An Inside Look with Lauren Magaziner
(Author of The Incorruptibles)
*Season #SIX (Summer 2019)
How did you come to know Fiora?
It took time to find her. To me, the hardest stage of writing is the very beginning, when you’re still trying to discover your main character and their narrative voice. I tried first person present tense, first person past tense, third person past tense, even a graphic novel script—none of them worked until I started writing with this third person past tense voice that occasionally had sass and quips in the narrative, and suddenly, it was like the fog cleared. “There she is,” I thought.
Figuring out the rest of her came easier: her backstory, internal arc, and external arc I already had a vision for. But little quirks of her personality came while writing—different mannerisms, attitudes, and ways of reacting to things. Originally, I had thought that Fiora would be more optimistic and happy-go-lucky, but that’s not how she came out on the page. It’s weird to say that she had a mind of her own, but with every line of dialogue and description, she fought my initial characterization, until I just gave into her natural temperament. Fiora made herself fierce and clever.
What do you think is her most admirable quality?
In my opinion, Fiora’s most admirable quality is her unshakable moral compass. She always standing up for what’s right, is an advocate for justice and equity, and is always trying to understand the world—to define good and evil. But I love that her mind is flexible; while Fiora starts the book out with very rigid ideas of morality, she eventually grows into a more nuanced way of thinking that is, in my opinion, very mature of her.
Is there anything you wish she would have changed or done differently in her story?
Very minor spoilers for the first quarter of the book, but I really wish Fiora had spent a little more time saying goodbye to her uncle. Given him a proper send off. And I wish she would’ve asked what he was hiding in his pocket from her. I know she was distracted, but she let that one go awfully quickly...
What do you think Fiora can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what she went through?
It’s hard to be the new kid, trying to make your new environment feel like home… and kids can experience (with her) how to slowly adjust to change and a new normal.
It’s also tough to feel powerless in a world where a handful of cruel, influential people flaunt their muscle, money, and authority. This is something Fiora goes through and something we all (children and adults) are currently going through. Inc Academy is set up with squads, which forces Fiora to learn how to rely on others and coexist on a squad, even when she’s skeptical of her peers at first. Fiora and her teammates have to find each other’s strengths—and most important of all, they need to have empathy for each other to truly bond and come together. It’s through teamwork and the power of community that they realize their collective action and voices are stronger than they ever could have been alone. I think that’s so powerful for kids to read about… and the most important takeaway.
How did you research Fiora and the circumstances she found herself in?
I had to do the most research on sewing. Fiora starts the book as a tailor’s apprentice, and I know very close to nothing about tailoring. (In high school, I’d tried to sew my own purse out of a pair of old jeans—to absolutely disastrous results.) I probably shouldn’t have written about something I failed at. But it was fun to live vicariously through her and getting to use sewing metaphors throughout the book.
At Inc Academy, since normal humans are training to fight sorcerers with tech and gadgets, I also had to dig into research about the technology. Different materials that tools would be made out of, types of weapons that would be available to Fiora, fighting styles that Fiora and crew would be learning—the research was all pretty fun!
Do you and Fiora share any similarities?
We’re similar on some surface level stuff: Jewish, queer, curly-haired, she has the body shape I’d had for most of my life, insatiable curiosity, death anxiety, an uncle named Randal. The similarities probably stop there.
I think Fiora is way braver than I am. Almost too bold when she’s up against arrogant, egocentric sorcerers! She is also very quick on her feet in the middle of battle and in training sessions. (Couldn’t be me; I actually probably wouldn’t fare well in a sorcerer-fighting academy at all. Too much exercise.) And though Fiora and I share curiosity as a trait, I know when I’ve hit a boundary. Fiora, meanwhile, does not have any sense of when and where to stop. You can find her snooping through her roommates’ items or asking questions that sometimes get a little too personal. There’s no line she wouldn’t cross in pursuit of information!
What was the hardest scene to write about her?
