Fantasy Authors Laura E. Weymouth and Margaret Rogerson on Subverted Myths, Favorite Poems, and the Fair Folk

Laura E. Weymouth: When asked who I’d be interested in doing an author Q&A with, I immediately thought of you, Margaret—your gorgeous debut, An Enchantment of Ravens, was easily my favorite book of 2017. It’s such a beautiful, finely drawn, and dangerous portrayal of the fae realm—I just love everything about it. And we’re both currently writing fairly literary standalone fantasies, so there’s a fair bit of crossover in our books, even when subject matter differs! Since you’re the guest, would you like to start us off?
Margaret Rogerson: Thank you, Laura! It’s amazing that we’re such huge fans of each other’s books. Anyone who’s seen me talk about The Light Between Worlds in person knows that I start crying every time I recommend it, because it means so much to me.
As a lover of fairy tales, one thing I adore about The Light Between Worlds is that in many ways it feels like a retold and subverted myth, since the Chronicles of Narnia is so deeply entrenched in our cultural imagination. And though I loved the Narnia series as a middle grade reader, The Light Between Worlds is what I needed so badly as a teenager that I wish I could time travel and hand a copy of it to my younger self. How did you find the experience of drawing inspiration from a classic while also writing for a new audience, and also perhaps, on a more personal level, yourself?
Weymouth: I’ve loved the Chronicles of Narnia ever since I was a kid, and as a teen read the rest of Lewis’s fiction and nonfiction, as well as his collected letters. So I’m a little bit of a C.S. Lewisphile (that’s definitely a thing now). That being said, as I got older and more able to engage critically with what I read, I started to recognize the aspects of Lewis’s work (and particularly the Narnia books) that haven’t worn as well. So when beginning The Light Between Worlds, I wanted to both write a story that clearly references classic portal fantasies like Narnia, but that stands on its own and either avoids or directly addresses some of the pitfalls inherent in the source I reference. It was important to me to come up with a book that would feel fulfilling to both those members of my readership who’ve also read and loved the Narnia books, and those who haven’t or who didn’t care for them. And of course I had to work around copyrights as well! Essentially my goal was to end up with a book that would speak to that longing all lovers of fantasy share, which is to be able to step away from our own world sometimes, even if it’s only in the pages of a book.
And on that note, one of my favorite aspects of An Enchantment of Ravens is how you wrote about the fae realm in a way that really preserves the element of danger inherent in the fae. It feels so otherworldly and perilous and like a total throwback to the old fairytales and myths I love to read. Can you talk a little about your research for Enchantment and how you went about creating your particular iteration of the fae realm?
Rogerson: I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I didn’t do any research for the fair folk in Enchantment. But I’ve always loved fairy folklore, and have read a lot about it owing to a weird lifelong obsession that I think might have started with Goethe’s poem Erlkönig, which I remember being completely freaked out by as a kid. When it came to Enchantment‘s worldbuilding, I used what I already knew combined with some of my own ideas. For example, the idea of the fair folk being unable to create, or perform Craft, was inspired by the old practice of using bread to repel fairies. I’m so glad you found their depiction otherworldly—that was my main goal, giving them a traditional feel even when I diverged from real folklore.
Speaking of poems, I was blown away by how you used poetry to such great effect in The Light Between Worlds. Did you always know that you were going to feature poetry, or did it creep in organically while you were writing? I’d love to hear about where it came from and its importance to the story.

Weymouth: Oh, gosh, our kid selves would have made such great, weird, poetry-loving friends. My intro to poetry was Tennyson—I went through a period of time when I read anything Arthurian in nature, and discovered “Idylls of the King.” That led to a lifelong love of poetry. Emily Dickinson and Sara Teasdale, who are both quoted fairly often by Ev in The Light Between Worlds, are poets I was already very familiar with. And before I even started writing Light, I *loved* Dickinson’s little poem that starts out “I lost a world the other day/Has anybody found?” I knew from before I wrote the first word of The Light Between Worlds that “I lost a world” would make it into the book. And once I decided to include one poem, that just sort of opened the floodgates to include all sorts of other poetry, and create a bit of a cultural exchange between Evelyn and Georgie and Max, as Ev shares her favorite white women poets with Georgie and Max, and they share their favorite Black women poets with her. It honestly felt a bit like breaking the rules, putting so much poetry and artwork into the book, but I was at a stage where I felt ready to throw the playbook out of the window and write whatever made me happy. And poetry makes me happy!
Since I’ve mentioned artwork, let’s talk a bit about that—Isobel in An Enchantment of Ravens is a portrait painter. From the very first line of the book, we get such a visceral sense of her art (or Craft, I should say)—of how it’s a vital aspect of life to her. What led you to make Isobel a painter? How did you go about bringing realism to her use of her Craft, and how did that aspect of Isobel’s character shape the narrative as you wrote?
Rogerson: If that counts as breaking the rules, I’m really glad you did. I remember that Dickinson poem making me cry like a baby while I was reading!
And good question! I made Isobel an artist because I knew that whatever Craft I gave her, it needed to be something I could write about with genuine passion, because it’s the heart of the book. So that ended up being an easy choice—I’m an artist, and have experience with portrait art. Like her, I wouldn’t give up my art for anything. As I was finishing my outline, I realized that I had shaped the story’s themes around my struggle with depression and how it threatens my ability to feel and to create. Understanding that was essential to figuring out my take on the fair folk, particularly the antagonist, the Alder King, and how Isobel defeats him in the end.

Laura: Oh, that’s so fascinating! I didn’t pick up on the Alder King as a metaphor for depression—I’ve been planning a reread and I’ll definitely keep an eye out for that this time around. Before we go, we’ve talked about The Light Between Worlds and An Enchantment of Ravens—can you tell me a bit about your upcoming sophomore novel, Sorcery of Thorns?
Margaret: I had so much fun, even though our questions ended up being so serious. I feel like maybe we should have asked each other our favorite flavor of Oreo, or something. (Mine is lemon, for the record.) Here’s a pitch for Sorcery:
Sorcery of Thorns is about an apprentice librarian named Elisabeth, who was raised as a foundling in a magical library where dangerous, sentient grimoires are kept under lock and key. When acts of sabotage on the libraries imperil the kingdom, she must team up with her natural enemy, a sorcerer, to unmask the culprit.
Laura: Aaaaah, that sounds FANTASTIC—I cannot WAIT to read it. And I’m a double stuf Oreo fan, but still twist them apart and stack two together to create a quadruple stuff monstrosity. You can never have too much cream, now can you?
The Light Between Worlds is on sale today.