They might not be raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but that doesn’t mean that we love them any less. Welcome back to My Favorite Things, the weekly column where we grab someone in speculative circles to gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we sit down with Michelle D. Sonnier, whose latest novella, Death’s Embrace, came out on May 12th from eSpec Books and is set in her Clockwork Witch universe!
What does Michelle love when she’s not writing about witches who break the mold? Spoiler alert: a series that makes her an immediate fan of Spec Chic’s Book Club, fantasy that explores folk lore and fairy tale in its fiction, and the best Star Wars, thank you very much. Interested? Read on to learn more!
Picking favorites of anything is really hard for me. It’s so easy to get excited about something new and think, “yes, this is my favorite!” But then you remember something you’ve loved forever and think, “but no! This is my favorite!” Then you realize that they are your favorites for completely different reasons, and it’s like comparing proverbial apples and oranges. So, really, I can only talk about my favorite things in the moment. If you ask me tomorrow the list will likely be completely different.
My Newest Favorite Series to Read
I have fallen in love with Melissa Caruso’s Swords and Fire trilogy, beginning with The Tethered Mage. I picked up the first book on a whim from a BookBub promotion. It languished on my Kindle for the longest time because life just got busy. Once I finally started reading though, I was hooked. I relish that the characters are realistic in their inner conflicts, the confusion and anguish over hard decisions feels very real. And consequences! There are serious consequences for everything, just like in real life. Caruso pulls no punches. I also enjoyed the worldbuilding and the magic system. There was enough that was new that it felt very fresh, but also enough that was familiar so that it didn’t feel completely alien and uncomfortable. I really hope Caruso writes more in this world with these characters; there’s certainly enough grist for the mill. She does have another novel set in the same world coming up soon, but with a new cast of characters. I’m definitely getting it. I totally expect to fall in love again.
My Favorite Thing to Mine for Inspiration for My Work
I delight in digging into old folklore and fairy tale around the world as a source of ideas for my work. These tales have resonated with human beings for generations. I enjoy sifting through the stories and seeing the patterns and similarities that illuminate the common threads of the human experience. Then I can take these threads and weave them into my own work.
At the moment I am quite obsessed with naming and the importance of it in so many of the old tales. Knowing the true name of someone or something gives you power over it. Patrick Rothfuss uses this idea with great success in his amazing novel, The Name of the Wind. But being without a name could make you either vulnerable or dangerous, sometimes both. A name anchors you to the world, to a people, to a culture. A particularly chilling tale connected to naming is that of Rawhead and Bloody Bones. There are many versions of this story in many cultures, but it’s the oldest ones from the Middle East and Semitic culture that drew me in. In those tales Rawhead and Bloody Bones is a creature that lives to kill children. It is constructed entirely of the blood and bones of children who died before they were named and accepted into the tribe; named children are protected. The victims of Rawhead and Bloody Bones become part of the monster. The monster continues killing out of jealousy and adding more to itself. The monster itself is just a child who yearns for the belonging that naming brings. Like a child who hasn’t learned to control their temper yet, it lashes out, hurting others because it/they are in pain. This brings an aching sadness to the horrific darkness of the tale.
My Favorite Star Wars
My favorite Star Wars is not the original trilogy, or the prequel trilogy, or the newest trilogy. Don’t get me wrong, settling down in a comfy chair with a big bowl of popcorn and enjoying all the whiz bang effects of the Skywalker Saga is great! But my heart is with the smaller stories, told on the smaller screen. I love Rebels, The Clone Wars, and The Mandalorian. Trying to decide among those three is a tough choice. Character development is what pulls me in to all of these stories. For me, character is King in the art of storytelling. Without a great character even the most exciting plot can fall flat; but a great character can turn a mediocre story into a fun ride.
Based on the character criteria, I have to rank The Mandalorian last, for now. But we’re only one season in, so that could very well change. There’s been juicy backstory and complex character development already, so that’s bound to continue, but we’re just not there yet. I do love The Clone Wars because you see so much of the character arc of two of my favorite characters in the Star Wars universe — Ashoka Tano and Captain Rex. But the format of The Clone Wars, news reel style reporting with a voiceover, does enforce at least some emotional distance. That brings us to Rebels. In only four seasons, the writers of this show convinced me this rag tag group of rebels was a family of choice and I became deeply enmeshed in their story. While watching one of the climactic episodes of season four, I sat on the floor of my living room and wept over the death of a major character (I don’t want to say which episode or character to avoid spoilers). That is how attached I am to those characters. And Ashoka and Rex did wind up making an appearance, which leads me to the conclusion that Rebels is my favorite Star Wars.
And these are just a few of my favorite things.
Michelle D. Sonnier writes dark urban fantasy, steampunk, and anything else that lets her combine the weird and the fantastic in unexpected ways. She’s published short stories in a variety of print and online venues, and has upcoming projects with eSpec Books and Otter Libris. She has published a collection of short stories, Charmed City: Thirteen Tales of the Peculiar and Obscure in Baltimore; a novel, The Clockwork Witch; and most recently a novella, Death’s Embrace, which is set in the Clockwork Witch universe.
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I love how serendipitous your pick of Melissa Caruso’s trilogy is! The Tethered Mage is this month’s book club selection, and we’re discussing it on Friday!
I remember when I read The Name of the Wind. I’d resisted the book for a long time because the original cover was HORRIBLE (in my view) but ended up buying it when I saw an alternate version in the store (which pre-dates the one shown in the post, one I feel best represents the book). When I picked it up to read, it was late at night and I figured I’d give a chapter a go, and then I just got SUCKED. IN. Absolutely loved it. I was far less impressed with Wise Man’s Fear and haven’t read the novella yet, but I do hope Rothfuss gets around to finishing the series.
And of all those Star Wars you picked, I’ve only ever seen The Mandalorian. Wait, I have watched like a season and a half of Clone Wars. There’s just so many episodes that I feel overwhelmed about the thought of catching up!
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