It’s been an amazing 2020 reading year so far! I’ve had the opportunity to interview Adalyn Grace, author of the upcoming book All the Stars and Teeth! It’s a high stakes fantasy in which a princess on a mission to rescue her kingdom alongside a roguish pirate and a couple of unexpected stowaways. Definitely go and add it to your TBR if you love high stakes fantasy with strong female characters and some swoony romance! I can’t wait until this gets in readers hands, it’s sure to become a bestseller!
You can find Adalyn on Twitter and Instagram!
Hi Adalyn! Can you tell us a little about yourself and your book, All the Stars and Teeth?
Of course! All the Stars and Teeth is an epic fantasy about a fierce princess who is forced to team up with a mysterious pirate. She’ll need his ship if she’s to save her kingdom from a dangerous new threat, but first she’ll have to help him restore his stolen magic. In the kingdom of Visidia however, nothing is quite as it seems. It’s a book full of swashbuckling adventure, tons of magic, and man-eating mermaids!
Prior to writing this book, I studied storytelling as an intern at Nickelodeon Animation on the show The Legend of Korra, and was the Arts and Entertainment editor at a nonprofit newspaper. I’m a huge video game and anime nerd, 1000% Slytherin, and think wolves are the coolest animal ever. And I’m so happy to be here, getting to talk about my debut novel!
When you’re working on your writing, what do you usually focus on first?
I’m all about just trying to get the bones of the story down first, and focusing on the “what happens.” I prefer to outline what’s going to happen so that I know the characters, world, and my basic basic story, but I really don’t start to fully explore those elements until it’s time to begin revisions. Once that happens, it’s finally time to peel back the layers and really try to dive deeper and explore the world. But before that can happen, it’s all about setting up the bones and fast drafting the story.
I loved the magical islands in Visidia, what would be your preferred magic to have/use if you lived in Visidia?
I would 100% live on Mornute, and would practice enchantment magic! I think a close second for me would be living on Valuka to practice elemental magic, but I get so cranky in the heat, and it’s definitely the hottest of the islands. But that’s okay, because I love the glitz and the glam of Mornute, and love that every day over there feels like a new adventure. Plus, they have the coolest outfits ever. I think it would be amazing to just roll out of bed, and enchant yourself to look made up and ready for the day without actually having to spend all the time getting ready!
What is the silliest thing that Amora and Bastian would die on a hill for?
Probably way too many things because they’re both so stubborn! But I can totally see them getting into an argument that had something to do with fashion, and whether a certain style is trendy or ridiculous. They’re both such fashionistas.
I love the names of all of your characters. How did you go about selecting them for your story?
I feel like I totally lucked out with the names for this book. They all pretty much came to me randomly, but Scrivener’s Name Generator feature is also such an amazing tool I like to toy with. I usually use it to get an idea for a name that I might then tweak, or use it to find a last name for a stubborn character. It’s so helpful.
Ultimately, I like to try to pick names that I think convey the character. To me, Amora sounds like a very royal name, while Ferrick is a bit odd and quirky. Bastian sounds roguish and like the name of a seafarer, while Vataea is a bit different from the rest, and is almost a bit harder and more mysterious!
The Barracudas were an exceptional girl gang, can you please tell our readers more about them? Maybe what a day in the life of a Barracuda looks like when things aren’t going crazy in the kingdom?
Oh, thank you so much! I adore the Barracudas, and I don’t want to give too much away because I’d love to write more about them one day and dive deeper into what they do! Every member is there because they enjoy the work, the company, and getting to push their magic to unique limits. Most of them also happen to really like money, and they’re essentially hired help. When they’re on a job, they could really be doing anything—pulling off a heist, acting as mercenaries, altering their faces to complete a task. The Barracudas have a thriving business, and I just think they’re so much fun to write about.
Vataea is fairly vicious, so I wanted to know what her fighting style might look like if it came to one on one combat?
It would depend on whether she’s near water! If she is, Vataea would use her siren magic to her advantage when possible and drown her victims. As for if she were on land and away from the sea, it’s worth noting that Vataea is still fairly new to being on land, and hasn’t had the opportunity to practice with many weapons. She might be able to make something happen with a blade, but for now her go-to is using her razor-sharp teeth and claws.
How do you think Ferrick and Bastian would react to switching bodies in a Freaky Friday-eque moment? How long would it take Amora and Vataea to notice?
I think Ferrick would be way more horrified than Bastian! Bastian would likely see it as a fun challenge (assuming they had a way to change back), while Ferrick would definitely freak out. I think Bastian would also see it as an opportunity to dive into Ferrick’s closet, and likely give it a makeover. I can also see him experimenting with Ferrick’s healing powers.
Ferrick, on the other hand, would be way too busy being anxious to do anything fun in Bastian’s body other than enjoy not being sea sick.
As for Amora and Vataea, ha! The boys are so different that they’d probably notice immediately.
I was really interested in the mermaids of the Visidian (would this be correct?) kingdom. Can you talk about the process that the mermaids go through in the book to be able to walk on land and what kind of mental toll it might take on them?
When mermaids shed their fins in favor of legs, there’s not too much pain that comes with the change. However, they’ll have long scars where their fins and gills should be, which easily gives them away as a mermaid.
In terms of a mental toll, mermaids have very different morals than humans. I can see humans exhausting them pretty easily, and I imagine they’d also be stressed about when they stray too far from water. A mermaid’s magic is all water-based; they lose a lot of their protection when they’re not near it. They do, however, still keep the ability to use sharper teeth and claws!
What are three things that Amora would notice about a person upon first meeting them?
What they’re wearing, what magic they likely have, and what kind of person they might be (for example, whether they might be a traveler by a deep tan, or whether they might be wealthy and a light worker by their smooth hands.
Is there something in your book you never thought would end the way it came out in the final edits?
There was definitely a lot that happened in edits, and some really cool scenes that got added it! The Barracudas, for example, were not in the original draft. There’s also a lot of background information about the origins of the kingdom that I got to add in during revisions, that really pulled the book together. Now, those two scenes in the book as up there in my favorite moments!
Bonus question: Could you tell us 5 things readers might look forward to in book 2?
More magic, new islands to visit, new crew mates, more romance, and new drama.
