Author Interview with Jaclyn Dolamore!

Yesterday I posted my review of Jaclyn Dolamore's lovely book Between the Sea and Sky (Bloomsbury / Oct. 25, 2011). Today I have for you an interview with the authoress herself! Welcome, Jackie, to Steph Su Reads!

1. The characters in BETWEEN THE SEA AND SKY have such beautiful names: Esmerine, Dosinia, Alander. How did you come up with them?

They just come to me. Which makes it sound easy! But sometimes the right name can take MONTHS to come to me. When I first started writing I was calling the mermaid "Millea" but it never sounded right... The story didn't actually get going until I found Esmerine's name.

2. Alander is an interesting and complicated character: a bit of a literary snob, but also deeply loyal. Who were your inspirations for Alander?

I saw him as kind of a Mr. Darcy figure but with an intellectual bent. I've periodically known guys like him, too, where you'll be talking about something and they'll, like, reference Dostoevsky or something, and you'll think, "Ooh, he's smart, I like smart" and "God, but Dostoevsky? How pretentious" at the same time.

3. What was the most interesting job you had?

The first job-let I ever had was working a booth at an anime convention. My sister and I were at a convention and this guy is like, "Hey, you want to work for me?" Like, he would just show up to a convention and hire reasonably attractive girls (the better to get anime nerd boys to part with their dollars) on the spot as they browsed his booth. We didn't have anything else to do at the convention so we spent the rest of the day working the booth and at the end he paid us in merchandise. We then used this to convince our parents to take us to Anime Weekend Atlanta, because he got us in for free. It was a lot of fun, but grueling. We had to work the entirety of the dealer room hours, which was like 10 hours, without any break or barely any food (and the whole time I was wearing a Fushigi Yuugi costume complete with those little cheap Chinese shoes with NO support) and in the end I was paid in anime soundtracks. I had an awesome collection of anime soundtracks after that, though. I always worked the CD section because I could read some Japanese and so I could find CDs for people much easier than everyone else.

www.moviegoods.com

4. What are some of your favorite mermaid stories, both classic and new?

I love Splash, in all its 80s movie glory. And The Little Mermaid in various incarnations--the heart-wrenching original, the Disney version. As a kid I was obsessed with Saban's Adventures of the Little Mermaid.

5. What is your favorite thing about autumn?

Cooler, drier weather, in theory, although living in Florida we're lucky to see much of my true favorite weather, with a high of about 60, until December. (With any luck next year I'll be living in Maryland.) Ditto for changing leaves...I love them, but they don't really change here! Autumn is my favorite season, actually, but in Florida it's kind of a big tease, where you only get hints of the best parts.

6. What is your favorite Miyazaki film? (This can be expanded to include all Studio Ghibli films.)

My two favorites actually are not Miyazaki films: Whisper of the Heart and Only Yesterday. They are both slice of life stories, that capture certain aspects of what it's like to grow up and find your place in the world, as well as to fall in love, although in Whisper of the Heart, the growing up and falling in love happen together, in the moment, and in Only Yesterday we see flashbacks of the protagonist's childhood, and then her current life going to rural Japan, a sort of "back to the land" thing. Both have beautifully rendered backgrounds of Japan, but they aren't fantastical like so many Ghibli films. To my chagrin, Only Yesterday still has not been released in the US. But I am also a big fan of Miyazaki himself. Howl's Moving Castle is my favorite of his, but I love so many of them!

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Thanks for answering my questions, Jackie! Whisper of the Heart is also, in my opinion, one of the best Studio Ghibli films ever (remember my old blog banner?). I hope you consider checking out Between the Sea and Sky when you have the chance!

Blog Tour Review: Between the Sea and Sky by Jaclyn Dolamore

Tags: YA, fantasy, mermaids

Summary

Now that Esmerine has finally become a siren, she can’t wait to guard the underwater mermaid world from overly curious humans alongside her older sister Dosia. But when Dosia seems to have been kidnapped by humans, it is up to Esmerine to enter the human world and find news about Dosia. Esmerine is forced to accept the reluctant help of Alander, the winged young man who used to be her friend and taught her how to read. But it’s been years since they’ve talked, and they are now, more than ever, aware of the great differences that separate them. What happy ending can occur for these former friends who have come from such different worlds?

Review

BETWEEN THE SEA AND SKY is a mermaid book for those who are wary of books categorized by the particular creatures that inhabit the stories. Told in Jaclyn Dolamore’s trademark writing style—straightforward narration that nevertheless paints a lush magical world—BETWEEN THE SEA AND SKY is a charming story that, while not perfect, is still a quick and enjoyable read.

