Welcome back to Y.S. Lee on her 2nd Traveling To Teens tour with her highly-anticipated release of Book 2 in The Agency Series -
The Body At The Tower - which continues to bring Victorian England to life in a most delightful and unique manner.
Website:
www.yslee.com/Twitter:
@yinglee
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We first meet Mary at age 17 in Book 1. Did you originally plan her to be a young woman on the verge of adulthood, or had you envisioned her younger or older? What complications and considerations do you encounter when handling Mary's age?In the first version of
A Spy in the House (an adult historical mystery called A Great Stink), Mary was 21 years old. But my agent pointed out that Spy was really a coming-of-age story and suggested that I revise it as a YA novel. To make it work, I changed Mary’s and James’s ages and cut about 30,000 words from the ms. It was the best advice I got – I think Spy’s a much tighter, zippier novel as a result.
There haven’t been many complications in handling Mary’s age – if anything, the historical setting is really liberating because Mary’s so young but basically operates as an adult. I don’t have to think in terms of the school calendar, cutting-edge technology, modern transition-to-adulthood worries. Instead, she’s a free agent in lots of ways, despite living in a fairly stifling culture.
I have really enjoyed the change of scenery in your Victorian-era mysteries, and Book 2 proved to be really interesting in the world of construction. What other locales do you hope to bring to life in this series?Thank you! In book 3 (
The Traitor and the Tunnel) Mary goes to work at Buckingham Palace so we get to explore palace life – both that of servants and the royal family. And I’m currently researching the setting for a possible fourth MQ novel. It’s not definite yet so I can’t say too much, but I hope it’ll be interesting and fresh.
I know the Agency is top-secret, and its agents act alone. However, will there be ever an instance where Mary would work with a fellow agent besides Anne or Felicity? Or would Mary ever team up with Anne or Felicity - more than simply driving the carriage?Funny you should ask – I’ve just been planning a little complication of that sort in the potential fourth novel. It won’t be as straightforward as Mary working in tandem with Anne or Felicity (because who wants straightforward, anyway?), but there’ll be a new angle. Again, I’m afraid I can’t say more right now – it’s not yet sorted out in my own brain.
I loved the bantering between James and Mary in the first book, and James makes a welcome comeback in Book 2. However I was quite surprised at how their relationship unfolds and nearly unravels. Is this the end of James in Mary's life?
[highlight below to find out Ms. Lee's answer; otherwise, keep on reading :) ] Okay, I confess: Body does NOT end with Mary walking down a petal-strewn aisle in a poufy white dress. But the Mary-James relationship is complicated and they’re smart, headstrong people who remain madly attracted to one another. They still have a lot in common. Besides, if I got rid of James entirely, my editor would be after me with a Very Sharp Pencil.
Mary seems like a level-headed young woman, and she seems quite serious when it comes to the detective business. Yet serious people still have something they like to do for fun or to relax. What does Mary do for fun - or what would she be doing if she ever had time to relax?This is really tough! I think Mary would find it difficult to relax, and she’s not exactly the needlepoint-and-a-cup-of-tea type. If she’d had a wealthy upbringing, she’d enjoy horseback riding (the faster the better, and I bet she’d love steeplechase). If she were alive today, she’d be a marathoner or a vicious tennis partner. But as a Victorian woman from a poor family, I think she’d thrive on a social project or campaign of some sort – as she does, in a small way, in
Body.
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Thank you, Y.S. Lee, for spending some time at
The Epic Rat and answering a few questions. I'm looking forward to seeing what further adventures Mary faces!
Don't forget to follow the T2T blog tour for
The Body At The TowerCheck out
Laura's Review Bookshelf tomorrow for more excitement with Y.S. Lee!
The Agency Blog Tour ParticipantsThe Story Siren | Bookworming in the 21st Century | GreenBeanTeenQueen | Cornucopia of Reviews | Reading in Color | A Reader's Adventure | Steph Su Reads | The Epic Rat | Laura’s Review Bookshelf | The Book Smugglers
From the Publisher / In Light Boxes, the inhabitants of one closely-knit town are experiencing perpetual February. It turns out that a god-like spirit who lives in the sky, named February, is punishing the town for flying, and bans flight of all kind, including hot air balloons and even children's kites. It's February who makes the sun nothing but a faint memory, who blankets the ground with snow, who freezes the rivers and the lakes. As endless February continues, children go missing and more and more adults become nearly catatonic with depression. But others find the strength to fight back, waging war on February.
