When I originally signed on to host this particular tour, I was so excited about reading another genre-bender spilt between Historical Fiction & Magical Realism. It’s a cross of genres I particularly appreciate – however, this pre-dates what happened in my family last Friday & Saturday – which is why instead of a review of this novel, I’m posting my interview with the author instead.
For those of you who are following the tour and are not followers of my blog, my Dad had a stroke over the holiday weekend, whilst being hospitalised this week for tests and surgery. You can read about the first 24 hours of this family emergency – however, I wanted to say, I’m still looking forward to reading the novel which this conversation is talking about as it’s such a curious premise! I’ve pushed my review date further into the blog tour to allow for ‘breathing space’ and a time to simply decompress from everything going on in my life.
I composed these questions ahead of reading the story itself – which is why I think I might have missed a few things – I am simply thankful I could stay on the tour and share this conversation. I look forward to reading your responses and seeing how everyone else responded to the book itself, too.
Absolute obedience, servitude, neutrality.
These were the laws that once governed Bartholomew, an immortal soulcatcher, until one ill-fated night when he was forced to make a choice: rebel against his masters or reveal an ancient, dangerous secret.
He chose defiance.Imprisoned for centuries as punishment for his decision, Bartholomew wastes away—until he creates an opportunity to escape. By a stroke of chance, Bartholomew finds himself in the human world and soon learns that breaking his bonds does not come without a price. Cut off from the grace that once ruled him, he must discover a new magic in 1930s Chicago.
Armed with only a cryptic message to give him direction, Bartholomew desperately tries to resume the mission he had started so long ago. Relying on the unlikely guidance of the streetwise orphan Charlie Reese, Bartholomew must navigate the depressed streets of the City in the Garden. But in order to solve this riddle, he must first discover if choice and fate are one in the same.
As your story has origins in an Irish Folk story, how much were you able to ferret out about the original origin story to fuse into your own imaginative world or did you just take the original on face value from what you initially found and wrote what you felt would ‘come next’?
Bastian responds: The Legend of Stingy Jack is about three good sized paragraphs long, so it wasn’t much to go on. I tried to learn more about him, but they are no other stories written about him, nor could I find the true origins of his Irish folktale. It fascinated me, the lack of information about this ill-fated character, confused why no one would have written a more stories about his wanderings, although one might claim Tim Burton already did in A Nightmare Before Christmas. But I wasn’t looking for the Pumpkin King. I wanted to know what a mortal soul would do with its eternity. Could Stingy Jack fall in love? Would the Devil still be trying to beat his now immortal foe? Could Stingy Jack change his ways? Could he be granted a reprieve and be allowed into heaven? I wanted to know! And in order to know, I had to write his story, which has turned into something much grander than expected.
What first attracted to you to Mythology and the manner in which myths come alive through the stories which continuously are passed down?
Bastian responds: I have always had an affinity for stories passed down from one generation to the next. I don’t know the exact moment, but in grade school my mom instilled in me an appreciation for Native American culture and their story telling. Their stories as well as early American immigrant folktales and American tall tales, seemed the most fitting to act as the foundation for my American fantasy.
How did you first become connected to Chicago and how has it transformed into being your special city through history, time and the present?
Bastian responds: I fell in love with Chicago when I learned about Al Capone and the Untouchables, Flappers and Bootleggers. It was a city I had never visited, but romanticized about for years. It’s only just recently, within the last four years, that I have I had the opportunity to visit her historical splendor. And she hasn’t disappointed yet.
History has an interesting portrait to paint for us through historical fiction and through historical narratives rooted on real persons who lived lives anchored to history’s events; how do you first decide when, where and how to insert your characters into a door of the historical past? What inspires you most?
Bastian responds: There is something about the 1920s and ‘30s that call to me, as though I had experienced it in a past life. But aside from that, choosing 1934 happened due to a series of events. First, I knew I wasn’t telling a millennium story, for technology would clash too greatly against the mythology I was building. Second, oddly enough, I experienced my first sign in Best Buy of all places when I picked up the DVD Box Set of HBO’s Carnivale. Thirdly, another sign came during my early research when I learned the Black Blizzard rained ash in Chicago in May of 1934. With these things in mind, I took the concept of Titanic to heart and used the historical backdrop of Chicago as my Titanic and all of my characters as my Jack and Rose.
How did you approach writing the supernatural elements of your story? Did you want them to be elusive and open to interpretation or were you merely beginning to reveal their true essence in this first book before expanding on them in the sequels?
