Q: Do you have any advice for writers?
I have a section of this website devoted to advice for writers.
ELFHAME
Q: Will there be any more Folk of the Air books?
As of now, we have the four books in the Folk of the Air, and we have the Novels of Elfhame duology that takes place 10 years later featuring Prince Oak and Queen Suren. Never fear, we haven’t left Elfhame behind for good, and The Prisoner’s Throne ending gives you a big hint as to what comes next!
BOOK OF NIGHT
Q: Will there be more Book of Night?
Book of Night was always meant to be the first book in a duology. After that, I may decide to explore the world of shadow magic further, but currently don’t have specific plans.
SPIDERWICK
Q: Are you ever going to write more Spiderwick books?
Tony DiTerlizzi and I have no plans at this point, but maybe someday in the future we will do another project together. We’re still great friends, and I’d love to work with him again.
Q: Is there going to be an adaptation of the Spiderwick Chronicles?
There was a movie made in 2008 (and which you may be able to watch on Netflix) and a television show made in 2024 that you can watch on the Roku Channel.
Q: Do you really know the Grace children? Can I have their address?
Tony and I know three kids on whom the Grace kids were based, but their names were changed in the books. Unfortunately, I can’t give out their address as they wish to protect their anonymity.
MORE BOOKS!
Q: Will there be any more Magisterium books?
Cassie and I had a wonderful time writing that series, but currently have no plans to write any more.
Q: Will there be a sequel to the Coldest Girl in Coldtown?
Coldest Girl in Coldtown was written as a stand-alone, but I know what happens next and I’ve been thinking more and more that a sequel could be in my future.
Q: Are you ever going to write more Modern Faerie Tale books?
The Modern Faerie Tales, Darkest Part of the Forest, and the Folk of the Air books are all set in the same world. We do get to see some of the characters from Tithe have a role in the events of the Folk of the Air series.
Q: Are you ever going to write more Curse Worker books?
I hope someday I get to come back and write one or two more books in that series, but for now I’m happy with where I left everyone.
Q: Will there be a sequel to Doll Bones?
Although I love the characters, I don’t think I’d ever want to write about what happens next. I think it’s important that there not be a sequel, so that you get to decide both what you think happened in the book and what you think will happen next to the characters.
Q: What happens after the end of Doll Bones? And was there really a ghost?
Doll Bones is meant to be open ended. Not all the questions are answered, so readers can use their imagination if they want to. Feel free to speculate yourself— what do you think will happen? Was the ghost laid to rest? Was there ever a ghost at all? Will Poppy, Zach, and Alice stay friends? Will they keep playing some form of the game, and if so, as they grow up, how will the game change?
ADAPTATIONS
Q: Is there going to be a movie/TV series about [insert project] ?
I want to take a step back and explain a little about the process of getting something made. Oftentimes when people ask this question, they ask “Are you going to make a movie of [insert project]?” Movies and TV require many millions of dollars, a lot of technical know-how, and the ability to secure distribution – I can’t do any of those things on my own. For one of my books to become a film or TV series, the following would have to happen:
1. The project would have to be optioned by a production company or studio. This is the first step and very exciting when it happens, because it means that someone has paid money to be allowed to “develop” the project for a limited period of time (usually a year or two). You may have heard that some of your favorite books have been optioned before. You will recall that some of them became films/shows and some of them did not.
2. During the time when the project is “under option,” the producers will try and get it ready to be turned into a film or TV show. This means securing financing, paying for a script to be written, and attaching directors or actors or showrunners to the project. For TV, a pilot might even get shot. Depending on how well that goes and how much buzz the project attracts, it might go on to be:
3. Greenlit! This is the point when the movie is almost definitely getting made and the TV show is almost definitely going on the air. This is when people begin talking about shoot schedules and release dates, scouting locations and making props. Once a movie/show gets to the point, you are likely to see talk about it on film sites. It’s also the point that the author of the source material would start making a lot of announcements.
I’ve simplified this quite a bit, but you can still see that it’s a convoluted process, and one that the author has very little control over. Even once this process is set in motion, it can take years and years to get to the point that the studio is ready to greenlight. It may sound daunting, but the Spiderwick Chronicles movie got made, and something else could get made too someday. Fingers crossed!
FAERIES
Q: Are faeries real?
I don’t know. I’ve never seen one, although I have met lots of kids and adults who have seen them. I want to believe faeries are real, but I also want proof. I hope someday I will see a faerie myself so that I can know for sure.
Q: How can I find out if I have faeries living in my house/yard?
Strange lights, things going missing or being rearranged, an abundance of clover among the grass, and/or seeing things moving out of the corner of your eyes.
ABOUT HOLLY
Q: Do you have any pets?
My family has three cats: Miel, a fluffy gray street cat from a small town in the French countryside; Bast, a sleek black cat from New England; and Quasit, a hairless Sphynx. We also have a lot of spiders.
Q: Is it true you have a secret door in your house?
I do! And you can too! https://hiddendoorstore.com
COLLABORATIONS
Q: Both the Spiderwick Chronicles and the Magisterium series are collaborations. How do you go about collaborating with other authors?
Collaborations, in my experience, work differently every time. When Tony and I first sat down to collaborate on Spiderwick, we did a lot of brainstorming and sending bits of writing and art back and forth. Then I went off to write, he went off to draw and we continued to comment on each other’s work. He might send me the picture of a creature he thought might be in the book. I might tell him a scene I thought he should draw. If you look at the artwork in Spiderwick, it tells parts of the story that the text doesn’t — which was very deliberate.
With the Magisterium series, Cassandra Clare and I actually sit in the same room and hand the computer back and forth after we’ve written a few hundred words (between 200 and 500, on average), often when we get stuck. We have a pretty strict outline — something she’s really excellent at creating — but when we need to figure out something new, we can go off together and brainstorm.
Every collaboration of mine has been a unique process. When I worked on the graphic novels Good Neighbors with Ted Naifeh, I had completed the manuscript before he saw it — however, we were still able to talk about what happened after that — he’s the one who pushed me to let the villains take over the town, so that he could draw it. When Rebecca Guay first approached me about working with her on A Flight of Angels, I was just going to write one of the stories, but I wound up having the opportunity to write a story that wove between all the other tales — something I had no thoughts about doing when I first began.
If you are thinking about collaborating, I think the most important thing is that you really love the other person’s work, and that they really love yours. It’s also useful to know them pretty well, so you don’t have to be too polite.