Interview: Kiersten White, author of 'Illusions of Fate'
Kiersten White, the amazing author of my favorite series, Paranormalcy, has come out with Illusions of Fate. Jessamin finds herself discovering Albion nobility and magic … This story has it all, balls, fancy gowns, money, nobility, intrigue, power and, of course, magic. It's a pleasant mix of historical and paranormal and has just the right touch of snobbery. The secondary characters (especially Eleanor) add a fun spice to the mix. We checked in with Kiersten to find out what she has to say about Finn, Jessamin and the dark world of Albion nobility.
Jessie: Welcome to HEA, Kiersten! Please tell us about Illusions of Fate and Jessamin (cool name!).
Kiersten: Illusions of Fate was one of those rare, lightning-strike books. It hit me out of nowhere and came together in a blinding rush. With it, I wanted to explore the idea of The Chosen One that is such a common trope in fantasy literature. Only, in this case, I wanted to write the opposite of The Chosen One. So I envisioned a world based on Edwardian England, where the upper class is the upper class because they can access magic. My main character, Jessamin, has everything going against her. She's a foreigner, she's biracial, she's a woman, she's working class. But she's smart and stubborn and determined, and even though she's in a world that tells her she has no power, she'll prove otherwise!
Jessie: Why will readers want Finn as their book boyfriends?
Kiersten: Ah, Finn. Finn is a combination of Mister Darcy — aloof, privileged, closed-off, burdened with responsibility — and Howl from Diana Wynne Jones' brilliant Howl's Moving Castle — dashing, charming, inaccessible and damaged. And, in addition to all this, deep down he's a hopeless romantic like his parents before him.
Jessie: Any surprises while writing Illusions of Fate?
Kiersten: The entire book was a surprise, actually. I was in the middle of drafting Perfect Lies, the sequel to Mind Games. It was a rough writing experience, and something traumatic (but ultimately OK) happened that made me want to avoid writing about real-world violence. The first scene of Illusions of Fate popped into my head, I met Jessamin and Finn in the alley, and a week later I had a finished first draft. Surprise! (There was much editing and revision that followed, of course. There always is.)
Jessie: How was writing Illusions compared to one of my favorites, the Paranormalcy series? How were writing the different heroines?
Kiersten: Illusions and Paranormalcy were actually my most comparable writing experiences. Both started on a whim with no previous plans to write a story along those lines. But Evie and Jessamin came out of the gate with such strong voices. They already knew who they were, and they let me know very quickly. Sometimes you have to wrestle with a narrator, tease them out, discover them as the story progresses. In this case, I let the voices guide me (don't worry, my mother is a therapist) and the stories unfolded for me in a giddy torrent.
Jessie: What was your favorite scene to write?
Kiersten: There's a side character named Eleanor, whom I initially thought would be a sort of cruel, vicious gossip who would make life even more difficult for Jessamin. But as soon as she appeared, Eleanor let me know quite firmly that, while she was the biggest gossip in all of Avebury, she had no intention of being cruel and would much prefer to be Jessamin's new best friend. She turned out to be a delightful bundle of contradictions, and I loved the way she opened Jessamin's eyes to the well-mannered complications of being a noblewoman. Any time she was on the page it was all I could do to type fast enough to keep up with her. Her scenes are my favorites.
Jessie: What are you working on right now?
Kiersten: I have an epic historical coming out in 2016, based on Vlad the Impaler, a notoriously brutal Romanian prince whom I am turning into Lada, a notoriously brutal princess, her brother, Radu the Handsome, and their contemporary, the young and brilliant Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror.
Jessie: What's next for you? Any genres you want to break into?
Kiersten: Well, in the last year I've had a mythology-based contemporary YA, a psychological thriller with sci-fi elements, a Gothic mystery hybrid novel with artist Jim Di Bartolo, a pseudo-historical fantasy, a magical realism romance short story (for the My True Love Gave to Me anthology), and sold an epic historical fiction. So! Not sure what genres are left that I haven't dabbled in ... I get bored easily, apparently.
Jessie: Now for some rapid-fire questions …
Salty or sweet? Always sweet.
Favorite writing snack? Parmesan goldfish crackers and Dr Pepper.
If you were any candy, which one would you be? Does Dr Pepper count? Sugar + caffeine sums me up well.
Current book you're reading? I have 15 novels loaded onto my e-reader for upcoming travel!
Book you're most looking forward to this year? The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma.
Favorite childhood book? Anne of Green Gables.
Favorite book boyfriend? Cricket Bell from Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins.
Favorite villain? Loki.
Last movie you saw in theaters? If I Stay.
Cowboy or Highlander? Highlander all the way. The accent!
If you were any paranormal creature, which one would you be? Oh gosh, a Hobbit. How embarrassing. I'm married to an Elf, though.
Epic one-liner from Illusions of Fate?
Kiersten: I don't know if it's epic, but this line sums up my darling Jessamin quite well:
"Clearly he does not know me if he thinks I am ever in a condition where arguing is not possible."
Thanks, Jessie! So thrilled to be on HEA again : )
Find out more about Kiersten and her books at www.kierstenwhite.com.
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Jessie Potts, also known as Book Taster, adores books in all forms. She also does reviews for RT Book Reviews magazine and works in the submissions department at Dreamspinner Press. You can follow her on Twitter (@BookTaster).