Marissa chats with Isabel Ibañez about her YA fantasy duology - WOVEN IN MOONLIGHT and WRITTEN IN STARLIGHT - as well as how family stories and history can contribute to your research and add a deeply personal element to the storytelling process; developing strong character arcs when your protagonist's world views are being constantly challenged; using revisions to highlight powerful themes and bring them to the story's surface; and the very cool anomaly of an author designing and illustrating their own cover art. There's also a bit of clever editing as Marissa tries to get spoilers for a possible third book!
Books discussed in this episode can be purchased from your local independent bookstore or buy them online from the Happy Writer bookshop.org store (that benefits indie bookstores) at https://bookshop.org/shop/marissameyer
Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/
Marissa chats with Isabel Ibañez about her YA fantasy duology - WOVEN IN MOONLIGHT and WRITTEN IN STARLIGHT - as well as how family stories and history can contribute to your research and add a deeply personal element to the storytelling process; developing strong character arcs when your protagonist's world views are being constantly challenged; using revisions to highlight powerful themes and bring them to the story's surface; and the very cool anomaly of an author designing and illustrating their own cover art. There's also a bit of clever editing as Marissa tries to get spoilers for a possible third book!
Books discussed in this episode can be purchased from your local independent bookstore or buy them online from the Happy Writer bookshop.org store (that benefits indie bookstores) at https://bookshop.org/shop/marissameyer
Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/
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Speaker 2:Hello and welcome to the happy writer. This is a podcast that aims to bring readers, more books, to enjoy and to help authors find more joy in their writing. I'm your host where Samira thank you for joining me. One thing that is making me super, super happy this week. If you missed last week's announcement, HBO, max has optioned the rights to instant karma. Um, what's extra, extra exciting about this for me is that this is now the fourth time a Hollywood studio has optioned one of my books, but it is the first time that they are actually letting me announce it and talk about it. And I, you guys know how much I hate having to keep all of these secrets and not tell you things. So finally, I get to be open about this one thing. So what does that mean? Not really all that much, to be totally honest. It means that HBO max now has the rights to turn it into a movie or a TV series. And from here we just keep our fingers crossed that it actually happens. So that's what I'll be doing. I hope, I hope I hope it gets made. Um, for now I'm just really happy that it has happened. So yay. And of course I am super happy to be talking to today's guest. She is an illustrator, a designer, and of course an author, her debut WIA, fantasy woven and Moonlight came out last year and it's sequel written in Starlight. Just released this past January, please. Welcome Isabel Ibanez. Hi, thank you so much for having me, um, before I see anything else. Congrats. Wonderful news. I'm so happy. I want it to happen so bad. Oh my gosh. I want this for you too. Oh, that's so exciting. Oh, thank you. Have your books been optioned at all? Had any movie interest? No, we had a studio reach out. Um, and as far as I know, we're still waiting to hear, they might be considering it. So I do have a film agent who started work at doing this, but it's very slow going. Oh my gosh, Hollywood is the worst take forever. And part of his job has seriously been learning. Do you know what really patients is not only a virtue. It is actually part of my job. Yes, no, that's, that's a huge, huge thing that we all have to get used to because yeah, things take so much longer than you think they would. And there's like long, long spans of time in which you don't hear anything from anybody. And you're just like, do people still like me? Like, are we still making this book or what's happening?
Speaker 3:It's so true. I feel like there is so much dead silence in between very busy moments, something all of a sudden everything is happening at once and decisions have to be made and then nothing for months,
Speaker 2:I guess that's when we're supposed to be writing. Right.
Speaker 3:You know, being productive, whatever.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Um, okay. Well I want to start by just saying how much I absolutely loved this. Duology um, I listened to the first one woven and Moonlight on audio book and the narrator was so fantastic. She had just the most lovely soothing voice and it was one of those audio books where I would like come up with excuses to run more errands so that I could just listen to it more. Um, and then the second book written in Starlight, I read in less than two days, which is almost heard of for me anymore. I can never do that. Um, gosh, it even made me scream at one point, which I let it let out an actual scream. Um, that happened on page three, 25 for people who have their copy on hand. Just, I just, I, I'm going to try to be like professional and not gush this entire interview, but I am a fan and I can't wait to talk about them. So thank you for being here. Oh, wow.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh. Thank you. Seriously. My heart just melted the whole time. My heart melted everywhere.
