Today, I’m asking Rosiee a few questions about her writing process and her new book, Tarnished Are The Stars. This Q&A is part of her the Blog Tour hosted by
Learn more about the book, check out the characters print, and the giveaway below. Now, let me (re)introduce you to Rosiee Thor and let’s hear what she has to say about her newest book.
Rosiee Thor, Author of Tarnished Are The Stars – Interview
Q1. When did you realize that you wanted to be a writer?
I can’t really pinpoint the exact moment and I feel like every time I answer some variation of the question I say something different, but the gist of it is that I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love writing and making up stories. I used to make my mom tell me bedtime stories and then interrupt her with corrections that would make the story better, so at least we know I’ve always been insufferable editorially. I remember writing my first “book” (it was like 6 chapters lol) in fifth grade.
I don’t think I really put it together that authors were people who wrote books for a living and I could be one too until I read The Prophecy of the Stones by Flavia Bujor. Someone told me she was only sixteen years old when that book was published and somewhere in my brain the cogs clicked into place and I was like “Wow I’m gonna be a prodigy like her… but I’m gonna publish before her.” Even in elementary school I had a strong Slytherin streak I guess… and obviously I didn’t beat her record, but considering the kinds of books I was writing as a teenager I think I’m pretty okay with that.
Q2. What was your journey to publishing like?
It’s been long and exhausting and honestly pretty average if I compare with other authors. We all pour our hearts and souls into our books, so even though it feels like it was so much work and this huge accomplishment (which it totally is) it’s also very normal. We all put in a lot of effort, face a lot of rejection, and wait eons and eons for the publishing clock to move an inch.
I wrote eleven drafts of Tarnished between 2013 and 2018, and I think that was honestly the most grueling part of the process. The rejections and the time spent waiting to hear from editors pales in comparison to the actual work. I know it’s not that way for most people, and I’m really grateful that the hardest part of publishing was also the most fun.
Q3. What was the inspiration for your book?
Since Tarnished has gone through so many different iterations–all wildly different from one another–it’s difficult to say exactly what inspired me. The things that inspired that first draft certainly aren’t what inspired the second or third or the eleventh. I’d say that first draft was inspired by the idea of writing a book… which isn’t very inspirational. There’s a reason why that first draft got thrown in the bin!
To be honest, I wasn’t in a very happy place when I wrote the first draft of this book. I felt very lost within myself and I didn’t have a very strong sense of who I was or what I cared about. As I wrote new drafts and got to know the characters better, my inspiration grew and changed because I grew and changed. I set out to write something just for the sake of writing something, but the story stuck with me because, even though I didn’t know it at the time, it was actually inspiring me to find myself and learn about who I was.
The final draft of Tarnished has so much of my own journey in it and so even though I wasn’t inspired by much of anything for that first draft, the final draft was inspired in part by the small, painful, important way it feels to grow.
Q4. If you had to describe your main character in three words, what would they be?
Well, I have three main characters, so I’ve gone for a bit of a botanical theme and picked one word for each of them:
Anna: roots
Nathaniel: growth
Eliza: bloom
Q5. What were the challenges you faced when writing this book?
The biggest challenge I faced with this book was in fall 2016 when I had the tightest deadline of my life. I was in Pitch Wars, a writing competition that paired me with a mentor and she helped me prepare for a big showcase in November. The showcase was coming up in about two weeks and my mentor dropped a HUGE revision on me (for which I love her deeply, but also ahhhhh).
I had to rewrite 85,000 words in about 15 days… and if that wasn’t bad enough, the 2016 election happened about five days before my deadline. It wasn’t a fun time, and I think I’ve blocked out most of the experience. Still, it made me a better writer and it made Tarnished a better book. Plus, now there’s no deadline I can’t meet.
Q6. Who is you favorite author/book and why?
I have a lot of favorite authors and a lot of favorite books, but one that comes to mind whenever I get asked this question is Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. I read this book for the first time when I was about 12 and I’ve continued to return to it over and over again.
I think the reason it continues to draw me in is the way the themes are so seamlessly woven together. With each reread I have understood the story and themes in a different way and it never ceases to speak new truths to me.
Q7. Is there something about this book you can share with us that isn’t in the blurb?
A few things the blurb doesn’t mention:
- All the main characters have a complicated relationship with their parental figure
- Friendship and found family are core themes of the book
- There is a very sad piece of bread that goes to waste in chapter 20
Q8. What is you favorite place to write?
If it was up to me, I’d spend all my writing hours on a plush couch in front of a giant window with a cinnamon and vanilla candle burning and the rain coming down in a big way, but alas I have to make do most of the time with my office.
I did recently purchase a fainting couch, though, and that makes all the difference!
Thank you so much, Rosiee Thor, for taking the time to answer these questions and Happy Belated Publication Day!
Synopsis
The Lunar Chronicles meets Rook in this queer #OwnVoices science-fantasy novel, perfect for fans of Marissa Meyer and Sharon Cameron.
A secret beats inside Anna Thatcher’s chest: an illegal clockwork heart. Anna works cog by cog — donning the moniker Technician — to supply black market medical technology to the sick and injured, against the Commissioner’s tyrannical laws.
Nathaniel Fremont, the Commissioner’s son, has never had to fear the law. Determined to earn his father’s respect, Nathaniel sets out to capture the Technician. But the more he learns about the outlaw, the more he questions whether his father’s elusive affection is worth chasing at all.
Their game of cat and mouse takes an abrupt turn when Eliza, a skilled assassin and spy, arrives. Her mission is to learn the Commissioner’s secrets at any cost — even if it means betraying her own heart.
When these uneasy allies discover the most dangerous secret of all, they must work together despite their differences and put an end to a deadly epidemic — before the Commissioner ends them first.
- Author: Rosiee Thor
- Publisher: Scholastic Press
- Release Date: October 15, 2019
- Book Length: 384 pages
- Genre: Young Adult – Science-Fiction
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About the Author
Rosiee Thor began her career as a storyteller by demanding that her mother listen as Rosiee told bedtime stories instead of the other way around. She lives in Oregon with a dog, two cats, and four complete sets of Harry Potter, which she loves so much, she once moved her mattress into the closet and slept there until she came out as queer.
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International Giveaway
Prize: Win a signed hardcopy of TARNISHED ARE THE STARS by Rosiee Thor (US Only)
Starts: October 15, 2019 – Finishes: October 29, 2019
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I can’t wait for this book to come out! It sounds so good!
Great interview!
Thank you! It was a fun interview. 😊
Great post. This book sounds exciting and the cover is amazing.