Helen Dunmore: Enchantment between land and sea

Orange Prize-winning novelist Helen Dunmore is to publish the first book in a trilogy for children aged nine upwards, set on the Cornish coast and featuring a tussle between the twin worlds of the sea and the earth.

When Sapphire's father suddenly disappears, many of the neighbours whisper that he's run off with another woman. But Sapphire knows he has been enticed away by the Mer people into the sea, called the realm of Ingo--and she soon discovers that she too can hear Ingo's bewitching call.

"There is a traditional story about the mermaid of Zennor calling a young man away to live in the sea. It's one of the most ancient stories in all cultures, that you are seduced by a water sprite or wood nymph from another world. Suddenly there is this possibility of freedom from this earthbound world--the question is, are you going to go or not?

"I know Cornwall well and spend a lot of time there. As you go down the peninsula, you're very aware of how much sea there is and how little land, so everything you do is affected by the weather, the storms or the calm, much more than it would be inland.

"I got the name 'Ingo' from a traditional song, which the father sings in the book: 'I wish I was away in Ingo . . .' I've always found it very haunting. What we have in the book is two worlds that don't really know or understand each other, and some people who are able to move from one to another, which puts them in a strong position but also a very disturbing, scary position.

"There's a huge amount of adventure and danger in the book. The sea is so powerful, and has to be respected. It's not just lying there like a blue plate.

"Ingo is really all about powerful longing and desires. I think a lot of children do see this in their families: people being enchanted away by their desires and longings. It happens all the time, although we don't give it an other-worldly explanation. I felt the theme would have meaning for a lot of children.

"You get very involved in writing a story like this. It's quite challenging; it brings up a lot of strong emotions. But all the children's books I really loved myself were full of strong emotions. Some of the older fairy stories are pretty terrible when you read them as an adult: people have their feet cut off, get turned into swans or disappear. My daughter, who is 11, has been reading Philip Pullman, and it's very strong stuff, some of that, for an 11-year-old. But they have this huge power to take it all on board."

Benedicte Page

Helen Dunmore

Ingo: The Powerful Call of the Sea (HarperCollins, 5th September, h/b, £12.99, 0007204876)