Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!
Between hosting the “Tree Magic” blog tour and shifting into the “Tree Slayer” blog tour – I must confess, I’ve had a personal tragic loss of trees recently which has definitely affected my heart and my spirit. So much so, it left me feeling quite undone and under the weather as for the past five years I’ve enjoyed the sentry, the presence and the calming shade of wonderfully alive cedar trees which were recently butchered and murdered by a city who doesn’t know how to reverse course on designs which are not conducive to natural habitats.
I never knew they were going to take out these majestic giants of old until the day they removed them – the firece battle of will outside was enough to make anyone shudder as those trees fought to survive and to live. It has been quite the wrecking experience for me which is why I wrote a *thread about this on Twitter.
It has consumed my attention lately and despite my plans to read the opening pages of “Tree Magic” before the start of this lovely sequel’s blog tour – my heart and mind have been dearly distracted. Thereby, I need a bit of time to heal from the loss of my cedars before I can dip my toes into this series as fundementally this series is closely tied to the fate of trees and to the spirit which lies within all trees – how trees can communicate with each other and how they can quake with emotions as spoken about on this interview.
For those who missed my spotlight for “Tree Magic”
here is what I shared on the novel and series behalf:
I could immediately connect with the premise with this novel which is why I am trying to seek out a copy of this in print through my local library – there is something quite magical about how trees are the guardians within the natural habitats we visit whilst hiking or walking in natural landscapes; they know things and they remember everything. This is partially why it is soul-crushing whenever there are huge wildfire seasons like the ones that are affecting the Western United States right now and/or the fires in Australia at the turning of the New Year. Nature grieves for the losses those fires bring to those habitats but I oft felt the trees especially are full of the grief of what could not be protected and what fell at their feet due to how the forests have not been able to withstand fire as they had in the past. I still remember hearing about the old growth forests of the Redwoods recently and of how achingly hard it was to see them aflame.
I have regularly spoken about the natural world on Jorie Loves A Story – from the stories I am reading to the context of the stories which seek to bring an ecological mindset and heart for conservation onto my blog because I believe strongly those stories are necessary for today’s world. Not just due to the climatic changes we’re all experiencing but to help re-connect readers with the knowledge about the natural ecosystems they might overlook and not be as familiar with as I have become myself. Knowledge is the first step towards change and to remain connected to the connectivity of how the natural world and our world intersect is one step closer to finding better balance in how to keep Earth a healthier place.
Today, I am wicked thankful I can bring this conversation to the blog tour as the author and I discussed the elements of her story and series inasmuch as her writerly approach to telling it. If you love fantastical stories featuring Magical Realism plots and the curious connections between nature and humans, I think this might be a good fit for you as a reader as I feel it is for myself.
Tree Slayer
Subtitle: Tree Magic Book Two
by Harriet Springbett
Nine months after the events of Tree Magic, Rainbow is struggling to come to terms with how she’s changed. Her bond with trees has grown, but now they’re under threat from the Tree Slayer.
To save them, she’ll need to leave everything she knows and loves. It will be her greatest adventure yet – but she cannot succeed alone.
She’ll have to enlist the help of Eole, an enigmatic scientist and sceptic.
Does Rainbow have what it takes to face the Tree Slayer? And can she trust Eole, who has powers of his own?
Places to find the book:
ISBN: 9781911293392
Also by this author: Tree Magic, Tree Magic
Also in this series: Tree Magic
Published by Impress Books
on 1st November, 2019
Published by: Impress Books (@ImpressBooks1)
Available Formats: Trade Paperback and Ebook
Converse via: #YALit, #Trees and #Magic, #MagicalRealism, #YAFantasy
as well as #LoveBooksTours & #TreeMagic and #TreeSlayer
I truly loved the whole premise and plot behind the Tree Magic series – especially as it is a merger of real life, Science, Spirituality and the allure of trees. For someone new entering into the series how you would describe the bridge between these worlds of thought and the magical elements of the story which shifts the reader into this Magical Realism world?
Springbett responds: Hi Jorie, and thanks for inviting me here.