Speaker 2:Oh, okay. So why don't we start with you telling listeners about this, this duology, what are woven and Moonlight and written in Starlight about?
Speaker 3:Okay. So I can do the elevator pictures for Beto. Um, so woven and Moonlight is basically about a decoy on DESA, which means Countess in Spanish. And she infiltrates this corrupt government. And while she is living amongst her enemies, she sends coded messages back to the rebels, through her weaving. And it has magic and delicious food, a vigilante, um, lots of action. And I hope some twists and then written in Starlight, which is not a SQL, it's a companion. So you can technically read them out of order, but I would super prefer if you did not do that. Um, this one is about a character who was in woven in LA and now they are in the jungle that was inspired by the Bolivian, Amazon. And while she's there, she bumps into an old friend and together they find this legendary lost city. And she's hoping to convince the people who live in this city to join with her, to recover something that she has lost. And there,
Speaker 2:That was good. That was a good thing. I know. It's I think it's interesting that you do you call it a companion novel because coming into this interview, I wasn't sure. Like, do I call it companion? Is it a sequel I'm going to stick with CQL because if you haven't read the first one, when you read the second one, then you won't understand why I screamed on page three 25. So
Speaker 3:Case to read them in order. Yes. Great case
Speaker 2:I would, I would prefer. Yes. I'm sticking with that. Um, definitely leave notebooks. Yeah. Um, so let's start. Uh, well actually, I mean, we can talk about kind of both books. Cause one of the things I love that really drew me in are that both characters, Catalina and Humana have these really interesting, magical abilities. Um, and these abilities of course play a huge role, uh, not just in the plot of the story, but also in their character development over the course of the books. Uh, so talk to me a little, where did these ideas for these abilities come from and like, what was your approach to bringing them to life in these characters?
Speaker 3:Oh man, I felt like they were super organic and they both, both of them really started and moving and Moonlight because both characters are in moving in Moonlight. And for me it started with the world more than anything. So I'm, I'm Bolivian. My parents immigrated to this country, my brother and I were the only ones born here. And every summer my mom made sure to make my brother and I be in Bolivia for three months out of the year because she did not want us to lose the language, the culture, anything, and every visit. I always felt the same, but Bolivia is such a vibrant, colorful, whimsical place that is heavily steeped in artistic traditions and weaving and folk art. There's just so much color everywhere. And I always love, love just walking through the markets and seeing the different tapestries that have been moving into bags, rugs, like sessions. It's like so much. And when I was thinking about this world, I kept thinking about Humana, who is this rebel? And she grows up to be, um, to have this role in a revolution. But I sometimes like to, to think about her character in terms of who would she be if she wasn't a fighter, if she never had to grow up in this war and she has the soul of an artist. And so for me very naturally felt like she was a Weaver. This, this was what she did privately on her own. And then little by little, because of the rich tradition of Bolivian art, I, I just, um, it just kind of came together. I saw her weaving, um, under, underneath stars by the Moonlight and the Moonlight turned into thread and then it just, it took off from there and Catalina, who is her opposite in a lot of ways also, um, has Starlight as her power. And so I felt like Moonlight Starlight, I felt like they complemented each other without being the same thing. And um, yeah, I think that they're mirror opposites of each other. And so I loved having giving them abilities that reflected who they were in their differences, but also in their similarities. So it was an interesting organic process how that happened, but I was having so much fun developing it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, and I love how visual it is, um, particularly with HumanOS and the weaving, uh, and, uh, we won't spoil like the really fun thing, but then the weaving turns into later, which was so cool. Um, but it, it really just was so vibrant and vivid and kind of paints those pictures in the reader's mind. Um, and they were super powers essentially that I've never seen before. And I'm always really excited about that because I personally know how hard it is to come up with brand new superpower.
Speaker 3:Thanks. I definitely felt this is weird. I mean, not, I w I don't want to say pressure, but because it was inspired so much by Bolivia and because I knew so many readers wouldn't be familiar with Bolivia and their traditions. And, um, I definitely wanted to create something that felt loyal and, and had the same tone as, um, Bolivia and it's, um, just traditions and artistic, uh, values, all of that. So I'm really glad it came together that way.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, it was beautiful. At what point did you know that you were going to be writing both of these characters stories?
