The fantastical worlds kept expanding.
As Ransom Riggs created his famed and bestselling Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series, he kept digging deeper and deeper. Each book peeled away more layers behind strange and sometimes unsettling characters and situations as the settings moved from a Welsh island to London to the rest of Europe and eventually America.
Riggs wanted to bring those characters to a really weird place. But nothing he could dream up could rival the reality of his home in Los Angeles.
“I always considered it the most peculiar place in the world, moreso than any craggy, foggy island off the coast of Wales or London or anyone else. I had been sorely tempted over the years to bring the Peculiar Children to L.A., but something was stopping me. It almost felt L.A. was too peculiar, almost faux magical,” he said. “The books didn’t need it — it would be like dumping sugar on a frosted cake.”
Riggs’ realization led to the creation of a new series of books, the first of which, “SUNDERWORLD, VOL. I: The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry,” is out Tuesday. He brings his prodigious imagination to Franklin that day for a special event at the Historic Artcraft Theatre in support of his forthcoming novel, where he will be sitting down for a live conversation with friend and fellow author John Green to talk about all things writing.
The event has been organized by Franklin’s Wild Geese Bookshop. Tickets are $26.75, and include a signed copy of the book.
“SUNDERWORLD, VOL. I: The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry” tells the story looks at the unseen side of Los Angeles through the story of Leopold Berry, who discovers that the cult show he obsessed over in the wake of his mother’s death has begun to break through the reality of the city he calls home.
“Weaving the familiar with the peculiar, Riggs delivers a stunning tale of loss, triumph, friendship and magic, reminding readers everywhere that true heroes are made, not born—and that when you’re never the chosen one, sometimes you have to choose yourself,” according to a press release announcing the book.
In advance of his stop in Franklin, Riggs took some time to share his thoughts about his journey into writing, his popular Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series, Leopold Berry and traveling the country to meet his fans.
What led him towards writing in the first place
“I was raised on books from the time I was old enough to use my eyeballs. My grandmother and my mom were sticking my face in books and reading to me, and I started reading at an early age. Not this always follows, but I started writing from a fairly early age too, and by the time I was 10 or 11, I was devouring novels and writing my own creepy, Stephen King-wannabe novellas longhand on legal pads. It started very early and I never gave it up.”
Figuring out writing could be a career
“It’s funny, I never thought about writing fiction as a career. I discovered movies [in] about the eighth grade and figured out that was something you could do as a job — it was somebody’s job to make a movie. I had been making crazy, silly VHS home movies in the backyard of my friends’ houses for a couple years at that point, and when I realized there was a whole industry devoted to do this and people’s jobs were just doing that, it was like, ‘This is what I want to do!’”
Growing his writing skills
“I never stopped writing fiction, but I got sucked into movies. Then I ended up going to school for English lit and then to grad school for film, because I wanted to have a basis in books and literature, then build on that. I went to film school and went down this road of writing screenplays and making sure I got an agent so I could get jobs doing that. While I was getting engaged in that, I was supporting myself with freelance writing for magazines and newspapers online.”
Making the move into novels
“Through my freelance writing, I worked with a publishing company who had a connection with a publisher in Philadelphia who made fun pop culture books. They asked me if I wanted to make a book about Sherlock Holmes, a how-to guide on how you could be a consulting detective like Sherlock Holmes, if only you had his skill set. So I made that for them, and kept that relationship with the publisher.
In the meantime, I was still writing screenplays and trying to make a mark in Hollywood. Before that happened, I had the idea for Miss Peregrine. I had this relationship with this publisher who liked to take on weird things and very visual things, so my love of old found photography and stories that were a bit uncanny came together from that.”
Building the universe of Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children
“It’s been a really fun and gratifying process of building the world slowly, kind of like adding bits of string to a ball of twine. I started off with a little seed of the island where Miss Peregrine and the kids lived, and with each subsequent book, it grew and grew and grew. I had such a good time elaborating on the world for those books. But eventually I reached a point where I thought that arch of the story ended in a really natural way. So it was time to tackle a whole new world.”
Creating the lore behind “SUNDERWORLD”
“I’ve been exploring (Los Angeles) for many years and finding it’s weird, magical nooks and crannies, the gritty portals and possibilities. I do that wherever I live; I get lost and find strange things. This is peculiar L.A., basically.”
Discovering his links to Johnson County
“I came to Indianapolis a couple years ago on a different book tour and rediscovered some of my family roots. My people come from not too far away from Franklin. Generations back, they lived in the area. And apparently, they used to go to the Artcraft Theatre; in the ’30s and ’40s, they were seeing movies there. So I have a connection to that area.
… I came to visit a few years ago because I wanted to see the town and the other towns where I had some connections. (Franklin) was so charming. We wandered around the downtown and had lunch and went into Wild Geese Bookshop, and thought it was adorable.
Planning the event with John Green
“John and I went to college together, so I’ve known him for 25 years. … I mentioned this to John and my publicist, and they said, yeah we can do an event there. John is in Indy, so it was a perfect opportunity to reconnect with John a little bit and return to one of the cutest bookstores in the Midwest.”
On meeting with people on book tours
“Writing is such a solitary pursuit. It’s a very welcome connection with the effect your books have have with people, whether that’s good or bad. Generally, if people are coming to see you, they liked your book. It’s a nice reminder you write something tangible that people take home and hold in their hands and have some connection with.”
IF YOU GO
Ransom Riggs in Conversation with John Green
What: A public conversation event between Riggs, author of the Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series, and Hoosier author John Green. They’ll be discussing numerous topics, including Riggs’ new novel, “SUNDERWORLD, VOL. I: The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry.”
When: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Historic Artcraft Theatre, 57 N. Main St., Franklin
Who: Hosted by Wild Geese Bookshop
Cost: Tickets are $26.75 and include a signed copy of “SUNDERWORLD, VOL. I: The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry.”
Information and tickets: wildgeesebookshop.com/ransom-riggs-and-john-green-event
