Welcome back to one of my favorite parts of the week here on The Bibliophagist! Today is Saturday Spotlight!!
I love Saturday Spotlight because I am able to introduce readers to new authors and their books. I am a firm believer that there are so many amazing books in the world but they do not get the praise they deserve, only because they are not discovered yet. I’ve been able to talk to so many amazing authors through this and would love to meet more. If you are an author interested in having a spotlight on my blog, please do not hesitate to ask. I host a variety of authors who write in a wide range of genres. In the end, I just want to support the authors who work so hard to write the stories I grow to love.
Today I am very excited to be talking with Claire Eliza Bartlett about her newest novel We Rule the Night. I was lucky enough to partake int he blog tour and I reviewed this fantastic book. You can find my review here. I had the pleasure of asking Claire some questions and I can’t wait for you to read them, so let’s begin!
Interview
It. Is. Amazing! And I can’t really fathom it yet. People keep telling me they like it, which is one of the biggest shocks, in a way. I keep expecting everyone to go, ‘meh, it’s fine.’ Also, I sort of want to hide under a rock.My favorite piece of feedback so far is from fellow author Addie Thorley. She said, “It was basically the feminist fantasy of my dreams.” I can’t ask for a better compliment than that (especially because I loved Addie’s protagonist Mirabelle in her riveting historical fantasy An Affair of Poisons)!
I think that people who have read about the history of the Night Witches, on whom the novel is based, will find a lot of similarities between things that happened to the Night Witches and things that happen to my girls. That’s probably the most easter egg-ish thing. Otherwise, I based my favorite character off a former colleague, and another character is named after a street in Copenhagen (my home)…but I don’t know how obvious those eggs are!The major themes of this novel are feminism, friendship, loyalty and love. And if there’s one thing you should take away from the novel, it’s this: always fight. You might lose, and you might get hurt, and you might feel like it’s not worth it. But it always is, and just because you can’t see how your fight is changing lives, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t do it at all.
I think your final sentence here is going to be one of my favorite responses! Truly inspirational.
I am pretty good at focusing on one thing at a time, but there’s always some low level chatter going on in the back of my mind. I have a scrivener file called ‘story hub’ where I put stories that I have an idea for but I don’t know what to do with it yet, or don’t have time to focus on it. That way I don’t forget an idea, and when I go back I often have a lot of different notes and concepts about where this story could go. Then I grab the one that seems most interesting and run with it!
I would spend that day with Revna, and we would be flying. I would love to be in the cockpit of a little plane, flying over a dramatic landscape. We can skip the front lines, though.
First, let me just say, LIBRARIES ARE THE BEST. Everyone use your libraries!My top two recommendations so far are THE WEIGHT OF OUR SKY by Hanna Alkaf and DESCENDANT OF THE CRANE by Joan He. Both of them are so beautifully written and standouts in their genres (historical and fantasy, respectively). You’d be a fool not to jump on Hanna and Joan’s bandwagons! Because I’m traveling, I’m also reading books in a few different formats, so I’m in the middle of ENCHANTEE by Gita Trelease, but I left THE FEVER KING by Victoria Lee unfinished back home, and I love them both! I’m also finishing up THE AFTERWARD by E.K. Johnston. I’d actually call THE AFTERWARD New Adult, but that’s an essay for another time.
Most of my experiences have been through people who seem to think I’m awful for wanting to get paid to write. I once argued for an hour with a woman because I said I wanted to make a living off my writing and she berated me for wanting to be the next Stephen King (which…that’s not what I said?!)Generally, people who don’t think you should get paid to write are either trying to get something for free, or they’re brainwashed by the people who are trying to get something for free. So I’d say, WRITING IS A REAL JOB AND IT DESERVES REAL MONEY.Luckily, I’ve had so much more support, from family, friends and professionals. To them, I’d say: Everything good that happens to me, happens in some part because of you. Writing is a hard endeavor, but it’s not as solitary as everyone believes – and the people that stand by me, that cheer for me, that help me improve should all know that they helped me get here.
About Claire Eliza Bartlett
Get more detailed information, like how many board games is too many, how many cats is too few, and what book-related beauties I’m working on by signing up for my newsletter.
Claire’s Books
**Remember to click the book image to read more about it and buy your copy today!**
Thank you again, Claire Eliza Bartlett, for taking some time from her crazy busy schedule to talk with us about her book and her feelings about being a newly published author! We Rule the Night is a fantastic novel with strong female characters who fight constant battles against sexism. Trust me, these are very strong women that you do not want to miss.
**Again, If you are an author interested in being hosted on Saturday Spotlight contact me! I would love to help support you and your work.**
Disclaimer: This Post may contain affiliate links.
Excellent interview!!!!