Today we are very excited to share an interview with Author Michelle Knudsen! (Into the Wild Magic)!
Meet the Author: Michelle Knudsen
Michelle Knudsen is a New York Times best-selling author of more than 50 books for young readers, including the award-winning picture book Library Lion (Time magazine’s 100 Best Children’s Books of All Time) and the novels The Dragon of Trelian (Kids’ Indie Next List; VOYA Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers) and Evil Librarian (YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults; Sid Fleischman Humor Award). She also sometimes writes short stories for older readers, one of which (“The Pigeon,” Drabblecast 476) was a 2023 BSFA finalist for best audio fiction. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with three humans, two cats, and one snake.
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About the Book: Into the Wild Magic
Every day at recess, eleven-year-old Bevvy heads for the shade of her favorite tree—a safe space where she can avoid the other kids and escape into her fantasy books. When she finds a new girl sitting in her spot one afternoon, Bevvy wonders if she might finally have found a friend. But Cat is not exactly friendly. She even starts a fight with Bevvy’s worst enemy and then abandons her to face the consequences.
Later, Cat’s apology is cut short when a strange car rolls up. Cat tells Bevvy to run, drags her into the woods, and then opens a kind of doorway . . . in the air. Bevvy knows magic when she sees it, but this isn’t like one of her books. The world they escape to—teeming with strange creatures, spellcasters, and dragons—is shockingly real. It’s a world at war, with those who wield wild magic battling dark sorcerers.
Bevvy soon discovers that she has her own connection to the wild magic as both girls get caught up in the struggle. But Cat is keeping many secrets. With so much at stake, can Bevvy trust that Cat is truly a friend? And can she trust herself with her newfound power?
New York Times best-selling author Michelle Knudsen invites readers into an exhilarating world where magic and monsters are real, and friendship and risk go hand in hand.
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~Author Chat~
YABC: What inspired you to write this book?
Into the Wild Magic was one of those books that came together gradually for me. Sometimes I have a “big picture” idea that sparks a story (e.g., What if a lion came to the library? What if an egg in a school science experiment hatched into a baby dragon instead of a chick?) but other times, I start with just a scene or a character and figure out the story as I go along. For this book, I had the initial scene where Bevvy and Cat meet in the schoolyard. I didn’t know very much about them yet, but I could hear Bevvy’s voice very clearly, and I knew Cat had some very serious secrets (even if I didn’t yet know what they were). I liked both girls so much from the start, and I knew I wanted their friendship to be at the heart of the story. But I also knew I wanted there to be a lot of magic and adventure (and dragons!) since those are some of my favorite things to write about.
YABC: What scene in the book are you most proud of, and why?
There’s a scene in chapter 7 that I especially love. I don’t want to give too much away, so I’ll just say it’s a scene where Bevvy is feeling really homesick and Cat tries to make her feel better in a way that surprises everyone. I love the interaction between Bevvy and Cat in that scene—I think we can see them getting to know each other better and see their developing friendship taking another step forward. And I love the moment where Billie (the dog) meets the newcomer in that scene, and that there’s a lot of varying emotion that feels very real in the moment to me (sadness, compassion, shock, concern, silliness and laughter). It also ended up being an important moment for Cat in terms of understanding her magic, but neither of us realized it at the time!
YABC: Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned as a writer from then to now?
I think the most important thing I’ve learned as a writer is that there is always more to learn. Some things definitely get easier with experience—you can learn strategies that work for you in terms of getting into the right headspace for writing, or how to deal with tricky parts of the writing process, or how to approach revision. But every story is different and comes with its own challenges. I’ve learned (and am still learning!) that it’s best to be flexible and that if something I’ve tried in the past isn’t working, then it just means I need to experiment to find out what will work this time around.
YABC: What do you like most about the cover of the book?
Everything! Illustrator Jen Bricking did such a beautiful job on the cover. I love the way she drew Bevvy and Cat, I love the gorgeous, majestic tree, I love the swirls of magical energy coming from Cat’s outstretched hand, the delicate feet of the fox, the expression on the kitten’s adorable little face.
YABC: What is the main message or lesson you want your reader to remember from this book?
I don’t try to put “lessons” in my books, but I do write about things that are important to me. Often those things involve relationships between people and ideas about friendship—what it means to care about someone and how to be a good friend. In this book, Bevvy also has to figure out how to balance being a friend with standing up for what she believes in. She struggles a lot with self doubt, and so it’s sometimes hard for her to trust herself. If any of my readers struggle with similar feelings, I hope accompanying Bevvy on her journey might help them a little bit in their own.
YABC: Do you have a playlist you listened to while writing?
I do! I don’t usually write to music when working on picture books, but for novels I often listen while writing and/or while going for walks and trying to work out plot or character elements. It’s different for every book, but I try to find music that captures the feeling of the story for me. For Into the Wild Magic, a lot of it was music that felt exciting and adventure-y and magical (like “Echo” by Dima Lancaster or “Emperor’s New Clothes” by Panic! At the Disco). There were also some songs that made me think about resilience and inner strength (like “Champion” by Bishop Briggs and “Feet Don’t Fail Me Now” by Neoni). And some songs that just felt right for the book even though I wasn’t sure why (like “Sirens” by Bear Ghost).
YABC: How do you cope with criticism from editors or the public?
Editors don’t generally provide criticism; their notes are aimed at helping the author to make the story the best that it can be. My editor on this book (and many of my other books!) was the wonderful Sarah Ketchersid at Candlewick Press, and I value her insights and suggestions so much because they really help me see where I can strengthen the story and what might not be working in the manuscript. Sure, I always secretly hope that she’ll read my first draft and tell me it’s TOTALLY PERFECT and there’s nothing I need to fix. (That never happens.) But at the same time, I know that so many great things happen during the revision process, and so I look forward to reading her questions and notes and getting the chance to go deeper into the story and characters and make the book as good as I can possibly make it.
Criticism from the public is harder, because they’re pointing out what they like or don’t like about a finished piece of work. I do my best never to read reviews on Amazon or Goodreads, because I think those spaces are for readers, not for authors. Also, while I know it’s just natural that not every book is for every reader (there are certainly books other people love that just aren’t my cup of tea, and sometimes I love books that my friends don’t like at all) . . . I know it will make me sad if I read a review from someone who didn’t like my book. So I stay away from those, and I only read professional trade reviews (like from Publishers Weekly or Kirkus). Not that trade reviews can’t also hurt my feelings if they don’t like my book! But they tend to be more objective and less personal than reader reviews. And there are only a few of them.
YABC: What’s up next for you?
My next book is CURSED PRINCESS CLUB: A MOST UNUSUAL PRINCESS, which comes out on November 25! It’s a young adult novel adaptation of the fabulous Cursed Princess Club graphic novel by LambCat. I’m working on CPC book two right now, which will come out in the spring. I’m also working on some new picture book ideas and an idea for a new middle grade fantasy series.
Title: Into the Wild Magic
Author: Michelle Knudsen
Illustrator: (cover) Jen Bricking
Release Date: Aug 19, 2025
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Genre: Fantasy
Age Range: 9-12
