answering your wings of starlight questions
and a last call for signed copies
The wait is nearly over: Wings of Starlight is out in two weeks (on February 4)! A few days ago, I asked my Instagram followers to send me their most burning questions about the book. Here are the answers.
But first, a reminder: This is your last chance to order signed and personalized copies of Wings of Starlight from Kepler’s! If you order after January 21, your book will just be signed.
frequently asked questions
did you cry writing this book? will i cry reading it?
Yes :) and I hope so! It goes without saying if you’ve watched the movies, but if you haven’t: please be advised that this book is not a HEA.
yearning scale?
100/10
who is your favorite pixie hollow fairy?
Vidia, of course. Silvermist is a close second.
what kind of fairy would you be?
A frost-talent, water-talent, or leaf-painting-talent. I can’t decide!
what is your favorite disney fairies film besides secret of the wings?
Tinker Bell and the Legend of the Neverbeast! I SOBBED at the end… “A girl and her dog” stories always get me.
will any other characters from the movie make an appearance?
Apart from Clarion and Milori, you will see Dewey / the Keeper! The rest of the cast are original characters.
what was the writing process like? did you have free rein over the plot?
Writing IP is much more collaborative than writing original work, but I had almost total creative freedom. I’m so grateful for the trust I was given! At the very beginning of the process, my editor sent me a high-level concept (essentially, the summary you’d read on the jacket of a book). I expanded that concept into a full scene-by-scene outline, and from there, we worked together closely to refine and develop the story. I had free rein to invent new lore and new characters, and I decided what would happen in each scene. But my editor gave me suggestions on how to improve each draft—the same as an editor of my original fiction would do. My team was there to ensure Wings of Starlight was not only the best book it could be—but also that it had the feel of a Disney Fairies story. (My first draft was way too melancholy.)
how long did it take to write?
From concept to the draft that went to the printer, it took about 15 months.
what was your favorite part about writing this book?
The yearning between Clarion and Milori—and capturing all the whimsy of Pixie Hollow! There’s a sewing-talent who has a spider assistant and an animal-talent whose job it is to shepherd monarch butterflies as they migrate. Someone is responsible for developing the perfect autumn leaf texture. The Pixie Dust Tree has a personality. Daily pixie dust rations are administered from teacups! Everything about the world is so charming and magical.
what was the hardest part about writing this book?
Partly writing characters that I did not invent myself, partly expectations. Many of you have been waiting a long time for this story, and I really wanted to do Clarion and Milori justice. But honestly, the most difficult part was remembering that these characters are six inches tall!! I constantly had to be on the lookout for characters holding something that would realistically be 10x their size.
what song do you associate with this book?
King of Pain by The Police and The Night We Met by Lord Huron. Also the Vitamin String Quartet cover of Better Man by Pearl Jam…? It was playing on repeat while I wrote the last scene.
who was your favorite character to write?
I loved writing Milori, who has a very subtle, wry sense of humor and a tortured, guilt-ridden heart of gold. I also really enjoyed a side character named Petra, a tinker fairy who worries about anything and everything.
was there something essential you felt you had to include in this story?
The bridge between Winter and Spring, where Clarion and Milori meet each day at sunset! It’s such a beautiful image—and an image that feels so emblematic of their relationship. The very middle of the bridge, where grass gives way to frost, is both a liminal space where anything feels possible and the physical line they cannot cross. It’s where they meet. It’s where they bare their hearts to one another. It’s where they share their first kiss. It’s where they say goodbye.
what is your favorite scene?
It’s hard to choose, but there’s a scene where Clarion crosses into Winter for the first time. She’s very trepidatious at first but then experiences so much delight and wonder at how beautiful it is. Then, she and Milori go sledding. It’s very cute.
are you touring for this book?
I’m not, but I do have two upcoming events in the Bay Area and Atlanta! More details below.
do i need to watch the movies first?
You don’t! I think it’s best appreciated if you’ve watched Secret of the Wings, but I approached the worldbuilding in a way that new fans can get acclimated and existing fans will (hopefully) feel at home.
how much time passes between the end of wings of starlight and the beginning of secret of the wings?
I don’t know, exactly! I don’t think there’s a canonical answer; in Secret of the Wings, Clarion says she and Milori fell in love “long ago, when Pixie Hollow was very young.” I imagine it’s a few hundred years at least.
are there any special editions?
The only special edition is the Barnes & Noble exclusive edition, which has an alternate colorway and designed endpapers. The content is the same as the standard edition (i.e. no bonus content).
will there be translations?
There will be! I can’t announce translations until the publishers do, however. I’ll share news as soon as I’m able.
will we get a confirmation if we submitted to the preorder campaign? when will we receive the items?
You will not receive an email confirmation, but I promise it went through if you didn’t get any kind of error message! My publisher is shipping the items, so I’m not 100% sure when you’ll receive them.
events
If you’re in the Bay Area, come join me and Kiana Krystle at Kepler’s on Wednesday, February 5, at 7pm to celebrate the launch of Wings of Starlight! You can get your tickets here.
I’ll also be at Love Y’all Book Festival in Atlanta on Valentine’s Day weekend. I’m doing three panels and two signing sessions. Descriptions of my panels below, but you can check out the full festival schedule here.
Queer’s the Thing About Love…
Queer love in adult romance—breaking barriers, sparking passion, and rewriting the rules. Allison Saft, Meryl Wilsner, Emma R. Albans, Karmen Lee, Rachel Runya Katz (M)Romantasy Is Here to Stay Panel
The place where romance and fantasy converge, creating tales of love set in magical realms. Angela Montoya, Gabi Burton, Claire Legrand, Kate Dramis, Allison Saft, Brigid Kemmerer (M)The Real Crossover
Form teen love to adult romance—authors discuss the joys and challenges of writing in both Adult and Young Adult age categories. Allison Saft, Claire Legrand, Farrah Rochon, Susan Lee, Adib Khorram, Beth Revis (M)
preorder campaign reminder
This preorder campaign closes on January 26! Submit your proof of purchase to this form, and you’ll receive nail polish and a signed bookplate. All formats (hardback, ebook, audiobook, B&N exclusive, signed copies from Kepler’s, etc.) are eligible. This campaign is US only.
Ahhh your Love y’all panels sound amazing!!! I wish I could be there