1.) Thank you again for being here today and congrats on your debut novel, Song of Shadows. That must be exciting and bring with it an adjustment to knowing your work is finally in the hands of readers everywhere. As a person chooses to begin a writing career or hobby even, they often have a few other authors, or books for that matter, that they admire and strive to become similar to. When you began writing, who/what were some of your most influential authors or books?

Sylvia: Oh, so many! But credit where it’s due . . . my first inspiration was probably Robin McKinley. She was one of the very first to write YA fantasy staring kick-butt heroines. I read her Hero and the Crown back in high school and fell madly in love! After that, I found Tamora Pierce, of course, not to mention Diana Wynne Jones and Patricia C. Wrede.

These days there are so many amazing authors writing strong female heroines in YA fantasy. I love Laini Taylor’s Strange the Dreamer and its sequel. And of course, Sarah J. Maas and Leigh Bardugo have set the bar high for the genre!

The Bibliophagist: I completely agree that there are so many amazing authors who write strong female heroines in YA fantasy and the number only continues to grow. It is an honor to watch that, to watch the diversity grow as we do.
 

 

2) Your main character is truly amazing. I think my favorite part about her is how she is flawed. I believe having flawed characters can make a story better or worse. Can you tell us a little bit about what you think about flawed characters? What do they bring to the story? What damage could they cause?

Sylvia: Every hero has to go on a journey. And what better journey than the journey of self-realization? At some point, we, all of us have to face the truth—that we are our own worst enemies. That the battle to overcome our own vices and selfishness and biases will be the greatest battle of our lives. So a flawed heroine is really speaking to universal truths.

In Song of Shadows, Hollis has been brought up with very specific religious ideas that she believes so implicitly, they blind her to the reality of the world around her. This is something that EVERYONE does to one degree or another! We’re all brought up with biases and beliefs that can easily warp our perspective and hinder our ability to love and help other people. So I think Hollis is a very relatable character because her struggle is our struggle.

The Bibliophagist: I don’t think I know anyone who has not been influenced by beliefs of their parents or family that was around them when they were young. Self-realization journeys are especially relatable to YA readers. We all know finding who we really are is a process and can be difficult and confusing. I think many readers will easily relate to Hollis.

 

 

 

3) The inspiration for a story can come from just about anything. What sparked the idea for Song of Shadows? Can you give readers a sneak peek into what might come next in the series?

Sylvia: Well, Song of Shadows is a prequel to my upcoming series, The Venatrix Chronicles. It’s set 20 years before the main series and really lays the groundwork for everything that’s to come. In the main series, Hollis serves as the heroine’s mentor/mother-figure . . . but she was so interesting to me as a character, I really wanted to explore her in more depth, find out how she became the woman that she is.

So Song of Shadows began as a character study and quickly grew into a fully-fledged adventure! In fact, I enjoyed it so much, I’m making tentative plans to write an entire spin-off series about Hollis, set in this 20-years-earlier period. We’ll see if that pans out . . .

But what’s coming next is The Venatrix Chronicles series, which is seven books of breathtaking action, terrifying magic, and forbidden romance! And I can’t wait to share it with all of you. Book 1, Daughter of Shades, launches on August 1st . . . .

The Bibliophagist: Sometimes the secondary characters end up being my favorites and I wish for side stories about them. I am so excited to see Hollis and the story that she will bring us. Seven books with action, magic, and forbidden romance? Count me in!
 

 

4) What does your ideal writing space look like? Do you require music? Tea? Could you write us a short scene about your ideal day of writing?

Sylvia: Once upon a time, I had an office . . . a beautiful office with a big window gazing out on a green park with a white gazebo. I would sit at a huge cabinet desk, pounding away at stories, a fluffy cat in my lap, a mug of tea at my elbow. I would rise at dawn and write for hours on end, uninterrupted save for the need to now and again pour more tea . . . and then . . .

I had a baby. And the office became a nursery. LOL!

