Erin Morgenstern: Nights at the Circus

Self-professed author of 'fairy tales' Erin Morgenstern has written a brilliant first novel. The Night Circus is bewitching, magical, thrilling and intense - a wonderful period piece about two rival magicians locked in a competition neither of them can abandon despite their feelings for each other.

The scene is the titular Night Circus, where all, as is always the way, is not as it seems.

We caught up with Erin to talk about the book, its humble beginnings and whether magic exists...

> Hello Erin, what is the best magic trick you can do?

I can create people and places and things with various combinations of 26 letters. That's fairly impressive, isn't it? I'd like to learn card tricks but I'm not sure I'm coordinated enough.

> The Night Circus is packed with all the hallmarks of a great book: mystery, love, action and contortionists - what made you write it?

Shh, don't let too many people know that contortionists are a hallmark of a great book, I'd hate for them to get trendy. I'm not sure anything made me write the book, specifically. I had this place in my head and I needed to put it down on paper. Everything started with the circus, the mystery and love and action was layered into it as I wrote, but the contortionist was there very early on.

> Do you have an interest in magic? Did you prefer The PrestigeThe Illusionist?

I do find magic interesting, I haven't studied much of it in depth but I find Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin fascinating, partially because he was also a clockmaker.

And I have to say I preferred The Prestige (I liked the book quite a bit as well) but I loved the look of The Illusionist, the way so many of the shots stayed dark around the edges with that old-fashioned illumination.

> How much research did you do into that world and how much artistic licence did you take?

I did very little research, most of it is purely my imagination influenced by the fair amount of exposure I've had to that sort of flavor. I attempted to avoid anachronisms as much as I could but mostly I was just making things up based on what felt appropriate to the world I'd created.

> What was your road from starting to getting published and what was the biggest lesson you learned along the way?

It was a long road, I started the original manuscript as part of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and then spent about two years adding to it and revising it. I started looking for a literary agent and got a fairly good initial response that turned into a number of rejections because at that point the book had no plot. I was lucky enough to have that plotless manuscript end up with a few agents who were interested in it if I overhauled the entire thing, which I did, which lead to actually signing with my agent and a bit more revision before the book sold.

My biggest lesson learned was, perhaps obviously, about the importance of revision. I learned more about writing and how I write during that process than I did just free-form composing.

> Who are your favourite authors and why?

I love Margaret Atwood's rhythm, Douglas Adams's humour, Shakespeare's drama, Jhumpa Lahiri's emotions, Lewis Carroll's whimsy, Nick Bantock's intersection of words & pictures and Donna Tartt's The Secret History because I love that book like candy.

> Where do you write?

I write at home, I tried to be a coffee shop writer but I'm lousy at it, I get too easily distracted. I alternate writing at my desk in my office with writing curled up on my couch with my laptop. I don't prefer one or the other, it just depends on my mood.

> Who were your biggest influences when writing the book?

I'm not sure I can pinpoint biggest influences. There's a heavy Shakespeare flavour and hints of Roald Dahl and Charles Dickens around the edges. I'm influenced by a lot of non-book things, perfume and immersive theatre and music.

> What tips would you give to aspiring writers?

Keep writing. Adopt a never-say-never attitude when it comes to writing 'rules'.

> Is magic real?

Of course it is. This is a silly question. Real magic simply isn't as easily contained as a rabbit in a hat.