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Back in January, I reviewed Savvy by Ingrid Law.  I’ve found that in the four months since I read Savvy, I have grown to be more fond of it, which is a good thing.  I mentioned in my book review that it was getting Newbery buzz and I was then thrilled when Savvy won a Newbery Honor.   Totally deserving.  It’s the type of book that blends enough reality with fun fantasy elements that will have kids and adults hooked.

I was super excited when I realized that Ingrid Law was going to be at the LA Times Festival of Books!  I even brought two copies of the book to get signed.  So then I was super bummed when I missed her panel and couldn’t find her signing at any other time.  So, so sad.  I would have loved to chat with her for a moment & get a photo as well.  So many authors there and I didn’t get to see half that I wanted to.

BUT I’ve got the next best thing: a fantastic interview with Ingrid today!  I’m thrilled to present another author who can claim a Newbery under their belt.  So please welcome Ingrid Law to the Maw Books Blog!

Maw Books:  You wrote Savvy in a relatively short amount of time (five months, I believe).  Was this a story that you had been thinking about writing about for awhile before you sat down to write it or did it just hit you with a force that you just had to get it all out?

Ingrid Law: I think of Savvy as a gift.  It came into creation so quickly and with so much excitement and love.  I had been submitting a different manuscript to agents for about six months but kept getting the usual “Dear Author” responses.  However, a couple of the agents who read the whole thing told me in personal notes that they like my writing and to send them future projects.  That boosted my confidence so much and made me realize I needed to start a “future project.”  I sat down to write Savvy without knowing a thing about what I wanted to write.  I decided to write the craziest sentence I could think of without judging it too much.  That sentence became the first sentence of Savvy and stayed the first sentence forever.  After that, the words just rolled out. I think it was a story that just wanted to be here. I just feel fortunate that I got to be the one to tell it.

Maw Books: I’d thought I’d share that first sentence with our readers:  “When my brother Fish turned thirteen, we moved to the deepest part of inland because of the hurricane and, of course, the fact that he’d caused it.”

What surprised you the most as you were writing Savvy? Did anything turn out different than what you intended or did any of your characters/story evolve on their/its own?

Ingrid Law: There were connections in the book to things that were happening for me through the writing process, connections I didn’t consciously recognize until after the book was in print and I had to start talking about it publicly.  That may sound strange, but sometimes I think we know things, yet don’t truly understand their impact until we talk them out.  As feelings become words they alter into concrete meanings.  The biggest example of this in Savvy is, while writing the book, I very consciously told myself to ignore any voices that popped into my head that whispered to me that it might not be good enough, that an idea might be too strange or weird, that told me not to trust myself and tell the story my own way.  Of course, it’s this very same thing that Mibs has to learn as well.  But I can’t remember making a conscious connection between these two things at the time.

Maw Books:  That is a fantastic lesson in follwing your own heart!  As a debut author, did you have the confidence or premonition that Savvy would do so well with readers and critics or were you taken completely by surprise with its reception?

Ingrid Law: Completely surprised!  I thought of it as such a little story.  Cozy and fun.  I knew it was quirky and had some unusual elements.  My sense of humor is usually one that comes out in mostly in my writing, but being a bit of a shy person, I wasn’t sure how other people would respond to it.  I’ve been really amazed and so incredibly thankful for the reception it has received.

Maw Books:  You say that if you could pick your own savvy, you would probably want to fly or breathe underwater.  I’d like to know more about that.  What about flying or breathing underwater would be cool to you?

Ingrid Law: I’m such an escapist and I love solitude.  Flying or breathing under water would allow me the ultimate escapes in beautiful, serene ways, into places where there aren’t a lot of people.  And both would feel weightless, which would be nice, being a fairly weighty person myself!

Maw Books:  I think I’d rather fly than breathe underwater.  Large bodies of water terrify me!  Where were you and what were you doing when ALA called to tell you that you Savvy received a Newbery Honor?  How did you react and what did you do to celebrate?

Ingrid Law: I was sitting in bed hoping that they would call, but not wanting to hope too hard so that I wouldn’t be too disappoint if they didn’t.  They called at about 6:55am.  I was playing a game on my iPod–one that keeps my mind focused when I’m anxious.  After the call, I immediately woke up my daughter to tell her, then cried for fifteen minutes (you would have thought that someone had died), called my family, talked to my fabulous editor, agent, and publishers.   To celebrate, first my daughter and I went and filled a shopping cart for the local food bank–spreading the good, you know?  Later, we had fondue dinner with some wonderful friends from Walden Media who were in town for ALA.

Maw Books:  I love hearing those stories!  Brandon Dorman, Savvy’s illustrator, is a BYU graduate – my alma mater. I loved this cover as soon as I laid eyes on it. After reading the book, I loved the cover even more. What was your reaction when you first saw the book cover of Savvy?  And likewise, what do you think about the other covers for the other editions.

Ingrid Law: Brandon is a genius!  I just got to meet him recently, too, and he’s such a great guy with a really beautiful family.  He is doing the cover of my next book as well and even the sketches are amazing.  I was over the moon when I saw his cover for Savvy.  But I’ve also loved seeing what other art departments for the foreign editions come up with.  In Finland, they used Brandon’s cover.  But the German, Dutch, and UK covers are all so different and interesting!  I can’t wait to see what kinds of covers appear in Korea or Croatia or China (not to mention Indonesia, Italy… am I missing any?).

Maw Books:  Savvy has been optioned for a feature film.  If you could control everything about the movie (ha!) who do you think would be the perfect actors/actresses to be cast into your characters roles?  And if somebody else were to write the screenplay, what would you say they weren’t allowed to change at all and something that you feel has a bit more of a creative license?

