In this charming debut fantasy perfect for fans of Sorcery of Thorns and Girls of Paper and Fire, a witch cursed to never love meets a girl hiding her own dangerous magic, and the two strike a dangerous bargain to save their queendom.
We had the pleasure of chatting with debut author Adrienne Tooley about her novel Sweet & Bitter Magic, book recommendations, writing, and more!
Hi, Adrienne! Tell us a bit about yourself!
Hi there & thanks for having me! I grew up in Southern California, majored in musical theater in Pittsburgh, and I now live in Brooklyn with my wife, eight guitars, and a banjo. I write books but I also write folk music and have put out a handful of EPs.
After the chaos that was 2020, have you set any goals for this year? If so, how are they going so far?
If 2020 taught me anything, it was that there are SO MANY THINGS outside my control. So going into 2021 I’ve set two pretty simple goals: “celebrate every victory, no matter how small,” and “keep breathing.” There are definitely still a few moments where I find myself clenching my jaw and holding my breath, but for the most part, I’m trying to go with the flow and find joy everywhere I can.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
- First book I remember reading: Mr. Pine’s Purple House
- First book that made me want to become an author: The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
- A book I can’t stop thinking about: In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
When did you first discover your love for writing?
It sounds cliche to say I’ve always been a writer, but I started journaling when I was pretty young–there are scribblings from four year old Adrienne about my brother poking me in the eye, entries from fifth grade about wanting to make friends with the kids who moved in across the street, and my teenage years were filled with angst, fear, and woe. Everywhere I went, I had a notebook with me, and for a long time, even though I was only telling my own life story, I always wrote for an audience, even though I NEVER let anyone read my journals. So it always felt sort of inevitable that one day I would shift from journaling to telling stories.
Your debut novel Sweet & Bitter Magic is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Whimsical, lush, hopeful, sapphic, slow-burn (that’s one word, right?)
Now, what can readers expect?
Readers can expect a world built on fairytales, a slow-burn sapphic romance, a grumpy girl x sunshine girl pairing, and a book focused on grief, ghosts, hope, and heart.
What inspired you to write Sweet & Bitter Magic?
At the heart of it, SWEET & BITTER MAGIC is a book about grief and a book about power. Both of these concepts are explored through the eyes of two very different girls. With a dual POV I got to see the world through the eyes of Wren, a girl who feels everything, and Tamsin, who feels nothing (though not by her own volition).
I wanted to look at the past through different lenses. After all, grief and ghosts look different to everyone. How people choose to face their past, how they continue onward even in the face of unbearable loss, is power in its own right. But beyond that, I wanted to explore the idea of strength and power and how that affects the world and the individual. When being told that strength is good, and weakness is bad, how does that affect the ways a person can grow? How does that affect their relationships? How does that affect their own perceived value? And then, on the flip side, how does a person deal with the consequences of that power? SWEET & BITTER MAGIC offered me a way to attack those concepts head-on.
Were there any challenges you faced while writing? If so, how did you overcome them?
As mentioned, this book is dual POV and while Tamsin’s voice came to me immediately, one of the early challenges was finding Wren’s voice. I spent some extra time with her character, carefully mapping out her feelings and her past so that I could tap into her heart and find a way to get in her head. I’m so happy with how Wren turned out, and I think the extra time that I spent with her really helped endear me to her as well.
If it’s not too spoilery, do you have any favourite moments that you loved bringing to the page?
One of my favorite pieces of the book to write were the diary entries I got to write. I won’t tell you whose diary entries they are–you’ll have to read the book for that–but as I said above, I started writing as a journaler, so it was really really fun for me to dive back into that mindset to help tease out some history of my characters.
What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
It’s been an incredible learning experience! There are so many people and steps involved in getting a book published, and this debut process has been a lot of asking questions and having the curtain pulled aside to see the technical pieces involved. Luckily I’ve had an incredible support system and other debut authors to experience all this newness together, which I’m beyond grateful for.
What’s the best and the worst writing advice you have received?
Best advice: So much about what happens to a book after you write it comes down to luck and timing, that it’s important to focus on what you can control: ie your characters, the heart of your writing, constructing an intriguing voice, studying and improving your craft.
Worst advice: Any time someone insists that there’s only one way to do something. There isn’t a “best way” to do anything, there’s only the way that’s best for you as a writer.
What’s next for you?
My second book, SOFI & THE BONE SONG is a standalone fantasy about a young musician whose plan for the future falls apart when another girl wins the title she’s been training her whole life for. It’s got magic, music, taverns, an endless winter, and an exploration and dismantling of the idea that people should suffer for their art. Currently, it’s slated for a Spring 2022 release.
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
Two of my favorite new releases are Allison Saft’s gorgeous gothic fantasy Down Comes the Night & Morgan Rogers’ achingly poignant Honey Girl.
