We chat with author Julie Hall about The Secrets of Everlight, which follows a thief turned spy must unravel an assassination plot against the fae prince by disguising herself as a princess competing for his heart in this entrancing romantasy.
PLUS you can read an excerpt at the end of the interview!
Hi, Julie! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi! I’m Julie Hall, a USA Today bestselling author who writes fantasy and romantasy with lots of romance, magic, mystery, and usually a healthy dose of chaos. I live in Colorado with my husband, daughter, and our three very spoiled dogs. When I’m not writing, I love traveling, getting outside and having adventures, binge-watching far too much reality TV, and spending time with my family. The Secrets of Everlight is my newest release and my adult romantasy debut, so I’m incredibly excited (and slightly terrified!) to finally have it out in the world.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I’ve always loved stories, but I actually wasn’t much of a reader growing up. Reading didn’t come easily to me, and it took me a long time to really learn to enjoy it. But I was always making up stories in my head—especially at night. I’ve never been someone who falls asleep quickly, so as a kid, I’d create entire stories while lying in bed to pass the time. It wasn’t until early high school, when a friend introduced me to paranormal YA book, that something clicked. I was hooked. Suddenly I couldn’t get enough of reading, and that love of stories I’d always had eventually turned into wanting to write my own.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: The Boxcar Children
- The one that made you want to become an author: The Vampire Diaries (books, not the TV show) by LJ Smith
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: The last book in the Night World series by LJ Smith. She ended book 9, Witchlight, on a cliffhanger and then never finished the series. It bugs me to this day almost 30 years later. (Let’s pretend this answer doesn’t date me)
Your latest novel, The Secrets of Everlight, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Bridgerton meets Bachelor with Fae Assassins (technically 6 words, but does “with” really count?)
What can readers expect?
Readers can expect a thief posing as a princess, a royal Courting Season, hidden identities, forbidden attraction, court intrigue, mystery, slow-burn romance, and plenty of twists. It’s glamorous and romantic on the surface, but underneath, everyone has secrets, and someone has come to the palace to kill a prince.
Where did the inspiration for The Secrets of Everlight come from?
The short answer? Too much TV.
The slightly longer answer: Sometimes I trick myself into writing sprints by watching reality TV with commercials. I have to hit a certain word count before I’m allowed to restart the show. It’s a pretty effective motivation for me. At the time, I was watching a lot of The Bachelor (because give me all the dating-show drama), and one night I dreamed I was a contestant, but secretly planted there to spy on the other women for the Bachelor. I woke up with my brain exploding with ideas. I was also devouring Bridgerton and falling in love with all the glamour, courtship, and social maneuvering of that world. So the two started colliding in my head: What if The Bachelor took place in a Bridgerton-esque fantasy world, and my heroine wasn’t really a princess at all? And since my first love will forever and always be anything fantasy and everything supernatural, naturally I had to add fae, magic, and assassins. And somehow, The Secrets of Everlight was born.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I loved writing the contrast between the glittering royal world on the surface and everything happening underneath. Rowan is a thief pretending to be a princess while secretly hunting an assassin, and nearly everyone around her is hiding something. I had so much fun peeling back those layers, and, as always, developing the romance and watching those feelings complicate everything even further.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
The biggest challenge was having to stop writing it! I came up with the idea while working on another book, and the first third just poured out of me. But eventually I had to put it aside and return to the project I was supposed to be writing. I’m not someone who can hold multiple story worlds in my head at once, so as hard as it was, Rowan had to wait her turn.
What’s next for you?
I’m finishing up the draft of the second book in the duet, The Curse of Heartthorn. I’m actively avoiding deciding what comes after that so I can focus on finishing this one. But the second I type THE END, it’s reckoning time. I’m bouncing between more stories in this world—because I’m not convinced I’m done with it yet—or jumping into something completely new. We’ll see which idea wins!
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up? Any you’ve read so far this year that you’ve enjoyed?
I’m terrible at reading while I’m drafting because I have a hard time keeping someone else’s fictional world in my head alongside my own. It’s an occupational hazard. But when I do read, I tend to gravitate toward stories with the same things I love to write: high stakes, unforgettable characters, a little magic, and plenty of romance. Romantasy and paranormal/urban fantasy romance are usually at the top of my list, but I’m always up for a good story that keeps me turning pages. The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig is high on my TBR right now, along with The Sixth Faction, because I NEED to see Tris get her HEA! Basically, give me danger, secrets, swoon-worthy romance, and characters I can’t stop thinking about, and I’m happy.
EXCERPT
We dance in silence for a few minutes, allowing the soft melody from the music box to lead us.
“You know, there’s an element of trust in dancing,” Neo says softly.
“How so?”
“The male has to trust the female to follow his lead, and the female has to trust the male to lead her. If that’s missing, the dance won’t flow. But if there is trust between partners . . .” Lifting his arms, he spins me out and then pulls me back. I execute the move without incident and find my way into Neo’s arms with ease. “They can create something beautiful.”
As Neo looks down at me, I hold my breath. “If you follow my lead, you’ll be fine,” he murmurs, and then gives my hand a reassuring squeeze. Something about that small gesture warms my heart.
I was wrong about Neo. He’s not cold and unfeeling. He’s actually incredibly sweet and caring. I see it in how he treats Olette and Bram. I see it in how much he cares that this mission not only goes well, but that I’m protected throughout. And I see it in how he’s holding me now, and it makes a vulnerable place inside of me melt.
The music ends and we stop swaying but don’t immediately break apart.
“You’re ready,” he says quietly.
“I don’t feel like I am.”
“You are. I promise.” His stare is so intense, I can’t find the strength to break it. I don’t know what’s going on right now, but it’s something. “Prince Dryden won’t be able to take his eyes off you.”
Licking my lips, I break eye contact with Neo and slip from his grasp. “That’s not part of the plan, so that would be very inconvenient,” I say, letting my gaze drift back to him now that we have some distance.
Neo’s gaze lifts, and I flush when I realize he was staring at my mouth.
“‘Inconvenient’ is an understatement,” he says, and then clears his throat, his demeanor stiffening. “‘Disastrous’ is more accurate.”
