An Interview with Liz Kessler, Author of the ‘Emily Windsnap’ Series

An interview about the Emily Windsnap Series by Liz Kessler, presented by The Children’s Book Review.

Today, we dive into the magical world of mermaids, mysterious islands, and time-twisting adventures with Liz Kessler, the beloved author behind the Emily Windsnap series.

With the creation of the tenth book in this internationally bestselling collection, Liz reflects on her decade-long journey with Emily—a brave, curious half-mermaid who has captured the imaginations of millions of readers around the world. In our conversation, Liz opens up about the unexpected evolution of the series, the deep-sea inspiration behind the latest installment, and why Emily still feels as fresh and fun to write today as she did years ago.

Let’s dive in!

Your first Emily Windsnap book was published almost two decades ago. How has your relationship with Emily evolved over the past decade or so as you’ve now written the 10th book in the series?

Liz Kessler (LK): Emily has come to be such an important part of my life. Writing and researching these books has taken me on so many adventures and I have loved being the person who gets to spend all this time with such a great character – as well as all the other fun characters in the books. I feel grateful to Emily, I feel inspired by her and humbled by the impact that she’s had on young people around the world.

I read that you thought you’d come to the end of Emily’s story after book three, yet here we are at book 10. What inspired you to continue the series? What creative process led to this 10th book being a necessary part of Emily’s journey, rather than just a continuation for popularity’s sake?

(LK): I have always only written books that come from my heart and that I truly want to write. Partly because of that, I have never assumed that there will be more Emily books. But each time I think I might possibly be done, I get a new idea, or visit a place that inspires me or hear about something that feels like a plot idea for a new Emily book – and off we go again!

Beyond Emily, you’ve written about time travel, fairies, and other magical elements. Does this 10th book incorporate any new magical concepts or creatures you haven’t explored in previous Emily Windsnap adventures?

(LK): I think this book explores new ideas, and also some new magical concepts too. It was partly inspired by the Marianna Trench, and I wanted to try out an idea of getting right down to the deepest part of the ocean, as I’d never done that before. It was also inspired by some thoughts I’d been having about Vikings. And then my love for time-twisting fun meant that I ended up with a mysterious island that had been held back from normal time! Oh, and I invited Thor along for the ride, too. So I guess the short answer is: yes, there’s a lot of new stuff in this one!

Your love of the sea clearly influences your writing. How has your coastal home in St. Ives continued to inspire the settings and storylines in this latest Emily Windsnap book?

(LK): Sadly, I no longer live in Cornwall, so I haven’t been able to actually spend as much time by the sea this time. But my love for the ocean is never going to end, so I’m lucky that I still get to write about it!

How do you keep finding fresh adventures for Emily, while also maintaining continuity in a long-running series?

(LK): D’you know what? I don’t know. I don’t even look at it like that. I don’t have a checklist of things that I have to make sure I do. I write the stories I really want to write, led by the characters that I love, and then I think it’s up to the readers to decide if I’ve achieved the combination in this question. I hope they’ll keep on saying I have!

After ten books with the same protagonist, what aspect of Emily’s character do you find most challenging to write, and what aspect remains the most enjoyable? And how do you ensure writing Emily still remains enjoyable for you?

(LK): I honestly don’t think I find any aspects of Emily’s character challenging to write. She’s a girl who is part human, part mer, she has a fantastic cast of characters around her, she has fun friends. She’s loyal, adventurous, brave, sometimes cheeky, and a bit of a social justice warrior. These things can only ever be enjoyable to write.

With the series in “active development” as a movie, did the possibility of screen adaptation influence how you wrote this 10th book?

(LK): Nope. The books have been optioned with, I think, four different production companies, for almost the entire time I’ve been writing the series. The books are the books, and if anything else ever comes from them, that would just be the icing on the cake!

In an article for Publishers Weekly, you mentioned, “It strikes me that the books today are written for a whole new generation of girls.” How has your audience changed over the years, and how do you keep Emily relevant to today’s young readers?

(LK): I think something that I’ve got on my side is that when your books are partly set in the sea and involve as much world-building and magical elements as mine do, you don’t have to be as concerned with keeping them up to date with all the latest phrases or gadgets or ways of life. This series is set in a world of its own and to a certain extent has its own rules, which are very different from the ways that young people live in real life. Having said that, I hope that my characters feel true and real to young readers, I hope that the issues I explore feel relevant, and above all, I hope that I’m able to provide a world for children to get lost in and imagine themselves in.

The Emily Windsnap books have sold over five million copies worldwide and have been translated into 25 languages. How does that global success impact how you approach writing new installments?

(LK): It doesn’t impact how I approach writing at all. What it does do, though, is make me feel incredibly grateful, honored and humbled.

After reaching the milestone of 10 books, do you envision an endpoint for Emily’s story, or might she continue swimming into further adventures?

(LK): I have given up trying to second-guess what Emily might do next. Watch this space!

About the Book

Publisher’s Book Summary: Join the entire gang of mer-friends—and celebrate twenty years of Emily Windsnap—in this epic and masterfully crafted adventure by New York Times best-selling author Liz Kessler.

Adventure always seems to find Emily Windsnap! So when she discovers a bangle with a unique crystal under Rainbow Rocks, she and her friends are soon unraveling a whole new mystery. After learning that the crystal originally came from a familiar place—Halflight Castle!—Shona and Emily reunite there with Aaron . . . and none other than Neptune, king of the oceans. The bangle leads the mermaids to a cave full of crystals, and, with Mandy’s help, they discover the truth about the jewel’s origin—and what’s at stake if they don’t make things right. Unfortunately, the only solution involves getting the sea and sky’s most powerful (and notoriously selfish) rulers to put their own interests aside for the greater good. Will the quartet find a way to convince the imperious Neptune and the Viking god Thor to come together to prevent disaster?

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About the Author

Liz Kessler is the author of the best-selling Emily Windsnap series, along with the accompanying series of early readers set within the world of Emily Windsnap. She is also the author of the Phillipa Fisher series, a series of early readers about Poppy the Pirate Dog, and the novels North of Nowhere, A Year Without Autumn, and Has Anyone Seen Jessica Jenkins?

Learn more at lizkessler.co.uk.

This interview—An Interview with Liz Kessler, Author of the Emily Windsnap Series—was conducted between Liz Kessler and Bianca Schulze.