Trivia and Miscelania
Welcome to the Trivia and Miscelania page for Tales of a Stranger Sister. Gathered here are short articles detailing some of the fun little behind-the-scenes info on what went into creating my debut novel. The things that inspired it, anecdotes during its creation, and other bits and bobs of trivia that might not have a home anywhere else.
The Cover and its Creation
I’ve made no secret about how the films of Studio Ghibli were a tremendous influence on my first original novel. They’re always gorgeous, often heartwarming, incredible works of art, and they should be held up as an example of what the best of humanity is capable of putting out in the universe.
So, when it came time to design a cover for my Ghibli-inspired tale, I obviously wanted a Ghibli-inspired cover. Seeing as I am incapable of drawing a Ghibli-inspired anything, it was time to seek out an artist to help me bring that vision to life.
As I looked through the portfolios of independent artists who touted being able to mimic the Ghibli aesthetic, Giorgia Pizzullo (ArtStation Page), a Sicilian artist’s work stood out to me in particular. I contacted her and she agreed to take on my commission.
The first steps were explaining what I had envisioned for the cover, the characters I wanted to feature, their placement in the scene I wanted depicted, and where the titles would go so there would be plenty of “empty” space (though, even that turned out gorgeously.) Along with reference pics of how I wanted the characters to look and their outfits, I sent along my first, very rough, sketch. Let it be said that as an artist, I’m a writer:
Giorgia went to work and came back to me with this sketch. I immediately knew I picked the right person for the job.
There was only one detail I wasn’t satisfied with, which was Sam’s posing in the reflection. Her legs looked a little too cramped, her posing slightly unrelaxed. Like she was only sitting there till she got a text telling her that she needed to run off somewhere and do adulting stuff, which clashed with the air of relaxed adolescence I wanted to come across. Giorgia took the feedback and it’s absolutely amazing what a couple minor adjustments can do for a vibe. This was now the Sam I pictured in my head.
So, with the sketches approved, then came the final line art. To say Giorgia nailed it would be an understatement. It felt like she had opened up my skull, yanked the mental pictures from my head, and slapped them down on paper.
That only left the coloring, backgrounds, and titles. Again, Giorgia absolutely knocked it out of the park. Originally, since the background was going to be mostly “empty” space covered by the titles, I had instructed her that a simple blurred watercolor background of the forest would suffice. She then proceeded to go above and beyond. Never has empty space looked this gorgeous. The details of the trees, grass, and flowers are stunning, and it almost felt like a crime to cover them with titles. I ended up getting prints of the original art framed, and it now proudly hangs on our wall, as well as on the walls of my beta readers, to whom I also gifted prints.
Of course, as guilty as I felt covering up any of this breathtaking art, a book cover does need titles, and that job fell to amazing graphic designer, realtor, and sister-in-law, Emily Bua. If Giorgia knocked it out the park with the art, then Em scored a hat trick with her font choice, typography, and color selections. She even scored in overtime by designing the back cover and spine of the paperback version.
So, that’s the full story behind the cover for Tales of a Stranger Sister. If a cover is the first impression a reader will have of your book before they even read word one of the actual story, then I’m amazingly lucky to have such a cover as mine.
A Sound of Streamhaven
As I began writing the first draft of what would eventually become Tales of a Stranger Sister, I found myself wanting some music to listen to that would keep me in a specific mindset as I created a heartwarming fantasy story set in a pre-industrial world. Turned out that the music that fit the vibe I wanted was “upbeat Celtic instrumentals” and Spotify had several playlists of such music.
As I listened to these playlists, one group of artists kept appearing again and again. A trio named The Gothard Sisters. I started delving more and more into their discography and fell in love with their music. So much so, that their music became an unofficial soundtrack for the world of my story.
I got to see them perform live on a what seems to be, for them, a rare swing to the eastern United States. We traveled four hours and over some sketchy and icy mountain roads, but it was very much worth it. It was a fantastic show, and I cannot recommend seeing them live highly enough.
So, I have collected a sampling of the instrumental pieces that kept me company during the many afternoons and evenings I spent drafting, revising, rewriting, and editing this book. If you enjoy what you hear, please check out their full catalogue of wonderful Celtic-inspired music.
There was one additional piece of music that when I heard it for the first time, I immediately said to myself, “If my novel was a movie or show, this would absolutely have to be on the soundtrack.” Maybe not during the ending credits, but certainly as an insert, probably over scenes of the Riv and company enjoying their all-too-short youth in their idyllic community. The song is “Adante” by ClariS, and the song was featured as the first ending theme for Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf, a franchise with a setting and aesthetic that greatly influenced Tales of a Stranger Sister.
Happy listening, folks.