Synopsis:
A high fantasy following a young woman’s defiance of her culture as she undertakes a dangerous quest to restore her world’s lost magic
Her name was Kimbralin Amaristoth: sister to a cruel brother, daughter of a hateful family. But that name she has forsworn, and now she is simply Lin, a musician and lyricist of uncommon ability in a land where women are forbidden to answer such callings—a fugitive who must conceal her identity or risk imprisonment and even death.
On the eve of a great festival, Lin learns that an ancient scourge has returned to the land of Eivar, a pandemic both deadly and unnatural. Its resurgence brings with it the memory of an apocalypse that transformed half a continent. Long ago, magic was everywhere, rising from artistic expression—from song, from verse, from stories. But in Eivar, where poets once wove enchantments from their words and harps, the power was lost. Forbidden experiments in blood divination unleashed the plague that is remembered as the Red Death, killing thousands before it was stopped, and Eivar’s connection to the Otherworld from which all enchantment flowed, broken.
The Red Death’s return can mean only one thing: someone is spilling innocent blood in order to master dark magic. Now poets who thought only to gain fame for their songs face a challenge much greater: galvanized by Valanir Ocune, greatest Seer of the age, Lin and several others set out to reclaim their legacy and reopen the way to the Otherworld—a quest that will test their deepest desires, imperil their lives, and decide the future.
Could you tell to readers a little bit about Last Song Before Night?
The book is set in a world where art and magic are intertwined, and the protagonists are poets.
How did you come up with the story? Did you find inspiration in any other story/movie/show and how has this affected your writing?
I was initially inspired by Celtic mythology and the troubadours of medieval France, and went from there! I fell into a hole of many, many books and they all influenced the story somehow.
Is there a specific scene that you had the most fun to write?
There is a scene when a character is wandering in the city in the early hours of the morning, alone and lost. I happened to write it when I couldn’t sleep at 3am because we were having a heat wave in Jerusalem. I went out to our porch, overlooking the silent streets of Jerusalem, and wrote my character wandering the streets of his city.
If you had to pick one song to be the Theme Song for Last Song Before Night – Which one would you pick?
In a way, there already is a theme song—the composer Robert Holmes wrote a piece of music inspired by Last Song Before Night: https://soundcloud.com/robert-j-holmes/last-song-before-night
Imagine that we get to see your book on the big screen (how awesome would that be?). Who would you pick to play your characters?
It would be totally awesome, and I’d need to think about this much more. I did have a realization recently that Darien Aldemoor could be played by a young Bon Jovi. There is that same hint of mischief.
Is there any recommendations you could give your readers to be in the “perfect mood” to read Last Song Before Night (specific music, snacks…)?
I’d suggest a red, complex wine. And chocolate is good with everything.
What’s next for you?
I’m currently working on the sequel to Last Song Before Night—my contract with Tor was for three books.
Thank you so much for everything, Ilana!
My pleasure.
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Ilana C. Myer has written for the Globe and Mail, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Salon, and the Huffington Post. Previously she was a freelance journalist in Jerusalem for the Jerusalem Post, the Jewish Daily Forward, Time Out Israel and other publications. She lives in New York City.
Ilana was born in New York but grew up in Jerusalem, Israel, where she spent her teen years haunting secondhand bookstores in search of books written in English—especially fantasy. It was in one of these shops that she discovered David Eddings and realized that epic fantasy continued after Tolkien, and from there went on to make such marvelous discoveries as Tad Williams, Robin Hobb, and Guy Gavriel Kay.
Since learning to read, Ilana had decided she would write books, but during college in New York City was confronted with the reality of making rent, and worked as a receptionist, administrative assistant, and executive assistant where she on occasion picked up dry cleaning. She afterwards found more fulfillment as a journalist in Jerusalem where she covered social issues, the arts, and innovations in technology, and co-founded the Middle East environment blog, Green Prophet. It was during these years in Jerusalem, on stolen time, that Last Song Before Night took shape.
She writes as Ilana Teitelbaum for various outlets, but decided early on—since the days of haunting bookstores, in fact—that “Teitelbaum” was too long for a book cover. “Myer” is a variation on the maiden name of her grandmother, whose family was exterminated in Germany. It is a family with a long history of writers, so it seems appropriate to give credit—or blame—where it’s due.
3 winners will receive a finished copy of LAST SONG BEFORE NIGHT (US Only)
How neat and different to have the magic be connected to the arts! I can't wait to read it .
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