The Wedding Blog Tour ~ 7 Questions with Olivia Jarmusch // Tales of Tarsurella Book #3
I get so excited about anything that has to do with these books so I jumped at the chance to be a part of the blog tour for Livy's latest book!!! Gosh, it doesn't seem so new to me anymore, since I read an advanced review copy months ago, but the release was just in September. Livy was super busy at the time, so that's why the tour is happening now.
Today I have a special interview with Livy! Maybe it's because I feel like we are friends (even though I've never met her) or just because I know and love her books, but I laughed quite a bit when I was reading her responses. I hope you enjoy some "behind the scenes" of writer life and laugh a bit too!
Before we get to that though, maybe you'd like to know a little bit about this book?
Book Links: Amazon, Goodreads
Sounds intense, right? The scope of the story is certainly expanding.
I am so happy to have gotten to interview Livy. She's such a sweet girl and I love everything she writes. An amazing thing about her books is the wisdom she conveys through her characters. I am a big fan of the Tales of Tarsurella and am always eager for the next segment of the story! Okay, let's get to the interview!!
7 Questions with Livy
Smylinggirl: How old were you when you wrote your first story?
Livy: I think I wrote my first story when I was around 5! I’ve been making up stories in my mind for as long as I can remember, but I think my first “official” story happened when I was a little older. SG: What was that first story about?
L: My first “official” story was about a puppy named Bozo. I have no idea why I chose such an awful name for a puppy, but apparently, I thought it had a certain ring to it as a kid! Haha! I remember illustrating all the pages, and thinking, “This is so great, Bozo is going to become a household name.” I envisioned myself as an adult, writing hundreds and hundreds of Bozo books and little kids reading them all over the world. I thought this franchise was going to be bigger than Clifford The Big Red Dog. Haha!
SG: I think that is so cute and sweet!
SG: At this point, this shouldn't be a spoiler so... when did you realize The Tales of Tarsurella would not be a trilogy?
L: As soon as I started writing The Rebellion, I knew there was much, much more to come. With all the political turmoil happening in Tarsurella, I knew this was only the beginning of a much larger story!
SG: I can't say I'm sad to have more time in Tarsurella, but I do hate waiting for more books :)
SG: What was the hardest thing about creating a realistic monarchy in modern Europe?
L: I had to do a lot of research about monarchies and modern political policies in various European countries. I know that as an author, I have the freedom to create anything I like and I don’t have to worry about Tarsurella being exactly like any other country (because it’s not), but I wanted the situation to feel somewhat realistic. I think the hardest part was deciding exactly how their political system was going to work, and expressing the struggles in a way that would still make sense for those of us who haven’t been raised in Tarsurella. Haha.
SG: Well you did a great job. It feels totally natural and realistic to me. So much so that I want to go and visit!
SG: How did you come up with the names of the royal family?
L: Ooo, fun question! So, I basically just raided my favorite baby-name list, haha! I don’t know why, but I’ve always loved keeping random lists of favorite baby names on hand, so when I was plotting for The Coronation, that was the first place I looked! Personally, I love their names, but now I don’t know what I’m going to name my children, haha!
SG: I totally have lists of names too! I don't know what it is about that. You could just tell your kids they're named after your book characters! That wouldn't be weird, would it?
SG: Are your characters based on people you know?
L: No, all of these characters are works of fiction. I think it’s natural for an author to be inspired by certain character quirks or personality traits they see in certain people, then tweak and slip those things into their writing to match a certain character, but I don’t see a lot of that in The Tales of Tarsurella. These characters were established in my mind at a very young age, years before I even started writing The Coronation, so there wasn’t much influence coming in from people I know in real life.
SG: That's really interesting!
SG: What is your favorite thing about writing?
L: I love the variety of experiences an author gets to partake of. First of all, I have a very vivid imagination, so getting to see all of these stories unfold on the big screen of my mind is SO much fun. That’s where the joy starts for me, just the process of actually writing and seeing what’s going to happen next. But the experience just gets richer and richer, because once you’re done writing, you get to start connecting with people. I love hearing from readers and seeing how they’re experiencing the stories, and what God is teaching them through it! It just blows my mind that I get to have such a fun time creating, and then others get to have just as much fun reading! And as if all of that isn’t sweet enough, there’s a huge cherry on top: meeting you guys in PERSON. I’ve been so blessed to connect with several of you in real life, and the idea that new friendships could be formed through writing is such an incredible thing.
SG: Love this! I know I have been able to see myself in several of your characters and seeing how they deal with things and grow has helped me in my own processes. It's one of my favorite things about fiction!
I hope you enjoyed the interview!!! What was your favorite part?
GIVEAWAY!!!
One last thing. Some authors have teamed up to create a fun way for you to get prizes and for them to get more reviews!!! Livy is part of The Great Review Race, which is a multi-author monthly giveaway. The Wedding and any of Livy's books count as a part of the giveaway. You can get more info and enter by going to Victoria's website.
Victoria Lynn did a redesign of the covers for the first two books in the series. Aren't they gorgeous!! I might have to get new copies just so my series all matches :)
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