We chat with author Amanda Connolly about The Lure of Wolves and Whispers, which follows one sister who offers her life in exchange for the other’s in this dark, Irish lore–inspired romantasy.
Hi, Amanda! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Thanks so much for having me! My name’s Amanda Connolly and I’m the debut author of The Lure of Wolves and Whispers, the first book in The Martyred Isle trilogy out on July 7 around the world. I’ve been dreaming of getting published for 13 years and wrote five manuscripts that went nowhere before writing this book, and the response has been an utter dream come true! I’m a dual Canadian-Irish citizen and The Lure of Wolves and Whispers is deeply inspired by Irish mythology and history.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I’ve loved writing and stories for as long as I can remember. I’m so lucky to have grown up in a home surrounded by fantasy books and to have parents who read to me every night. For as long as I’ve realized that authors are real people, too, I’ve wanted to tell my own stories. While I wrote stories even as a little kid, it wasn’t until 13 years ago that I got serious about sitting down and actually working on learning about publishing and writing a manuscript that I could query to agents. The Lure of Wolves and Whispers was the sixth manuscript I wrote, and it poured out of me in two and a half months!
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: Rags by Patricia Scarry when I was very young has always stuck with me, along with the Royal Diaries series as a preteen.
- The one that made you want to become an author: Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Silvercloak by LK Steven. I’m dying to read the sequel!
Your debut novel, The Lure of Wolves and Whispers, is out July 7th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Dark. Achingly romantic. Ferocious. Hopeful.
What can readers expect?
I had SO much fun writing this – it’s propulsive and addictive and darkly romantic, full of all my favourite tropes from fantasy and romance. Enemies to allies to lovers, deadly trials, dark secrets, slow burn romance, secret languages, deep worldbuilding with intricate politics. Readers can expect a vicious and unforgiving world that quickly pulls you under its churning surface, and a romance that feels like braiding roses as all their thorns intertwine – and an ending that will leave you breathless for Book 2!
Where did the inspiration for The Lure of Wolves and Whispers come from?
I wrote this book after the hardest year of my life. I was grappling with burnout, with grief, with back-to-back random injuries. I hadn’t written a word of fiction in a year. And I was on the verge of giving up on this dream of publishing a book. My husband encouraged me to write a book just for myself, something full of all my favourite things … and this book came pouring out of me faster than I’ve ever written anything else. It truly felt like capturing lightning in a bottle.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Dialogue is always my favourite thing to write. I come from a background in journalism and after so many years working so closely with interview transcripts, dialogue is how I first hear my scenes. I always write the interactions first, because I want the scenes to reflect how the characters are going to prick and twine around each other, and what they choose to reveal or hide in their word choices.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
Readers will notice that my main character, Maeve, struggles with nerve pain throughout the series. Her symptoms and experience are a direct reflection of my own. I was diagnosed with a nerve injury while writing The Lure of Wolves and Whispers, one that had caused excruciating pain for years but that I had foolishly tried to push through. Doing that only caused lasting damage that I still struggle with today and that has forced me to adapt my workload and activities so that I can write without re-injuring myself. Physiotherapy has been incredible, and is what allowed me to get back to writing without that excruciating pain, although it’s still not fully gone and is something I’ve been told I need to continue to manage flares of for a while to come. Writing that pain as something Maeve also has to learn to adapt to was – and still is – deeply cathartic.
This is your debut novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
It’s been such a long road!! Thirteen years and five manuscripts that went nowhere. More than 500 rejections over the years – I counted them all up the day I got my first offer on The Lure of Wolves and Whispers, and cried with disbelief. But I learned so much during those years – they forced me to buckle down on learning craft, on finding plotting structures that work best for me and learning to think about character development until it became second nature. It’s true what they say: one ‘yes’ really does change everything.
What’s next for you?
I’m in developmental edits right now on Book 2 of the trilogy, and having so much fun. Book 3 is plotted and I’m excited to start drafting it this fall/winter. I’ve also written another just-for-fun project that’s utterly captivated my imagination, and has me absolutely kicking my feet in delight every time I work on it. I’m having the very best time.
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up? Any you’ve read so far this year that you’ve enjoyed?
That’s a two-way tie right now: I’m so excited to read Turncloak by LK Steven and Tempest by Victoria Aveyard. They’re my two most anticipated reads for the year. I also just started diving into Elsie Silver’s books and am having so much fun reading those – I recently finished Wild Love, and am reading Fever Dream right now. They’re an absolute delight.
