Pages & Co by Anna James
How many of us have dreamed of stepping into the pages of a favourite book or meeting a fictional character? When Anna James created her series, she spoke to the heart of book lovers everywhere. Read on for a glimpse into Anna’s processes.
When I started writing Pages & Co I had no idea it would become a trilogy, and when the first book came out in 2018 I had no idea it would end up as a six book series. I am wildly grateful that my publisher wanted three books and then that readers and booksellers and librarians have enjoyed the books enough that there was appetite for three more, however it did have an impact on how I approached plotting and world-building. At times I felt like I was doing a high-wire walk where I wasn’t quite sure where the other end of the wire was attached.
This brought challenges but also so much opportunity for creativity and playfulness – I don’t think the series would’ve ended up where it did if I’d always known there would be six books and I am so proud of where it finished. The Last Bookwanderer ends up in the world of myths and legends as a way to explore why humans tell stories, but also gave me an opportunity to play with the foundational rules of bookwandering itself.
But I must confess that I’m hiding behind evolving and uncertain book deals, because the truth of the matter is that I am, to my very soul, a pantser not a plotter. A bold choice when it comes to writing fantasy you might say, but it has proven not so much to be a choice as the only way I can write books. Even though it has led to many (many) crises of world-building particulars, it has also led to some of my absolute favourite elements of bookwandering. The Quip – a book smuggling train that travels through imagination – came about in the moment, as did a cameo from F. Scott Fitzgerald and a twist of fate that comes right at the end of The Last Bookwanderer that I can’t imagine the series without.
I love the process of finding out what book I’m trying to write, what I’m trying to say to young readers, and who I am as a writer. I have some broad plot points going into a book but the joy is in working out how they fit together. While consistent and cohesive world-building is obviously incredibly important, I will always prioritise story and how something makes you feel. If I need to do a little fudging to make a scene happen that is exciting and inspiring and important then that’s always the call I’ll make rather than an un-fudged but more boring choice. I try to remember what I wanted, and still want, from fantasy books and let that lead me, even when I need to do a little panicked loophole weaving..!
I have loved crafting the world and rules of bookwandering, but once I knew that The Last Bookwanderer was the end (from writing book four onwards), I knew the emotional beat of where I wanted to finish – that maybe we need less rules rather than more when it comes to reading and imagination. Over the years, I have had many children ask me how they would know if they were a bookwanderer and the only place to finish the series was making it very clear that all readers are bookwanderers, and wielders of the magic of imagination.
