“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.”
So I’m here with Jillian Boehme, the Author of Stormrise, a new YA fantasy hitting shelves soon. Let’s start by having you tell us a little about your book.
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.
What was your inspiration for this novel?
I’m drawn to stories with female leads who ultimately find their strength without denying their femininity—like Éowyn from Lord of the Rings, who in her greatest moment declares that she is not, in fact, male. I guess you could say my biggest 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). As for the dragons? I love them and simply wanted to tell a story about them. Caveat: I wanted my dragons to be different. So I created them without wings, and with furry manes.
Do you use music when you write?
Oh, definitely! I create a soundtrack for every novel I write; the music helps to pull me quickly into the world so I can begin working.
What’s a writing day look like for you?
I write 6 out of 7 days a week (unless I’m on deadline and need to write on Sunday, too). I’ll generally spend some time in the morning, which is my best time for writing. I homeschool my 12-year-old, and she does all her lesson work in the morning. She’s largely independent with her studies, which gives me more time to write (and to do other things, like laundry and throwing food into the crockpot).
If my morning ends up full of other obligations, I still have my main writing time in the afternoons. When it’s time to take my daughter to ballet (4 evenings a week), I simply pack up my laptop and bring my work with me. One of the wonderful things about being a writer is that you can work pretty much anywhere!
If you could speak to a writer just starting out, what would you tell them?
Oh, I love talking with writers just starting out! Dearest, just-starting-out-writers: Write that first novel no matter what. It’s going to end up on the rubbish heap (I know you don’t want to hear that), but it’s imperative that you finish it. Get feedback on it and be ready to rip into it to continue “practicing” how to write a novel. Then, when you’ve done all you can, start your second book. Read A LOT, and continue to get feedback A LOT. Make a commitment to learn your craft, and stay open to correction and instruction along the way. Even after you’ve been writing for years, you will continue to learn and to grow as a writer, which is part of the beauty of the calling. When things get tough, don’t quit! Give yourself grace and space when you need it, but keep pressing on. It’s an up-and-down journey, and you won’t have to take it alone. In the end, you’ll be so glad you stuck with it, regardless of where your own, personal journey takes you. I wish you all the best!
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.
Pre-order Stormrise between now and September 23rd and you’ll receive a signed bookmark and be entered into a drawing to win this gorgeous, Stormrise-inspired pendant by @T.ARCHJEWELRY. More into here.
This sweet YA Contemporary is a classic coming-of-age tale with lots of heartfelt moments along the way. I hope you enjoy.
Today, I’m going to be sharing with you a conversation I had with the author of this book, Christina June! From her book to her process to her advice to young writers, we covered it all.
You can also enter to win a bundle of all five books on the BLINK Summer Reading tour! Look for the Giveaway below!
Ashlyn Zanotti has big plans for the summer. She’s just spent a year at boarding school and can’t wait to get home. But when Ashlyn’s father is arrested for tax evasion and her mother enters a rehab facility for “exhaustion,” a.k.a. depression, her life is turned upside down.
The cherry on top? Ashlyn’s father sends her to work with a cousin she doesn’t even know at a rustic team-building retreat center in the middle of nowhere. A self-proclaimed “indoor girl,” not even Ash’s habit of leaving breadcrumb quotes—inspirational sayings she scribbles everywhere—can help her cope.
With a dangerously careless camp manager doling out grunt work, an overbearing father trying to control her even from prison, and more than a little boy drama to struggle with, the summer is full of challenges. And Ashlyn must make the toughest decision of her life: keep quiet and follow her dad’s marching orders, or find the courage to finally stand up to her father to have any hope of finding her way back home.
Ashlyn started as a character who appears in IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE. Readers who know her already will be familiar with her poor choices in boys and her unusually strict father. When my editor and I were brainstorming ideas for my next proposal, I knew I wanted to let Ashlyn tell her own story that would explore how much more than that she is. The fairy tale framework, Hansel & Gretl, is essentially an abandonment story between children and their father, which fit Ashlyn perfectly. Since my companions are all set in the summer, my mind went to a wilderness retreat center–summer camp for adults—as the right setting, and voila, her fish-out-of-water story began to take shape. Her experience was inspired by my chats with students who feel powerless in their own families, for various reasons. I wanted to show them that they words and thoughts have value and they can change their situation if they want to.
