Welcome to SCBWI-MI's Book Birthday Blog!
Where we celebrate new books by Michigan's children's book authors and illustrators
Congratulations to Kristiana Sfirlea on the release of her new book, Legend of the Storm Sneezer!
Congratulations on the release of your debut novel, Legend of the Storm Sneezer! Can you talk about what inspired this story?
You know, I’ve been working on this story for so many years, it’s hard to remember how it all started! But one of my favorite exercises I do as a writer is to think up as many clichés/tropes/stereotypes as I can and find the funniest ways to break them! While I was dreaming up Legend of the Storm Sneezer, I kept having this image in my head—the old cartoon characters with that storm cloud that follows them around whenever they’re sad or grumpy. And I thought to myself, “What if there was a girl who had a storm cloud over her head…but was happy about it?”
Legend of the Storm Sneezer includes everything from time travel, to haunted forests, to magic storm clouds! Did you set out to include multiple genres like fantasy, science fiction, and mystery in your novel from the beginning, or did that happen along the way? Are there any particular challenges or advantages of blending genres?
I love this question because I get to share a fun fact about Legend of the Storm Sneezer! In the very first draft…there was no time travel!
Now, to anyone who’s read the book (or even read the back blurb), they’re probably scratching their heads and wondering, “How would that even work?” Um, it didn’t. That’s why I rewrote it! There was a point in my writing journey—before I signed with my agent and just after I turned down two offers of publication from small publishers—when I realized I was holding back. I knew my story had the potential to be so much more, but I was scared. Scared to blend genres, scared to let my imagination off its leash, scared no one would want to read my zany stories.
But then I decided I was either all in or all out, and I’ve never regretted it once. (Even when my brain feels like mush after figuring out a particularly wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey plot point!) I think the key to successfully blending genres is to make sure you have a main character that can handle it. And that means they need to have an endearing voice and a BIG personality!
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| Legend of the Storm Sneezer's main character is thirteen-year-old Rose Skylar, who sneezed a magical storm cloud at birth! |
Would you say there’s anything about Michigan that has influenced your writing?
Absolutely! I love my state so much, I couldn’t help but let it influence my story. To start with, the beautiful forest parks of Northern Michigan were the blueprints for the forest at the beginning of Legend of the Storm Sneezer. I walk those hiking trails, and I half expect to turn a corner and see my main characters, Rose and Marek, meeting under a maple tree for their next adventure!
Also, I’m a huge fan of Michigan’s dogman lore, which played a HUGE doggone role in one of my character’s magical abilities. And Petoskey stones? Well, let’s just say Petoskey stones have their own special uses in this fantasy world—and it’s awesome!
Yes! Of both experiences, working at a haunted house attraction has influenced my writing the most. You wouldn’t think it, but there is a delicate science to scaring people in a haunted house. Timing is everything! Scare them too often, and they get bored by your predictability. Don’t scare them enough, and they feel let down. You have to create just the right amount of tension, picking the perfect moment to scream or jump out or howl.
Those same principles apply when writing spooky scenes in a book—and Legend of the Storm Sneezer has some doozies!
Very intimidating at times but also a lot of fun! One of the first things I did was ask my mom for advice. My favorite memories from being homeschooled were her incredible Unit Studies and lesson plans based on the books we were reading. She brought out all the old teaching guides and let me sift through them for inspiration.
As I started assembling discussion questions, snack ideas, etc., I tried to put myself back in my preteen self’s shoes and thought about what I would want her to get out of the teaching guides—the fun and the learning and the meaningful discussions. There are so many families experiencing homeschooling for the first time because of quarantine, which really motivated me to make this resource as useful and easily accessible as possible. My sincerest hope is that it will help families experience the same joy of homeschooling that I had all my school years with my own family.
Oh, wow. There are so many things I’m hoping readers will take away from this book, but one of the main things is this: there are no “Chosen Ones.” Every person is of equal worth and importance, and we need to start viewing and caring about each other as members of the same team. Our differences shouldn’t divide us—they should strengthen us as we work together, letting each person shine in their own role.
What’s next for you? Do you have any more ideas in the works? How can readers learn more about you and your work?
Legend of the Storm Sneezer is book one of The Stormwatch Diaries, and I am heartily working on its sequel! I can’t share too much just yet, but it may or may not involve a maple syrup festival gone awry, giant, mutant squirrels, and a terrifying bunch of teddy bears. So if you enjoy the delightful absurdity of Legend of the Storm Sneezer—get ready for round two!
You can learn more about me and my work at www.kristianasquill.com or you can reach out to me on social media at @KristianasQuill!
A little bit about the book:
Legend Seeker. Part-time Ghost Hunter. Time Traveler.
Thirteen-year-old Rose Skylar sneezed a magical storm cloud at birth, and it’s followed her around ever since. But when “Stormy” causes one too many public disasters, Rose is taken to Heartstone, an asylum for unstable magic. Its location? The heart of a haunted forest whose trees have mysteriously turned to stone.
They say the ghosts are bound to the woods… then why does Rose see them drifting outside the windows at night? And why is there a graveyard on the grounds filled with empty graves? Guided by her future selves via time traveling letters, Rose and Marek—best friend and potential figment of her imagination—must solve the mystery of the specters and the stone trees before the ghosts unleash a legendary enemy that will make their own spooks look like a couple of holey bed sheets and destroy Heartstone Asylum.
Letters from the future are piling up. Rose can’t save Heartstone herself. However, five of herselves, a magical storm cloud, and a guardian angel who might very well be imaginary? Now that’s a silver lining.
But will they find what killed the ghosts before what killed the ghosts finds them?
As an author, Kristiana Sfirlea knows what it means to get in character. She spent five years volunteering as a historical reenactor and trying her best not to catch her skirts on fire as a colonial girl from the 1700s (leading cause of death at the time next to childbirth). Working at a haunted house attraction, she played a jumping werewolf statue, a goblin in a two-way mirror, and a wall-scratcher—so if she’s standing very still, growling, checking her reflection, or filing her nails on your wall, be alarmed. Those are hard habits to break.
Kristiana's speculative flash fiction has been published by Havok, and her debut novel Legend of the Storm Sneezer is a whimsical Middle Grade fantasy involving time travel and things that go bump in the night. She dreams of the day she can run her own mobile bookstore. Or haunted house attraction. Or both. Look out, world—here comes a haunted bookmobile! (And this is precisely why writers should never become Uber drivers.) She loves Jesus, her family, and imaginary life with her characters.
Congrats on your book, Kristiana. So interesting that you didn't include time travel in the first draft. It sounds like a great story. Good luck!
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