Author M.T. DeSantis is talking with me today about her new fairy-tale fantasy, Once Upon a Broken Sky.
Bio:
Born a New Englander, M.T. DeSantis moved south in early adulthood, realized she actually liked winter, and promptly moved back north. She’s currently trying out life as a Michigander/anian with her family, who also (mostly) actually like winter. When not making word magic, M.T. can be found practicing yoga, attempting to make friends with the oven, or trying to read while people keep talking to her.
Welcome, M.T. Please tell us about your current release.
If I’m honest, Once Upon a Broken Sky is a bit of a test run. It’s the prequel novella to the longer novel I’ll be releasing later this year, and as I haven’t published anything since round-abouts 2016, I wanted to jump back in with something that didn’t feel huge. Little did I know it would end up feeling huge anyway, and my “trial run” has turned into so much more.
What inspired you to write this book?
After writing the main Grimmfay novel back in 2018, I then had a run-in with bad imposter syndrome and didn’t write anything for four years. Broken Sky was my “I can do this” book. I wanted to write some backstory to the Grimmfay story, and a novella seemed like the perfect way to get back into writing.
Excerpt from Once Upon a Broken Sky:
This is from the first chapter. It’s a little bit of magic, a lot of character, and an intro to conflict. (I got a lot of mileage out of these paragraphs.)
In the mirror, a breeze ruffled the leaves. Zelandra imagined the rustling sound they made, the earthy scent of dirt and moss and bark. They were things she knew once but left in a life she no longer needed. There was movement in the cottage, and then the front door burst open. A young girl, maybe eight or nine years, darted outside on stubby legs, her long brown hair bouncing with her jerky motion. Behind her came an older boy, ten or eleven. His hair was the same shade, but his movements were more fluid. He caught the girl around the waist and twirled her off the ground. Her mouth opened wide with silent laughter as she kicked her little feet.
“Children,” Bianca said in a tone implying the image had her interest.
“Siblings.” Cindell’s voice held something darker, almost threatening.
The girl wrestled loose of her brother’s hold and fell in a heap. In a flash, she was up and dashing into the trees. The boy followed, his eyes sparkling with youthful fun and ignorance. The children disappeared into the woods, and the image faded to once again show Zelandra’s chamber.
“Little ones!” Ori clapped her hands. Her frock shimmied back and forth in a nonexistent wind. “Daughters and sons. I will love them tons and tons.”
“Someone should.” Cindell’s tone still hinted at barely suppressed violence. She shook her head once and straightened. Her face smoothed to passivity, but there was no mistaking the murder in her eyes. “They are what the Master wishes. He will have them.”
“Yes.” Bianca cleared her throat. “And I … think it best if Zelandra be the one to introduce them to Grimmfay.”
What exciting project are you working on next?
At the moment, I’m polishing up Grimmfay for a fall release. I’m also working on a few other Grimmfay novellas, and a little bird told me there might be a sequel in the works as well.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I think when I got accepted into Seton Hill’s MFA program. I got my undergraduate degree in psychology, which was all fine and dandy until my senior year when I abruptly informed my friends “I want to be a writer.” So I set out to do just that, and entering an actual writing program was the kick I needed to tell myself I was a “real” writer.
Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your workday like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I may be the only author who’s ever said this, but I’m not sure I’d want to write books full time. (I know, I know…) I do my best work when I have different types of projects going. Right now, writing my own stuff is actually my third job—I’m also an editor, and I write study guides for fiction novels. I like being able to flip back-and-forth depending on what kind of framework I’m in. As for finding time to write, it’s kind of a reward, so I give it time on the weekends or after I finish my other work for the day.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
That I’m a bit of a perfectionist with words. Not to say that my rough drafts don’t require edits (trust me, they very much do), but I also can’t just throw down placeholders and keep going. For example, a couple of Grimmfay’s characters speak in rhymes and patterns, and those chapters take me the longest to write because I need to get all that right (or as close as I can) in the first round.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A singer. Fifth grade introduced me to band, which was nice because I got out of some other class I didn’t want to go to. Then the jump to middle school let me audition for choir, and I fell in love. Choir was my thing through high school, and my shining moment was getting to sing with the All Eastern Chorus that took the best from the state choruses across the northeastern US. Ironically, this was also the thing that made me realize I no longer wanted to sing professionally. I was a senior in high school and didn’t want the thing I loved to become work. So I did psychology instead, and I already noted how that turned out.
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