Ivelisse Houseman’s debut novel Unseelie follows twin sisters, both on the run, but different as day and night. One, a professional rogue, searches for a fabled treasure; the other, a changeling, searches for the truth behind her origins, trying to find a place to fit in with the realm of fae who made her and the humans who shun her.
We chat with Ivelisse about all things Unseelie, including its Autistic and Latinx representation, along with writing, book recommendations, and more!
Hi, Ivelisse! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi! I’m the author of Unseelie, a young adult fantasy about an autistic changeling and her friends on a road trip that takes them through the faerie realms and back. Unseelie draws from my own experiences as an autistic teen (the struggling-to-accept-myself-and-fit-in part, not the faerie part!). I’m half Puerto Rican and half Virginian, which basically means I really love rolling mountains and fried foods. When I’m not writing, I work as a graphic designer and illustrator— and when I’m not doing that, I’m usually taking on an overcomplicated baking or sewing project.
When did you first discover your love for writing?
This might be cheesy, but I’ve wanted to be an author as long as I can remember. My first stories were written before I could even really write, dictated to my dad a sentence at a time. When I got older, I kind of forgot that writing was something you could pursue. I always imagined myself writing books, but in the background of something else. Then I got to college and realized I didn’t really want to do anything else. I started writing seriously when I was a sophomore, in 2017.
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 is one of the Junie B. Jones books by Barbara Park, but I’m not sure which one (also— Junie B. is DEFINITELY autistic!)
- Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, which is a perfect book and inspired me to find my own snarky, matter-of-fact writing voice even as a nine-year-old.
- It’s kind of cliché, but The Folk of the Air series by Holly Black is so addictive and well-crafted. They’re so alive that they seem to transform a little every time I re-read them.
Your debut novel, Unseelie, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Chaotic teenagers trying their best. (Alternatively? Autistic fantasy adventure feat. shenanigans.)
What can readers expect?
Unseelie is a book that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and it is very much a Young Adult book. I love young adult as a category— the tropes, the drama, the coming-of-age angst— but I think that it can be jarring for readers who want mature, reasonable characters who make mature, reasonable decisions. I had a lot of fun writing the world of Unseelie and filling it with messy characters who feel too much and make terrible choices. It’s paced a little differently from a traditional fantasy novel because it’s told from Seelie’s point of view, and she (like me, and lots of autistic people) takes a long time to process her emotions. I had to give the plot room to breathe in order for her character to develop, and I hope readers will enjoy a peek inside the autistic perspective for its uniqueness. Overall, expect feelings, adventure, and faerie mischief in all its trope-y glory.
Oh, and there’s dragons
Where did the inspiration for Unseelie come from?
Unseelie is the result of smashing together a ton of different sources of inspiration! I tend to circle around ideas until I find the right starting point. For Unseelie, I knew it was going to center around the theory that changeling mythology was an early description of autistic children. Some random Tumblr post from years ago made me ask, “what would happen if a family decided to keep their changeling and their human child?”— which inspired me to draw from my close relationship with my own sister.
That’s the heart of the story— then add on several layers of tropes and aesthetics from my favorite books and games (including The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine, An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Telltale Games’ Tales from the Borderlands), let it cook for two or three years, and you’ve got Unseelie.
Unseelie features both Autistic and Latinx representation. What was the experience like of writing a book, particularly fantasy, where others can see themselves in the main character?
Writing this book was my first time embracing an autistic narrator instead of trying to put myself in the perspective of a neurotypical person, and it was so freeing. I also knew I wanted Seelie and her family to reflect my family, so I made them culturally Latinx (even though this is a world that doesn’t have Latin America or Spanish colonialism. If Tolkien can have potatoes, I can have this.).
Honestly, I don’t have words for how it feels to have a book with a female, Latinx, autistic protagonist sitting on bookshelves. I never saw myself fully represented in anything when I was a kid, so I clung to the characters that were close enough— Latinx or biracial or autistic-coded (not canonically autistic, that’s way too rare!). I love all the facets of my identity, but I’m used to them being fragmented, separated from each other.
I wrote this book for my younger self— the teenage girl who had just received her autism diagnosis and was going through a full-blown identity crisis. I wrote it for any autistic kid who obsessively reads fantasy, but has never seen a character like themselves in the pages of their books. And I wrote it for those who don’t share our experiences to have a little window inside. Obviously, I can’t fully represent every autistic person, but I have already heard from early readers that Seelie’s story made them feel seen, which is all I could have ever hoped for.
Were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Writing Seelie was fun and often cathartic, but my favorite parts to write were the things that challenged me to think outside my own perspective. I really loved writing scenes where she interacts with Raze, her rival/friend/potential love interest?, because he is so opposite to her in so many ways. He’s outgoing, charming, and derives equal enjoyment from flirting and being difficult on purpose. His dialogue always had to be smooth and layered with meaning— except Seelie often doesn’t pick up on layers of meaning. Trying to make sure the reader knows more about what’s going on than the narrator is kind of maddening, but also really fun.
Can you tell us a bit about your journey of getting Unseelie published?
I finished the first draft in August 2019, right after graduating from college. It looked very different from the final version, but I knew there was something there! After polishing it with the help of my mentor, Sarah Kapit, I started querying it in the spring of 2020…which was a really, really bad time to be querying. I went MONTHS with no responses, even on solicited queries, until a few form rejections trickled in during the fall of 2020. At that point, I had sent Unseelie to about thirty different agents, and none had requested the full manuscript. The only full request I got was from a small publisher, through a Twitter pitch event. After failing to get into Pitch Wars, I decided to shelve Unseelie— and less than a week later, I got an offer from that small publisher.
With the offer in hand, I was able to get multiple offers of representation from agents— but the incredible Victoria Marini was the only one who shared my dream of revising Unseelie again and seeing if a bigger publisher wanted it. I signed on as her client in January 2021, did a major rewrite with her help, and went on submission with the book in June 2021.
Less than a month later, Inkyard Press bought it as a duology. After all that silence and all the rejections, I still can’t believe it worked out.
What’s next for you?
Unseelie is the first book in a duology, so a sequel is already in the works! I hope to be able to share more details about that soon, but I will say that I’ve seen a cover and it’s so awesome it melted my brain.
Aside from that, I have a separate young adult fantasy project that draws more heavily from Puerto Rican culture and history, which I haven’t sold yet, but fingers crossed that 2023 is the year!
Lastly, are there any 2023 releases our readers should look out for?
I wish I could list every single 2023 debut, but I’ll keep it to a few! Any readers who enjoy Unseelie will love Flowerheart by Catherine Bakewell— a cozy fantasy about a girl whose struggle to master and her magic made me cry actual tears. I’m also super excited for Last Sunrise in Eterna by Amparo Ortiz, a contemporary fantasy with Puerto Rican elves. Finally, Unholy Terrors by Lyndall Clipstone, which promises to be spooky, swoony, and atmospheric.
You can find Ivelisse on Twitter and Instagram, along with at her website.
