Dazzled by Books

 

Praise For Wintersong

*Named “One of the Most Anticipated YA Debuts of 2017” by Bustle, Paste Magazine, and BookRiot*

“This is an exquisitely and lyrically crafted tale of longing, sibling loyalty, and the importance of women in a time when women were so often overlooked. Eerie, unsettling, and, above all, full of music.” —Booklist, STARRED review

“Jae-Jones writes beautifully about the magic of love, the power of music, and the importance of free will.” —Publishers Weekly

“This fantasy debut is rife with intricate details and world-building, as well as the charged relationship between Liesl and the Goblin King. Fans of Gregory Maguire’s Egg & Spoon or E.K. Johnston’s A Thousand Nights will be drawn to the in-depth descriptions of the goblins’ realm.” —School Library Journal

“A maze of beauty and darkness, of music and magic and glittering things, all tied together with exquisite writing. This is a world you will want to stay lost in.” —Marie Lu, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"Spellbinding and sexy, WINTERSONG is a feast for all the senses. I didn’t want this beautifully written book to end.” —Renée Ahdieh, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Labyrinth by way of Angela Carter... Deliciously romantic, with a nuanced Goblin King and a strong heroine, this story was rife with fairy tales, music, and enchantment.” —Roshani Chokshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Star-Touched Queen “A darkly lush and dangerous tale... Beautiful writing evokes powerful emotions in this journey into the meaning of sacrifice and the power of love.” —Kate Elliott, author of the Court of Fives

Interview

Ali: Today we have S. Jae-Jones on the blog to celebrate her new book Wintersong. Before we get started I want to say congratulations on the release of Wintersong. To start this conversation off, was there a defining moment during your youth when you realized you wanted to be a writer?

S. Jae-Jones: There wasn’t a defining moment, necessarily; it was more like an accumulation of an entire lifetime of storytelling. For most of my childhood, I was an only child with two parents who worked full-time. I spent a lot of time left to my own devices, and in order to keep myself occupied, I liked to play pretend. I would create all sorts of imaginary worlds and characters and storylines, most often inspired by the books I read. After a while, I started writing them down. I also wrote a lot of creative fiction for school—school plays, short stories, skits, etc. I was always thought of as “the writer” in my school years, and I think I subconsciously carried that with me into adulthood.

A: Beyond your own work (of course), what is your all-time favorite book and why? And what is your favorite book outside of your genre? Favorite retelling?

SJJ: My all-time favorite book is The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. I think it’s partially because I first read it at the right time in my life (I was eleven, Lyra’s age), but also because it’s a book that has aged with me. I’ve always loved the coming-of-age narrative, and Pullman takes the concept of growing up and makes it literal in ways that amaze and astound me.

A: I suppose my genre is YA fantasy, so the opposite of that would be…adult contemporary?

SJJ: I don’t know if I have a favorite, but I thoroughly enjoyed Robert Galbraith’s Cormoran Strike novels, which are the adult mystery/thrillers written by J. K. Rowling.

My favorite retelling is Beauty by Robin McKinley. Again, I think it’s because read this book at the exact right time in my life, but every time I read it, it gives me the warm fuzzies.

A: If you could be any character in your novel who would you be and why? What fictional character (that is not your own!) do you personally identify with and, why?

SJJ: I’m not sure I would want to be any character in my novel, as they lived in late 18^th century Bavaria and I like 21^st century conveniences like indoor plumbing and modern healthcare. But if I had to pick, probably Thistle. I kind of am a prickly hobgoblin in real life, to be honest.

The fictional character I identify with most is Lyra Silvertongue from Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials. I love that she is half-feral, savage, and a liar, but also loving, loyal, and compassionate.

A: What is the best piece of advice you ever received from another author?

SJJ: Keep a part of yourself for yourself. It’s easy in the age of social media to blur the boundaries between author and work, but I am not my books. I have an entire life beyond writing, and nurturing that is just as important as developing my craft.

A: What songs fit this book and why? Do you play any instruments? Perhaps the violin and klavier(piano) that were so frequented in the story?

SJJ: I have a playlist that my publisher very kindly put together for me here! One song that fits this book is probably Coming Down by Halsey.

Most of my musical study was actually focused on voice, but I play a lot of instruments, and none of them particularly well (anymore). Like a good Asian kid, I’ve taken piano lessons since I was three, but I also learned how to play the flute for band, and taught myself the guitar so I could pretend I was Joni Mitchell. In a pinch, I can play the harp, the drums, and clarinet. No stringed instruments, unfortunately. I would love to learn though!

A: What was your favorite part about writing this book? What was your favorite scene to write?

SJJ: I loved that I was able to draw on so many things that inspired or influenced me aesthetically as I wrote this book. I love goth stories, Death and the Maiden tropes, Jacques Cocteau movies, Phantom of the Opera, glitter, David Bowie, Mozart, and all of that made it into my book in some form or another. I don’t have a favorite scene, necessarily, but one that was “fun” (in that it was full of personal “Easter eggs”) for me was the first time Liesl crosses the Underground lake and meets the Lorelei.

A: What inspired you to write Wintersong?

SJJ: The easy answer is, of course, the movie Labyrinth. But Labyrinth is only a small piece; I wrote about the whole thing on my blog.

A: If Wintersong was being turned into a movie, who would you cast for Käthe and the Goblin King?

SJJ: I’m not someone who casts their books; I usually draw what the characters look like in my head. If my book were to be made into a movie, I would only ask that the actor be able to embody the spirit of my characters. J I say this because David Bowie will never be able to play my Goblin King. L

A: What is your writing process like? Are you a plotter or a pantser? Do you have any specific things you need in order to write?

SJJ: Chaos. I work a full-time day job as well as co-host a weekly podcast and run Pub(lishing) Crawl, so I feel like I’m constantly scrambling. BUT. My general process is to journal my way through writing. I have a notebook that I treat almost like a critique partner; I have long, rambling conversations with myself about the story, the characters, the emotional characters, and ask myself questions about where things are going. The actual act of writing happens in fits and starts, unfortunately. But journaling is crucial to my process.

I am a pantser in that I can’t plan things with too much detail or else I’ll lose the joy of discovery. But I do have a general idea of the story shape before I start writing, as well as inflection points. All the stuff in the middle is one giant question mark though. As for what I need when I write—I am fueled by iced coffee and Twizzlers.

A: Could you tell us anything about your next project after WINTERSONG? What can we expect from the sequel?

SJJ: Well…it’s a sequel. J A direct sequel, and not a companion novel. I’m not sure I can say what you can expect without spoiling things too much, but it will deal with the consequences of the decision Liesl makes at the end of Wintersong.

A: What is the strangest thing you've ever had to Google for research?

SJJ: Most of my research is fairly mundane; it’s where I end up that’s a little ridiculous. For one of my WIPs, I think I Googled “King George V” and somehow, in the course of following little details down the rabbit hole of research, I ended up at Aleister Crowley’s idea of “sex magic.” Yeah. #ravenclawproblems

A: Is there another author you would like to collaborate on a book with?

SJJ: Any author who can plot better than me, which is most of them, I feel. J I would love to collaborate with Marie Lu, who was one of my earliest critique partners and a good friend of mine. She does action really well, but gets embarrassed by kissy feelings. I do action terribly, but delight in the kissy feelings. I think we could balance each other out.