Ingrid Law: Oh, such a hard question about actors!  And I almost hate to say who I can imagine in the roles, because I know that if Walden Media does decide to greenlight the film, they will do a great job.  But…. since you asked. bI think Madeline Carroll might make a great Mibs, Luke Benward could match her well as Fish.  Rocket?  A younger, dark haired version of Zac Efron, maybe (he’s got to have those awesome blue eyes)… or maybe Ben Barnes (probably still too old)… who else? Bobbi?  I’m not sure.  Maybe Anna Sophia Robb?  Now you’ve got me thinking and having too much fun.  Someone like Robin Wright Penn, perhaps for Momma–but not quite so thin.  I don’t know!  I love to know what other people think, though.

Enough about actors.  The folks at Walden Media love Savvy and are very protective of the book, so I feel like it’s in good hands.  The screenplay is already close to done and I actually get to meet the screenwriter, Karen Janszen, in LA (or will have just met her when this interview goes up).  So, I’m excited about that.  In regard to changes, I’m doing my best to hold onto a kind of flexible open-mindedness for now. Rigidity makes things more fragile, right?  I am open to seeing what other people’s talents bring to the story.  But I do want it to have heart.

Maw Books:  I would see this movie the day it comes out!  This is a question that I ask every single author I interview and that’s to share a recipe with us – either a family favorite or a food that is featured in the book.  Later, I try to make the recipe and then blog about it.   In Savvy, Mibs wants the perfect cake for her birthday – a cake with pink and yellow frosting, and perfect sugar roses – which isn’t really asking for much since her mothers savvy is being perfect.  Are you the type of mom who would make a cake from scratch, out of a box or buy it from the store?  Do you have either a cake recipe or a family favorite that you could share with our readers?

Ingrid Law: Right now, I can barely manage ordering take out, I’m so busy.  A cake from scratch would be like climbing Everest.  My daughter’s birthday is at the end of the month.  I’ll be sure to buy her something beautiful and delicious.  For years, a dear friend always made my daughter’s cakes because she had mad cake skills!  I’ll make one now and then from a great gluten-free mix (I have a family member who needs this concession).  Then I’ll have fun decorating it.  But that’s pretty easy.

But a favorite family recipe?  I’ll give you a favorite pie recipe from when I was growing up, since Momma’s all about the pies…

Close to Perfect Chocolate Pie

Crust:
1 1/2 cups Nilla Wafer crumbs
6 Tbsp melted butter

Mix well and pat into pie pan. Chill for one hour (more or less) OR bake it at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

Filling:
Blend for a minute with a mixer or in a blender:
1 package INSTANT (don’t make the mistake and not get instant) vanilla pudding
1 package INSTANT chocolate pudding
1 1/2 cups milk

Now add one pint (2 cups) of softened vanilla ice cream and mix it into the pudding blend. Pour this into the crumb crust and chill for several hours. Top it with grated chocolate, mini chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, or whatever your heart desires! I tried whipped cream once, but it put it too far over the top!

Maw Books:  Whoa!  Sounds too easy and too delicious!  Now that you have a Newbery Honor under your belt, for your debut novel no less, do you feel the pressure when you sit down to write your second book?

Ingrid Law: Yes. I’m going bald.

But . . . since I probably should elaborate a bit (not about going bald, that’s not true–yet): I didn’t think about awards or accolades at all when I was writing Savvy. I just wrote it because I loved it.  With the next book, I’m not trying to out-do Savvy.  I think Savvy will always be the most special book to me, and maybe to everyone else as well, because it came first.  I’m happy to have the chance to write more about this crazy family tree.  But again, while writing, I’m just trying to tell a good story.  After the success of Savvy, I couldn’t ask for more.  I just hope that kids enjoy reading the new book.

Maw Books:  Tell us a bit about the new book that you are writing now, which is a companion novel to Savvy and when we can expect to see it hit bookstores?

Ingrid Law: My second book will come out next year–in summer, I think.  Savvy will be out in paperback next March.  I wish I could tell you the title of the next book, but it’s still being tossed around.  Anyway, yes, it is a companion to Savvy and is told from the perspective of an all new character–a cousin of the Beaumonts–Aunt Dinah’s oldest son, Ledge.  I felt that Mibs’s story had been well told for now, and didn’t want to simply plunk her down into a new adventure just because the book was popular.  Since the books are just as much about the inner journey as the outer, I was ready to explore a savvy birthday from the point of view of someone with different concerns–someone with different things to learn.  Plus, I liked the idea of switching to the POV of a boy character.  It’s been fun to create a new “savvy” voice.  For those people who may be going “Wait! What about all the characters I love?” do not fear.  There will be some familiar faces along the way… only they will be 8-9 years older!  Rocket will be there, as will Gypsy.  And Samson will–and won’t–be there as well. *Mwaa-ha-ha* More savvy-powered fun on the way…

Maw Books:  Argh!  Now you made me want to read it!  Thanks so much for joining us today!  It was fantastic!

Ingrid Law: Thank you, Natasha!

Ingrid Law’s website and blog.  Many thanks to Kidz Book Buzz for coordinating Ingrid’s blog tour!  Check out what other bloggers are saying about Savvy: A Christian Worldview of Fiction, All About Children’s Books, Becky’s Book Reviews, Booking Mama, Cafe of Dreams, Dolce Bellezza, Fireside Musings, Hyperbole, KidzBookBuzz.com, Looking Glass Reviews,  Never Jam Today, Olive Tree, Our Big Earth, The 160 Acrewoods, Through a Child’s Eyes.

Want your own copy of Savvy?  (And why wouldn’t you?!)  Check back tomorrow for a giveaway of Savvy.  Don’t miss it!  Now you must excuse me.  I have a pie that I must go bake . . .

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