My hardest Fiora scenes are the ones where she thinks about her parents, who were killed by sorcerers when she was six years old. Since I’m so deep in Fiora’s head, I feel what she’s feeling, the moments when she’s missing them make me profoundly sad. Her loneliness and longing are palpable. I think this is the line that still breaks my heart the most: “‘No thank you,’ Fiora said, holding tight to her mother’s star necklace, pretending that the chain around her neck was the same as her mother’s arms. For a moment she was starving to remember what it felt like to be hugged by her mom.”
Who do you think was her biggest supporter and why?
Within the book, the three captains of Inc Academy’s youngest age group are clearly Fiora’s biggest advocates. Captain Quinn (of the Thistle squad) believes in Fiora first. Captain June (of the Buttercup squad) advocates for Fiora to have a spot at the academy the loudest. And Captain Silvius (of the Clover squad) ends up teaching her the most, in that he has useful techniques to work through her specific fears. Together, sharing the weight of responsibility, the three captains lift her up.
Outside the book, Fiora’s biggest supporter was my editor, who loved seeing a hero who wasn’t conventionally “beautiful” or slender, who made a lot of mistakes, but who had a compassionate heart and a kickbutt fighting spirit. After I had been in Fiora’s head for years as I developed, wrote, and revised this manuscript, it was so lovely to be able to see Fiora fresh through my editor’s eyes—and to realize what a passionate advocate Fiora had at the publisher!
Why do you think some young people can show such resilience, strength, and courage during difficult life situations; sometimes even more than the adults in their lives?
Young people often have the energy, optimism, and grit to push straight through difficult situations—and burst through to the other side. I tried to show the different ways that could manifest in the Thistle squad. After a lonely and sad childhood, Mel channels her resolve into becoming the best fighter of the group—her toughness becomes physical. Onyx shows his strength in his mental acuity, always studying and strategizing so that he can always have the upper hand. Cameron’s courage is most evident in his compassion and his faith that people are inherently good, despite what he’s been through. And Fiora’s mettle comes from her sense of justice. I love that I’m able to portray their resilience in different ways.
What do you think Fiora is doing at the present time?
At any given moment, Fiora’s probably either sewing (if she’s feeling the need to unwind) or training to fight her sorcerer tyrants (if she’s feeling ambitious).
SEASON #ONE (2016-2017)
SEASON #SIX (Summer 2019)
Interview #122 with Tamara Bundy (Author of Pixie Pushes On)
Interview #123 with Lindsay Lackey (Author of All the Impossible Things)
Interview #124 with Tae Keller (Author of When You Trap a Tiger)
Interview #125 with Jamie Sumner (Author of Roll With It)
Interview #126 with Hena Khan (Author of More to the Story)
Interview #127 with Phil Bildner (Author of A High-Five for Glenn Burke)
Interview #128 with Leslie Connor (Author of A Home for Goddesses and Dogs)
Interview#129 with Gillian McDunn (Author of Queen Bee and Me)
Interview #130 with Jody J. Little (Author of Worse Than Weird)
Interview #131 with Jenn Bishop (Author of Things You Can't Say)
Interview #132 with Kaela Noel (Author of Coo)
Interview #133 with Rebecca Stead (Author of The List of Things That Will Not Change)
Interview #134 with Gae Polisner (Author of Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me)
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Interview #136 with Joy McCullough (Author of A Field Guide to Getting Lost)
Interview #137 with Kim Baker (Author of the Water Bears)
Interview #138 with Erin Entrada Kelly (Author of We Dream of Space)
Interview #139 with Jess Redman (Author of Quintessence)
Interview #140 with Melanie Conklin (Author of Every Missing Piece)
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Interview #158 with Rebecca Ansari (Author of The In-Between)
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Interview #160 with Tracy Holczer (Author of Brave in the Woods)
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Interview #162 with Marcella Pixley (Author of Trowbridge Road)
Interview #163 with Barbara O'Connor (Author of Halfway to Harmony)
Interview #164 with Alan Gratz (Author of Ground Zero)
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Interview #200 with Chad Lucas (Author of Thanks a Lot, Universe)
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Interview #203 with Leslie Connor (Author of Anybody Here Seen Frenchie?)
