In this epic conclusion to the Seafire trilogy, which Booklist called “Mad Max by way of Davy Jones,” Caledonia Styx will risk everything–her heart, her crew, and even her life–to defeat Lir and take back the Bullet Seas once and for all.
We chat with author Natalie C. Parker about Stormfire, which is the epic conclusion in her Seafire trilogy! Natalie chats about the series coming to an end, book recommendations, writing, and much more!
Hi, Natalie! Thank you for taking to the time to chat with us! First off, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself!
Thank you so much for having me! I am an a slightly ridiculous Sagittarius which means I’m great at getting lost and maybe better at finding my way again. I love coffee and snow and studying languages. I’m also a recent convert to the school of Kpop.
After the chaos that was 2020, have you set any goals for this year?
I’m goal oriented to a fault so try not to set year-long goals unless they’re a little vague like “see how many books you can read!” I’ve got a lot of those for this year. Watch more C-dramas. Plant an herb garden. Just go ahead already and study Korean. Maybe my goal is just to indulge my curiosities whenever possible.
When did you first discover your love for writing?
I grew up in a family of storytellers. There were stories about my parents growing up, stories about every hat on my grandfather’s wall, stories about the house, stories about the little jar my mother used to store bacon fat. Everything in my life was woven into a broad fabric that wrapped around me and my sister as well as around aunts and uncles and cousins. Some of whom we’d never met. Telling stories was just a part of how I lived.
But as I grew up, creating stories became a part of how I understood myself, others, and the world. I turned to writing in high school not because I loved it, but because I needed it. I didn’t know how else to understand what I was going through, so I started writing about it. I planted myself into every story because at that point, I was only writing them for me. And maybe that’s the answer to your question. I discovered my love of writing as I discovered myself through it.
Stormbreak is the epic conclusion to your Seafire trilogy, and it released on February 9th 2021! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
WHAT. HAVE. I. DONE. LOL.
Now tell us a little more! What can readers expect?
Intense battles! Big wins! Tragic losses! At least one moment that made me physically uncomfortable to write (sorry, *character name redacted*). And, of course, a resolution.
What was it like wrapping up the trilogy? Did you always have in mind how it would come to an end?
From the moment I started writing this series, I knew exactly how it would end. I knew Caledonia’s final note with such perfect clarity that sometimes I was afraid I would never quite get there. It’s hard to really express how cathartic it was to get to that moment of writing. I was so sad to let these characters go, but the story is exactly what I wanted it to be.
What challenges did you face while writing and how did you overcome them?
Every book in this series came with its own challenges. I’d never written a trilogy before and that, in itself, was daunting. I was constantly asking myself how to make each book feel like its own thing while also being a crucial piece of the whole. In some ways, Stormbreak was the easiest piece of that puzzle and also the hardest.
I knew how Stormbreak was going to start and how it was going to end, but everything in the middle was a giant, floppy mess and I had more than a few moments of sheer panic over that. One thing that helped me unlock that troubling middle was actually a conversation with my wife. I brought the pieces of the book to her (probably in a sincerely inglorious state) and complained that something was wrong. She listened and then asked me a single question: “Why are you assuming that war has only two sides?”
My brain exploded around that question and a key piece of the story clicked into place. That piece is Tassos.
What’s the best and the worst writing advice you have received?
I think the best writing advice I’ve ever heard is to figure out what writing advice works for you, then do it on purpose. The worse advice is any advice that’s presented as though it is capital ‘t’ Truth.
What’s next for you?
I’m switching gears just a bit and am so excited to be releasing my debut Middle Grade novel soon. It’s called The Devouring Wolf and is a queer take on werewolf mythology about a kid who is distraught when she doesn’t transform into a wolf when she should.
But first, I was thrilled to be the head writer for Wonder Woman: Heartless which will be released by Serial Box Publishing on March 25th.
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
Oh, I do. For some of the best SFF adventure out there, you must read The MurderBot Diaries by Martha Wells. For exquisite, queer fairy tales that will tug your heart and make you think, please read anything by Tessa Gratton but specifically Strange Grace and Night Shine. For something a little closer to our world with magic that slips in almost unnoticed, you need Tochi Onyebuchi’s Riot Baby.
