How did Odd’s story come about?
It began with my editor Sarah at Bloomsbury in the U.K. asking me to write a book for World Book Day, whereby authors write a book for free, and then publisher publish it for free, and printers donate the paper, and publish them in packs of 25 for £2.50 [$4.18]. Every child in England is then given a book token and they get to go into a bookshop and spend it. At the time, I thought I would use one of the stories I’m writing for The Graveyard Book (HarperCollins, 2008). Eight months later she called me and said we’ll need the story in the next three to four months. And I told her I would send her a chapter, and she said absolutely not, we’ll need something original. So I said what do I have knocking around in my head that would make a satisfying novel, for 9- to 12-year-old kids, many of whom had never bought a book before? What about Odd appealed to you? I had this half idea in the back of my head about this boy with a broken leg, a messed-up leg, who was going to have to win Asgard ba
