Interview with Jillian Boehme for Stormrise

Stormrise

by Jillian Boehme
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release Date: September 24th 2019
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Dragons

Synopsis:

A combat warrior will risk everything to awaken the dragons and save her kingdom in Jillian Boehme's epic YA Fantasy debut, Stormrise, inspired by Twelfth Night and perfect for fans of Tamora Pierce.

If Rain weren’t a girl, she would be respected as a Neshu combat master. Instead, her gender dooms her to a colorless future. When an army of nomads invades her kingdom, and a draft forces every household to send one man to fight, Rain takes her chance to seize the life she wants.

Knowing she’ll be killed if she’s discovered, Rain purchases powder made from dragon magic that enables her to disguise herself as a boy. Then she hurries to the war camps, where she excels in her training—and wrestles with the voice that has taken shape inside her head. The voice of a dragon she never truly believed existed.

As war looms and Rain is enlisted into an elite, secret unit tasked with rescuing the High King, she begins to realize this dragon tincture may hold the key to her kingdom’s victory. For the dragons that once guarded her land have slumbered for centuries . . . and someone must awaken them to fight once more.

Can you briefly describe STORMRISE and the characters? 

Stormrise is the story of Rain, a girl who disguises herself as a boy and takes her twin brother’s place in the army—knowing that, if she gets caught, she will die. Magical dragon powder helps suppress her femininity, but it also awakens Nuaga, she-king of the dragons who have been asleep for centuries and who Rain must now awaken in order to save her kingdom. 

As a second daughter in a society that prizes male children over female, Rain must learn her true value and find her authentic self. Forest, on the other hand, has the coveted honor of being an only son, though he feels the burden of a father who has never supported his true passion. Commander Jasper, though an excellent leader and highly skilled Neshu fighter, has his own, father-related issues. 

I’d be remiss not to mention Nuaga, the glorious dragon Rain awakens. She is fierce and wise and still in mourning for her lost mate, T’gonnen, who sacrificed himself hundreds of years ago to save the rest of the dragon clan. True story: I bought a dragon figurine when Stormrise was in its planning stages, because it looked exactly like the way I had envisioned my dragons. My little Nuaga has been with me through every iteration of Stormrise, from first draft to completed book. 

Who would you say is your favourite character from the story and why? 

Hard question! Probably I’d have to say Rain, because her fierce loyalty resonates with me. 

How did the story occur to you? Did you find inspiration anywhere? 

The draw for me is a female lead who ultimately finds her strength without denying her femininity—think Éowyn, who in her greatest moment declares that she is not, in fact, male (psst—there’s a sneaky shout-out to Éowyn in Stormrise). I guess you could say my ultimate inspiration is the girl-dressing-as-a-boy trope (e.g. Mulan, Arya, Lee Westfall in Rae Carson’s Walk the Earth a Stranger, which I happened to be reading while I was planning Stormrise). 

If your book was going to be made into a movie, who would play your characters?

I have no idea! You know how it is—you see characters in your head when you write (or read), and I’m not sure how that translates. I’d love to hear thoughts from people who have already read Stormrise, to see how others envision my characters. To me, that is endlessly fascinating. 

Fall is here, and we love to find our perfect cozy spot. What drink and place do you think will go with your book to have a perfect book date? 

So many choices! I’m going to be spending a few days at the shore at the end of September, though, so I’m going to go with a decaf latte and a fuzzy sweatshirt on the beach. 

Can you recommend your readers any other books in case they are left hungry for more once they finish STORMRISE? 

This isn’t a recommendation, because I haven’t read it yet, but I’m super excited to read Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim—another girl-dresses-as-boy story that sounds amazing! And, of course, anything by Rae Carson, but particularly Walk on Earth a Stranger. 

What’s next for you? 

My second book from Tor Teen will be out Fall 2020! It’s another stand-alone YA Fantasy (and I’m so excited!).

JILLIAN BOEHME is known to the online writing community as Authoress, hostess of Miss Snark's First Victim, a blog for aspiring authors. In real life, she holds a degree in Music Education, sings with the Nashville Symphony Chorus, and homeschools her remaining youngster-at-home. She's still crazy in love with her husband of more than thirty years and is happy to be surrounded by family and friends amid the rolling knolls of Middle Tennessee.

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Blog Tour: Last Song Before Night by Ilana C. Myer

Last Song Before Night
by Ilana C. Myer
Publisher: Tor
Release Date: September 29th 2015

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)

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