Author Interview – Sara Jane Triglia

Author of Souls in the Stars

Today, I am excited to chat with Sara Jane Triglia about her debut Sci-fi book, Souls in the Stars which launches today, June 4th, 2024.

Helen: Welcome, Sara Jane. Congratulations on the release of your book. I am so excited that today is your launch day! Tell us a little about Souls in the Stars.

Sara Jane: Souls in the Stars is my debut novel. It’s a thought-provoking sci-fi adventure that explores spiritually in a unique and nuanced way for young, sensitive souls who are seeking depth and meaning. It’s essentially about a teenage girl who has to rescue her little brother after he dies and becomes trapped as an orb of light. But, really, there’s a lot more to the story.

It has some of your favorite YA tropes: chosen one, dystopia/utopia (yes, both), jungle adventure, mystical island, love triangle romance, telekinesis, magical systems, reincarnation, reluctant hero. (Think Hunger Games meets Avatar.)

Helen: Your cover is beautiful, what were your thoughts behind the design?

Sara Jane: The cover began as a simple image of a ball of light—a soul orb—in the dark. For the second version, we tried to make it more interesting, so we created a scene from the novel where Bay is marveling at the soul orb in the jungle. It was a great cover, but we were told to follow cover trends, so we made another cover option that looked more “2024”. Yet, it felt like something essential was missing. So we combined the two covers and got our final cover which I LOVE. I think it’s perfect. My designer did a spectacular job.

(I made a video showing my audience the process of this on my Instagram.)

Helen: It was worth all the effort. How did you come up with the book title?

Sara Jane: The stand-in title during my first draft was “Infinite” but I thought it sounded too amorphous and unspecific. After changing the title three or four more times I landed on Souls in the Stars because it best represented the story while also being a never before used title. The book takes on both spirituality and science in a nuanced way, so the title reflects that. Souls/Stars. At the end of the book there’s a bit of dialogue that explains this more in-depth. What I’m saying is that, yes, there’s definitely a special meaning behind the title but I don’t want to spoil it.

Helen: Book titles can be difficult to nail down! Tell us what made you write this particular book?

Sara Jane: The idea of reincarnation has always been interesting to me and I wanted to explore that more. The stars and outer space have always fascinated me as well. So, I think this novel was born out of those two curiosities.

I dreamt it up back in 2011, but only wrote the first chapter before my inner critic got the best of me. I was only twenty three years old back then. For years, I thought about the story and the characters, jotting down notes and subplot ideas.

It wasn’t until December 2018, when I was thirty, that I got re-inspired and decided it was time to finish the story.

This is my “hard” novel, and I think only writers’ know what I’m talking about when I say that. Basically, writers have no shortage of ideas and some of them we know are easier to execute than others. I once wrote a rough draft of a fluffy romance in a month because it was just that kind of story.

Souls in the Stars was not that. This novel required major research, world-building, and character development. I knew that tackling this story was going to be a rough climb and that was terrifying. I honestly didn’t know if I could pull it off.

There was a time, maybe in my third or forth draft, where I truly doubted myself. But, I worked at this thing for five years, perfecting each word, each line. Getting beta readers and editors feedback. Rechecking my facts. Reorganizing the scenes. Making sure the characters all went deep and were properly fleshed out. Killing all my darlings. Agonizing over word choices. Implementing agent and publisher suggestions. Making sure it had all the elements of a great book as well as being commercially viable.

At this point, I believe I made a great quality novel and did the story justice. I’m proud of what I created.

Helen: Congratulations on persevering and publishing your debut novel. That is an amazing acheivement and one you should be proud of. Who is your protagonist and why did you write them?

Sara Jane: Bay Lilly. I wrote her has a role model that I wished I had as a twelve-year-old.

I grew up watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and it meant everything to me that she was a blonde girl who could kick ass while also being a capable leader. I’m not sure how it is today, but as a blonde girl, I heard nothing but “dumb blonde” jokes everywhere I went. I never felt capable or smart and I struggled with that most of my adolescence.

I wanted Bay to be someone that teenage girls could look up to and in more ways than one. In that she is strong and capable, but also sensitive and empathetic (two traits that are often looked at as a weakness). Her biggest strength of all doesn’t end up coming from her ability to beat people up, but in her emotional intelligence and compassion. Most of all I want girls to know they can be pretty (and blonde) but also capable and valuable as a sensitive, empathic person. And not just valuable, but needed in this world.

The irony is that it took me so long to finish this novel that I now have an eleven-year-old blonde daughter who reminds me a lot of Bay. So, in many ways, Bay is for her.

