Ironspark
C.M. McGuire
(Swoon Reads)
Publication date: August 25th 2020
Genres: LGBTQ+, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
A teen outcast must work together with new friends to keep her family and town safe from murderous Fae while also dealing with panic attacks, family issues, and a lesbian love triangle in C.M. McGuires’s kick-butt paranormal YA debut, Ironspark.
For the past nine years, ever since a bunch of those evil Tinkerbells abducted her mother, cursed her father, and forced her family into hiding, Bryn has devoted herself to learning everything she can about killing the Fae. Now it’s time to put those lessons to use.
Then the Court Fae finally show up, and Bryn realizes she can’t handle this on her own. Thankfully, three friends offer to help: Gwen, a kindhearted water witch; Dom, a new foster kid pulled into her world; and Jasika, a schoolmate with her own grudge against the Fae.
But trust is hard-won, and what little Bryn has gained is put to the test when she uncovers a book of Fae magic that belonged to her mother. With the Fae threat mounting every day, Bryn must choose between faith in her friends and power from a magic that could threaten her very humanity.
Interview with C.M. McGuire
For
those interested in exploring the subject or theme of your book,
where should they start?
I think
the major themes of Ironspark
would
be relationships and mental health. Because of the ever-changing
nature of our understanding of both these areas, it’s hard to
advise one place to look to learn more, though I can say I found
Rewire
Your Anxious Brain to
be deeply informative. If you want to learn more about the Fae, I’d
say go and look up the old myths or academic anthropological articles
(and wait to form opinions until you’ve read a few because
academics love nothing more than to disprove each other). I know. It
sounds dull but you can learn so much.
How
did you become involved with the subject or theme of your book?
I
think a lot of the reason I wound up writing heavily about mental
health and relationships had to do with where I was when I conceived,
wrote, and revised the novel. I first started planning the book at
19. I was ready to leave home but also felt conflicted and guilty
about how eager I was to do so. Since high school, I’d felt distant
from a lot of friends and was struggling to understand those changing
relationships. These issues continued to evolve as I wrote and
revised, and at those times I was also becoming increasingly aware of
my own struggles with anxiety and depression and the effect they
could have on those relationships.
What
were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel
you achieved them?
I
think I wanted to say that it’s okay to be vulnerable, to let
yourself in, and to value yourself beyond what can do for others. I
wanted to show kids that sometimes, even with the best intentions,
you screw up. The plan doesn’t work, and you pay the price. I don’t
know how well I achieved these goals. I suppose time will tell.
Anything you would
like to say to your readers and fans?
I’ll
be honest, the idea of readers and fans makes my head spin. All I
could think to say is thank you. Over and over and over. Thank you
thank you thank you.
What did you enjoy
most about writing this book?
I
loved and hated the whole process, but I think my favorite was the
night the A/C went out. I was working on an intense scene so I always
removed myself to a semi-isolated area where my roomies could access
me. At the time, my ritual involved lighting a candle. But no A/C in
August in Texas meant it was hot as hell, so I turned off the
overhead light to keep it cooler in there.
There
I am, headphones on, listening to scary Halloween music while I work
on an especially intense scene. In the dark. Lit by only a candle and
my laptop screen. And suddenly a hand grabs me.
I
screamed and nearly knocked the candle over (and you KNOW there’d
be no getting your security deposit back in that case.) Turns out it
was one of my roommates letting me know she was heading to bed.
I
wish I could say this only happened one time this week. I cannot.
Can you tell us a
little bit about your next books or what you have planned for the
future?
It’s
hard to say for sure because you never really know what is or isn’t
going to take off or get picked up. I’ve been working on a graphic
novel and a few high concept fantasies and science fictions ranging
from middle grade to adult fiction.
How long have you
been writing?
My
mother will say I started young because she got tired of me talking
her ear off and told me to write my stories down. I would say that I
really started in fourth grade. Our teacher gave us a short story
assignment. I remember planning that story all night. I think my
adventure in the taiga with a polar bear and an arctic fox (chock
full of scientific facts) was my first novel. It was very fun the
next day when she called on me to share my story plan. She had no
idea.
Later,
when she was reading a different assignment, I remember her being
annoyed because she had to wear her glasses to read my handwriting,
then jumping up and squealing reading my story. I thought I was in
trouble. It turns out it was because it was good and she was
surprised.
So
I suppose the way to get started as a young writer is to over-write
and annoy your fourth grade teacher.
Can
you tell us a little bit about the characters in Ironspark?
I
suppose the best way to go about this would be the three things
format for my main four.
Bryn:
Cagey, Loyal, Strong heart
Jasika:
Bright, Unstoppable, Firm moral center
Dom:
Filled with love, Enthusiastic, Needs some better coping mechanisms
Gwen:
Gentle, wise, will never be gluten-free
If you could spend
the day with one of the characters from Ironspark
who would it be? Please tell us why you chose this particular
character, where you would go and what you would do.
I
don’t know who I’d want to hang out with because…I am not nice
to any of them. Maybe the shadelings? Give them a jar of jelly and
they’ll forgive you anything.
Author Bio:
I am a storyteller at heart, and my poor mother was grateful when I started writing. It gave her ears a break. I write primarily science fiction and fantasy intended for the young adult and middle grade audience. Presently, I live in Texas with my two cats.
1 comments:
Thanks for being on the tour! :)
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