Lita Judge is the author and illustrator of 30 fiction and nonfiction books. Her book Flight School has recently been adapted into an off-Broadway musical that was shown in New York City and China. Before she created art and books, Lita was a geologist and worked on dinosaur digs. But a trip to Venice inspired her to quit her job and pursue a lifelong passion for creating art.
Beatrix and the Unicorn is about a servant girl searching for a real unicorn, inspired by the famous unicorn tapestries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Long ago and far away, a girl named Beatrix wakes each day to her chores in the castle. She serves the meals and scrubs the floors. And when no one is looking, she gazes at the tapestry of the unicorn in a garden. The unicorn is the most beautiful thing she’s ever seen, but it’s only made from thread. Beatrix knows if she could find the real unicorn, she would never feel lonely again, so late one evening, she gathers what she needs for a long journey and slips out into the night.
When asked what contributed to the book landing on the USA Today bestseller list, Judge said: “I think I chose to tell a story that holds a popular subject, a unicorn, but found a very unique way to create a story around it. Most unicorn books today have a very modern style of storytelling and art. I dared to be different. I trusted that I was deeply inspired by the unicorn tapestries and felt my readers would be too. So I set Beatrix and the Unicorn in medieval times with a rich classical style and a story that feels fresh, but also nostalgic.”
While Judge had plenty of success with the 30 books prior to Beatrix and the Unicorn, this was her first bestseller. “Ironically, this was a story I wrote from my heart and I didn’t know how it would land,” she said. “Sometimes focusing on creating a story that doesn’t seem to fit exactly with the current market is the best way to create something eye catching and different that appeals to readers.”
She believes other authors can find success with this approach, as well. “Don’t be afraid to be different! Study the genre you are writing for and know which other books are being well received, but don’t chase trends. In the end we must follow stories we feel really passionate about and provide something unique,” she said.
E. J. Wenstrom believes in complicated heroes, horrifying monsters, purple hair dye and standing to the right on escalators so the left side can walk. She writes dark speculative fiction for adults and teens, including her new release, a young adult dystopian novel titled Departures (August 10, 2021). When she isn’t writing fiction, E. J. Wenstrom is a regular contributor to DIY MFA and BookRiot, and co-hosts the Fantasy+Girl Podcast. Learn more at her website.
