Rainbow World: An interview with Laura Ellen Anderson
Fiona Noble interviews Laura Ellen Anderson about Rainbow Grey.
The character of Rainbow Grey first came to Laura Ellen Anderson shortly after she graduated from university in 2010. ‘Rainbow came from a single image of a girl with rainbow coloured hair and a cloud cat next to her,’ she tells me, speaking over video call from her Brighton home. ‘I had a few sketches, but I didn’t have a story.’ Towards the end of writing her bestselling Amelia Fang series, when Laura felt she had ‘found her feet’ in the middle-grade fiction world, she sent some sketches to her then editor, Ali Dougal. ‘I vividly remember Ali asking, “Who’s that? More, please!”’ Suddenly ideas began to form. ‘Rainbow was born over 10 years ago and sat in the background waiting for her story to arrive,’ Laura recalls.
Spirited, optimistic 10-year-old Rainbow is the eponymous heroine of the Rainbow Grey trilogy, the third volume of which, Battle for the Skies, was published by Farshore Books in February. Like the Amelia Fang series, the books are aimed at readers of seven and above, but the extended format of around 30,000 words makes them well suited to independent readers transitioning to slightly longer books. Set in the Weatherlands, a cloud world ruled by weather magic, Rainbow is a young Weatherling surrounded by people with astounding powers, but none of her own. The women in her family, however, tend to find their powers later, and on a forbidden trip to Earth, she discovers a shadow crystal. It’s full to the brim with an ancient magic that Rainbow manages to unleash and absorb under an eclipse. ‘Suddenly Rainbow has to deal with this brand new life,’ Laura explains, navigating these new powers and finding herself at the forefront of the confrontation with the Weather Rogues, led by the gloriously evil Tornadia Twist. Book two, Eye of the Storm, sees Rainbow learning to 
master her powers as beloved cloud creatures begin to disappear and dark magic threatens Earth. In Book three, Rainbow must figure out what her ultimate magical gift is, and finally defeat Tornadia Twist. ‘It’s all about finding your feet and not giving up,’ says Laura, ‘and the teamwork with her friends.’ The books combine the everyday drama of school and friendships with magical world building and fast-paced sky battles that read like anime cartoons, all underpinned by Laura’s trademark humour. And, of course, it’s wrapped up in a dynamic, highly illustrated format, featuring Laura’s pictures or artwork on almost every page. As someone who worked as a professional illustrator for a long time before embarking on her writing career, Laura describes herself as ‘a very visual person’, words and pictures are equally important and inextricably linked to form her narrative voice.
The writing process of the Rainbow Grey books was, Laura admits, ‘a very epic, blurry learning curve’. The impact of Covid lockdowns challenged her creativity and she felt burdened by ‘second album syndrome’ following the success of Amelia Fang. The rocky start led her to strip the idea back to its foundations. ‘Character is definitely my strongest point,’ she acknowledges. ‘I concentrated on looking at Rainbow as a character, and all the things I liked about her. I wanted her to be this strong female protagonist but someone with strengths and weaknesses that readers could relate to.’ Rainbow struggles with reading and sometimes has to ask her friends for help. ‘She’s patient with herself and gets there in the end. She doesn’t give up. Once I made myself happy with the characters the story started to write itself.’ Laura isn’t a writer who plans her books meticulously; plot and worldbuilding come together more organically once the characters are in place. ‘There are always a few surprises actually,’ she laughs. ‘I enjoy exploring the world and going on the journey with them.’
From the hilarious character names – pigeon Coo La La has a star turn in book three – to friendship banter, slapstick moments and dastardly villains, humour is integral to Laura’s work but creating emotional depth is also vital. ‘It’s something I try to portray in all of my books,’ Laura explains. ‘I’ve been inspired, growing up, by the likes of Disney and Pixar. Something like ‘Up’ has the ability to make you laugh and break down crying. Obviously, I don’t want people sobbing,’ she adds, ‘but I want to create an emotional connection to the characters and I really want readers to be invested in the emotional journey of the characters. I don’t like to create characters that are two dimensional.’ What does she hope readers will take away from the Rainbow Grey books? ‘I hope that readers will be inspired to pursue their own dreams. I hope they’ll read it and find a little escapism from the world but also be able to relate to the characters. When kids tell you the characters are like them, that’s a really special moment. It’s a powerful feeling.’
Laura has left the ending open enough that she could, perhaps, return to the world of Rainbow Grey in the future, but for now she’s working on a new project, Marnie Midnight, a series about a young moth who enrols at Minibeast Academy. The first book will be published early in 2024, similar in length to Amelia Fang, full of illustrations and the same ‘silly, but heartfelt’ characters. ‘I basically pick something I love and let myself absorb into that world. I love the moon, and moths. I find weather and rainbows fascinating. What if there is actual magic in the sky? I try to suspend disbelief. I’ve never been in a rush to grow up and this is my chance to stay young at heart and write the stories I enjoyed reading as a kid.’
Fiona Noble is a books journalist and reviewer, specialising in children’s and YA literature, for publications including The Bookseller and The Observer.
Rainbow Grey, Farshore Books, 9781405298728, £7.99 pbk
Rainbow Grey: Eye of the Storm, Farshore Books, 9781405298704, £7.99 pbk
Rainbow Grey: Battle for the Skies, Farshore Books, 9781405298858, £7.99 pbk
Amelia Fang and the Barbaric Ball, Farshore Books, 9781405286725, £6.99 pbk
