Interview with Karen McCoy, Author of The Etiquette of Voles
Welcome to Smack Dab, Karen! Please tell us about The Etiquette of Voles.
In Victorian England, a talking vole named Chains solves
mysteries to figure out why he can speak. His latest case, involving a missing
shipment fish, offers some hints from his past. But someone he thought he could
trust doesn’t want him to learn the truth, and Chains will have to decide if
knowing his origins is worth the danger it puts him in.
I was so intrigued by your decision to create Chains as a
talking vole. What drew you to that animal?
Actually, it was Chains who insisted he was a vole. He came
to me fully formed, demanding to be written down. I knew right away that his
name was Chains because of Charles Darwin’s misinterpreted “missing link”
theory and that he wanted to solve mysteries in order to eke out his own
origins. The development of the plot was centered mainly on that.
I’m a lifelong animal lover, and I’m a total sucker for the
relationships between animals and people. So of course I found the relationship
between Chains and Petunia deeply moving. How did you approach writing the
connection between a talking animal and a traumatized child?
I have always loved animals too and have found comfort
through them for most of my life. When Petunia found her way into the story, I
knew that she and Chains would have a special connection with their shared
trauma. My goal was to capture that feeling when you encounter someone who
really understands what you’ve been through because they’ve walked a similar
path. I wanted Chains to find comfort with Petunia, but want to protect her as
well. Petunia really came to life during my research into The Foundling Hospital
in London (a real place). There is beauty and pain in her scars, but I also
wanted to emphasize that while they are a part of her, they don’t outright
define her.
Historical fiction can be so tricky, because you can go
down that research rabbit hole and never emerge. What kind of research did you
do into 1890s London? How did you decide which details to include and what to
leave out? Any tidbit you had to cut and want to share here?
As a librarian, research is one of my love languages. I had
a wonderful time looking at old London maps, photographs, and newspapers. I
actually stumbled upon a physical newspaper at an antique store once! I collect
all my research in a folder on my computer that acts as a sub-folder to the
book content itself. I have often gone back and referred to primary source
documents and other research artifacts in the process of both drafting and
revising.
It was hard to know what to put in and what to leave out,
because all of it was so interesting! Ultimately, I had to go with what served
the overall story and leave out the details that were too far away from the
main narrative. I think one of my favorite tidbits was learning that Victorian
England had an issue with cloth piracy!
How did you come up with the Off-Railers organization? Did
it spring from real Victorian concerns about animal experimentation?
In my research, I happened across the Billingsgate Fish
Market and I was fascinated to learn more about how railroads took over a lot
of the inland trade. I also had a very clear vision of a smoke stack shaped
like a train whistle, and the Off-Railers name just kind of floated into my
head from there. And yes, a lot of my research did also spring from real
Victorian concerns about animal experimentation. While people at the time were
unfortunately more concerned about the overreach of science rather than animal
welfare itself, the rise of a process known as vivisection drew a lot of
attention to the issue.
Can you tell us a bit about your path to publication? In
your acknowledgments, you mention nearly giving up during "'close, but no
cigar' purgatory." What kept you going?
I’d say my publication journey has been pretty typical. I
started by writing book reviews for a couple library-centered publications, and
then I wrote a nonfiction book chapter, and a feature article in a magazine,
all before I had my first short story published. I thought for years that I was
a Young Adult author, until, very late in the process, I figured out that my
voice was much more suited for the Middle Grade space. While I have a few other
Middle Grade books drafted and revised, The Etiquette of Voles is
my first published novel.
I got my first full manuscript from an agent in 2014 and
kind of remained in that space for…a minute, all while drafting and revising
other projects. What kept me going was my writing community for sure. There
were times I really did question whether I was good enough to do this, and they
always reminded me that someday everything would make sense!
Every experience you have in life shapes you as a writer.
What impact did being a librarian have on crafting the book?
Being a youth services selector for a public library system
really taught me about pacing in middle grade stories, as well as what kinds of
stories kids were most interested in. It really helped me get into the right
headspace so that my middle grade voice could be as relatable as possible.
What
message do you hope young readers take away about finding their place in the
world?
That no one needs to feel like they’re invisible or that
they don’t deserve to take up space. That fitting in and acceptance are two
different things. And even if you don’t “fit in” to any particular group, it
doesn’t mean you don’t deserve love and belonging. Most importantly, you have a
right to be your true self, no matter what anyone else tells you.
What’s next?
I am currently writing the sequel to Etiquette of Voles! It is a lot of fun.
Where can we find you?
Website: https://karenbmccoy.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karenmccoybooks
Instagram: @karenmccoybooks
Threads: @karemccoybooks
BlueSky: @karenbmccoy.bsky.social
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