Interview #204 with Caroline Gertler (Author of Many Points of Me)
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Interview #206 with Shawn Peters (Author of The Unforgettable Logan Foster)
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Interview #210 with Brenda Woods (Author of When Winter Robeson Came)
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Interview #215 with Lauren Wolk (Author of My Own Lightning)
Interview #216 with Rebekah Lowell (Author of the Road to After)
Interview #217 with Gillian McDunn (Author of Honestly Elliott)
Interview #218 with Dan Gemeinhart (Author of The Midnight Children)
Interview #219 with Melanie Conklin (Author of A Perfect Mistake)
Interview #220 with Kyle Lukoff (Author of Different Kinds of Fruit)
Interview #221 with Tracy Edward Wymer (Author of The Great and Mighty Benjamin Teller)
Interview #222 with Louise Hawes (Author of Big Rig)
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Interview #224 with Shannon Doleski (Author of Gabe in the After)
Interview #225 with Jennifer Ziegler (Author of Worser)
Interview #226 with Natalie Lloyd (Author of Hummingbird)
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Interview #227 with Celia C. Perez (Author of Tumble
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Interview #229 with Rob Buyea (Author of The Daredevils)
Interview #230 with Sashi Kaufman (Author of Sardines)
Interview #231 with Lindsey Stoddard (Author of The Real Deal)
Interview #232 with Margaret Finnegan (Author of New Kids and Underdogs)
Interterview #233 with Amanda Rawson Hill (Author of The Hope of Elephants)
Interview #234 with Jasmine Warga (Author of A Rover's Story)
SEASON #FIFTEEN (Winter/Spring 2023)
Interview #235 with Varsha Bajaj (Author of Thirst)
Interview #236 with Torrey Maldonado (Author of Hands)
Interview #237 with C.C. Harrington (Author of Wildoak)
Interview #238 with Margi Preus (Author of Windswept)
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Interview #241 with Anika Fajardo (Author of Meet Me Halfway)
Interview #250 with Sally J. Pla (Author of The Fire, The Water, and Maudie McGinn)
Interview #251 with Chris Baron (Author of The Gray)
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Interview #253 with Sarah Everett (Author of The Probability of Everything)
Interview #254 with Andrea Beatriz Arango (Author of Something Like Home)
Interview #255 with H.M. Bouwman (Author of Gossamer Summer)
Interview #256 with Kaija Langley (Author of The Order of Things)
Interview #257 with Elaine Vickers (Author of Half Moon Summer)
Interview #258 with John Gaspard (Author of The Curious Mysteries of Eli Marks)
Interview #259 with Dana Kramaroff (Author of The Do More Club)
Interview #260 with Jessica Vitalis (Author of Coyote Queen)
Interview #261 with Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko (Authors of Dog Town)
SEASON #SEVENTEEN (Winter/Spring 2024)
Interview #262 with Chad Morris and Shelly Brown (Authors of The Wild Journey of Juniper Berry)
Interview #263 with Anne Ursu (Author of Not Quite a Ghost)
Interview #264 with Erin Soderberg Downing (Author of Just Keep Walking)
Interview #265 With Kate Albus (Author of Nothing Else But Miracles)
Interview #266 with Robin Gow (Author of Dear Mothman)
Interview #267 with Toni Buzzeo (Author of Light Comes to Shadow Mountain)
Interview #268 with John Schu (Author of Louder Than Hunger)
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Interview #289 with Maria Scivan (Author of Nat a Chance)
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Interview #291 with Lauren Wolk (Author of Candle Island)
Interview #292 with Allie Millington (Author of Once for Yes)
SEASON #TWENTY (Fall 2025)