Much like in her debut novel Magic Under Glass, Jaclyn Dolamore has the quiet but valuable ability of deftly portraying elaborate new worlds with no over-fanfare. The first few chapters pulled me completely into the unfamiliar mermaid world of Dolamore’s creation, where magic lanterns are borrowed as a sign of status and being chosen as a siren is one of the highest honors a mermaid can receive. Mermaids, humans, winged people, and who knows what else exist in an unusual society that nevertheless seems to operate in a completely natural and self-contained manner—the mark, in my opinion, of a skilled world-building writer.

Where this book falters a bit is in plot and pacing. BETWEEN THE SEA AND SKY starts out so engagingly, with the introduction of this new mermaid world, and the somewhat uneasy dynamics between the different creatures. Unfortunately, I felt that the plot was rather uneven: for a great amount of time, Esmerine is simply waiting to hear of news about her sister, and then the next thing we know she and Alander are off on a confoundingly simple adventure to seek Dosia. I say “confounding” because, with such a wonderful beginning to a novel, I really wanted more from the plot.

That being said, BETWEEN THE SEA AND SKY is a humbly sparkling story that will make for a sweet read one quiet afternoon. If you are a fan of mermaids or Magic Under Glass, Jaclyn Dolamore’s sophomore novel is not to be missed!

Cover discussion: A gorgeous work of art, befitting the world of this book.

Bloomsbury / Oct. 25, 2011 / Hardcover / 240pp. / $16.99

eGalley courtesy of publisher and NetGalley.

Magic Under Glass' New Cover!

I was, sadly, silent while the blogosphere and Internet was all abuzz a few weeks ago with the white-washing cover controversary surrounding Jaclyn Dolamore's debut novel, Magic Under Glass. (It was due mostly to schoolwork.) However, the new Magic Under Glass cover has been popping up now, and here it is:

Yeah, I couldn't find a bigger picture of it. Sorry! Now compare it with the original cover:

Isn't the new cover gorgeous? I really don't understand why Bloomsbury didn't just do the second cover first. While I admit that I like the lighting of the old cover, and think it would look very lovely on another book, the new one looks, on the one hand, much more professional. I mean, what was up with Number One's Photoshopped-floating-shadow translucent-title overlay? Hello?! Anyway, I digress.

Last year, I wrote a blog post about how I felt the new cover of Justine Larbalestier's Liar (changed, once again, after media outcry about its whitewashing) was...pretty, but had not gone far enough to correct the decades-old issue of whitewashing on covers. For reference, here is the cover of Liar again:

My issue with this image is that it's just too pretty, too unlike the author's descriptions of Micah in the book, too acquiescent to the majority (read: white) ideal of beauty. Because honestly? How many black girls look like this model? (How many girls of any other race, for that matter?) The supermodel-worthiness of the model, along with the "stillness" of the cover, left me dissatisfied and feeling that Bloomsbury had not done enough. No, far from it: they had simply gave themselves a lightly reprimanding slap on the wrists, and put the white majority's idealized version of black beauty on the cover.

This time, however, I think Bloomsbury's on a better track.

I'm still not completely satisfied, of course. There's still a "staticness" about these covers, a sluggishness, that conveys little movement for stories that are wide and sweeping and what have you. But I'm super happy they didn't put the teenage equivalent of Freida Pinto (Latika from Slumdog Millionaire) on the cover:

Or Aishwarya Rai (from Bride and Prejudice):

Because--do you see what I'm trying to depict here? There's no denying that Freida and Aishwarya are stunning. I don't care what race you are, or what your sexual orientation is, but there's almost no way you can NOT think either one of these ladies beautiful. Their beauty transcends almost impenetrable racial boundaries and appeals to the societal ideal of beauty.

That's why I'm much happier with the improved cover for Magic Under Glass than I was for that of Liar. On the cover of MUG is now a girl who could be my classmate, or my good friend back in high school. She's pretty too--but her beauty is so much more grounded in reality. I don't feel like a freaking ugly loser when I inevitably subconsciously compare myself to the cover of a book anymore. Like it or not, book covers do influence our impressions of a book, and now the good thing is that I can eagerly pick this book up in the store now and be allowed to think, I could be her. She could be me. I can be as brave and resourceful and beloved as she is.

And that, my friends, is an EXCELLENT thing for readers to think and feel.