Bastian responds: A little bit of both. The supernatural elements are not as prevalent in the first story, primarily because it is not Charlie’s story that is colliding with Bartholomew’s story, it’s the other way around. And as such, because Charlie is predominately unaware of the supernatural, so is the reader. One might think of it as a courtship, the two elements the “real” and the supernatural are having their first date where one side is more willing to share and the other isn’t. On the second date (Book 2) there will be more sharing from the supernatural side. On the third date (Book 3), because it has a complex past, the supernatural will dominate, until the two find more even ground by the fourth date (Book 4).
Would you consider yourself a Magical Realism author, a Historical Fiction writer or an author who bends genres and tries to form a hybrid between where the historical past and the supernatural elements of Fantasy co-exist?
Bastian responds: I would consider myself an enigma. So yes, I’m definitely going for hybrid. I’ve never been crazy about labels.
How do you perceive the series expanding forward? Less historical artifacts and more mythological fantasy direction or a continuation of the first, where everything is tethered together?
Bastian responds: I have a massive storyboard that tethers it all together. Each book will be a slightly different mix, depending on which characters need the stage. For instance, where many are considering The Breedling and the City in the Garden more historical fiction, Book 3 will probably be considered more high fantasy as it will take place predominately in the “supernatural” realm of Euxinus.
As your story deals with mortals and immortals – why did you want to show Bartholomew’s journey was not just dependent on his own actions but how his actions would affect the lives of others? Was this the segue of the origin story – of how the original Jack might have grown past his indifference and started to understand his own destiny?
Bastian responds: I think of Bartholomew in the same vain as the traditional angel, who somehow is able to break free from the ranks and choose for him. It is important to create that base for him, because he has never been equipped with such emotions before. I equate it to the problem I have when Anime characters get new powers. They never actually learn how to use them, they just know how. I didn’t want that for Bartholomew, so I suppose in a way, yes, this is his origin story of his rise to something more than a soulcatcher. That his actions going forward have consequences with anyone he interacts with. Also, one must not forget this is Charlie’s origin story as well, which is important because it begs the question, was it Charlie’s destiny to be a part of Bartholomew’s story?
Which characters can we expect to find in the next installments being featured next? Will the Mistress of Heaven be one of them? Are any of the secondary or lightly mentioned ‘other’ characters stepping forward?
Bastian responds: Stingy Jack will be making his way center stage in Book 2. In the wings, will be Hades and a few of his demon generals that will be introduced. Iona Covington, Stingy Jack’s beloved Shepherdess will make a visible appearance if only in flashback. The Mistress of Heaven will still be hiding behind the curtain waiting, but there will be a minor introduction of her angelic force (expect her to come out of those shadows in Book 3). And of course the Chameleon will be on hand to guide Buck. And since I consider Homer’s Odyssey an inspiration for Book 2: The Breedling and the Trickster, expect to run into versions of the cyclops, the sirens, and the River Styx. Plus, historical references to the Milwaukee Road, shantytowns, and the Minneapolis Teamster Strike.
Did you find it complicated to write the tie-in between the Element Odyssey series and Hobson Hill or did it feel like an organic thread which fit together as if it were meant to be? What did you like the most about the dual narratives inside Hobson Hill?
Bastian responds: I wrote Hobson Hill during a period when I was feeling less than creative and it was just want I needed to get back on track with the Element Odysseys series. It took four months to fully draft, and working with the dual narratives made the process easy, giving district voice to the past narrative and the present narratives in the story. When I made the decision to have a “tie-in” character that would connect it to The Element Odysseys series, I did so with two things in mind, Bryan Fuller considers Pushing Daisies and Hannibal in the same universe, and of course fan fiction. I was thinking ahead, haha.
What do you find the most creative outlet you enjoy aside from writing?
Bastian responds: I think it’s a tossup between making up coloring and cooking. I really can’t decide between the two.
What do you find inspiring by your everyday environs by the bluffs? How does nature re-invigorate your creative muse?
Bastian responds: I think it helps remind me of the vastness of things, how everything is connected and that it’s okay to slow down and get away from the noise of the modern world.
Thank you kindly, Jorie for the interview and for the amazing questions!