Speaker 3:You know, I was writing woven and Moonlight and I, and I definitely felt that Catalina would have to have her story. I just wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do it. And then we started getting good feedback from woven and Moonlight and what looked like came out. And then by then, um, it had gone on very surprisingly to me, to the general, you know, amazement, I think even to my publisher, um, it went on to do well, surprisingly well. And so, um, at that point, I think my publisher was like, yeah. Okay. I think that we can justify another story from you. So I'm thankful that while I was drafting woven and Moonlight, I left enough doors for Catalina story to really start. And, um, I definitely gave myself some room, um, for her, for specific clues that happened in woven and Moonlight that show up later. So especially, especially who she ends up meeting in the jungle, I was subtle enough, but I hope that some people picked up and had a on who she would be meeting later on in the jungle. So on that at all, gosh, I didn't say it was subtle. I didn't say it was well done, but it was subtle.
Speaker 2:It make me want to go back though and read the first one again. Um, because you, you use like, remember like, Oh, I do vaguely remember something about this. And then it's like, Oh, that was important. I should've been paying more attention,
Speaker 3:So, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And do you feel now of course, everyone who loves these books is going to be asking this question and you're going to get sick of answering it, but is there room for a third one? Because I would love a, to Maya story.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh. Um, it's really funny that you say that I have always, I not always, but when I started writing Catalina story, I realized that it would be so great to have a third book and it would be to Maya's point of view. Um, I think that her story would be so interesting because here she is running a country completely divided. And then on top of that, she has this external threat. And so, um, I wondered how, what happens after a revolution? How do you start bridging any kind of relationship? How do you foster connection that's authentic and healing and all of that. So I definitely hope, um, that there could be a story, but I'm not sure because I actually switched publishers. So I don't know. I don't know if I'll be able to do it. I have, and I I'm hesitant to save it, but I have thought about the idea of maybe doing a, like a free novella as a, as a gift later on, but we'll see, we'll see what happens, but you nailed it. It would be to my story.
Speaker 2:And cause, I mean, you have the titles too, and he's like, there's Moonlight there. Starlight, there has to be a sunlight book.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh. Literally, are you in my mind, literally, that's part of the title. Do you know what, since we're already going here, you've already met 11 trusts by the way. Yeah, yeah. For her you've
Speaker 2:Met. Can I take a guess and if,
Speaker 3:And we'll just ask for it, not like, yeah,
Speaker 2:Well I'm gonna have to edit that out. Cause that's like a huge spoiler.
Speaker 3:That's fine.
Speaker 2:Okay. Well now it's going to, you don't have to tell me who the love interest is going to be. It'll I'll have to, I'll give it more thought.
Speaker 3:Okay.
Speaker 2:What else should we talk about? Okay. So one of the other things that I, you know, was really noticeable comparing the two books, is it both characters, uh, Catalina and Humana face really significant changes to their worldviews over the course of their story. And so they both just had these great character arcs where they're like questioning everything they've ever known, everything they've ever believed. And it had such a wonderful organic way. Tell me about your approach to writing that, that element of their, their trajectory.
Speaker 3:I am really glad you asked that question. It was super important to me to write those characters that were, um, true to who they were and how they would experience that shifts in worldview and perspective, how they would process that, um, information and particularly so for Humana, when she goes and she's living amongst her enemy, she starts discovering another perspective. And both of these stories were inspired by the political climate in Bolivia, but also Bolivian history, which I has just has a long history of oppression and terror and lots of horrifying things in colonialism. And there's just been, there's just been so much tragedy in Bolivia's history. And so one of the things in researching this book and by research, I mean, you know, so much of this is lived experience because, you know, having conversations with my family and things that I've observed for myself in, in being there three months out of the year, every, every year until I was 18. Um, so much of this is what I learned was just that there was no wrong, right? There was no this or that. And that there was a lot of gray, um, in the long history of Bolivia, it's very nuanced. And so I wanted to show what, wanting to show, how two people who could be super, super different in their perspectives and their upbringings and how they were taught and what they, and what they were told to be, how they could start bridging that divide and start living in the gray. And I think, I hope that the message is that when you're in the gray and that there is so much room for redemption and reconciliation, and there's a lot of room for grace. And that's what I was hoping for, like for both books, for what he meant and Catalina go through. I was, I was hoping that the theme of the book, um, how exposure is so important and how it's so good to be friends and to love people who are different than you, because it only deepens you. And so that was the whole point of both of those characters in their arts and asking those questions, living in the gray and realizing that there is a lot of nuance to the conversation. That was my hope anyway.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I am so glad you, you said that, cause I did want to talk about some of these bigger themes. Sure. Macross really beautifully in the book, you know, in both of the books, you know, it's a lot to do with tolerance and forgiveness and you know, this idea that you should get to know people before you cast judgment on them. Um, which of course is something that we all have to learn individually and on a societal level. Um, and, and so it's always really powerful to see that playing through in characters who are so lovable and relatable. Um, thank you. So when you you're writing, like do these sorts of themes and these ideas at what point of the process do you start really thinking about this and thinking about, okay, how am I going to bring this to the surface and make it something that the reader is going to walk away with?