The series begins with a story that has a small element of magic: Rainbow’s ability to communicate with trees. Tree Magic explores whether Rainbow will choose to use her gift and risk being a ‘weirdo’ or whether she’ll take the easier path of denying it in favour of a more ordinary life. In the sequel(s), the focus moves more deeply into the spiritual side of trees – but also into the scientific subject of multiverses – and, of course, normal life continues for Rainbow. One of the themes the series addresses is how close, despite many people thinking otherwise, science and spirituality can be.
I look forward to seeing how you’ve dealt with the concept of the multiverse as well as the spirituality of the trees overall as that is truly what first drew my eye and interest into your series – to see how the trees themselves explain more about their lives and how their lives were interpreted through the series as much as Rainbow’s connection and gift which are connected to them. Ever since I first started researching and reading about Quantum Physics I have uncovered a lot of scientists (including Einstein) who have shown the connections between Science and Spirituality – it doesn’t apply to all scientists as some still separate the two which I fully understand but others have noted the close connections between both disciplines.
I love the concept of how you’ve wanted to explore spirituality in a world rooted in science – which can be said for our modern world as well as there is always a walk in and out of balance with both disciplines. How did you want to approach this topic in your series and how did you find the rhythm where they would both have their equal share of time to be presented to the reader?
Springbett responds: I think this theme actually developed itself in Tree Slayer. This was helped by the fact that one main character is intuitive and spiritual (Rainbow) whereas another (Eole) is logical and scientific. This balances the two sides. When you put the two together, it’s fascinating to see what happens.
I love how both your characters are representing two different personalities and what I was curious about is how one relies on intuition whereas the other relies more on logic and science. I think it would be interesting to see how their personalities reflect how they approach life and how what they are going through is affected by how the perceive what is happening and how they respond to those events as well.
I recently learnt of the biochemical and biofeedback communication of trees – did you incorporate this kind of communication between the trees in your series or did you take a different route of how tress communicate with either themselves or with your characters? I have heard stories of sitting by trees and how they can whisper to you simply by growing accustomed to your presence. There are different routes of entrance into this and I was curious what you could share from a writing perspective how you wanted to bridge this into the series?
Springbett responds: Yes, there’s so much we don’t yet know about how trees communicate. Like many people, I was fascinated to learn more on this subject. It’s such fun when scientific research hasn’t been completed, as is the case here, because it leaves lots of space for a writer to imagine what invisible things could be happening. For Tree Slayer, I researched the scientific facts of tree communication and then imagined how this communication could lead to a hidden spiritual life between trees.
I was truly gutted recently contemplating how trees communicate – especially after witnessing what I had with my cedar trees – what really ached after my soul is if they knew what was happening and then, were communicating warnings to each other and then, when all was quite lost and nothing could be done to save them — what worried me most was the level of their own grief and the sense of loss they’d experience after 40+ years of living.
I have long been an appreciator of the natural world and have a profound respect for natural habitats as much as the fact I’m a self-taught nature and wildlife photographer. How did you want to pull the natural world into the constructs of the Tree Magic world? Can you share a piece of the narrative which explores your favourite part of building this world behind Tree Magic?
Springbett responds: I’d love to be able to photograph nature, like you, but I’m rubbish with a camera. I grew up on a Dorset farm with 10 acres of woodland, so I spent my childhood playing in and around trees (and wishing I had a decent tree house). This natural world has always inspired my writing so it tends to creep into anything I write. In terms of narrative, I’m going to share Rainbow’s reaction when she discovers the Pyrenees mountains. I loved writing about this beautiful landscape and was lucky enough to be invited on a writing residency there while working on Tree Slayer.
“Rainbow had seen photos of the craggy Pyrenees mountains in library books: snowy winter ski slopes; spring prairies dotted with pink, blue and yellow wildflowers; dour villages of houses with steep slate roofs mounted on low walls. In a television documentary she’d seen marmots and she’d heard the roar of waterfalls, the cries of raptors in the silent sky and the tinkling of cowbells. She’d even tasted Pyrenean tome cheese bought from a little man in a black beret at Cognac market. None of this, however, prepared her for the reality of the mountains.”
As you’ve previously stated the series explores the concepts of faith – in oneself and in life (overall) – was it tricky to write this story in a way that would appeal to mainstream readers who do not read INSPY (faith-based) stories? To where they could find a lead-in into the series but not feel it was overly spiritual for them? I personally love reading both mainstream and INSPY stories – but I know there are readers who shy away from spirituality themes in stories and strictly stay within the mainstream which is why I’m asking the question on their behalf.
