Author Interview – Kalyn Josephson – THE GRIMLORE GAME

Kit Devlin knows her family is cursed. Every three years someone dies like clockwork, and the Devlins do what they do best: scheme, gossip, and look out for themselves. So when wealthy Grandpa Amos dies and the whole family descends on Grimlore Manor expecting an inheritance, Kit isn’t surprised by the drama… but what she doesn’t expect is a game: instead of a straightforward will, Amos has left behind a series of riddles, puzzles, and magical tests. Whoever solves them first will inherit his fortune.

But Grimlore Manor has secrets of its own: hidden rooms, curse creatures, enchanted clues, and a crimson-eyed cat named Carmine who only seems willing to talk to Kit (well, mostly to insult her). As the game turns more dangerous, Kit realizes the puzzles are not just about winning money, and that they may be the key to finally understanding the Devlin family curse, the truth about her parents, and her own mysterious connection to magic. To survive, she’ll have to outsmart her scheming relatives, team up with an anxious cousin who may be hiding secrets of his own, and solve the mystery at the heart of Grimlore Manor before the curse strikes again.

Kalyn Josephson is a major voice in children’s fantasy – her Ravenfall series was a New York Times bestseller and was nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Middle Grade & Children’s Book. She is also the author of the Storm Crow duology, the This Dark Descent duology, and other acclaimed fantasy titles for young readers and teens.

Family curses can’t really be real….can they?

I guess that depends on what you define as a curse! Do curses have to be magical? Can they be inherited? How many paragraphs can I spend equating curses to the ways things like grief echo across generations? As for magical curses, well, as a middle grade author I have a healthy belief in magic.

It is refreshing to know that I’m not the only one with…ahem…personalities in my extended family. Without possibly offending your family members, how did you come up with delightfully quirky Devlin extended family characters?

Funnily enough, I didn’t draw inspiration from anyone in my family when designing the Devlins. Rather, I focused on how to make each character in this sprawling cast unique, which let me focus on some fun, out-of-the-box character traits that would help them stick in readers’ minds.

I like to think there can’t possibly be any new puzzles and riddles that we haven’t thought of already, but The Grimlore Game had some fun ones in them. What was your inspiration for creating these?

I got a lot of help from a friend, who wrote me a whole dissertation on the types and styles of puzzles I could draw from. Then I set about coming up with puzzles of those type that fit the themes and characters of Grimlore, so that they would be both action-packed and effective at driving the characters’ journeys forward.

Same with the gothic manor. This one was delightfully creepy, especially at the end in the (spoiler alert) room with the (spoiler alert). I can’t say I’ve been in a ton of gothic manors, but maybe you drew your inspiration for creating this house from somewhere in particular?

A lot of Grimlore and the larger setting was inspired by my trips to Scotland, in particular Edinburgh, which has a lot of beautiful Gothic architecture. Traveling about the UK, I also got the opportunity to stay in a lot of old manor homes that had been converted to hotels and B&Bs, so I definitely pulled from those when designing Grimlore.

I’m going to be honest and tell you that all the cats I’ve ever met are evil. Yet Carmine, the cat in the book, cooks and cleans! I’m guessing you’ve never met a cat because Carmine is too good to be true. You said in your author note he popped into your head immediately. How did that happen? 🙂

All of my books have magical cats in them that turn out to be something else. As a kid raised with cats, it bothered me how cats were always the bad guys in media. I wanted to shift the perception of cats as cold and standoffish (and evil!), so I decided that if I ever got published, my books would have cats that everyone loves, and which reflect the cats I’ve known in my life. Carmine is largely inspired by my cat Snags, whereas Max from the Ravenfall series is inspired by my cat El.

What was the most fun and most challenging part of writing this book?

Definitely the puzzles. Coming up with them hurt my brain! But it was also such a fun creative exercise.

What are some of your favorite middle grade novels and why do you like them so much?

I adore the magic, humor, and adventure in Bashir Boutros and the Jewel of the Nile by George Jreije, as well as the heartbreaking and heartwarming story of family in Alyssa Colman’s Where Only Storms Grow.

Now that this book is out in the world, what are some next steps for you?

Grimlore will have two sequels, which will be released very shortly after book 1! Look out for book 2 in May 2027.

Is there anything else you want to share about The Grimlore Game for our audience of teachers, librarians, and middle grade authors?

One of my favorite elements of the series is the different types of “games” I get to explore. For example, book 2 is a treasure hunt!

Ben Boche

Ben Boche has tried to get himself locked in a museum overnight several times but keeps getting caught. Therefore he has to spend his time doing other things, primarily teaching children's literature at the university-level and writing middle grade adventures. He's at his happiest when reading, so please be quiet and leave him alone. :-)