The Country of Ice Cream Star - beyond the book

Introducing Ice Cream

When I started to write about Ice Cream Star, I knew I wanted her to be a hero. She would be an ideal hero – brave, selfless, wild, funny, and honest. Like a proper hero, she would come from humble origins, and pass through a series of amazing adventures to eventually save the world. But she should also be a real person, not a fairy tale character or a Hollywood product. I've never been interested in writing about characters who don't feel like actual human beings.
 
Last but not least, she does all this at fifteen. That isn't so strange; in medieval times, the sons of lords led armies before they had begun to grow beards; Joan of Arc was sixteen when she first put on armor and rode to war. In fact, young people are both more fearless and more idealistic than adults. If the world is poor in adventure nowadays, it's at least partly because we shut our teenagers away in schools.
 
Maybe the world is a safer place, without so many adventures. But I often think I'd rather live in the America of Ice Cream Star – a place without police or even parents, where terrible things can happen to you – but where you can also ride out on your horse in a fearless mood, and conquer the world.