2. Do you use music when you write?
Always. I make playlists on Spotify, usually from whatever strikes me off the radio, and those songs tend to become the voice of my characters. Ashlyn’s theme song is The Gold by Manchester Orchestra. The lyrics of the chorus really speak to her feelings about her father.
3. What’s a writing day look like for you?
They’re never the same! I have a full time job and a family, so I take whatever time I can get. The hour before I start work and the hour after before I have to pick up my daughter are pretty reliable, though. I also take advantage of summer time, when I’m not in school, and November for NaNoWriMo.
4. What’s your favorite part about writing? Least?
Favorite is drafting, least favorite is editing. I think a LOT about what I want to write before I actually start, so my first drafts are pretty clean. I like things to be done and put away, so going back and making changes is always a challenge.
5. If you could speak to a writer just starting out, what would you tell them?
Don’t give up. Keep at it and know you learn something new from every project. Writing “the end” is so powerful, so strive for that. Publishing is about patience, so while you’re waiting, write the next thing and do other activities to refill the creative well when you’re feeling stuck.
Christina June writes young adult contemporary fiction when she’s not writing college recommendation letters during her day job as a school counselor. She loves the little moments in life that help someone discover who they’re meant to become – whether it’s her students or her characters. Christina is a voracious reader, loves to travel, and hopes to one day be bicoastal – the east coast of the US and the east coast of Scotland. She lives just outside Washington DC with her husband and daughter.
Adventures Thru Wonderland – McCall Hoyle Guest Post Here’s to Happy Endings – Book Review of A Touch of Gold What She Will Read – Book Review of No Place Like Here + Favorite Quotes Starlight Reads – Book Playlist for Swing Story-eyed Reviews – Book Review of Meet the Sky + Favorite Quotes Library of a Book Witch – Book Review of A Touch of GoldWill Read Anything – Book Review of Swing Inky Moments – Book Review of No Place Like Here + Favorite Quotes
What She Will Read – Laurie Boyle Crompton Guest Post Never Too Many to Read – Book Review of No Place Like Here Starlight Reads – Book Review of Swing YA/NA Book Divas – Book Review of A Touch of Gold YA Media Consumer – Meet the Sky Book Spotlight Some Books and Ramblings – Interview with McCall Hoyle Moonlight Rendezvous – Book Review of A Touch of Gold + Favorite QuotesThe Reading Corner for All – Book Review of Meet the Sky + Instagram Post
July 31
Feed Your Fiction Addiction – McCall Hoyle Guest PostTaylor Fenner’s Bookish World – Book Review of No Place Like HereBook-Keeping – Book Review of Touch of Gold Utopia State of Mind – Book Review of No Place Like Here Kait Plus Books – Annie Sullivan Guest PostMusings of a (Book) Girl – Book Review of Swing Kait Plus Books – Laurie Boyle Crompton Guest PostRead At Night – No Place Like Here Creative Post Ohana Cascadia – Book Review of A Touch of Gold + Favorite Quotes Lifestyle of Me – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney
August 1
Reading Authors Network – Creative Post for Swing Story-eyed Reviews – Interview with Christina June Two Points of Interest – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney The Secret Reader – Book Review of A Touch of Gold + Creative Post Belle’s Archive – Book Review of Swing A Dream Within A Dream – Annie Sullivan Guest Post Smada’s Book Smack – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney A Bookish Dream – Book Review of No Place Like Here Adventures Thru Wonderland – Book Review of Meet the Sky
August 2
Here’s to Happy Endings – Book Review of Meet the Sky Belle’s Archive – Book Review of Pretty In PunxsutawneyThe Secret Reader – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney + Interview with Laurie Boyle Crompton + Creative PostSmada’s Book Smack – Book Review of No Place Like HereFaery Tales Are Real – Book Review of A Touch of Gold Read At Night – Book Review of Swing + Creative Post Two Points of Interest – Book Review of Swing
I’m participating in the BLINK Summer Reading Tour right now and I get the pleasure of introducing you to Meet the Sky!
I read Meet the Sky this month and really enjoyed it. This YA contemporary was dramatic, suspenseful, and a little bit romantic in all the best ways. I can’t wait to share my full review with you tomorrow, as the tour continues!
Today, I’m going to be sharing with you a conversation I had with the author of this book, McCall Hoyle! From her book to her process to her advice to young writers, we covered it all.
You can also enter to win a bundle of all five books on the BLINK Summer Reading tour! Look for the Giveaway below!
It all started with the accident. The one that caused Sophie’s dad to walk out of her life. The one that left Sophie’s older sister, Meredith, barely able to walk at all.
