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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 19, 2018)
APRIL 19, 2018 // 21 FRANKFORT THE FANTASTICAL Abandoned Washington town an inspiration for Kristine Kibbee’s YA trilogy ‘Forests of the Fae’ By JANAE EASLON FOR COAST WEEKEND A uthor Kristine Kibbee’s imagi- nation is always running, but she can’t imagine not being a writer. And everyday, she pulls inspiration from living in the Pacific Northwest. “I couldn’t live anywhere else,” Kibbee said in an interview with Coast Weekend. “I need the green around me. It is very cathartic and inspiring.” Based in Castle Rock, Wash., she is preparing for the release of “Lang’s Lab- yrinth” on Monday, April 23. The book is the third and final installment of Kibbee’s “Forests of the Fae” series, which takes readers into a world of everyday charac- ters who step into the fantastical. At the center of her story is a ghost town inspired by real-life Frankfort, located just across the Columbia River from Astoria near Portuguese Point. Only accessible by boat and now decayed by time, the community was first created in 1890. Settlers pictured it becoming a port town to rival Portland, or even becoming the New York City of the West Coast. But the railroad wasn’t sustainable on its wet soil, and Frank- fort’s population dwindled until, by 1962, the town was abandoned. Kibbee says she has not visited the hidden place, now owned by a logging company, but has read accounts of people who have and studied pictures of it. Even in its last years, electricity wasn’t available to its residents. “It’s almost like nature doesn’t want people there,” she said. ‘Not a Tinker Bell fairy story’ Kibbee originally got the idea for “Forests of the Fae” by speaking to her friends and family about abandoned plac- es, and Frankfort’s mysterious past kept coming up. Kibbee recommends the series for readers 12 and up. Young adult fiction, she says, can be celebrated by all ages. “Lang’s Labyrinth” focuses on the power of friendship and the strength of the ev- PHOTOS COURTESY SMITH PUBLICITY INC. Author Kristine Kibbee ‘IT IS LIKE THIS ROLLER COASTER THAT SOMETIMES LEAVES YOU WARM AND FUZZY WITH THESE TWO GIRLS THAT ARE SUCH AMAZING FRIENDS, AND THEN YOU GOT THESE DARK FAIRIES THAT GIVE YOU GOOSEBUMPS.’ eryday heroine with threads of adventure and suspense woven through it all. “It’s not a Tinker Bell fairy story,” Kibbee said. Rather, it’s rooted in the darker side of fairy mythology, with references to the work of 19th century editor Andrew Lang, who compiled the Fairy Books of Many Colors. Each of Lang’s 12 books is titled after a different color, like “The Blue Fairy Book.” They serve as the names for the 12 ‘Lang’s Labyrinth,’ the third book in Kristine Kibbee’s ‘Forests of the Fae’ series forests featured in the series’ mythical world. Anne, a 13-year-old brought to Wash- ington state to visit family, is hurled into a quest and must collect Lang’s books alongside her best friend, Grace, and defeat the Fae, creatures from another world. Readers will recognize the names of Pacific Northwest towns as Anne and Grace adventure up and down the coast. “Lang’s Labyrinth” follows “Devlin’s Door” and “The Raven’s Queen,” the series’ first and second installments. “It is like this roller coaster that some- times leaves you warm and fuzzy with these two girls that are such amazing friends, and then you got these dark fair- ies that give you goosebumps,” she said. Kibbee’s “Forests of the Fae” series and the first book in her “Theodore and the Enchanted Bookstore” series can be found on Amazon. To learn more about Kibbee, visit her author page on Incorgnito Publishing Press’ website. CW
