Hello all! Today’s tour stop includes our interview of Laurel Gale, author of Story Magic!! This is a middle grade fantasy you’re not going to want to miss, especially if you love stories of young girls empowering themselves!
1. Can you tell us a bit about yourself and about Story Magic?
Let’s start with Story Magic, since that’s the more interesting part! Story Magic is about Kaya, a twelve-year-old girl who learns story magic from her older brother, Hob, even though girls are forbidden to practice story magic. The Story Magicians Guild says it’s bad luck, but Hob says that’s a lie. Then Hob goes missing, and Kaya’s sure it’s her fault, so she sets off on a quest to rescue him.
Now about me. I live in eastern Washington, and when I’m not writing, I love to go hiking and enjoy nature and wildlife. I also really like boardgames and, of course, books! I’m afraid I’m not nearly as brave or adventurous as my characters.
2. How did you get your start in writing?
I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember, but I didn’t start writing novels until about ten years ago. I wrote several manuscripts and tried a few genres and age groups before I managed to get my first one, Dead Boy, published in 2015.
3. When you were in the process of writing Story Magic, what did you start with first, the characters or the setting?
I started with the magic system. In Story Magic, there are these invisible beings called listeners. People can tell them a story, and if the listeners like it, they’ll allow the storyteller to work magic. Once I had this idea, I focused on the characters, and then the plot and the world. I don’t always develop ideas in this way, but that’s how it worked with Story Magic.
4. Favorite character to write?
In Story Magic, my favorite character to write is definitely Kaya, the main character. She grows a lot in the story, starting off kind of naïve and becoming very brave and confident.
5. I love the feminist themes throughout Story Magic, who is a feminist role model that you look up to?
There are so many amazing women, it’s hard to pick one, but as a writer, I really admire Mary Shelley. She was so young when she wrote Frankenstein, which was not only an amazing book in and of itself, but arguably the beginning of the science fiction genre.
6. I love the magic in storytelling idea, what story would you bring to life if you could?
There are a lot of objects or creatures from stories that I’d love to bring to life. I would love to have my own TARDIS!
7. How will you be celebrating the release of Story Magic?
Celebrations are a little tricky right now, aren’t they? I’m planning to do some virtual events. I’ll put more up on my website (www.laurelgale.com) and my Twitter feed (https://twitter.com/laurel_gale) as I work out the details.
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