Writing Graystripe's Vow

I always look forward to writing my next Super Edition. It’s challenging, and also great fun, to have a wider ‘stage’ on which events take place, to be able to control the whole storyline – in conjunction with my editor, of course – and to bring it to a satisfying conclusion, all in a single book.

GRAYSTRIPE’S VOW was particularly exciting. I don’t think it’s much of a spoiler to say that the book interweaves two different timelines, one in the early days when Firestar had just become leader of ThunderClan, and one in the cats’ present day. I had the chance to revisit the old forest, both at the earlier time when the Clans lived there, and also much later, after the Twolegs had taken over and built Twoleg dens where once were the Clan camps and hunting territories.

The other exciting part of writing GRAYSTRIPE’S VOW was taking a new look at Graystripe himself. For most writers of fiction, the most important parts of their stories are the characters. Even if they think up fantastic adventures in fabulously exotic settings, readers won’t really care unless they can engage with well-rounded characters. Our characters have to live and breathe, just as if they were real people.

We first see Graystripe as Firestar’s best friend, his sidekick, and eventually his deputy, until he is lost to the Clans when he is captured by Twolegs. On his return, he becomes an ordinary Warrior of ThunderClan, and eventually an elder. We see his loyalty, his courage and determination, his love for his mates and his kits. But in GRAYSTRIPE’S VOW, a new dimension of his character opens up.

Readers know that when Firestar leaves the Clan territories in FIRESTAR’S QUEST, he trusts Graystripe to act as Clan leader until he returns. In GRAYSTRIPE’S VOW, we see him in this leadership role as he is forced to face a fearful threat to the Clan he loves. (No, I’m not going to tell you what it is!) He has serious doubts about his ability to follow in Firestar’s pawsteps, and a vital decision to make; if he gets it wrong, he could bring about the destruction of his beloved Clan. A writer can really dig into the depths of a character who is facing that kind of stress.

In the present day, Graystripe is an elder, grieving the loss of his mate Millie and appalled by the devastation of his Clan by the false Bramblestar, His despair is so deep that he feels he must leave his Clan, at least for a while. He travels to the old forest where once again he is forced into the role of leader, in spite of his misgivings and his sense that his life is over. Again, this was a great opportunity for me as a writer to explore the way in which Graystripe copes and how his outlook changes. And I also had the chance to revisit some well-known characters, as well as introducing some new ones.