It truly has been a pleasure. Happy Reading and regards, Kimberlee
About Kimberlee Ann Bastian
Kimberlee Ann Bastian has a unique love affair with American nostalgia, mythology, and endless possibilities. This melting pot of elements is what prompted the creation of her epic ELEMENT ODYSSEYS series, starting with the reboot of her debut novel now titled THE BREEDLING AND THE CITY IN THE GARDEN.
When she is not in her writer's room, working her current "day job", or consuming other literary worlds, she enjoys hiking and cycling around the bluffs of your Southeastern MN home and catching up on her favorite pop culture.
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Similar to blog tours where I feature book reviews, as I choose to highlight an author via a Guest Post, Q&A, Interview, etc., I do not receive compensation for featuring supplemental content on my blog. I provide the questions for interviews and topics for the guest posts; wherein I receive the responses back from publicists and authors directly. I am naturally curious about the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of stories and the writers who pen them; I have a heap of joy bringing this content to my readers.
{SOURCES: Cover art of “The Breedling and The City in the Garden”, book synopsis, author photograph of Kimberlee Ann Bastian author biography, and iRead banner were all provided by iRead Book Tours and used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets were embedded due to codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Conversations whits the Bookish Banner, and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2016.
Comments via Twitter:
Ringing in #December w/#blogger @joriestory. Check out the #interview I had w/her, answering some burning Questions https://t.co/W656cUx88r
— Kimberlee Ann⁷ (@elementodysseys) December 1, 2016
#Interview: Kimberlee Ann Bastian, author of "The Breedling and The City in the Garden" #amreading https://t.co/MmcLv1pnvG via @joriestory
— Christina Philippou (@CPhilippou123) December 1, 2016
Special #booktour thank you to @joriestory for an amazing #interview experience and for being stop on the tour. #grateful
— Kimberlee Ann⁷ (@elementodysseys) December 1, 2016
Thank you kindly to my Week 5 #bloggers @TDrecker @joriestory @mymamasworld and Cheryl at Cheryl's Book Nook on my #booktour! #grateful pic.twitter.com/wzzaMJQPnO
— Kimberlee Ann⁷ (@elementodysseys) December 3, 2016
#SaturdaySituation via @Loriimagination#bookbloggers | author #interviews#MagicalRealism #Fantasy #weekendreads https://t.co/URM0EsRCHg
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) February 18, 2017
I adore listening to audiobooks and coloring!
— Kimberlee Ann⁷ (@elementodysseys) December 10, 2016
wicked sweet, Ms Bastian! :) I was hoping others might have come to appreciate #audiobooks & #colouring, too! #sorelaxing 😉
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) December 10, 2016
Jorie~ I am sorry to read about your father. I do hope everything has gone well since then and he is on the road to recovery. Please extend my well-wishing to him on a healthy recovery. I also, wanted to stop by to again thank you from the amazing interview and for being apart of my book tour.
Regards,
Kimberlee
Forgive my late response, Ms Bastian,
For the past several months, I’ve been progressing through the aftermath of my father’s stroke and recovery from surgery therein; I haven’t been the best blogger in regards to maintaining communication either through commentary or tweets; but slowly but surely I’ve started to return to both. I even faltered a bit in the joy of reading – as honestly, my daily reality has changed up a bit since I became my father’s main caregiver whilst my Mum works – something I’ve recently talked about on one of my #StoriesOfJorie posts, which as become a bit more of a personal journalling series of posts. I cannot THANK YOU enough for your understanding back in December – I enjoyed being a part of your blog tour, blessed I was able to become introduced to your uniquely lovely style of story-telling and to post the convo we had about your writing style in particular.
In response to your enquiry – Dad’s initial recovery took several weeks – shortly before Christmas week, he was feeling much more like himself, to where we could celebrate both the Christmas and New Year holidays as a family. Not under the stress and angst of a medical emergency but rather as a regular festive holiday season – it might have been a bit quieter this year, but it was a blessing to have Dad back home, feeling more like himself and seeing positive recovery after his surgery (carotid artery) and the intensity of his bilateral moderate stroke. We always counted our blessings, but this was one holiday season, we truly weren’t sure which way it was going to go – in regards to continuing our journey together or having to say good-bye. Very hard emotions and I think those were in-part why I struggled to come back to my blog and my readerly life.
Simply blessed our paths crossed – despite the circumstances on my end. I hope you’ve had a good holiday season free of medical stress or crisis whilst starting 2017 with wicked sweet joy!
PS: I just found a way I can re-promote this interview, via Saturday Situation, too!