Local author Christy Mandin talks new book ‘Millie Fleur Saves the Night’

Christy Mandin children s book author Photo courtesy of the author Children s book author and illustrator Christy Mandin returns this summer with the second book in her Millie Fleur series Millie Fleur Saves the Night comes out on July following up Mandin s New York Times bestseller Millie Fleur s Poison Garden While the first book explores a mysterious garden filled with poisonous plants this new adventure takes place in the dark Millie s journey in Millie Fleur Saves the Night allows readers ages - to rethink their fear of darkness and shows that the dark can be full of beauty and wonder It was easy for Mandin to come up with the idea for her first book in this series because there was no external pressure but that was no longer the occurrence for the second In an attempt to find inspiration Mandin walked through her garden and observed an unfamiliar and uninteresting looking bug After further research she determined that the bug was a fire click beetle Mandin was struck when she learned that this bug creates its own bioluminescent headlights at night She never realized there was anything special about the beetle because she had only observed it during the day This glowing beetle inspired her story and the idea that the dark can be beautiful not just scary We often use this shorthand that dark equals bad Mandin reported Not only is that problematic on various levels but it is also just not true Plenty of dangerous things happen during broad daylight so you are never without danger And the dark has things to offer that the daylight never could Mandin s connection to nature especially the its more unique aspects is central to her creative style Mandin loves uncommon plants such as the black tomatoes or chocolate sunflowers that she grows in her garden Her love of strange natural beauty made its way into the poisonous garden in the first book and can still be seen in her newest book with Millie s moon garden Mandin grew up in rural Georgia and calls herself Southern to the core In the past she moved frequently due to her husband s work in the entertainment industry This included a seven year stint in Florida that made her feel stuck The family returned to Georgia a sparse years ago and she revealed her return to Georgia reignited her creativity I didn t realize until we weren t here how uninspired I was especially in Florida because the landscape was just so different Mandin announced I missed the trees woodland life lightning bugs and the pine smells which I know sounds crazy Georgia is home it just feels familiar and I can breathe when I am back here Mandin made her main character Millie Fleur simple sweet and a little spooky She was inspired by her favorite character Wednesday Addams My heart is Wednesday Addams-shaped so I knew that she was gonna be kind of a Wednesday Addams for a new generation Mandin revealed The original Wednesday Addams that Charles Addams created in his cartoons was a little bit softer and sweeter than she has become Her original design and personality has gotten lost and I desired to bring that element back and have a character that is sweet but also a little bit weird As both the writer and illustrator of the book as well as a mother of four Mandin s creation process can be a little bit chaotic She explained that she often has to work on the go so multiple of her ideas are scribbled on napkins post-it notes and even waterproof notepads when she is in the shower Author me often creates problems for illustrator me Mandin declared I ll write something and then later realize that I have no idea how to draw it Like curdled milkweed which nearly didn t make it into the first book on time Millie Fleur Saves the Night hit close to home for one of Mandin s children her six-year-old son Bear The book is dedicated to him Bear is classically afraid of the dark Mandin commented He watched me make this book and he became a little bit more interested in the book when I was done I got to see in real time how a book can impact a kid which was a cool part of my process In addition to Millie Fleur Saves the Night Mandin has another book releasing this fall Her book Bittersweet comes out in October telling the true story of the Berlin Candy Bombers Mandin revealed that Millie Fleur Saves the Night will not be the last time readers see Mille Fleur I can t say any specifics but Millie Fleur will be around for a while Mandin noted The post Local author Christy Mandin talks new book Millie Fleur Saves the Night appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta