Jaclyn Dolamore is the author of young adult novels “Magic Under Glass” and “Between the Sea and Sky.” Below is a complete transcript of her interview with Cracking the Cover.
Background — Have you always wanted to write? Why?
Yes, in fact, when I was three my mom was writing down stories I dictated to her. I still have the notebook. They’re about things like Grandma and families of bears. As I got older, I was always writing. I filled piles of notebooks, and then slews of computer files.
Why write for young adults?
The books you read when you’re young get into your head in a way that doesn’t usually happen later in life. As a young reader, I felt like I sort of became a part of my favorite stories, and they became a part of me. My love for them was so strong, and I took so much inspiration from them. More than anything, I want to pass that feeling on.
Do you have any rituals? Do you write all day?
I usually write between lunch and dinner. No rituals. I might put on a playlist I’ve carefully selected for the book I’m writing on at the time, but not always. All I need is a full stomach, I guess!
Where did the idea for “Between the Sea and Sky” come from?
The romance between a mermaid and a winged boy was a subplot in a (not very good) novel I was writing years ago. I kept wanting to come back to it. I loved the idea of two like minds having different bodies that belonged to different elements. Many star-crossed romances deal with families who hate each other, or class differences, but I liked the idea that these two had the forces of nature conspiring against them!
Briefly tell me a little about it.
Esmerine is a mermaid. Alan is a winged guy. They were childhood friends because he used to fly to the islands to collect seaweed. He always had a book with him, and he taught her to read and write. They played childhood games. Now they haven’t seen each other in years, and Esmerine comes across him while she’s looking for her sister, Dosia, who ran off with a human man. Both sisters have become sirens, whose magical voices protect the sea, but Esmerine still dreams of something more. Books…and wings…
How long did you work on it?
The first draft took me a year, which for me, is a long time. Second books have to bear the weight of a lot of writer’s neurosis. “Will my editor be sorry she ever signed up with me? Will this book be as good?” Etcetera. I loved the book but I sort of hated writing it just because I was stressed out.
Who is your favorite character in the book? Why?
Oh, I really do love the characters in this book! Alan is my favorite. I like intellectual snots with good hearts underneath. But I love Esmerine too, and I’m quite fond of Belawyn, the pipe-smoking older mermaid…she had a larger role, originally, and when the plot changed in edits a lot of it got cut. She was kind of a femme fatale in her youth!
What were the challenges working on “Between the Sea and Sky”? The highlights?
The challenge? The plot. Giving Esmerine and Alan something to actually do while they fell in love. The highlight was the interactions between the characters. They had good chemistry with each other, which doesn’t always happen.
Which would you choose — being able to fly or having mermaid abilities?
Flying. I’ve always wished I could fly. This is probably going to sound weird, but when I watch birds…I get jealous of them. I was at the park the other day watching Canada geese take off like fighter planes and I was just like, “You lucky bastards.”
I’ve heard about mermaids before but never Fandarsee. Where did they come from?
When I was a kid I loved a comic called Elfquest. There was an elf in it whose arms had been shape-shifted into wings. I loved that idea and started occasionally writing into my stories a race of people who had bat-type wings instead of arms. I quickly deviated from Elfquest a lot, in working out the logistics of things, and I had to come up with a culture for an entire race. Originally they were more tribal and primitive, but then, in thinking about the element of air in astrology and lore, I decided to make them intellectuals.
How much of mermaid lore is your own creation and how much came from research?
It’s a mix. There’s a lot of tidbits of fairy tales in there–the enchanted belts come from mer/selkie tales of the British Isles, the sirens of course are in Greek myth (and originally were winged, actually), and the mermaid ability to transform tails to legs but every step is like knives borrows from Hans Christian Andersen. The hard part was working out the logistics of all this stuff. Fairy tales aren’t known for their logistics.
“Between the Sea and Sky” is your second book. Do you feel pressure to live up to the success of your first book, “Magic Under Glass”?
Well, Magic Under Glass wasn’t really a huge success or anything. I feel like there’s a lot of room to grow. I mainly hoped Between the Sea and Sky would do better than Magic Under Glass! I think every book I write is better than the last. So far it seems like readers as a whole agree, although of course some will prefer this book or that one, because everyone has their own reader quirks.
What do you hope readers will get out of your books”?
I think a good book inspires a reader to create themselves. If a reader comes away inspired, it’s the best compliment I can get.
What are you working on now?
A middle grade idea about a young witch and her familiar just came along and blind-sided me last month. It’s been almost like a NaNoWriMo project, I’ve been writing it so fast.
Looking back, how has your writing evolved from when you first started until now?
I’ve written so much and from such a young age that I think my style is evident pretty early on, but I’ve gotten much, MUCH better at refining it, and plotting, and cutting out stuff I don’t need, and adding stuff that makes a book richer.
Did you have a favorite book or book that really resonated with you as a young reader?
Emily of New Moon, by L. M. Montgomery.