So by all means, go out there and recommend this book like crazy. I bet there will be grateful girls out there, girls who are happy that finally, finally there's someone like them on the cover of a book: someone flawed, someone different, and someone amazing in their uniqueness and differences. This is one small step towards expanding society's standards of beauty, towards lowering teenage girls' insecurities over their appearances because they don't look like the only faces they see in prominent media positions. And that is a very beautiful thing.

So thank you, Bloomsbury, for this small gift. But you know what they say about the third time. Don't mess up again.

I leave you with the new MUG cover again. So you can bask in it, as I am.

Wheeeee look at me! I'm real and unique and therefore I am beautiful!!!

Review: Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore

Tags: YA, magic, fairies, political conspiracy

Rating: 3.5 out of 5


Summary

Nimira’s family used to be respected and admired courtesans in their home country; Nimira’s mother was an accomplished and beautiful dancer. Now, however, Nimira is reduced to singing and dancing for a pittance in front of jeering, unappreciative crowds in an unfriendly country. Then, a sorcerer named Hollin Parry offers Nimira an unusual position and a chance for a better life. Nimira is to sing along with an automaton that Hollin has acquired, an exquisitely wrought piece of craftsmanship that Hollin says was made by fairy magic.

It turns out there’s more to the automaton than everyone thinks, for Nimira begins to suspect that there is an actual man trapped inside the clockwork body. As Nimira digs deeper into the automaton’s past, she uncovers secrets all around her, and a threatening act of political conspiracy that may lead to war between humans and fairies.

Review

With a premise like that, one can have only high expectations for Jaclyn Dolamore’s debut novel, MAGIC UNDER GLASS, and indeed, most of them are met in this sensuously written historical fantasy set in a magical and dangerous world.

The writing in this book is exquisite. Jaclyn Dolamore effortlessly captures readers’ attention with her unassuming descriptions of this fantastically different world. Nimira’s voice is appealingly innocent in this politically corrupt sphere, and yet we can also feel that she’s not going to passively accept her lot in life. The love triangle between Nimira, Hollis, and Erris (the automaton), while slightly strained at times, is also gentle and leaves a lot for your own interpretation and enjoyment. Its hushed and restrained nature is appropriate for the untrustworthy world in which they move, a world where their every movement is watched, and someone’s always ready to blackmail or threaten you.

However, I felt like the story never lived up to its full potential. An impending fairy war, political corruption, an impossible romance…how wonderful does it sound? Unfortunately, MAGIC UNDER GLASS concerned itself with only a small corner of this world—namely, the development of Nimira and Erris’ relationship, with what felt like only occasional intrusions from the larger world. This disjuncture between the story’s world and the actual tale that was told us felt jarring to me and fell a little short of what I desired from reading the first few chapters. The ending, also, felt too tame, and seemed to be a setup for a sequel, which meant that it ended rather abruptly and a little disappointingly.

Still, MAGIC UNDER GLASS was an intriguing read, and fans of Libba Bray’s Gemma Doyle trilogy should definitely check this out. With a great blend of magic, political intrigue, and an “Old World” feel, this might be an unusual and appealing read for you!

Similar Authors
Libba Bray

Writing: 4/5
Characters: 3/5
Plot: 3/5

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5


Cover discussion: 4 out of 5 - I just love how light, mysterious, and magical it feels. The warmth of the colors, the model's pose, the lighting...very attractive for me!

Bloomsbury / Dec. 22, 2009 / Hardcover / $16.99

Waiting on Wednesday (24)

Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore

Nimira is a music-hall performer forced to dance for pennies to an audience of leering drunks. When wealthy sorcerer Hollin Parry hires her to do a special act - singing accompaniment to an exquisite piano-playing automaton, Nimira believes it is the start of a new life. In Parry's world, however, buried secrets stir. Unsettling below-stairs rumours abound about ghosts, a mad woman roaming the halls, and of Parry's involvement in a gang of ruthless sorcerers who torture fairies for sport.

When Nimira discovers the spirit of a dashing young fairy gentleman is trapped inside the automaton's stiff limbs, waiting for someone to break the curse and set him free, the two fall in love. But it is a love set against a dreadful race against time to save the entire fairy realm, which is in mortal peril. - summary from Goodreads

Oh mah goodness. So I think I first heard about this book on Rebecca's blog, where I was instantly attracted to its cover and the story, which promises exotic locales and characters, magic, love, music, and danger. Needless to say, even with all the several dozen or so Tenners' books coming out next year, this one stands out as one of my most highly anticipated. That cover and synopsis will hopefully be enough to get me through the long and cold, anticipatory winter! :)

Magic Under Glass will be published by Bloomsbury on February 1, 2010.

What are YOU waiting on this week?