Speaker 3:You know, height, it's funny. I feel like if I needed to write down with these themes in mind, I would be so paralyzed. I w you know, it would just feel incredibly heavy. I think it's in the revision and the rereading to be able to add, um, that kind of nuance to the dialogue, to the description, into what happens. But really while I was drafting, because it was inspired by Bolivian history, which, you know, like for example, um, the conquistadores came to Bolivia and they took over and they did horrifying things, but before the conquistadores literally the Incas and the Incas went around and they conquered and they forced people to assimilate. And it's, so it's interesting to think about that because you think, man, they, they, they did something and turned around and, and were subjected to the same thing that they had done to other people. And there is still evidence of that in Bolivia. There are still like hundreds, thousands of people who are descendant from these tribes that the Incas took over. And so it's, I, when I was looking at the history, I'm like, who is right here, it's all wrong. It's all sad. It's all terrible. How, how are people going to, um, bridge that? How do you develop and foster any kind of friendship, comradery, any sense of unity? How do you, how does that happen? And so I was writing from that place truly like, and so drafting, um, I wanted to remain true to what, what I was following historically, while also later on, I went back and I, um, would add in lines of dialogue that kind of touched on those subjects because it was easier at that point when you're revising, right? Like my first dress are never pretty, I am a much better rewriter than I am drafter. And so, like, I do, I don't think I'm a strong writer. I really don't. I think, I think my strength is in rewriting. And so it is in those moments where I am thinking about themes.
Speaker 2:Yeah. No, same. I, I feel similarly and you know, of course a lot of my books also tend to tackle, you know, these bigger ideas, you know, concepts and themes, but I could never go into a book thinking, okay, one's going to be about tolerance or, you know, whatever prejudice, right. It has to be the story first. And once you start to see what the story is really about on a deeper level, then you can kind of draw that more to the surface. That's kind of seems to be my pattern as well.
Speaker 3:Yes. And I think it takes a lot of pressure off you honestly, especially cause drafting is, for me, at least drafting is just getting the words down that it's, I cannot make something prettier or better or more thoughtful if the words aren't on the page, so I have to start somewhere. So that's what it is for me. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah. No real similars. Um, yeah, the first drafts.
Speaker 3:So we so hard for me. I don't know if it's the same for you, but okay. So when you're doing past pages and everything is beautiful, and then you're done, you send that in and then you turn around and you're at a blank document and then it's just gross for the next month. And like, I just like the contrast, the contrast of like, Oh, here it is so beautiful. It's a diamond. And then you turn around and you're just in the muck and mire again with a new story, like,
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, never going to be
Speaker 3:Pretty. That's what it sounds like. Like that's what it feels like to be. It's just never going to be
Speaker 2:Beautiful. Yeah. No, it definitely, it goes in, you know, these cyclical patterns where like one day, or for maybe for a week or a couple of weeks, you just like you're so in love, so smitten with this idea of characters and you have such a high hopes for it. And then, you know, you reached that point in the story where it, Nope, it's terrible. I don't know why I chose this idea. What was I thinking? And you keep going forward. And eventually you get to this place where, you know, actually I do love this idea. It is worth something like, Oh, it's so up and down.
Speaker 3:It is so up and down. It really it's like the whole of writing, I think in this career it's you could summarize it. It's so up and down,
Speaker 2:All of it,
Speaker 3:All of it on every level.
