Title: The Candle Forest

Author: SmokeAndOranges

Genre: Fantasy

Ten-year-old Stephanie-Ann is a quiet girl who tries es to fit in and keep a low profile in school. Her nose buried in a book whenever possible, she prefers the company of imaginary friends to human interaction. But she has a secret: The nights, she spends in her personal dreamland, the Candle Forest. Unfortunately this wonderful retreat is endangered. A sickness spreads and destroys more and more of the magical forest.

When Stephanie-Ann accidentally brings a candle whisp, a forest creature she saved from the blight, to school, her life gets complicated. Tula, the girl who is picked upon by the gang of class bullies led by Jayla, can see the candle wisp, and, even more surprising, knows what it is.

A reluctant friendship forms between Stephanie-Ann and Tula when they realise they both have access to the magical forest. To save their secret retreat, the two girls overcome their initial mistrust and throw their lots together.

But while Stephanie-Ann sticks with Tula in the magical forest, she keeps herself apart in the real world, risking their new and fragile friendship. Afraid her younger brother, Kristopher, who suffers from a speech impairment, will become an easy target once she gets noticed by the bullies in her class, Stephanie-Ann doesn't dare to stand up for Tula. 

She feels bad about her lack of courage, and her troubled mind keeps her from returning to the Candle Forest. Yet things get worse when Tula believes Stephanie-Ann has thrown in her lot with Jayla, the bully. 

If she doesn't want to lose her new friend and her beloved forest at the same time, Stephanie-Ann has to make up her mind and make a stand.

SmokeAndOranges gives us a well-paced middle grade adventure with a heroine who has to overcome her fears and flaws to save what's most precious to her. The characters of Stephanie-Ann and Tula are lovable and even the antagonist Jayla turns out to be more than just another bully. 

The story is suitable for children from eight, but older children and adults will enjoy this magical adventure — and perhaps be reminded of their own lost dream worlds and pay the candle forest a fleeting nightly visit.

Interview with the author

JT (jinnis): Hey August, glad to have you here for an interview. Congratulations on winning a honourable mention for your story The Candle Forest in the 2021 ONC. What does the ONC mean to you?

S&O (SmokeAndOranges ): The ONC is hands-down my favorite time of the writing year. To me, it's both a writing challenge and a community event. On the writing side, I use novellas to trial-run new genres, writing styles, ideas, and more, and the ONC gives me the structure and challenge I need to not spiral off down these rabbit holes. On the community side, I'm part of a writing group that uses the contest as an excuse to run events ranging from cross-promotion campaigns to read-a-thons (and to cheer each other on as we participate en masse). That community spirit makes my whole year.

JT: Where did you get the inspiration for this story, aside from the ONC prompt, of course?

S&O: I've actually had the idea for this novella sitting in my WIP folder since mid-May 2020, so the prompt was more of a fortuitous match than a primary inspiration! At the heart of it, I wanted to try my hand at Middlegrade/Children's Fiction. The specific concept came from my own experience in grade school: the magical idea of waking up to find that the world of your imagination has infiltrated your real life. I was a child who wished for that, so writing about it was an exercise in nostalgia.

JT: Do you write for children often?

S&O: This was my first time.

JT: What's special about children's literature for you?

S&O: Children, in my experience, see the world with unusual clarity. They notice many of the flaws that pervade our societies—even if they can't necessarily put words to them—but they're not yet entrenched in those systems the way adults tend to be. They also haven't yet lost the magic of imagination and the flexibility that comes with it. For both those reasons, I find that children's literature is able to boil the realities and insecurities we all face down to their most basic, human components, and then tap into solutions from that same compassionate perspective. When it's done well, the result is both an engaging story for young readers, and a powerful tool to address topics that adults have overcomplicated.

JT: I know that you write a wide variety of stories. Which genre is your personal favourite?

S&O: Dark Fantasy, haha. I dabble in almost all genres under the speculative fiction umbrella, but the bulk of my work is darker-themed Fantasy in the New-Adult to Adult range. Steampunk is a particular favorite of mine within that, but I'm partial to Fantasci and Epic Fantasy, too!

JT: Tell us something about your writing journey. Where did it begin?

S&O: It began with a collection of little creatures made of wire. I had dozens of imaginary worlds as a child. Around age nine, I started making figurines of made-up animals out of twist ties, pipe cleaners, and other scraps of wire, just for fun. These became characters, and their world grew exponentially, eclipsing all the others. It developed its own story somewhere along the way. At age fifteen, I finally decided to write that story down... I put pencil to paper on a book of my own for the first time, and I haven't stopped since.

JT: In your story The Candle Forest, the three protagonists all admire the book Dragons and other Fairy Tales and compare themselves to Amina and Jacqueline, the heroines of the book. Is this based on a real book or are you planning to write this story?

S&O: Dragons and other Fairy Tales is entirely made up, but to say it's invaded my brain would be putting it lightly. I decided shortly after finishing The Candle Forest that I wanted to write Dragons and other Fairy Tales as its own standalone, so it's in my writing queue now! I might even give that a shot for next year's ONC if the prompts fit.

JT: What do you hope children will take away from your story?

S&O: That differences between people are real, but that commonalities are stronger. That differential treatment is also real, and that it's something to stand up against, not ignore. And that friendship might take work and learning if someone is different from you, but that that work is worth it.

JT: What is one thing you want to achieve in the future?

S&O: To never stop writing, and never stop learning. I consider myself a serious hobbyist writing-wise, so I'm not bound by market forces: I want to keep broadening my genre and target-age spread, developing new skills on the fringes of it, and then coming back to apply what I learn to all my future books.

Less nebulously? I want to write more Children's Fiction. It's a good challenge, and it's fun!

JT: And last, do you have any tips for aspiring writers of children's fiction?

S&O: Let children teach you. Get to know them. Listen to them—and I mean actually listen. They are not tiny adults (even if they act like it sometimes), but they are people, with their own vibrant interests and worlds and beliefs and ways of existing. Their world is both our world and not, and if you have a window into it, your writing will be that much better for it.

Thank you for your answers and good luck with your writing!

(Review and Interview by jinnis)