Helen: Having reached this milestone and released a novel, and after the well deserved celebrations, are you working on anything else?

Sara Jane: My husband is begging me to take a break. This debut novel has been more than a part-time job and I need my next project to be myself. I have a lot of self-care I need catching up on.

With that said, I have an old (finished) manuscript I want to tweak for my next release. It’s a young adult magical realism romance and I love it.

Helen: You have a young family, and you said it was quite hard to write Souls in the Stars. How do you fit writing into your daily life?

Sara Jane: I stay up way too late. I have young kids who I homeschool, so that’s basically my only choice. What’s crazy is that I don’t drink coffee. So, on those long writing days I basically run on the high of creativity.

Helen: Thank you so much for talking to us today. Just to close us out, could you share your favourite book that you would recommend to others?

Sara Jane: The Giver by Lois Lowery. It’s the book that made me want to be a writer. I’ve loved it since sixth grade. It’s so clever and emotional and tragic.

Thinking about it now, I think it has some of the same undertones as Souls in the Stars. A sci-fi dystopian/utopian society that is trying to be so perfect that they lose their humanity—their empathy—and they need someone to remind them how to feel.

About the Author

Sara Jane Trigalia

SARA JANE TRIGLIA is a young adult sci-fi, fantasy, and mindfulness author writing from the slopes of a volcano. As a sensitive person who craves depth and meaning, she loves to bring these elements to her stories for young readers. From children’s books to young adult novels, Sara’s stories are often emotional, adventurous, and thought-provoking. Sara has published short story eBooks, including, Jumping Caspian and The Origins of Raine.

In 2021, she published her mindfulness children’s book The Littlest Magnolia which she wrote and illustrated when her daughter was diagnosed with epilepsy. As a former YouTube vlogger, Sara loves to share her passion for writing on social media. When she is not writing, you can find her homeschooling her kids, practicing mindfulness, or folding a massive pile of laundry.

Follow Sara Jane:

Purchase Sara Jane’s book: Souls in the Stars

Link to book on Amazon UK: eBook | Paperback

Link to book on Amazon US: eBook | Paperback

As an Amazon Associate I may benefit from purchases made using these links.

If you enjoy fantasy books with a touch of romance then you will love SoulBreather, or my epic fantasy Sentinal series. As a new threat against Remargaren is discovered, only one man can wake the ancient guards who can protect them, only he doesn’t know how. Start the adventure and stay for the journey.

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Author Interview – Lyndi Allison

Author of The Winter Hexagon trilogy

Today, I am thrilled to be spending time with YA Science fantasy author Lyndi Allison. She is joining me to talk to us about her latest book, the third book in The Winter Hexagon trilogy, Our Journeys Among the Stars.

Helen: Welcome Lyndi. Congratulations on completing the Winter Hexagon trilogy. Tell us all about Our Journeys Among the Stars.

Lyndi: Our Journeys Among the Stars completes The Winter Hexagon Trilogy, the second part of a double trilogy that makes a six book series. Teleporting one more time to a planet light years away, astronomy geek, Jas, and artsy, Gloria, find themselves with growing feelings for one another as they continue to search for the seeds to save his mom’s life. On their journey, the they encounter a mystic healer, a crazed inventor, and an angry Poseidon, all with their own plans for Jas and Gloria. With the help of street kids, the teens and their robot sidekick enter a labyrinth where they battle monsters and a bull-headed Minotaur. Can they defeat their enemies, find the last seeds, and make it home in time to save Jas’ mom?

Helen: It sounds like an action packed tale and plenty for Jas and Gloria to contend with. What were your thoughts behind the cover?

Lyndi: Since young adult readers like a picture of the main characters, this cover features both of my protagonists. I also wanted to share the Acropolis where a good part of the story occurs. I used transportation as characters in this trilogy and in Our Journey Among the Stars, Jas and Gloria consider taking a hot air balloon from Athens to Crete where they hope to enter the labyrinth and fight the Minotaur. Due to the unstableness of a crazed inventor and his hot air balloon contraption he wants the teens to test, they have second thoughts and end up in trouble with the inventor.

Helen: Why did you give your book that title? Is there a special meaning or back story about the title?

Lyndi: Jas and Gloria start out as rivals with competing points of view but over the course of six books, they teleport to six different planets and become friends with a possible love interest. In the first trilogy, The Summer Triangle Trilogy, they rescue alien children from formidable foes. In the second trilogy, The Winter Hexagon Trilogy, they search for the seeds to heal Jas’ mom’s cancer. The stars, the constellations they give shape to, and the Greek mythological stories they tell all play into the story. In book one, Gloria asks if artists stay behind to draw the lines between the stars and by the last book they have travelled into their galaxy to new planets where they see many new stars with new stories.