Speaker 2:Um, so I, I want to talk a little bit more about the setting and book to written in Starlight, because it was so funny that here, like, not even maybe a week and a half ago, my husband and I were having a conversation, like, what do we want to do when COVID has gone? And I'm just buying to travel again. And like number one top of my travel bucket list is hiking the Inca trail into my Ew. Um, which for people who don't know is like a four day hike through the jungle. And then at the end of it, there's Machu Picchu. And it just sounds like such a dream and just such a phenomenal experience. And then I read this book and now I'm not so sure,
Speaker 3:Listen, listen, you should do that 100% do that. Ju I did not. I took, but listen, I took the equally very scary, terrifying bus up the switchbacks all the way to the top. And I thought I was going to die. It was a rumbling bus and it was the most narrow one, one path, one, one strip switched back and it just went like sharp all the way up. And you could look out the window and straight down just thinking about that. He would be better to walk off truly. Like if I would've known that was an option, I would have chosen the four day hike. It was so terrifying. Oh my God. But listen, you get to the top and then you see this city and then you see like the clouds surrounding the city, it's just the most remarkable thing you will ever see. So yes. Do it.
Speaker 2:Well, I, I definitely, I mean, you haven't like put me off of the idea.
Speaker 3:Okay, good. I mean, Catalina,
Speaker 2:There's poisonous vines. There's thunderstorms. She gets to move on in a mudslide. There's a Jaguar, there's a booby trap. And that's all in the first 25 pages.
Speaker 3:No, I know. I re yeah, I know this. So this, this setting was inspired by my father and his upbringing. He was born and raised in the Amazon. He, um, grew up in this very small, very small Pueblo that was inaccessible by road. And so to go anywhere, he had to go by river in a canoe that he built himself. Um, his stories growing up are absolutely wild. Like just sit down and get yourself a weighted blanket. That's the kind of comfort you need to be able to listen to some of the stories that, you know, and it was just like for him just life. And so the setting of this book is, uh, like it was the same house that he grew up in, in the same bed and the packed floors of his home, same thing. So, so much of the details, everything is just a nod to my father and his stories of growing up in the Bolivian jungle. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Mind boggling that people can survive in, in such a brutal, but I mean, beautiful. Yes. But yes. Completely hostile.
Speaker 3:Yes. Yes. Oh yeah. He would tell me, you know, if you're thirsty in the middle of the night, you go and you there's like a, a clay, uh, canteen, and, but make sure to check for snakes because that's where they like to hang out in the cool shadows. So for your glass of water, that's, you know, but that, like, it's just that, like, that was this life. And I I'm. So to demand that he is, and I was talking to a friend of mine and she had said like, all of these family stories that get lost in about three generations. And so for me, I'm, I was just happy to have so much of his history, his upbringing, his culture, and my grandfather he's fluent in gateway. And he helped me with the language. So, so much of these books are deeply personal. They're, they're just so much of my family and yeah. You know, what's so cool.
Speaker 2:I mean, I'd love that idea that, because you have now written this books, uh, inspired by his experiences in his childhood, that that's now going to live on forever. What a beautiful thought.
Speaker 3:Thanks. It's dedicated to him. This one's for him.
Speaker 2:Oh, did you? So obviously you had these stories, um, your dad's stories from his childhood, how much research did you have to do beyond that? As far as coming up with obstacles that you would encounter in the jungle or like survival tactics, are you an expert now? Do you think you could survive in a jail?
