Book Lists

Enter the magical land of Story in this sequel to Storybound, perfect for fans of Inkheart, The School for Good and Evil, and classic fantasy tales like Ella Enchanted and The Neverending Story. Kids who love fairy tales, dragons, magic, and more will be enchanted by Una Fairchild’s unforgettable adventure in Story’s End.

Story is a land of dashing Heroes, dastardly Villains, and epic quests—and once upon a time, a noble King. But the King vanished so long ago that even the memory of him is lost. Now a cruel Enemy plots to rewrite Story’s future, and an ordinary girl named Una Fairchild may be the only one who can stop him. As Una and her friends Peter and Indy race to defeat the Enemy, their quest will take them deep into the secrets of Story’s past . . . and Una’s own mysterious ties to this fairy-tale kingdom and its long-forgotten King.

Put your hands together folks and welcome the wonderful, the majestic, Marissa Burt!

Amie: I’m sure most of audience knows (and has read) your first book, Storybound. So tell us, what was different about writing your second published book than your first?

Marissa:  STORYBOUND was the first book I wrote, so I definitely had the luxury of working at my own pace. Between the time that the duology sold and when my draft of STORY’S END was due, I had a baby.  I wrote the second book while wrangling three boys under the age of four.  Needless to say, that period of time is all a blur.  Because of family responsibilities, I kept putting off my writing so I drafted STORY’S END evenings and weekends in the two months before my deadline and vowed to never do that again.

Content-wise, the book was challenging.  While I usually have a loose outline, I end up changing a lot of things during the writing process, which means a lot of big revisions at the end.  Happily, I have an outstanding editor who worked with me to make STORY’S END a cohesive sequel.  With your first book, you’re hoping someone will buy it, read it, and like it, but it was a nice change to have eager readers counting down to release day, just as I was.

Amie:  Having finished writing a sequel myself, I can attest that making sure everything is cohesive is the tricky part! Who is your favorite middle-grade book character and why?

Marissa: It will always be Anne Shirley for me.  I love her so, and I am such a fan of all of LM Montgomery’s work that I re-read most of them annually.  Runner-ups would have to go to Harriet the Spy, Karana from ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS, and Solo from SOLO’S JOURNEY.

Amie: Ohhh! Good choice! What’s next on the docket for you?

Marissa:  I am working on revisions for my next book A SLIVER OF STARDUST, due out in fall 2015. It tells the story of eleven-year-old Wren Matthews who has always known she was weird.  Super-smart, happily solitary, and obsessed with astronomy, the only place Wren has ever fit in is at the regional homeschool conference.  But when a mysterious visitor appears and invites Wren and her long-time science-rival Simon Barker to join the ancient guild of magicians known as the Fiddlers, things get a whole lot weirder.  As apprentice Fiddlers, Wren and Simon have a lot to learn, but their ordinary stardust lessons are soon overshadowed by tainted legends of Mother Goose, battling alchemists, and dreams of the dangerous otherworld, the Land of Nod.

Amie: What an enticing premise! Can’t wait for it’s release!  Last question – candy canes or licorice?

Marissa:  Neither, I’m afraid.  I’m weirdly not a big candy person, though I do love the smell of peppermint.  So, if forced under duress to choose, I would take a candy cane.  🙂