Julie Eshbaugh is a YA writer and former filmmaker. She made two short films and then spent several years producing an online video series for teens which received several honors from the Webby Awards. Her new YA fantasy standalone, Crown of Oblivion, is coming from HarperTeen on November 2019.
We had the pleasure of chatting to Julie about Crown of Oblivion, including its inspiration, along with book recommendations and more!
You can find Julie on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, along with at her website. Be sure to add this one to your Goodreads!
Hi Julie! Tell us a little about yourself!
CROWN OF OBLIVION is my third book. Before I started writing YA fiction, I was a filmmaker and videographer. I made a couple of short films, the second of which screened at a few film festivals. Then I spent several years producing an online video series for teens, which helped me find my way to writing novels for teens. Before I wrote CROWN OF OBLIVION I published a prehistoric fantasy duology. IVORY AND BONE (HarperTeen 2016) and OBSIDIAN AND STARS (HarperTeen 2017) are out now.
Your new novel, Crown of Oblivion, publishes on November 12th. If you could only use five words to describe it, what would they be?
A dangerous race without memories!
Now, let’s hear a little more! What can readers expect?
CROWN OF OBLIVION is a fast-paced story about a girl hoping to escape a life of servitude by winning a dangerous race. Astrid is an Outsider, which means she has no citizenship or magic. She is a fierce competitor, but all racers are dosed with the drug Oblivion at the start of the race which wipes their memories, and this lack of self-knowledge makes Astrid vulnerable. As she races across the continent from clue to clue, she discovers things about herself she hadn’t expected, like the fact she can use magic, though that should be impossible. As spotty memories return, she finds herself confused about who can be trusted. Dangers are everywhere, but Astrid never loses site of the freedom that lies across the finish line.
Where did the inspiration for Crown of Oblivion come from?
I love survival stories, and I have a fascination with memory and how our memories affect us. While I was writing this book, both my step-mother and mother-in-law were losing their memories to dementia. I witnessed their daily struggles to maintain their identities in spite of memory loss, and a lot of that inspired the book.
Was there a certain aspect of the novel, such as a scene or character, that you enjoyed writing?
Astrid is probably the fiercest character I ever wrote. She goes headlong into situations that can be hard for me as the writer to get her out of, and that made her fun to write. There are a few scenes—in particular there’s one that takes place on a tower—where her fearlessness put her into a position where I had to ask, “How would you find your way out of this, Astrid?” and then let her figure it out. Those moments are always fun to write, because you need to follow your character.
There are also a few scenes in the final third of the book where the reveals happen, and it’s always fun to write scenes where the truth comes out!
If Crown of Oblivion was adapted for the screen, is there anyone that would be part of your dreamcast?
I can honestly say that I generally don’t engage in dreamcasting. The main reason is that I know that once I say that I see a certain actor playing a character, it will affect how readers see that character, and I would rather leave that up to each reader’s imagination.
Your debut novel, Ivory and Bone, released in 2016. What have you learned since then?
I think I’ve learned a lot about pacing and the unwinding of a story on the page since I wrote Ivory and Bone. I’ve also learned how to better incorporate input from my editor and critique partners. Figuring out how to take advice and use it to improve what you’ve written is a skill all its own!
What’s next for you?
I’m working on a new YA idea that has a bit of a gothic feel to it. It’s so early in the process, that’s all I really can share. It’s YA. It’s tense and mysterious. I think my readers will like it. That’s all I can say!
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for us?
It’s fall, so I’ll recommend two ghost stories. I recently read Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House for the first time and loved it. It’s a classic ghost story, and it was so chilling! Another ghost story I loved that doesn’t get enough attention is The Rattled Bones by SM Parker. It’s very atmospheric and compelling.
