Interview with Kalyn Josephson, Author of The Storm Crow

I am so super excited today to be sharing a conversation I had with Kalyn Josephson, the author of The Storm Crow, which will be hitting shelves this Tuesday, July 9th!!

The Storm Crow is an such an amazing book, but don’t let me tell you about it. Read on to see Kalyn talk about her new book, as well as writing mental illness in YA, magical creatures, and perhaps a hint of what to expect in the sequel!

The Interview

Q: Hi Kalyn! Thank you again for answering my questions! Before we begin, could you tell us a little about The Storm Crow?

A: Sure thing! The Storm Crow is a YA fantasy about a princess who ignites a rebellion to bring back the magical, elemental crows that were taken from her people, all while navigating the cold, dangerous court of an enemy prince.

Q: The Storm Crow is your debut novel. What inspired you to tell this story?

A: The idea came from an article I read about a girl who fed her neighborhood crows. In return they brought her gifts and her neighbors called her The Crow Queen, which was the original book title. It made me think of a kingdom whose way of life was based on magical crows, and what would happen if they were suddenly destroyed.

Q: What have been some of your favorite moments in your publication journey (after you got your publishing deal or before)? Are there any aspects of it that surprised you?

A: Seeing my cover! Tran Nguyen did such a fantastic job representing the story. I’ve also loved hearing from people who read the book and really liked it. The idea that people are reading my story is still surreal to me!

In terms of things that surprised me, I’d say learning just how little control an author has once a publisher takes over. I get a lot of questions about whether I’ll be traveling or doing events or if there will be special editions of the book, but none of that is up to me. Thankfully I’m with a really amazing team at Sourcebooks that’s doing a lot of awesome things for the book!

Q: After reading, I think everyone will want their own Crow (I know I do). If you could have one magical creature as a pet, what would you be, and most importantly, what would you name it?

A: Ooh, that’s tough, but dragons will always have my heart. I love big names for little things and little names for big things, so I’d probably name it something far too adorable for its impressiveness, like Widget or Bean.

Q: I loved how Thia’s depression was portrayed in this book. Accurate mental health representation is a little hard to find, especially in fantasy, and it’s amazing to see it done so well. What are some of your favorite books that deal with mental health?

A: Thank you so much! That means a lot. It’s actually been a goal of mine to read more books in the upcoming month with mental health rep. I read almost exclusively fantasy, where I agree it’s harder to find it, but one I’d recommend is Leigh Bardugo’s SIX OF CROWS, which deals with PTSD.

Q: It’s not easy to accurately portray mental illness. Was there anything, in particular, that was hard about writing Thia’s journey? Also, what was your favorite part of writing her?

A: There were a lot of elements of writing Thia’s depression that were difficult, but one I didn’t anticipate when I began was balancing giving her depression the consideration and time it deserved with an action-based fantasy plot. So much needed to happen, but it had to happen in a way that made sense for where she was mentally and emotionally.

My favorite part of writing Thia was her capacity to understand and see other people. Even after everything that’s happened to her, she’s willing to give people the benefit of the doubt, and it’s that aspect of her character that enables her to protect her people.

Q: What are three words you would use to describe where this series might be going?

A: Revenge. Trust. Betrayal.

About Kalyn Josephson

Kalyn Josephson currently works as a Technical Writer in the tech industry, which leaves room for too many bad puns about technically being a writer. Though she grew up in San Luis Obispo, California, she graduated from Santa Clara University with a degree in Biology and a degree in English (Creative Writing). Currently, she lives in the Bay Area with four awesome friends (because it’s the Bay Area and she’d like to be able to retire one day) and two black cats (who are more like a tiny dragon and an ever tinier owl). THE STORM CROW is her debut novel.

More About The Storm Crow:

Page Count: 352
Publisher: SourcebooksFire
Release Date: July 9th, 2019
Synopsis: “In the tropical kingdom of Rhodaire, magical, elemental Crows are part of every aspect of life…until the Illucian empire invades, destroying everything.
That terrible night has thrown Princess Anthia into a deep depression. Her sister Caliza is busy running the kingdom after their mother’s death, but all Thia can do is think of all she has lost.
But when Caliza is forced to agree to a marriage between Thia and the crown prince of Illucia, Thia is finally spurred into action. And after stumbling upon a hidden Crow egg in the rubble of a rookery, she and her sister devise a dangerous plan to hatch the egg in secret and get back what was taken from them.” (Via Goodreads)

Purchase On: Amazon || Indiebound || Book Depository || Barnes & Noble

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Okay, time to turn a question on to you guys! If you could have one magical creature, from any book/movie/mythology, what would you pick?