Step into a world of smoke, mirrors, and delight when you pick up Where Dreams Descend. This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2020, and I promise you won’t be disappointed. From start to finish this story seduces its reader into a precarious security that you know won’t last, and yet will still allow to betray and stun you into wanting more. This story has certainly blown away every expectation that I had going into it, and I hope you’ll pick it up because it certainly needs to have a space on your shelves.
Now, let’s get into the interview:
Janella, can you tell us about yourself and about Where Dreams Descend?
First of all, thank you for having me on here—my heart feels so full right now and I’m so glad you loved the book! To answer your question, Where Dreams Descend is far more interesting than me so I will start there, haha. This story is the first in a YA fantasy duology pitched as “Phantom of the Opera meets Moulin Rouge with a dash of The Night Circus” in which a powerful showgirl named Kallia goes for her dreams of lighting up the stage by joining a magician’s competition which quickly turns into a dangerous game as contestants go missing and strange occurrences start to happen behind the scenes. As a lover of romance, musical theater, magic, and glamorous aesthetics, this book is a deep dive into me as a person. Though if I’m being honest, I’m probably the least glamorous person you’ll ever meet. Admittedly my characters dress far better than me, as you’ll most likely find me on the floor writing in pajamas rather than strutting about in sparkly gowns. Sigh.
How did you develop the premise of this story? Did you have to do a lot of plotting before writing, or did you have a fully formed idea and then fine tuned?
I’m someone who likes to gather ideas, so initially I’d always wanted to write a Phantom-esque story (Phantom of the Opera has always been a big part of my life), a story with a circus, and a story with magicians. I didn’t think to combine all of those elements into one story until years later when I watched a reality competition show about stage magicians and listened to the orchestral opening of a song from Love Never Dies (a most beloved or hated sequel to Phantom of the Opera, depending on where you stand). That’s when I had my vision of a scene that occurs later in the book (my favorite scene to date), and everything from there sort of fit into place. I’m a pantser, so I had a good grasp on the story as I was writing even if I didn’t know where it was all ultimately going which of course has its ups and downs. I just remember wanting so badly to write that particular scene, so when I finally got there, I kept going. And before I knew it, I had a whole book!
Of all of your magicians, who was your favorite to write dialogue for?
Ooh in terms of dialogue, I absolutely loved writing Kallia because she just says whatever is on her mind and enjoys scandalizing those around her. Weirdly, of my nonmagicians, I loved writing Erasmus Rayne’s dialogue as well. He’s so theatrical and over-the-top, and unnervingly opportunistic which altogether made everything he said compelling but also slightly alarming.
Do you listen to music while you write?
Yes! Most times when I’m drafting, it’s instrumental covers because lyrics are a little too distracting for me if I’m trying to churn out my own words. I’m more likely listen to all types of music when I brainstorm or am in the polishing stage.
Can you talk about the magic system you use in Where Dreams Descend?
Where Dreams Descend takes place in a world where magicians and nonmagicians coexist, but there are two types of magicians: one who is born with magic, and one who acquires magic if they have the skills and training to wield it from the air. According to legend, magic poured into the world long ago which explains how there’s magic in the air that certain people can develop skills to use. However, those born with magic are rarer and rumored to be more powerful, for their power is said to be more raw and innate. I developed this system with the concept of creativity in mind—where we have those artists with raw, natural talent vs. those who must train or study their craft really hard. And then there are just those who don’t really reach for the arts at all. Creativity to me feels like one of our closest connections to magic, so it was interesting to have that as a jumping off point for a magic system.
If it’s not too spoilery, which was your favorite scene to write?
I love this question because my favorite scene was essentially the “vision” I mentioned before which had sparked me to write the book in the first place. I call it my Angel of Music scene, which Phantom fans will know is the scene in the musical where Christine and Phantom are having a dark, angsty moment in her dressing room, while Raoul hears from outside her door and senses that something is not right. There’s a scene that mirrors this in Where Dreams Descend, and it remains my favorite part because it was when the Phantom inspiration really clicked for me, and also because it was the scene I was most excited to write when I began drafting.
Did you have any unique challenges while writing your book?
Although I turned to this book as my fun project, I was writing it while going through some big life changes and also receiving rejection after rejection for another book of mine (one I’d spent many years working on) that was on submission to editors. That experience really shook me and my sense of worth as a writer, which in turn, stole the joy out of writing for me for some time. I’ve always found escape and strength through writing, so not being able to do so was honestly like losing a huge piece of me. However, writing and completing Where Dreams Descend lifted me out of that darkness because it became the book that I wrote to the end just for me, not thinking it would ever sell. I’m so happy I was wrong, and am grateful for how this story helped me get back on my writing feet again.
Are there any unique talents your characters have that might not be on the page?
This is such a fun question. Kallia is not shy at all about her talents so they’re all on the page—though I feel like she would be into doodling flowers or potential show costumes if she wasn’t too busy practicing her autograph for adoring fans in countless notebooks. Whether they’re actually decent drawings is a toss up. This isn’t super on the page, but Daron is a reader so I feel like he might be a good writer or have some command with language as a result. And I remember in this story I had originally wanted Jack to play some sort of instrument as his angsty escape, but that got scrapped (though let’s be real, if he wanted to learn an instrument he would probably pick one up and master it in a week’s time).
These are times of great stress, and I wanted to use this question for you to check in, or tell us something that you feel is important to share with readers.
Something I always tell people, at this time, is please be gentle with yourselves. These are extremely unprecedented and stressful times, which means it’s more than okay if you’re not feeling like your normal self. This is not a normal time! A lot of things that came to me so naturally feel somewhat challenging now—such as finishing a single book (reading has become ridiculously hard for me!), being able to write with abandon and lose myself in my characters, even just functioning as a human with a regular day job. I’m usually a very optimistic person who loves finding the silver linings to things, but for a while, I felt absolutely broken. There are moments when I still do, to be honest. I had an idea of what this year was going to look like, and it suddenly got turned on its head—which is something so many of us (if not all of us) are going through, and are still going through. Though there’s so much beyond our control (aside from the important individual tasks of wearing a face mask! Calling our reps! Educating ourselves! Donating! Voting! Etc!), what we can control is not being too hard on ourselves when things are already hard enough. I’m still trying to get better at doing this myself, and I hope those who are also trying their best know that they’re not alone.
How can we support your book launch in August? Will there be online events for Where Dreams Descend? Favorite pre-order method?
Thank you so much for asking, yes to all! In terms of preordering, if you want a personalized copy of Where Dreams Descend, I’m signing copies through my local indie bookstore, Brookline Booksmith. There’s also a preorder campaign running where you can get a stunning show poster art print by Alexis Castellanos if you purchase from an independent bookstore or major retailer listed on the campaign site. In terms of online events, I have a bunch of things in the works (like my virtual launch party on my pub day, August 25!) which will all be updated across my social media and the events section of my website.