So these days I work in my breakfast nook or on the living room couch. Still with a cat in my lap and a mug of tea at my elbow! But my sweet husband has been hard at work building a new office for me in our walk-in attic space. It’s ALMOST finished now—he’s just got to install a few skylights so I’ll have natural light. He’s making me a built-in desk and painted the walls white and pale blue, and it’s going to be absolutely beautiful!

The Bibliophagist: What an amazing husband! I love that story and don’t you know it…many often have a similar one to tell. I think that says more about a writer though because they are not set in their ways of writing, they are fluid and can find the drive and inspiration to write where they have time and space.
 

 

5) As a book and tea lover myself, as are many others who might read this interview, acquiring minds want to know…What are some of your favorite teas? Do you sweeten it? Is there a different tea for different moods? Could you match up a book and type of tea each fo your characters might enjoy?

Sylvia: I am all about black teas! Particularly Ceylon black teas. My husband is from Sri Lanka, which is one of the largest tea-growing nations in the world. So when we visit, or when friends and family come to see us, we always stock up on black, loose-leaf tea. But if we can’t get it directly from Sri Lanka, this Twining loose leaf tea is pretty close! I take it Sri Lankan style with a dash of milk and a spoonful of sugar.

My characters also drink black, loose-leaf tea, but without milk or sugar. There is actually a scene of tea-drinking in the opening of Song of Shadows. My hero makes a cup of tea for the heroine . . . but they’re out on the road in the middle of the wilderness, so they don’t have a strainer for the leaves. She drinks it with loose tea leaves floating around and coating her tongue  . . . which is eeeew, to me! But she’s a tougher person than I am, so it doesn’t bug her.

So what kind of teas do YOU like???

The Bibliophagist: Oh yea…I’m not one for drinking the leaves as well as the tea. But then again, I’m probably not as strong as your character either, I can drink my tea without cream or sweetener though. I love so many teas, including herbal, greens, blacks. I really like black tea with some of our raw honey, we are commercial beekeepers, and some heavy cream. I enjoy green tea as well, I’d love to find a good matcha tea brand but that means I need the proper tools first so that will have to wait. I really am open to trying anything. Although…I did try a plain Roiboos tea and was not too fond of it. The scent reminded me of medicine and it might have been a psychological reaction but I did not enjoy it much.

I love that your husband is from Sri Lanka and you are able to stock up on great quality tea.

 

 

 

6) What was the most pivotal moment in your writing career so far? What made you push to finish this book and send it out into the world? Do you have any advice for others who are in a similar place to where you once were?

Sylvia: Well, I had a short career as a traditional novelist (under a different name), writing YA fantasy. But the traditional market isn’t always a great place for novelists, and after six books, my career kinda went . . . nowhere.

So I pulled back and started to think about what I could try next. I started writing what became The Venatrix Chronicles and, on a whim, submitted the first book to a contest. It wasn’t a big deal sort of contest—no prize fee or anything! But the book won. And the reactions I got from the judges were so enthusiastic, it gave me confidence that I had a pretty cool story on my hands.

Having been burned in traditional publishing already, I decided to start exploring different avenues. I began seriously researching indie publishing. I read Chris Fox’s Write to Market and Six-Figure Author, along with the rest of his series for indie novelists. Using that information, I started to craft a plan to launch an indie publishing career.

We’ll have to see if I can actually pull it off . . . Song of Shadows is just the first step in a long journey, after all. But I’m very eager to discover where this adventure takes me!

I would definitely advise aspiring novelists to check out Chris Fox’s series. Also Mark Dawson’s Self Publishing Formula podcast and classes are insanely useful!

On the creative side, I advise figuring out the kind of book you MOST love to read and then studying those books. Read as many authors in your genre as possible and really pay attention to how they do what they do. Then start to mimic them . . . but always with your own, unique approach! Bring as much of YOU to your writing as you can, because YOU are what will make your story original.

Thanks for the great interview, Cassandra! I had a lot of fun answering these awesome questions.

The Bibliophagist: It was my honor having you here. I am happy you had as much fun answering them as I had creating them and reading your responses. I wish you luck in your Indie career. You have many fans waiting for this series and I know it will be a good one.