Jacqueline Davies on The International House of Dereliction and ghost stories for kids

The book we've sent our Cockatoo subscribers this month is the perfect Halloween read. The International House of Dereliction is a gently spooky, wonderfully quirky ghost story with a difference. We immediately fell in love with lead character Alice and were gripped by the mysterious house and it's ghostly inhabitants. Packed with humour, empathy and atmosphere, this book should be top of your Autumn half term reading lists! Here Jacqueline tells us all about what inspired the story and which spooky stories for kids she recommends you read next.

What inspired you to write The International House of Dereliction?

I wanted to write about a house that was alive in some way. Not necessarily talking and moving around, but one that was aware—of the people inside it, of dangers both inside and out. I thought there was something creepy and cool about that, and I wanted to explore the possibilities.

Are any of the characters or elements of the story inspired by real people or events?

Alice is the person I would have wanted to be at her age: brave, curious, and very handy with tools! Her parents, Professor Cannoli and Mr. Potchnik are unlike any humans on earth! Except that they love their daughter fiercely and without limitation, and I’d say I definitely feel that for my own kids.

Which was your favourite character to write and why?

I adored writing Professor Cannoli and Mr. Potchnik. In fact, there were pages and pages of dialogue between the two of them that had to be cut to keep the story moving along. But together, they were an endless source of hilarious conversations, and I loved, as an author, getting to eavesdrop on them as they talked and talked and talked. I also loved writing the characters of the wacky professors on campus, in particular Professor Plim who believes that the answer to every problem is coffee and sticky buns.

Are you more Cannoli or Potchnik?

I’m definitely more Cannoli than Potchnik. I can certainly obsess about the number of teaspoons in my house. I’ll devise systems for optimizing the sock-to-underwear ratio so that I never run out of either, and I’ll figure out ways to minimize the number of times I have to go to the grocery store. Also, I use lots of spreadsheets! Lots of ’em!

Can you tell us anything about what the future holds for Alice and her family?

Alice and her parents will stay in that house forever, and the Fury will continue as a fourth member of the family that happily lives in the attic (though unbeknownst to Professor Cannoli and Mr. Potchnik.) This means that Alice has to occasionally come up with inventive reasons for why the family hears various crashes, bangs, and bumps coming from the attic, but Alice continues to be creative and clever and curious, and so she manages well.

Do you have a favourite place to write?

I’m incredibly lucky to have a small house on the coast of Maine that I built specifically for the purpose of writing. Everything in it is designed to help my writing process. It is by far my favorite place to write, as well as my favorite place to be.

Why did you choose to write books for this age group?

Middle-grade readers are the perfect age. They can do a lot of things they couldn’t before (read, write, express their thoughts, make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich), but they haven’t become so engulfed in the maelstrom of social pressures and hierarchies that they begin to lose themselves. They are who they are, without apology, even as they continue to grow and change every day. They’re curious; they’re funny; they’re wholly original. And they still love stories.

Which other middle grade ghost stories would you recommend our subscribers read next?

Here’s a shocker: I don’t read ghost stories or watch horror movies! They scare me. Truly. It’s one of the reasons I made sure there was plenty of humor and heart in The International House of Dereliction, even though there are some truly creepy and threatening things going on in that house! To answer this question, I’ll have to go back to the classic spooky stories I read when I was a kid: the novels of Joan Aiken, including The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, Black Hearts in Battersea, and Night Birds On Nantucket. Those books made me shiver. I also read and delighted in The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare. Scary, but also incredibly well written. It won the Newbery Medal!

Copies of our The International House of Dereliction pack, including a copy of the book and loads of fun activities to go with it, are now available for individual purchase. Grab a copy while stocks last!

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