With nothing but pain in her past, all Sophie wants is to plan for the future—keep the family business running, get accepted to veterinary school, and protect her mom and sister from another disaster. But when a hurricane forms off the coast of North Carolina’s Outer Banks and heads right toward their island, Sophie realizes nature is one thing she can’t control.
After she gets separated from her family during the evacuation, Sophie finds herself trapped on the island with the last person she’d have chosen—the reckless and wild Finn Sanders, who broke her heart freshman year. As they struggle to find safety, Sophie learns that Finn has suffered his own heartbreak; but instead of playing it safe, Finn’s become the kind of guy who goes surfing in the eye of the hurricane. He may be the perfect person to remind Sophie how to embrace life again, but only if their newfound friendship can survive the storm.
My second book, Meet the Sky, is about Sophie, a girl struggling to keep her fractured family together. She’s all about sticking to the plan—keeping the family business running, saving money for college one day, and making sure her mom and sister don’t endure another tragedy—but when a hurricane forms off the coast of the Outer Banks, Sophie realizes nature is one thing she can’t control. She ends up stranded in the middle of the storm with Finn, the boy who broke her heart freshman year.
2. What was your inspiration for this novel?
My father died unexpectedly about eighteen years ago. It was the single most life-changing, world-rocking event of my life. Years past before I could talk about it without overwhelming emotion. Needless to say, I didn’t handle losing him very well. I was emotionally paralyzed for several years. I went about the business of doing life, but inside I was a train wreck. Writing was one of the things that actually helped me start processing some of that bottled up grief. Along the way, I learned that there are much healthier ways to grieve. My father was a lot like Finn in the book, he truly lived every day like it might be his last. The inspiration for the story came when I thought about what would happen if two people with totally different belief systems about living and dying fell in love.
3. Do you use music when you write?
I wish I could say I listened to really cool playlists when I write, but honestly, I prefer the silence of the wood-paneled quiet room at my favorite library or the background chatter of my local Starbucks. Sometimes, if the background noise is too much, I’ll put in my earbuds and listen to classical music.
4. What’s a writing day look like for you?
Oh my gosh, I wish I had a super cool answer for this one too, but I’m a very busy mom and teacher as well as writer. I’m also easily distracted by my golden retriever whom I adore and spend a lot of time grooming and training.
So a typical writing day looks like me scrambling to squeeze in an hour or two to write whenever I can, wherever I can. Sometimes, that’s late at night after the family goes to bed. Sometimes, it’s sitting in the line to pick my son up after school. Sometimes, it’s at the library or Starbucks. If I’m really desperate, I’ll even draft a quick scene in the notes app on my phone. I’ve even used dictating apps while I’m driving.
But hope springs eternal. Someday, I envision myself writing in a really cool treehouse, sipping chai tea, and watching wildlife out the enormous window above my desk.
5. What’s your favorite part about writing? Least?
My favorite part of writing is definitely coming up with shiny, bright new ideas and brainstorming plots sure to set the world on fire. I think many writers love this part. In fact, we often use these brilliant new ideas to distract us from the project we’re supposed to be working on when the going gets tough, and it always gets tough at some point. New ideas are so full of optimism, and enthusiasm, and creative energy partially because we haven’t figured out the inherent problems that are bound to arise. Even though, I know I shouldn’t be wooed away from an existing project, it’s so fun to get lost in a new idea.
My least favorite part of writing seems to be writing the middle of any book. I love, love, love writing the first ten to twenty-thousand words where I’m getting to know the characters and developing the conflict and setting. Since I usually have an idea of how a story will end before I start, it’s really exciting to see that coming together. But that darn middle gets me every time. The only two things that I’ve found that help are lots of brainstorming on the front end and just writing through the hard spots. Anything can be revised. Anything. But there have to be some words there to begin with.
6. If you could speak to a writer just starting out, what would you tell them?
It’s a marathon, not a race. Be kind and gentle with yourself and celebrate every step along the way, and I mean every step. Celebrate the first manuscript you finish, even if in hindsight it’s not very good. Celebrate the first time you receive a rejection from an agent or an editor. It means you finished a project and put yourself out there. For most of us, it’s a long, tough road to publication, and even once we’re published we’re constantly moving the bar and reaching for new goals and milestones. You’ll burnout your creative spirit if you don’t give her time to celebrate and enjoy along the way. If you can, find likeminded friends and critique partners to celebrate with. They’ll come in super hand when you’re having a bad day as well.
