We chat with author Joan Tierney about Misery’s Wife, which is a queer and cli-fi reimagining of a Portuguese folktale about a young trans woman who must save her elder sisters from the King of the Air, the King of the Sea, and the King of Misery
Hi, Joan! When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
When I was in elementary school. I used to fill huge collections of notebooks up with stories. I even acted scenes out in the bath and with my stuffed animals.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
- The one that made you want to become an author: the Warrior Cats series by Erin Hunt
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: The Telling by Ursula K. Le Guin
Your latest novel, Misery’s Wife, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Fun, bittersweet, lyrical, sensate, and hopeful
What can readers expect?
An adventurous lullaby that will hopefully follow them into their dreams.
Where did the inspiration for Misery’s Wife come from?
A Portuguese fairytale called What Comes from Picking Flowers.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I especially loved writing Dores’ story, and Elixane’s relationship with Vanina. And all of the weddings. I love weddings.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
This book took me eight years to finish because frankly I kept forgetting about it and putting it aside to work on other projects. Actually sitting down to bring it to an end was like climbing up a cliff.
What’s next for you?
I have several manuscripts currently being shopped around to publishers, so hopefully one of them will find a home soon.
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up? Any you’ve read so far this year that you’ve enjoyed?
I’m looking forward to jumping into the Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman. My sister and brother-in-law have been reading them and are adamant that the main character’s cat is my cat if she could talk. I recently read Sublimation by Isabel J. Kim and Your Utopia by Bora Chung and enjoyed them both greatly.
