Author Julie Abe Interviews Her Main Character, Tessa Miyata

Guest post written by author Julie Abe
Julie Abe has lived in Silicon Valley, spent many humid summers in Japan, and currently basks in the sunshine of Southern California with never enough books or tea, where she creates stories about magical adventures. Her debut novel Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch received a starred review from Kirkus:“Bewitching…a must-read for fantasy lovers,” and was also listed as a Best Middle Grade Book by Kirkus Reviews, New York Public Library, Bank Street College of Education, and Book Riot. Julie is also the author of Eva Evergreen and the Cursed Witch;Alliana, Girl of Dragons; and Tessa Miyata is No Hero. Visit her online at www.julieabebooks.com.

About Tessa Miyata Is So Unlucky: In this thrilling new adventure, Tessa Miyata and her best friend Jin must battle the gods… and win. With magic abound and stakes higher than ever, this is a perfect pick for fans of Amari and the Night Brothers!

---

Hi! Julie Abe, author of Tessa Miyata Is No Hero and my latest release, Tessa Miyata Is So Unlucky, here with something special: an interview with the main character, Tessa Miyata!

JULIE ABE: Hello, Tessa! Can you introduce yourself?

TESSA MIYATA: Oh. Wow. I’ve never done an interview before. Well, I’m Tessa Miyata. Twelve years old. Um, you’re probably talking about that thing that happened over the summer… Yikes. I mean… I understand why. I went to visit my grandparents in Japan for summer break, and, okay, I did release an evil samurai god in Tokyo and all of that.

JULIE: That was definitely a fiery summer. What can we expect in the second book, Tessa Miyata Is So Unlucky, that comes out August 2024?

TESSA: First—who came up with that title, anyway?

JULIE: To be honest, my editor and publisher. They put their brains together to come up with that awesome title.

TESSA: I know I’m unlucky, but did you really have to shout it out? Print it in ink? Make it show up everywhere, when I Google my name? *Sigh* Well, it’s the truth. So, toward the end of my let-an-evil-god-loose-summer, I got this magical invite to the Academy of Gods. In fact, if you look at the cover of the book, I’m sitting on the invite (because it turned into an origami tiger!), and on my way to the Academy of Gods. It’s this place that’s supposed to train us, but because there was a special event going on, called “The Cycle”, it really became more of like a battleground. Almost like my favorite anime, My Hero Academia.

JULIE: Whoa. I love watching anime, too! My recent favorite anime is SPY x FAMILY. What’s your favorite part of the Academy?

TESSA: The food, for sure. And, my friends, of course. The dining hall is the coolest thing ever. The Seven Lucky Gods get to choose where the dining hall door leads to during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. So, like, most of them want to dine at fancy restaurants and all that. But it can lead to anywhere in Japan. So, my friend Jin and I would sneak out at night, and ask the dining hall to take us to a convenience store, and we’d eat instant yakisoba and ice cream—food of the gods, for sure!

JULIE: Ooh, I love the convenience stores in Japan. I want to live at the Academy—

TESSA: Wait, am I supposed to be telling you this? You’re a mortal. I gotta keep the immortals’ secrets hidden.

JULIE: Oops, true. I guess everyone will have to read the Tessa Miyata series to find out more.

TESSA: That’s right! Tessa Miyata Is No Hero and Tessa Miyata Is So Unlucky are now available EVERYWHERE! Read (or listen, if you like audiobooks) the story of how I (hopefully) conquer the Academy of Gods! That’s cool, I’ve always wanted to say that! Have a happy summer, and stay away from evil gods, all of you mortals!

---

EXCERPT

LAST TIME IN TESSA

MIYATA IS NO HERO . . .

Foreword provided by Hachi, a minor spirit (with a few interruptions by Kit)

You’re— you’re a mortal? Oh, wow! There are so many of you these days. First, Tessa and Jin, and now you, too. Um, well, that’s three, but I used to know zero mortals before all of this. I’m Hachi— don’t call me Hachiman, please, that’s my grandpa— and . . . I think we need your help.

So, since you’re a mortal, whether or not you’ve read Tessa Miyata Is No Hero recently, I’ll give you a quick refresher. I’ve heard mortal minds are forgetful. I don’t really know a ton of mortals, though, but this can’t hurt, right?

So, first, Tessa Miyata. She’s a god-​blessed mortal (which means she’s a human who can see gods) who releases an evil samurai god into Tokyo. Absolute, complete

troublemaker! Because of her, I— Okay, okay, I’ll wait for you to read further. Anywho, fortunately, she’s got two allies: Kit— an epic, gorgeous, magnificent ninetailed magical fox (he told me to write that all in) with no memory of his past, and Jin Uehara, her neighbor who’s an ace at karate.

Together, the three of them appealed to the Seven Lucky Gods to Do. Something. But their motto kinda was “Do Nothing, Just Watch Haikyuu!!” Which is a good enough motto, but definitely not if the world is falling apart.

So, because of that, Tessa, Jin, and Kit went to the Dojo of Many Doors. Tessa and Jin had to make their way through the two magical torii gates to learn how to use ku— spirit energy— and create hinoki weapons powerful enough to beat the evil samurai god. But if they didn’t get out in time, they’d become a part of the last magical city forever.

Did they get out? Did they beat the evil samurai god? Who is he, really? Yikes— if you don’t remember that, go back to book one.

Or, does that jog your memory enough? Okay. Now, fast forward through two months of Jin and Tessa hanging out, going to summer festivals, and basically having an awesome summer vacation (without me, so it clearly couldn’t have been absolutely perfect). Now, let’s get started on book two, Tessa Miyata Is So Unlucky (which, according to Kit, should really be named The Legends of

Kit, the Best God in the Universe).

I just gotta tell you . . . this story . . . it didn’t end up the way I expected. Intense. Epic. Adventures. Loads of ice cream, sure. Still, my heart kind of hurts thinking of everything that’s happened. And that’s what I want your mortal help with. I want to know . . . will it end the way you expected? That’s for you to find out…