Evangeline Lilly’s ‘beautiful subtleties’

Evangeline Lilly wants kids to explore “the beautiful subtlety of human character” in her book.

The Hobbit actress is at Comic-Con this week promoting her new children’s tome, The Squickerwonkers, a dark tale about a spoiled little girl who gets taken in by a band of strange marionettes.

And as she was writing the book, Evangeline consciously strayed from conventional fairy tale narratives.

"I didn't want to create a cautionary tale of old where there's a bad little girl, the bad little girl gets punished and we're supposed to not identify with [her]," she explained to USA Today. "I wanted this book to show children the beautiful subtlety of human character. We are both a clever and passionate little girl and a spoiled little girl. It's really about our choices and our actions."

The Squickerwonkers is illustrated by Johnny Fraser-Allen and Evangeline collaborated with him frequently throughout her writing process.

Working with an artist as she penned the plot was truly an enlightening experience for the star.

"[Johnny] showed me this incredible watercolour painting of two very clunky wooden marionette puppets on a stage with this little blond girl between them," Lilly recalled. "It encapsulated my vision in a way that I couldn't even imagine. That was the most magical, miraculous process for me — watching my story take roots and come to life through Johnny's illustrations."

The Squickerwonkers will be released through Titan Books in November.