Liz Kessler introduces Valley of the Vikings, a new Emily Windsnap adventure

About Author

Valley of the Vikings features Viking gods, crystals and a 1,000-year-old curse. We find out more from author Liz Kessler.

Liz is the author of over 20 books for children and young adults, including the internationally best-selling Emily Windsnap adventures. She has an MA in Novel Writing from Manchester Metropolitan University and has been a full-time author for the last 20 years. She lives with her wife and their dog in rural Cheshire.

Website / X @lizkesslerbooks

Interview

Liz Kessler introduces Valley of the Vikings, a new Emily Windsnap adventure

Liz Kessler has returned to her internationally best-selling series about half-mermaid Emily Windsnap in Valley of the Vikings, a stand-alone story about gods, environmental destruction and a 1,000-year-old curse....

ReadingZone finds out what inspired Liz Kessler's new adventure, where she went to research the Vikings for this novel, and how she would inspire young writers in creating their own 'Emily Windsnap' character.

Q&A with Liz Kessler

Who is Emily Windsnap, what inspired her Viking adventure, plus a creative challenge for young writers

"Whether I'm writing about mermaids, fairies, time travel or World War Two, there are always underlying themes
of bravery, community, friendship, family and social justice." Liz Kessler

1. Hello Liz, thank you so much for joining us on ReadingZone. Can you tell us a little about the kinds of stories you enjoy writing, and how important the Emily Windsnap adventures have been to you?

Hi, and thanks for having me! I enjoy writing a wide range of stories, although they do often have similar themes. Whether I'm writing about mermaids, fairies, time travel or World War Two, there are always underlying themes of bravery, community, friendship, family and social justice.

The Emily Windsnap series has been a huge part of my life for over 20 years and the books - and characters - mean SO much to me. Because of Emily, I've travelled to many different places, from Cornwall to Norway, and from Bermuda to a pirate ship in the Canaries, to research the books. Emily is like the braver, stronger, more fun and more daring part of me and I have absolutely loved writing all ten books about her and her friends.

2. Please introduce us to your Emily Windsnap character, for those who haven't read the stories, and tell us what has driven her earlier adventures?

Emily Windsnap is an ordinary girl who happens to find out, in a school swimming lesson, that when she goes in water she becomes a mermaid. Previous adventures have seen her get into scrapes with sea monsters, pirates, baddies in the frozen arctic and Neptune himself. She is driven by her strong desire to stand up for what she believes in, to enjoy life with her family and, above all, to have adventures with her friends.

3. Why did you decide to return for another adventure with Emily Windsnap, and what happens in Valley of the Vikings? Did you know how the story was going to unfold when you sat down to write it?

I had this idea that it would be pretty cool (or 'swishy' to use Emily's language) to have a tenth book to celebrate 20 years of the series. The inspiration came from a mixture of things that I came across over several months: Viking stories, the mysterious underwater Bimini Road, and a Damien Hirst exhibition about 'lost' treasures from deep down in the ocean. At first, it was a case of trying to figure out how all the different elements might fit together, but I am a huge plotter, so by the time I started the actual writing, I knew exactly what was going to happen.

Valley of the Vikings is set near the magical Halflight Castle in the middle of the ocean. A crack under the sea has formed, where two tectonic plates meet. A thousand years ago, Thor and Neptune had a terrible argument over this area and a Viking ship and all its crew were lost. Emily and her friends discover that the Vikings are still alive, on a magical island that only they can reach. Once they have found them, they have to convince Neptune and Thor to lay down their weapons and help repair the ocean bed before a disaster on a global scale never seen before occurs.

4. Why did you decide to bring the Vikings into this story, and what kinds of Viking mythology have you included? How much research into Vikings did you need to do?

I had been thinking about Vikings for a while. I thought, well, we've had pirates, and we've been into the future, so how about we go into the past and have some fun with Vikings! I did a LOT of research, reading all sorts of books on Viking mythology, watching several seasons of Viking programmes, visiting castles and caves and many areas, particularly in the North East, with a strong Viking history.

5. In the novel, Emily meets Neptune, Odin and even Loki. Which Viking god would you enjoy meeting, and how would you envisage getting to them?

Ha. Well, it would have to be Neptune really, as I've written about him for the last 20 years. I'd travel to one of his grand palaces carried along on the back of a dolphin!

6. What is your favourite moment in Valley of the Vikings?

The scene at the end when Emily tells Neptune and Thor that they need to recognise that their reign is over and it's time to lay down their weapons and hand over power to the younger generation. This is one of my favourite moments in the whole series and I feel privileged that I got to write it!

7. Valley of the Vikings is a very exciting adventure, but there are bigger themes here about power, leadership and the environment. Do these follow on from themes in the earlier Emily Windsnap series? What kinds of discussions would you like Valley of the Vikings to help inspire?

They absolutely follow on from themes that are threaded throughout the series. I'd love to see discussions taking place about the environment and our role in preserving the planet's future; about how communities who at first sight might seem very different learn to live together and accept and respect each other; about different ways to lead, and about how we stand up for what we believe in.

8. Are you planning any further adventures for Emily Windsnap? What are you writing currently?

I have thought I've finished the series many times already, so I have given up saying whether it's over or not, as Emily has a way of coming back to surprise me! At the moment, I'm working on something very different, but that's all I can say for now.

9. If readers enjoy Valley of the Vikings, which of your other books or series might they also enjoy reading?

If readers enjoy Valley of the Vikings and it's their first Emily Windsnap book, I'd say, go back to the beginning with The Tail of Emily Windsnap and work your way through the other nine books in the series!

10. We love all Emily Windsnap's adventures, but what has been your biggest real life adventure so far? Do these adventures and places help inspire new stories?

I think my favourite adventure was spending a week driving up the Pacific Coast Highway. We saw so many wonderful sights, including sea otters, elephant seals and humpback whales, and it was just a beautiful trip. My other favourite was a cruise around the fjords of Norway, which was just magical. And yes, pretty much every place I travel to inspires a new story!

Creative Challenge: Emily Windsnap is half human, half mermaid. How would you encourage young writers to imagine
they could be partly mythical, and to write a descriptive paragraph about it?

Start with the opening paragraph of The Tail of Emily Windsnap.

'Can you keep a secret? I know everyone has secrets but mine's different. Kind of weird. Sometimes I have nightmares where I get found out and locked up in a zoo or a scientist's laboratory.'

Begin your story with this same paragraph and see where it takes YOU.

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