McCall Hoyle writes honest YA novels about friendship, first love, and girls finding the strength to overcome great challenges. She is a high school English teacher. Her own less-than-perfect teenage experiences and those of the girls she teaches inspire many of the struggles in her books. When she’s not reading or writing, she’s spending time with her family and their odd assortment of pets—a food-obsessed beagle, a grumpy rescue cat, and a three-and-a-half-legged kitten. She has an English degree from Columbia College and a master’s degree from Georgia State University. She lives in a cottage in the woods in North Georgia where she reads and writes every day.
Marshmallow Pudding – Christina June Guest Post Never Too Many to Read – Creative Post for No Place Like Here Ohana Cascadia – Book Review of Swing + Favorite QuotesNay’s Pink Bookshelf – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney + Favorite QuotesFictitiousWonderland – Book Review + Creative Post for A Touch of Gold (Instagram) Story-eyed Reviews – Interview with McCall Hoyle Will Read Anything – Book Review of Meet the Sky Kait Plus Books – Book Review of No Place Like Here + Favorite Quotes The Reading Corner for All – Book Review of A Touch of Gold + Instagram Post
July 26
Adventures Thru Wonderland – McCall Hoyle Guest Post Here’s to Happy Endings – Book Review of A Touch of Gold What She Will Read – Book Review of No Place Like Here + Favorite Quotes Starlight Reads – Book Playlist for Swing Story-eyed Reviews – Book Review of Meet the Sky + Favorite Quotes Library of a Book Witch – Book Review of A Touch of GoldWill Read Anything – Book Review of Swing Inky Moments – Book Review of No Place Like Here + Favorite Quotes
July 29
Beauty In the Binding – Author Q&A with Annie SullivanOnemused – Book Review of Meet the Sky (Instagram Photo)A Bronx Latina Reads – Book Review of No Place Like HereCinnamon Summers – Book Review of Meet the Sky + Favorite Quotes A Dream Within a Dream – Book Review of A Touch of Gold A Bookish Dream – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney Savings In Seconds – Book Review of Swing + Favorite Quotes FictitiousWonderland – Book Review + Creative Post for Pretty In Punxsutawney (Instagram)
July 30
What She Will Read – Laurie Boyle Crompton Guest Post Never Too Many to Read – Book Review of No Place Like Here Starlight Reads – Book Review of Swing YA/NA Book Divas – Book Review of A Touch of Gold YA Media Consumer – Book Review of Meet the Sky Some Books and Ramblings – Interview with McCall Hoyle Moonlight Rendezvous – Book Review of A Touch of Gold + Favorite QuotesThe Reading Corner for All – Book Review of Meet the Sky + Instagram Post
July 31
Feed Your Fiction Addiction – McCall Hoyle Guest PostTaylor Fenner’s Bookish World – Book Review of No Place Like HereBook-Keeping – Book Review of Touch of Gold Utopia State of Mind – Book Review of No Place Like Here Kait Plus Books – Annie Sullivan Guest PostMusings of a (Book) Girl – Book Review of Swing Kait Plus Books – Laurie Boyle Crompton Guest PostRead At Night – No Place Like Here Creative Post Ohana Cascadia – Book Review of A Touch of Gold + Favorite Quotes Lifestyle of Me – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney
August 1
Reading Authors Network – Creative Post for Swing Story-eyed Reviews – Interview with Christina June Two Points of Interest – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney The Secret Reader – Book Review of A Touch of Gold + Creative Post Belle’s Archive – Book Review of Swing A Dream Within A Dream – Annie Sullivan Guest Post Smada’s Book Smack – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney A Bookish Dream – Book Review of No Place Like Here Adventures Thru Wonderland – Book Review of Meet the Sky
August 2
Here’s to Happy Endings – Book Review of Meet the Sky Belle’s Archive – Book Review of Pretty In PunxsutawneyThe Secret Reader – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney + Interview with Laurie Boyle Crompton + Creative PostSmada’s Book Smack – Book Review of No Place Like HereFaery Tales Are Real – Book Review of A Touch of Gold Read At Night – Book Review of Swing + Creative Post Two Points of Interest – Book Review of Swing
That’s all I’ve got for you guys today, I hope you enjoyed it!! If these types of interviews and tours are something you’d like to see more of, drop me a line and tell me what you think about it! See you tomorrow! x — A
Story-eyed Reviews 