Speaker 3:No. Oh, sorry. I'm sure you weren't finished talking, but no, it could. No, that's cute. I would have died in like an hour. That's how I feel like, um, common. Oh yeah. I really enjoyed writing Catalina's character because she felt the most, um, like a modern day team, you know, she's not a warrior, she's not a sword. Like she doesn't know her way around a store to dad or bow and arrow. Like she doesn't know how to boil water. So I, it was so interesting writing her as opposed to writing Humana who kind of scared me a little bit being, being in her head. Like she was truly like her temper, um, just really startled me from time to time, like, wow, you're going there. Okay. But Catalina felt the Catalina felt at least like out of everyone, she felt the most like, okay, how would I respond in this situation? I wouldn't know how to do this, this, this, well, what would I, what would I do? And in terms of research, really, it was a lot of conversations with my father, everything that he ate, like again, like the type of his home, um, what, like the materials and things that he grew up around, what his bed was made out of the bamboo, the animals in for all of that, that was all my father, all of it. So yes, I, that was the extent of the research that I did. And I mean, this, the last city that is actually a story of his, because he grew up hearing that legend that there was this lost city in the tucked into the Bolivian, Amazon by BP. And, um, that there had been an Explorer in 1997 who had gone into the Bolivian jungle. He went looking for it and he never came back out. And ever since he told me, I was, I've never been able to forget this image of this person just kind of disappearing underneath the tree line and never coming back out.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I love that. That's one of the things, I mean, I feel like there's so many myths surrounding a lost city or the lost city of gold. And that's something that perpetuates in so many different cultures that, you know, when something like that has been spread and, and continue to be talked about for so many generations, you start to think like, there's gotta be something to this story.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah. And I used to think, I'm like, are they still there? What are they doing? How are they managed to remain hidden? It's another, for me, it was another Metro Picchu, you know, which had, that had been discovered in the mid what, 19 hundreds. And that to me was that to me was just look at it. And that was a city on top of a mountain. What else is out there?
Speaker 2:No. And the jungle. I mean, it just, it hides things. It covers it. It's yes. Oh, I love it. I love it. Talking about this sort of thing. I know. I like desperately want one of my kids to become an archeologist so I can live vicariously through that.
Speaker 3:Listen, when I, okay. So I had, I had three professions that I wanted to be when I was seven. One of them was an astronaut, which did not turn out well for me because it turns out I am fearful when it comes to flying, they look like, Oh yeah, terrible, terrified of flying. They look like giant Pepsi cans in the air, so did not make sense. And I wanted to be a writer. And then the other thing was I wanted to be an Egyptologist. So I really hope one of your kids ends up with that profession because it would be just so much fun.
Speaker 2:Oh, cool. Please let me dig site. Yes, I would love it.
Speaker 3:So love it.
Speaker 2:Um, okay. One last thing that I want to touch on, because I think it is so cool and impressive that you made your own cover arts.
Speaker 3:Oh gosh. Thanks.
Speaker 2:Toning covers. I love them so much. The colors are so pretty and all of the little details. I don't really have a question. I just think that's really amazing.
Speaker 3:Thank you. I, um, still can't believe it happened truthfully. Like I, um, I didn't realize too, how much of an, an anomaly that is? Um, yes. I didn't realize that, but it really was just this, my publisher pay street for these books have, has always been super supportive, but one day my editor had just emailed me and she was like, Hey, do you know of any Bolivian artists we can contract for these covers? And it's just like, well, I am Bolivian and I am also an artist. Can I submit my portfolio? And I did. And then she just, she loved it. And what's funny with, with woven and Moonlight, the, what you see on that cover is the very first thing that I did there w there were no other versions. That was just what I saw in my head. And without even like thinking I finished it, I colored it, everything. And then I finished, like it was done. And I sent it to my editor, Ashley at the time. And she, and she loved it and they never made any changes in that. That was always going to be the cover.
Speaker 2:Gosh, that's incredible. So did they give you any, like any suggestions, like were kind of picturing it as something,
Speaker 3:Nothing. It was totally just you and not me. Yes. Yes. I told them that it was going to be illustrated that it would be whimsical, but that it would still show some of the, uh, bloodiness of the story. Um, if you look at, if you look at the cover and woman, and we'll let you see some of it, like you see the dagger dipped in blood and you see someone spying on Humana. So, um, anyway, yeah, like they gave me, they gave me nothing. They were just super supportive. And again, this was the thing that I saw. And I, interestingly for written and startling, I had a much harder time, but I think it was because, um, I felt this insane pressure because it wasn't a sequel and it was a companion. And so it kind look exactly like it, but it had to fit in with the world and by the way, woven in like covers. So beautiful. Can you up that right?
Speaker 2:Well, I love them. I'm absolutely smitten with both covers. Um, nicely done.
