Today I have Julie Tuovi as my guest. She is the YA Fantasy
writer of the Sirens of Falkeld series. Her news novella is The Last Nine
Winter of Aidan Finley. If you’re as much of a fan of fantasy and sirens as I
am, I know you’ll enjoy her visit. :)
Welcome, Julie! Please tell us about your current release.
My latest book is called, The Last Nine Winters of
Aidan Finley…
Aidan Finley dreamed of marrying the girl with the red hair
who stole his heart as a lad. He dreamed of a family and growing old together
in a cottage atop Muireall’s wind-swept cliffs.
But Aidan didn’t know what swam beneath the island’s dark,
fathomless waves.
He never realized what fragile things dreams can be.
After a storm ravishes the island one summer day, he finds
a creature caught beneath a rock in a cave. His choice to save her will alter
his world forever—for even dreams aren’t safe from the siren’s song.
I have to give a huge shout out to the fans for this one.
Aidan came about—in large part—because of them clamoring for more Aidan after I
released The Sirens of Falkeld. With requests like that, what’s a girl to
do, right? Write! Hopefully fans of Sirens will love this further
glimpse into Finley history!
1. What
inspired you to write this book?
My DAD was the first person to inspire me to write about mermaids
(if you can believe it!) He said it in passing one day, and I honestly wasn’t
too interested. I wanted to write something dark and gritty, and at that point,
I was a little mermaid sheltered, and didn’t realize mermaids were capable of
being dark.
Aaand then I saw a certain Pirates of the Caribbean movie...
Um, hello there, evil mermaids!
After a little digging, I realized that almost every
culture and every country in the world has SOME type of mer-folklore, and that
most of them actually aren’t your Disney-princess-sparkly-nice
in the slightest. After that
realization, there was no going back. From there on it was all folklore, myths
and research and I’ve loved every second of the journey. Thanks, dad ( ;
2. I loved those evil mermaids! What
books would you compare to The Last Nine Winters of Aidan Finley?
There are TWO books that I absolutely love, and actually
reread a couple times while writing my own book, because they were good at
getting me in the mood:
1. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater,
and
2. The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan
Both of these books are FABULOUS! They are both a bit
darker and more moody, and they also both deal with aspects of Celtic folklore.
(Win, win!) If you’re into that kinda thing, you’ll definitely want to read
these!
3. Is
this part of a series?
Yes! The Last Nine
Winters of Aidan Finley is actually a companion novella that goes with The Sirens of Falkeld. Technically, it’s
a prequel. But I highly recommend reading Sirens
first, as it gives you context to the world and characters that will make Aidan a more interesting read!
4. Why
did you choose the setting of Scotland?
I knew when I started, that I wanted a setting that would
reflect the mood of the novel I was going to write. I basically just looked at
a map and decided that the cold seas, high cliffs and rich folklore history of
Scotland fit the bill perfectly! (Super scientific, I know)
5. If you have a pen name, can you explain how
you came up with it?
Julie Tuovi is my real name… although Tuovi is technically
my middle name. When I was in junior high, it embarrassed me so bad. That’s the
age you just really want to fit in, ya know? And my middle name most decidedly,
did NOT fit in! I tried to keep it on the down low, until one day, I was at a
party, and somehow the topic of middle names came up. I grudgingly mentioned
that my middle name was Tuovi, at which point my friend exclaimed, “Tuovi?! You could be famous with a name like Tuovi!” Haha! I
seriously doubted her mental stability at the time, but when it came time to
picking a pen name, I decided, “Why the heck not?!”
(P.s. I don’t hate the name anymore… I’ve actually grown
rather fond of it! Thanks, ‘rents!)
6. I think that's a neat middle name. What
are a few things we would find in or on your desk?
A mess. (HA!) Consisting of knickknacks, a miniature grand
piano, a little ceramic orange bowl I made in kindergarten (currently serving
as my push pin holder), post it notes, LOTS of pictures, multi-colored pens and
markers, oh and lookie here—fingernail clippers!
7. Fingernail clips. haha Can you tell us about your journey to
publication?
I self published The
Sirens of Falkeld, last year (2015), after being rejected about a billion
times by agents. I got lots and LOTS of full ms requests, but for some reason
or another, I couldn’t—for the life of me!—get one to stick! Frustrated, I
decided to put Sirens out there on my
own. I wanted it to get read, and I didn’t want to wait around any longer *puts
foot down*!!
Fast forward a year later… I’m getting ready to release Aidan, meanwhile, another book I had on
submission was getting some hits by agents (Yessss!!) One of the agents I
queried was Moe Ferrara of Bookends Literary. I found her through a blog
contest hosted by Miss Snark’s First Victim and thought she sounded like a
great match for my book. I sent her a cold query and she requested a full! A
few months later, I noticed Moe was attending a writing conference I was
planning on going to. I emailed her and asked her if she’d like to meet in
person (because, you know… why not?) And she did! We met, and the first thing
out of her mouth was, “Heeeey, I actually wanted to talk to you, do you mind
stepping out into the hall with me?”
*cue hyperventilating into paper
bag*
She then proceeded to tell me she
loved my book and wanted to rep me! AHHHHHHH!!! I totally played it cool (HA!
Not.), but there was much screaming and jumping up and down in the bathroom afterwards.
A few days later, we made it
official and the contract was signed! *squeeeee*
You guys, THIS ALL JUST HAPPENED, so I’m kind of still
in freak out mode here. But when I’m not still scratching my head and reminding
myself that—yes, I DO (finally!) have an agent—you can find me working on some
revisions to said book. Once it’s in tip-top shape, hopefully we’ll be able to
go out on submission sometime this year!
8. Share three random facts about you.
1) I can’t crack an egg to save my life—I get bits of shell
in the pan EVERY time!
2) I can wiggle my nose the way some people can wiggle
their ears
3) My thumbs are double
jointed
9. I can't wiggle my nose or ears! Do you listen to music while you write?
Sometimes, but it HAS to be wordless. Lyrics mess with my
mind when I write! If the music has words, I’ll inevitably start singing along,
which is kinda detrimental when you’re trying to think of your own words.
10. Share your
advice to new writers.
NEVER give up. NEVER stop improving!! I’m 1,000% convinced
that the vast majority of success stories out there are because they were just
too stubborn to let go of a dream! BE STUBBORN, OKAY?!!
BIO:
Julie Tuovi is a read-a-holic, Diet Coke
addict, and like her maighdean mhara,
loves all things sparkly. Especially nail polish. In her spare time Julie likes
to hunt zombies, debate the merits of pirate v. ninja, and rescue small kittens
from trees. Oh . . . and plot ways to take over the universe. A history
enthusiast, concert pianist, and attorney (but only when there’s nothing better
to do), she currently lives in Ohio with her knight and wee baby princess,
where you can often find her writing and dreaming of far-off, magical places. She
is represented by Moe Ferrara of Bookends Literary.
Author Links:
