Interview with Kathryn Purdie for Bone Crier's Moon

Bone ​Crier’s Moon (Bone Grace #1)

by Kathryn Purdie
Publisher: HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen
Release Date: March 10th 2020

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Synopsis:

Bone ​Criers have a sacred duty. They alone can keep the dead from preying on the living. But their power to ferry the spirits of the dead into goddess Elara’s Night Heavens or Tyrus’s Underworld comes from sacrifice. The gods demand a promise of dedication. And that promise comes at the cost of the Bone Criers’ one true love.

Ailesse has been prepared since birth to become the matriarch of the Bone Criers, a mysterious famille of women who use strengths drawn from animal bones to ferry dead souls. But first she must complete her rite of passage and kill the boy she’s also destined to love.

Bastien’s father was slain by a Bone Crier and he’s been seeking revenge ever since. Yet when he finally captures one, his vengeance will have to wait. Ailesse’s ritual has begun and now their fates are entwined—in life and in death.

Sabine has never had the stomach for the Bone Criers’ work. But when her best friend Ailesse is taken captive, Sabine will do whatever it takes to save her, even if it means defying their traditions—and their matriarch—to break the bond between Ailesse and Bastien. Before they all die.

Can you briefly describe BONE CRIER’S MOON and its characters?

BONE CRIER’S MOON is a story about two best friends, Ailesse and Sabine, who are novice Bone Criers, members of a matriarchal society who use the magic obtained from animal bones to ferry the dead into the afterlife. Ailesse was born to be the next matriarch, and she’s ready to complete her rite of passage to finally become a Ferrier, but in order to do that she has to prove herself to the gods by killing the boy destined to be her one true love. That boy happens to be Bastien, whose father was killed by a Bone Crier eight years ago. Bastien has been on a quest of revenge ever since, but his vengeance will have to wait. Ailesse’s ritual has begun, and now their fates are entwined in life and death. Sabine’s journey is to help save her best friend from the deadly effects of the soul-bonding ritual and uncover the dark mysteries of the current matriarch, Ailesse’s mother.

Who would you say is your favourite character from the story and why?

Sabine is my favorite character because she represents the moral heart of the story. She’s the person who questions the cost of being a Bone Crier and who abhors killing for any reason. At the beginning of the story, Sabine isn’t sure if she wants to become a Ferrier, and over the course of the book, she has to turn into someone very strong and brave in order to have a fighting chance to save her best friend.

How did the story occur to you? Did you find inspiration anywhere?

While doing research for another book, I came across “Les Dames Blanches” (women in white) in French folklore. In the stories, if a man comes across a woman in white on a bridge at night, she’ll ask him to dance, and if he dances with her, she’ll let him cross the bridge, but if he doesn’t, she’ll kill him. That lit my writer brain on fire! I wanted to know why these women really killed men (there had to be more to it than being denied a dance), and so I created my own story and mythology around “Les Dames Blanches” to answer that question.

If you could choose one song to describe your book, which one would it be?

“Heavy in Your Arms” by Florence + the Machine. I played this song on repeat for several of Ailesse’s scenes. This song is perfect for her because she’s feisty and determined to kill her chosen soulmate at any cost in order to become a Ferrier, but what she doesn’t bargain for is falling in love with him--someone who hates her as much as she hates him...at least at first. I especially love these lyrics from the song: This will be my last confession / "I love you" never felt like any blessing / Whispering like it's a secret / Only to condemn the one who hears it / With a heavy heart.

What drink and place do you think will go with your book to have a perfect book date?

Hot cider in a thermos while exploring the catacombs below Paris! I based the catacombs in my story off of those ones. They are haunting and mysterious and fascinating, and I would love to explore them myself one day!

Can you recommend your readers any other books in case they are left hungry for more once they finish BONE CRIER’S MOON? 

If you haven’t read Robin LaFevers’s books set in the world of HIS FAIR ASSASSINS, definitely pick those up, starting with GRAVE MERCY. Assassin nuns! Need I say more? I’d also recommend BLOOD COUNTESS by Lana Popović, a YA novel about the real-life inspiration for Countess Dracula in 17th century Hungary. I love classic horror and historical fiction. This is the perfect mix!

What would you say is the most difficult part of writing a book?

Anyone can conceive a great book idea. The harder part is somehow making that idea become that beautiful story you first envisioned it to be. For me, that requires extensive research, detailed plotting, and strict discipline in putting in the hours necessary to draft and revise and rewrite and polish until I’ve finally told the story I meant to tell.

What’s next for you?

I just finished my most intensive round of revisions for the sequel to BONE CRIER’S MOON, and I can’t wait to share the title and stunning cover with all of you soon. I’m working with my agent on something new to sell, and I have lots of young adult and middle grade books ideas in the works. We’ll see what sticks!

Kathryn is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the BURNING GLASS series. Her love of storytelling began as a young girl when her dad told her about someone named Boo Radley while they listened to the film score of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. Kathryn is a trained classical actress who studied at the Oxford School of Drama. She also writes songs on her guitar for each of her stories and shares them on her website. Kathryn lives in the Rocky Mountains with her husband and three children.

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Interview with Courtney Alameda & Valynne E. Maetani for Seven Deadly Shadows

Seven Deadly Shadows

by Courtney Alameda & Valynne E. Maetani
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: January 28th 2020

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal

Synopsis:

Kira Fujikawa has always been a girl on the fringe. Bullied by her peers and ignored by her parents, the only place Kira’s ever felt at home is at her grandfather’s Shinto shrine, where she trains to be a priestess.

But Kira’s life is shattered on the night her family’s shrine is attacked by a vicious band of yokai demons. With the help of Shiro—the shrine’s gorgeous half-fox, half-boy kitsune—Kira discovers that her shrine harbors an ancient artifact of great power . . . one the yokai and their demon lord, Shuten-doji, will use to bring down an everlasting darkness upon the world.

Unable to face the Shuten-doji and his minions on her own, Kira enlists the aid of seven ruthless shinigami—or death gods—to help stop the brutal destruction of humankind. But some of the death gods aren’t everything they initially seemed, nor as loyal to Kira’s cause as they first appeared.

With war drawing nearer by the day, Kira realizes that if this unlikely band of heroes is going to survive, they’re going to have to learn to work together, confront their demons, and rise as one to face an army of unimaginable evil.

Can you briefly describe SEVEN DEADLY SHADOWS and its characters?

COURTNEY: SEVEN DEADLY SHADOWS is loosely based on Akira Kurosawa’s immortal film, SEVEN SAMURAI. It’s about a young woman named Kira Fujikawa, who works as a miko, or shrine maiden, at her family’s ancestral Shinto shrine. 

One night, the Fujikawa shrine is attacked by a band of yokai demons, monsters who are searching for an ancient sword that once belonged to the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu. When they are unable to locate the sword, the monsters promise to return during the rise of the next full moon. With her ancestral shrine in shambles and the shadows closing in around her, Kira teams up with the shrine’s kitsune guardian, Shiro, to seek help in Tokyo . . . only to find hope in the unlikeliest of places.

VALYNNE: Seven Deadly Shadows is a retelling of an old, classic film by Akira Kurosawa, Seven Samurai, a movie of which Courtney and I have always been fans. In the original story, a village is being attacked by bandits. The villagers end up hiring seven samurai to help defend their homes. Our saga replaces the bandits with monsters and demons from Japanese folklore. Shinigami, death gods, are used instead of samurai. 

Kira, the protagonist, is a young teenage girl who is subject to all kinds of metaphorical demons before she is forced to face actual monsters. Seven Deadly Shadows depicts a character who must learn how to form relationships in order to navigate a world filled with adolescent issues as well as the fantastical world that surrounds her.

Who would you say is your favourite character from the story and why?

COURTNEY: For me, it’s probably Lady O-bei. The scene in which she and Kira meet is one of the best things I’ve written thus far; I remember feeling utterly transported while writing it! 

VALYNNE: My favorite character is Kira’s grandmother. I don’t want to give too much away, but I think you have to have a dark sense of humor to appreciate this character. She is abrasive, not afraid to say exactly what she thinks, and does not possess the kind nature usually associated with grandmothers.

How did the story occur to you? Did you find inspiration anywhere?

COURTNEY: If I recall correctly, it started with a tweet. Valynne and I had been talking about writing a novel together for years; and during a Twitter conversation about SEVEN SAMURAI, someone mentioned yokai and shinigami and it was all downhill from there.

VALYNNE: The idea was Courtney’s. She pitched the story to me, and I immediately fell in love. My inspiration came from many Japanese samurai movies I watched growing up, and then Japanese folktales that were told to me as a child. We both have a love for anime and manga, so those influenced the writing as well.

If you could choose one song to describe your book, which one would it be?

COURTNEY: Hmm, that’s a great question! I’m really into K-pop at the moment, so I’d say that Red Velvet’s PEEK-A-BOO fits the mood, Twice’s BREAKTHROUGH fits the theme, and ONEUS’s VALKYRIE adds a nice dose of epic!

VALYNNE: For me it would be Panic Room by Au/Ra. I think the song and lyrics embody someone plagued by fear and the feeling of being surrounded by demons.

If your book was going to be made into a movie, who would play your characters?

COURTNEY: Honestly, I’d like to see SEVEN DEADLY SHADOWS as an animated film; especially since the book drew so heavily on anime and manga like BLEACH and DEATH NOTE.

VALYNNE: For Kira, or any Japanese female character, I always say Kimiko Miyashima because she is like my little sister. I like Haruma Miura as Shiro, Kento Nagayama as Ronin, Ken Watanabe as Shimada, and Rinko Kikuchi as Roji.

Can you tell us a fun/interesting fact from SEVEN DEADLY SHADOWS?

COURTNEY: While I was in Japan researching SEVEN DEADLY SHADOWS, I spotted an enormous black butterfly in the middle of an empty shrine path. It launched itself into the air as I approached, circled a few times, and disappeared into the shrine’s gardens.

I like to think that one of Shimada’s spirits stopped by to say hello! 

VALYNNE: In the first draft, Ronin wasn’t even a character in the book.

What drink and place do you think will go with your book to have a perfect book date?

COURTNEY: Ooh, perhaps matcha tea in a lovely Japanese garden. Or if you aren’t a fan of tea, get a Ramune soda!

VALYNNE: I am a Diet Coke girl. Everything goes with Diet Coke. As for the place, I always like curling up in bed.

Is there anything we need to know before we start reading SEVEN DEADLY SHADOWS?

COURTNEY: The finished novel contains both a Fujikawa Shrine map and a Japanese glossary to help you acclimate yourself to Kira’s world.

VALYNNE: I think sometimes it is hard to understand just how important honor and duty are in the Japanese culture. That alone is reason enough to motivate a character to risk his/her life.

What is it like to be a co-author and what would be the most difficult part of writing a book for you?

COURTNEY: Co-writing a novel in one voice is difficult, but not impossible. In general, I’d first draft the odd-numbered chapters, and Valynne drafted the even ones. I’d revise the even-numbered chapters, and she revised the odd. 

We had a verbal framework for the first draft—we’d meet weekly to discuss where we wanted the novel to go; but by the second draft, we needed a hard outline to make it all work. I’m not a great outliner, but I learned!

VALYNNE: Being a co-author is good because you have two people bringing ideas to the table as opposed to one. It’s also more difficult because you have to make sure the voice of the characters is consistent despite different writing styles.

Can you recommend your readers any other books in case they are left hungry for more once they finish SEVEN DEADLY SHADOWS?

COURTNEY: Go read Kat Cho’s WICKED FOX! It’s set in Korea, rather than Japan, but features a nine-tailed gumiho that needs to consume the energy of men to survive. It’s fantastic! 

What’s next for you?

COURTNEY: I’m currently researching a historical horror set in Paris during the Belle Epoque; developing a YA sci-fi world and mythos for [redacted—sorry, if I told you I’d have to kill you!]; and writing a feminist adult fantasy novel. I’m also working on a new comic. In short, I like to stay busy!

VALYNNE: I am hoping to finish two more companion books for the Ink and Ashes series.

Courtney Alameda

A veteran bookseller and librarian, Courtney Alameda now spends her days writing thriller and horror novels for young people. Her debut novel, SHUTTER, was nominated for a Bram Stoker award and hailed as a "standout in the genre" by School Library Journal. Her forthcoming novel, PITCH DARK (Spring 2017), is a genre-blending science fiction/horror novel in the vein of Ridley Scott's 1979 film ALIEN.

Courtney holds a B.A. in English literature with an emphasis in creative writing. She is represented by the talented John M. Cusick of Folio Literary. A Northern California native, she now resides in Utah with her husband, a legion of books, and a tiny five pound cat with a giant personality.

Valynne E. Maetani

Valynne E. Maetani (pronounced Vuh-lin Mah-eh-tah-nee) grew up in Utah and obtained a Bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania. In a former life, she was a project manager and developed educational software for children with learning disabilities. Currently, she is a full-time writer. She is a member of the We Need Diverse Books team and is dedicated to promoting diversity in children's literature because every child should grow up believing his or her story deserves to be told. Her debut novel, Ink and Ashes, is the winner of the New Visions Award 2013, a Junior Library Guild 2015 selection, and Best Fiction Book in Salt Lake City Weekly’s Best of Utah Arts Award for 2015. She lives in Salt Lake City.