Speaker 3:Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I don't know if I'll ever get to have this experience again, so I'm just glad that I had it at all. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 2:It is. It it's super rare. Um, but also of course, super rare that an author, a writer has such a great talent, um, and an eye for art. So I was just like, when I saw your name on the design, cause of course I had to look because it's so beautiful. And I was like, wow,
Speaker 3:Thank you. Thank you. I really, really appreciate it. I truly do. I don't know what they're going to do for my next book. That's coming out, but I don't think they're not going to use me, but they might let me contribute in some, some small way, which would be just so fun. So yeah, crossing my fingers.
Speaker 2:Um, I mean, I know you switched publishers, so it's harder to do, but you know, to have some through line, you know, connect like this is, you know, they're all, obviously you're building a career, so it's nice to say, like, this is an Isabella banjas book.
Speaker 3:Yes. Maybe I can do, like if you open up the, um, if you open up women and Moonlight are written in Starlight, the chapter headings. So that's my handwriting. So maybe they'll let me do that. Yeah. That's my handwriting. Good handwriting thinks I was a greeting card designer. So it of, kind of had to have one. That's cute.
Speaker 2:I, one of my dreams that I wanted to be, I knew that I wanted to be a writer. Um, I took a lot of different, like I wanted to be a poet. I wanted to be a playwright. Like I went through a lot of different iterations of what that meant. Um, and there was a time when I really wanted to be a greeting card writer.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh. Look at that. I will tell you it's a fun job. And I really loved it. I did it for seven years. I had my design and letterpress studio, but after seven years it does get really difficult to come up with different ways to say happy birthday, mom. So I'm glad career switch. All right, well, sorry. Can't come up with anything else
Speaker 2:To go from short little greeting cards to, I'm gonna write a novel now.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that was actually, I started I, that was my major before anything. I was a creative writer and I tried to, um, get published and that did not go well. So I went back to school because I freaked out. I didn't think that I, yeah, I didn't think that it would happen. So I started feeling like I have this degree in creative writing, but am I going to do so I went back to school for graphic design. Oh, funny. Well, look, you've come full circle. Yes. Yeah.
Speaker 2:You're gonna wrap this up with our happy writer bonus round. First question. What book makes you happy?
Speaker 3:Uprooted? 100% by Naomi Novik. Okay.
Speaker 2:What is your personal mantra?
Speaker 3:It's a great, great question. Just finish the book.
Speaker 2:What advice would you give to help someone be a happier writer?
Speaker 3:Hmm. Look down at your own paper. I would, yeah, there is, there is so many wonderful, talented writers out there who are writing their own stories, but your story is important and it matters. And it's uniquely yours and just look down at your own paper and finish it. How do you celebrate an accomplishment? Ooh, I buy myself a new book. I'm such an introvert that I, um, my, my poor husband loves to go out, you know, go out on dates or whatever. Um, but my favorite thing is to get takeout and to eat it at home with my new book. Yup, yup. Yes,
Speaker 2:I get it. I get it 100%.
Speaker 3:Yeah. What's next you,
Speaker 2:Um, next for me though, I literally just turned this in, but my next book is, um, it's called together. We burn and it is a Spanish medieval fantasy inspired by Spain. Um, and it is about the daughter of a famous flamenco dancer and bull fighter. But instead of bulls in the arena, there are dragons dragons, and medieval, Spain, bullfighting, flamenco dancing, lots of food and kissing so much kissing. So that's what that was about. Well, I mean, I was obviously hopeful for a to Maya book, but that sounds pretty incredible too. So I'm excited. Thanks. I'm glad. Thanks lastly. Where can people find you? Oh, you can find me on Instagram. I am not really on Twitter. Okay. I'm not at all on Twitter. You can on Instagram at Isabelle writer, zero nine. Awesome. Isabelle, thank you so much for joining me today. Oh my gosh. Thank you for inviting me. This was so fun. So fun. Thanks readers. Be sure to check out woven and Moonlight and written in Starlight. Both books are available now. Of course, we always encourage you to support your local indie bookstore if you can, but if you don't have a local, indeed, you can check out our affiliate store at bookshop.org/shop/marissa Meyer. If you're enjoying these conversations, I would love it. If you subscribed and please leave us a review on Google or Apple podcasts, you can follow us on Instagram at Marissa Meyer, author and happy writer podcast until next time stay healthy and cozy and your bunkers and whatever life throws at you today. I do hope that now you're feeling a little
Speaker 1:[inaudible].