The Storyspinner by Becky Wallace is set to be released in 2015 but we have your first look at the cover and synopsis now. Set in a world where Lords fight for a throne and magic might just be real, The Storyspinner introduces a whole new world to readers.
Synopsis
In a world where dukes plot their way to the throne, a Performer’s life can get tricky.
All Johanna Von Arlo wants to do is become a Storyspinner. But her options are so limited that she is forced to work for the aggravating and handsome Lord Rafael DeSilva. While in his employ, Johanna is exposed to a dangerous game of thrones, a game where she will discover that the magically inclined Keepers from her stories might be real after all.
The Keepers are searching for an heir to a great power and the key to saving their land. They aren’t alone in their hunt. Girls matching the heir’s description are turning up dead all over the kingdom. Girls who look exactly like Johanna.
Tell us five random facts about yourself.
- I love, love, love Brazil! I spent a month touring the southern and eastern parts of the country after my freshman year of college. The beautiful, lush forests and delicious foods inspired the world of The Storyspinner.
- Cupcakes are my kryptonite. I could (and have) eaten a half dozen (of any variety) in one sitting.
- My first “real” job: PR director for a minor league baseball team. It was the best, busiest, and worst paying job ever. I loved it.
- I’m the most awful toenail painter in the history of humankind. Even when I’m trying I get polish all over my feet.
- Dancing with the Stars and Vikings are currently my two favorite TV shows. I guess I have diverse taste.
Tell us about your journey to becoming a writer.
I’ve always been a writer. Mrs. Pena, my second grade teacher, made me sit in the corner because I talked too much (I’m sure you’re surprised). When I wasn’t staring at the carpeted walls of my classroom, I wrote down details of the other, much more exciting places I’d rather be. The habit stuck, and a couple decades later I realized that the worlds I dreamed up might be places other people would like to escape to.
At what point in the development of an idea do you know that it will become a full-length novel?
I really have to test the waters with a story, develop the characters, fumble around with a plot, before I know it’s worth finishing. When the characters feel like real people — people I’d want to love or hate or have lunch with — then their stories need resolution. That’s when I know a story will become a novel.
Why do you feel you had to tell this story?
The main character, Johanna Von Arlo, is someone who loves so fiercely and fights with an equal amount of passion for the people she loves. I wrote her first chapter years ago, and wanted to put it aside to write something more…trendy. But no matter what other projects I started, Johanna’s story was always the one I came back to. She was a character that needed her happily ever after, and I haven’t obliged. Yet.
What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author?
The Storyspinner is not the first novel I completed.The other stories were all deemed “close, but not good enough.” Sometimes in publishing it’s the nebulous things that no editor can really pinpoint that are the most painful because you have no idea what it will take to improve.
What has been the best compliment?
Someone who read an early version of The Storyspinner said, “I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep until I know how this story ends.” I love knowing that my book is keeping someone else up at night!
Do you have things you need in order to write (i.e. coffee, cupcakes, music)?
I practically live on Mt. Dew. If it was possible to mainline it from an IV bag, I’d probably never leave my computer.
Where’s your favorite place to write?
I write standing up in my kitchen. It makes it easy to get to my Mt. Dew stash.
What is easier to write: The first line or the last line?
Beginnings are a breeze for me. There is something so exhilarating about taking your first steps into a new world and meeting (or creating) new people.
What one YA novel do you wish you had when you were a teen?
Just one? I don’t think it’s possible to narrow down the list to one, but I have a handful of books that I love to get lost in every time I read them now — like the Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy by Laini Taylor and The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo and Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins.
What are you working on now?
I’m about fifty percent complete with the sequel to The Storyspinner. It’s so fun and challenging to take this familiar cast of characters and spin them in different directions, devastate their goals, divide them from their loved ones (did you hear my evil author laugh?), and then give them the opportunities to make things right. Maybe I was wrong above; being an author is the best job ever!
About Becky Wallace
Becky Wallace graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in Public Relations and worked in minor league baseball and as a journalist. When she isn’t writing, she’s waging an epic battle against the laundry monster with the help of a handsome prince. They live in a charming village outside Houston, Texas with their four munchkins. Places to find Becky: Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Goodreads.
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