Helen: What made you write this particular series of books for YA audiences?

Lyndi: While stargazing and storytelling around a campfire, something made the children and teens share the grief they carried. I was struck by how challenging it is to help youth who grieve and how sharing stories gave them a chance to see themselves and express their losses. I was inspired to write The Summer Triangle Trilogy and The Winter Hexagon Trilogy in which Jas grieves the loss of a baby sister and Gloria her father as a starting point for discussion about processing grief. I also wanted to share the challenges adults face as they try to help their kids grieve while grieving themselves.

Helen: What a great inspiration for your books. Congratulations on completing this double trilogy. Having completed your YA Science Fantasy series, would you consider writing in a diffferent genre?

Lyndi: While my six-book series (two trilogies), The Summer Triangle Trilogy and The Winter Hexagon Trilogy are young adult science fantasy, I felt compelled to write an adult psychological thriller on a sensitive subject matter. Although this is a new genre for me , I have a middle-grade point of view character so there is a little bit of a carry over.

Helen: Oh, tell us more about your WIP. It must be difficult to leave behind characters and a series you have been writing for period of time and start something new?

Lyndi: My current work is a big switch for me. Instead of writing young adult fantasy, I am writing an adult psychological thriller on the sensitive subject matter of trafficking young girls. Part of my writing process involves listening to workshops to improve my writing craft in this genre and reading psychological thrillers. My story is told mostly from three women’s alternating points of view, one of whom is middle-grade. The story is a little heavy to carry at times and when I need a break I walk or hike in nature.

Helen: My goodness that is a heavy topic, and one you need to be careful to get right. Very different from your previous books. Do you find you have to plan your books, or do you prefer to write where the charcaters take you?

Lyndi: I consider myself a plantser (part panster, part planner) in that I both write from the seat of my pants and also fill in the action points in a three-act structure chart so my story follows a cohesive structure. I didn’t pause to fill in this chart while writing my first book and I went off on too many tangents. My book became unwieldy and challenging to edit. How much I freefall write and how much I plan depends on the book. I see it as a scale that I slide back and forth along as needed for each book.

Helen: Do you ever experience writer’s block, and if so, how do you overcome it?

Lyndi: Typically, I don’t experience writer’s block. Since I host two online writing sessions a week and one in-person in which I also write, I am constantly surprised by what appears on the page. The prompts in these workshops and the creative energy of writing together keep me writing. Sometimes I write something new or other times I write a scene from my work in progress. Not that I don’t rest or take a break, but when I am ready to begin again, these workshops are my vehicles for doing so. My other passion is walking and hiking in nature.

Helen: What is your favourite book and why do you like it so much?

Lyndi: I am a huge fan of Contact by Carl Sagan. I appreciate how he gives time to both science and spirituality and how he opens up the possibility and likelihood that there may be ideas bigger than ourselves that we don’t yet understand.

Helen: Thank you so much for joining me today. It’s been lovely learning about your books. Just to finish, could you share with us the best part of your writing journey?

Lyndi: In addition to writing my books, I offer writing workshops and retreats in natural spaces in Panama. My writing passion, combined with the writing passion of others, creates a rich community of writers who inspire, encourage and educate one another on all things writing, editing, publishing, and marketing. We celebrate book launches together as well as critique and beta read each other’s reads.

About the Author

Lyndi Allison

As a tween, Lyndi walked miles to borrow books from the bookmobile and found quiet places to read them. Now she writes stories for young readers and helps other writers with their writing projects.

A retired high school teacher, mother of three adult children, and community youth volunteer, Lyndi moved with her husband to Panama where she hosts writing workshops, tours and retreats in nature and at Tranquilo Retreat. Many of her ideas come to her as she walks the beach and hikes in the mountains.

While stargazing around a campfire, many children and teens shared the grief they carried. Lyndi was struck by how challenging it is to help youth who grieve and was inspired to write the Summer Triangle Trilogy.

Follow Lyndi:

Author Website.

Instagram

Facebook

Purchase Lyndi’s book: Our Journeys Among the Stars via Amazon

Link to book on Amazon UK: eBook | Paperback

Link to book on Amazon US: eBook | Paperback

As an Amazon Associate I may benefit from purchases made using these links.

If you would like to find out about my books then sign up to my newsletter. If you enjoy epic fantasy then the award winning Sentinal series is now complete. If you like fantasy books with a touch of romance then you will love SoulBreather. Prefer Dystopian Science Fantasy? Then try Harmony. Start the adventure and stay for the journey.

Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.