upon factual scenarios from my own younger life, i.e. my love and interaction with wild creatures and my obsession with discovery, adventure and humour. Magnus the magpie is based upon my own feathered friend from the 1950s.
What about films and movies? Is there a film that’s inspired Oddney’s Otherland?
Rodney: Not one film but several. I remember myself as a six-year-old, returning home with my sister from a showing of the 1951 film Alice in Wonderland by Walt Disney. Before bedtime, I collected my paints and paper to set about depicting my own adventure. I would also mention Peter Pan and Snow White as childhood story influences.
Sarah: When I think about the movies I enjoyed as a child – Flight of the Navigator, ET, Back to the Future – and as an adult – the Lord of the Rings trilogy – I realise that they all have themes of fantasy and adventure, and so I’d say that they have definitely shaped my thoughts and writing.
If your book were a song or piece of music, what would it be and why?
Sarah: Two songs spring to mind: ‘Stand by Me’ and Just the ‘Two of Us’. The sentiments of both reflect the strong bond between Professor Oddney and Magnus. They are best friends but also have a father-son-like relationship; they laugh together and they get annoyed with each other, but above all they love, trust and respect each other. There’s one scene in particular that I enjoyed writing: the professor is in full-flow chatting away to Magnus, who is perched above his head, when he realises that the bird has actually fallen asleep. Oddney smiles to himself and reminisces how Magnus slept like this as a young fledgling. Instead of waking his friend to rush on with the adventure, Oddney decides to let him rest a little longer. It even makes me go “aww!”
Rodney: Closely connected to my previous answer, I’ve always remembered with great fondness the Peter Pan theme titled ‘Second Star to the Right’. It still sweeps me away to wondrous worlds.
Finally, what are your hopes for Oddney’s Otherland as you send it out into the big, wide world?
Sarah: First and foremost, I hope that our readers will enjoy the adventure, turn the pages with excitement and have a good giggle along the way. If there is a takeaway message, it would be that we are all different and we all have our own skills, which is great, but if we can pull together and combine our talents then anything is possible.
Rodney: I would like our young readers to take something “otherworldly”, yet reassuring from our book, something that says it’s alright to daydream, it’s good to make friends and it’s okay to trust and believe in the good things of our earth and to treat it with respect.
