Hello everyone and Happy Friday! Our post today is quite special as it is another BLOG TOUR of the new released
YA Novel, Sing Me Forgotten by Jessica Olsen :)
Today, I'll be posting a guest post and I am so excited to share with you guys what had been the author's insight and I sincerely recommend the book to you guys as it is truly amazing ☺️
I will also be sharing you my insights of how I build a playlist and my favourite quotes from the book :) Hoping yall will have a nice weekend and check out this book when it comes out later :)))
Book Title: Sing Me Forgotten
Author: Jessica S. Olson
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Release Date: March 9th, 2021
Genres: YA Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Retellings
Book Purchase link: https://bookshop.org/a/11727/9781335147943SYNOPSIS
Isda does not exist. At least not beyond the opulent walls of the opera house.
Cast into a well at birth for being one of the magical few who can manipulate memories when people sing, she was saved by Cyril, the opera house’s owner. Since that day, he has given her sanctuary from the murderous world outside. All he asks in return is that she use her power to keep ticket sales high—and that she stay out of sight. For if anyone discovers she survived, Isda and Cyril would pay with their lives.
But Isda breaks Cyril’s cardinal rule when she meets Emeric Rodin, a charming boy who throws her quiet, solitary life out of balance. His voice is unlike any she’s ever heard, but the real shock comes when she finds in his memories hints of a way to finally break free of her gilded prison.
Haunted by this possibility, Isda spends more and more time with Emeric, searching for answers in his music and his past. But the price of freedom is steeper than Isda could ever know. For even as she struggles with her growing feelings for Emeric, she learns that in order to take charge of her own destiny, she must become the monster the world tried to drown in the first place.
What is your favorite fairytale or retelling and why?
I love the fairytale of Beauty and the Beast. I think the exploration of the blurred lines between humanity and monstrosity is so fascinating, and the Beauty and the Beast story, just like Phantom of the Opera, does that so well. One of my favorite retellings of Beauty and the Beast is A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer. I love how fierce and unapologetic Harper is—just like Belle!
What made you want to share this Phantom of the Opera inspired story as your debut?
I’ve loved Phantom of the Opera since I was small, and when I finally saw the play on Broadway as an adult, I realized just how compelling a story from the Phantom’s perspective could be because I think there’s something so universal about that feeling of rejection. Everyone, at some point in their lives, has felt like an outcast. I thought that maybe others out there would be able to identify with his story like I had. As soon as I imagined a 17-year-old girl version of the Phantom, I couldn’t not write her story. I’d written several books before this one and had tried to get an agent for years, so I wasn’t sure that I’d be able to finally “break in” with this one, but I certainly hoped it would work. I knew that Isda’s story would be relatable to many, and that the gilded atmosphere of her opera house home, along with the magic of the music and the pull of the romance and betrayal, would be things that YA readers could connect to. So I wrote it, and revised it, and crossed my fingers that someone would want to publish it. I’m so utterly grateful someone did!
Can you talk about the process of creating a fantasy novel? (World-building, creating a magical environment, deciding on the rules of this new world, etc.)
For me, every book idea starts with a character. I need to know who that character is and what they want more than anything, as well as what kinds of things could be stopping them from getting that thing (both external and internal forces). During the development of the character, I get an idea for the magic that character could have, because the magic needs to complement that desire they want and their internal flaws in a way that helps them grow over the course of a story. Once I build the magic system, I can then move outward to create a world where that magic exists. I usually like to base my fantasy world on a real place (like, for example, Channe, the city where Sing Me Forgotten takes place, is based on Paris, France). I do this because I think it helps readers ground themselves more quickly in the story. Then, once I’ve got all of that figured out, I usually do a pretty in-depth outline of the plot before I start writing. For me, the work done before the writing is just as important as the writing itself.
When writing this book, were there are any songs that crossed your mind that reminded you of the characters and the plot?
Oh yes, of course! “Out There” from the stage (and Disney movie) version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame has been Isda’s theme for me since the very beginning. I have sobbed my way through that song more times than I could ever count. And “Rewrite the Stars” from The Greatest Showman is a big inspiration for Isda and Emeric’s relationship.
Which opera house did you envision whilst writing this? Any stories of your experience in the opera houses?
The Channe Opera House is based on the Opera Garnier (also known as the Paris Opera House—which is the opera house where Phantom of the Opera is set). I visited this opera house when I did a study abroad program in 2009, but honestly, I don’t remember a lot from that visit. I didn’t know at the time that I would write a Phantom of the Opera story one day, so I didn’t pay as much attention as I wish I would have! But during the drafting process of this book, I spent many hours scouring photos online in hopes that I could build an opera house like it in my story. I truly wanted the opera house to be like its own character, so I invested quite a lot of time into its development while writing.
When reading a book, I always try to make a playlist of the books with the feels and the emotions while reading the book. Its always fun to listen to some music when reading books as it will make you have a feel of the places and the characters emotions as well.
For this book, I have curated a playlist and the link will be provided here as well if you wish to listen to it as well. Its available via the Spotify link!
INSPIRATION: Music Scores from Musicals, Music Scores from some of my favourite composers and Songs from Movies that I love that suits the feel of the book
SPOTIFY LINK!
Scan the code with your spotify
Since this book takes inspiration in an Opera House with a flair of a retelling, my playlist consists of some songs when I was reading it. Music has always been apart of me and reading this while listening to the songs in the playlists has heightened my reading experience,
A big thank you to the author for her sharing and I hope that everyone will be interested to snatch this book as it is does not only talk about one of my favourite retellings, the love for music, the characters progression as well as just enjoying the book as a whole :)
Big thanks to Turn The Page Tours for hosting this Blog Tour!
I'll end this with some of my favourite quotes from the book :)
“I am a shadow. A shimmer of black satin. A wraith in the dark.”
“If they want me to be a nightmare, then a nightmare I shall be.”
See you guys in my next post! of All the Stars and Galaxy,
xoxo, Afi
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jessica S. Olson claims New Hampshire as her home, but has somehow found herself in Texas, where she spends most of her time singing praises to the inventor of the air conditioner. When she’s not hiding from the heat, she’s corralling her three wild—but adorable—children, dreaming up stories about kissing and murder and magic, and eating peanut butter by the spoonful straight from the jar. She earned a bachelor’s in English with minors in editing and French, which essentially means she spent all of her university time reading and eating French pastries. Sing Me Forgotten is her debut novel.
Jessica is represented by Christa Heschke of McIntosh & Otis Literary Agency.
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