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Interview with Maureen Johnson for The Hand on The Wall

The Hand on the Wall (Truly Devious #3)

by Maureen Johnson
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: January 21st 2020

Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller

Synopsis:

New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson delivers the witty and pulse-pounding conclusion to the Truly Devious series as Stevie Bell solves the mystery that has haunted Ellingham Academy for over 75 years.

Ellingham Academy must be cursed. Three people are now dead. One, a victim of either a prank gone wrong or a murder. Another, dead by misadventure. And now, an accident in Burlington has claimed another life. All three in the wrong place at the wrong time. All at the exact moment of Stevie’s greatest triumph . . .

She knows who Truly Devious is. She’s solved it. The greatest case of the century.

At least, she thinks she has. With this latest tragedy, it’s hard to concentrate on the past. Not only has someone died in town, but David disappeared of his own free will and is up to something. Stevie is sure that somehow—somehow—all these things connect. The three deaths in the present. The deaths in the past. The missing Alice Ellingham and the missing David Eastman. Somewhere in this place of riddles and puzzles there must be answers.

Then another accident occurs as a massive storm heads toward Vermont. This is too much for the parents and administrators. Ellingham Academy is evacuated. Obviously, it’s time for Stevie to do something stupid. It’s time to stay on the mountain and face the storm—and a murderer.

In the tantalizing finale to the Truly Devious trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson expertly tangles her dual narrative threads and ignites an explosive end for all who’ve walked through Ellingham Academy.

Can you briefly describe the TRULY DEVIOUS series and its characters, what’s happening on THE HAND ON THE WALL?

Truly Devious is about Stevie Bell, a true-crime aficionado who wants to be a detective. She’s come to Ellingham Academy, which is one of America’s most prestigious and unusual schools, with the hopes of solving the 1936 kidnapping of the founder’s wife and daughter. The kidnappers sent a mocking riddle signed Truly, Devious. This is an extremely famous case, considered the crime of the century, so the idea that a high school student is going to solve it eighty years later seems absurd to many. While Stevie is at her new school, some strange things happen, including an updated version of the Truly Devious letter being projected on to her wall at night. When a fellow student dies in a freak accident, Stevie is convinced it is murder and sets out on her own investigation that combines past and present. As this investigation continues over the books, Stevie will uncover things that have been buried for many decades, and others will die. In The Hand on the Wall, Stevie discovers how past and present are intertwined, and everything will come to an explosive conclusion up on the mountain.

Who would you say is your favourite character from the story and why?

Possibly Nate, the writer who is haunted by the fact that everyone wants him to finish his second book. For reasons.

How did the story occur to you? Did you find inspiration anywhere?

The story comes out of my love of mystery and out of some classic crime cases. I wanted to take some of the things I love and have loved about many mystery novels—like the remote mansion as both setting and character, the amateur detective, the analogue clues that you can touch and see. I wanted to make a proper game that readers could play along with.

If you could choose one song to describe each books in the series, which ones would it be?

For Truly Devious, Digital Witness by St. Vincent 

For The Vanishing Stair, Mistake by Fiona Apple

For The Hand on the Wall, let’s go with Bad Guy, because we are going to find out WHODUNNIT.

From the TRULY DEVIOUS series, which book...

A. Has your favourite cover?

I truthfully like them all, but maybe The Hand on the Wall. I really like green.

B. Was the most difficult to write?

The Vanishing Stair. The middle is always hardest for me.

If your book was going to be made into a movie, who would play your characters?

I get asked this a lot, and I genuinely have no idea. It’s just not how I think.

What drink and place do you think will go with your book to have a perfect book date?

Ideally, you’ll want to be snowed in for the last book, and you’ll want something hot to drink. Hot chocolate? Something stronger? 

Can you recommend your readers any other books in case they are left hungry for more once they finish THE HAND ON THE WALL?

There is a giant world of classic mysteries out there. The British Library Crime Classics series is amazing—all of these great mysteries from the 30s and 40s that fell out of print, they’ve brought them back. Get your country house murder on!

What would you say is the most difficult part of writing a book?

Starting. Or finishing. And that middle bit.

Maureen Johnson is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of several YA novels, including 13 Little Blue Envelopes, Suite Scarlett, The Name of the Star, and Truly Devious. She has also done collaborative works, such as Let It Snow (with John Green and Lauren Myracle), and The Bane Chronicles (with Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan). Her work has appeared in publications such as The New York Times, Buzzfeed, and The Guardian, and she has also served as a scriptwriter for EA Games. She has an MFA in Writing from Columbia University and lives in New York City.

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