Springbett responds: Actually, I didn’t really think about readers (sorry, readers!). Rainbow’s life is pretty normal apart from her gift. She goes to school, has boyfriends, problems with friends and family etc. I only realised the books touched on the subject of faith when I’d finished my first drafts. Of course, faith is only one of the themes and I wouldn’t class the Tree Magic series as INSPY. I think authors write what they have to write. If you try to write what will appeal best, I believe you risk losing the authenticity of your work.
I hadn’t meant to infer we write to applease readers – I was reflecting on how I’ve noticed whenever certain stories I read touch on spirituality or themes within spirituality, some readers might not feel they can or should read the story as it might be outside their regular purview of where their own literary interests take them. Hmm.. I suppose I misworded the question somehow as I hadn’t meant to imply what you said but rather I was asking on the behalf of other readers who unlike me do not read stories (whether mainstream or INSPY) which parlay on themes of spirituality. I hadn’t classifed Tree Magic, Tree Slayer or the series as INSPY as I was referring to this series being evocative of spiritual themes within the mainstream.
I have felt that finding one’s confidence in one’s differences is one of the hardest lessons anyone has to learn – the fact you’ve etched this into Rainbow’s journey is a wicked good exploration of finding oneself and of understanding the fuller scope of our lives. Why was this an important part of her journey in the series?
Springbett responds: Thank you! Probably because a lot of people (me included) compare themselves to others, lack self-confidence and ask themselves existential questions. Also, I’m interested in the psychology of humans: what makes people tick, why they make certain decisions etc. I’ve been told that the books are quite philosophical, which is probably because I think about stuff a lot.
I love peering into stories from a sociological perspective myself – rooting out what causes certain reactions and behaviours and understanding why people make the choices they make as well – in regards to cross-comparing ourselves to others, its not a habit I chased after because I have preferred to walk my own path and to seek out my own goals. We have to remember that we’re all on our own path and we will all endeavour to understand things in our own timing and arrival.
Outside of Rainbow, which characters would readers view as being different than themselves and how did you want to write a diversely unique cast of characters which had something different to impart to the readers who read the series?
Springbett responds: In Tree Slayer, some people may find that Eole is different to themselves. I love being inside Eole’s head and seeing the world in the way he sees it. I hope this may help readers appreciate that not everyone reasons in the same way, which is why we should be careful about judging other people.
I agree with this – we need a variety of perspectives and observations in pursuit of understanding everyone’s perception of life and how things affect us all differently. Even in today’s world – all of us have a different reaction and/or adaption to covid-19. Some of us have ridden it out without too much alternations to our lives whilst others are more severely affected by it and that doesn’t disqualify anyone’s experience it just shows that for every person there is a different perspective and experience to be shared; even if its a conjoined experience. There is a beauty in how we all react differently and we all have something different to contribute to our conjoined memories of shared experiences.
The topic of lies and the reasons behind why lies are told I felt was also a fitting area to explore – as a lot of the topics and subjects within this series are beautiful lessons of life and of personal growth – especially for younger readers as the original targeted audience were for young adult readers of Fantasy. What inspired the choice to present lies and their consequences but also get behind the reasoning behind why they were used?
Springbett responds: Ooh, I’m so glad you picked up on the theme of lies! It was one of the original ones. In a situation where someone has lied to me, I often wonder what would have happened if I’d known the truth. Would I have made different decisions? This was the whole basis for Rainbow’s mum’s confession and what it leads to. I firmly believe that people naturally want to tell the truth and that they only tell lies when they’re cornered or don’t want to hurt someone. This is why it was important for me to understand and make it clear why characters in the series tell lies.
As the sequel “Tree Slayer” begins the Quest Rainbow must embark on after “Tree Magic” – what was the most rewarding scene you developed for Rainbow in this instalment?
Springbett responds: I don’t want to give any spoilers, but probably the scene with her boyfriend, Christophe, on the day she finishes her exams.
There are currently two instalments to Tree Magic – is this meant to be a duology, trilogy, quartet or have you not yet decided how many adventures Rainbow and readers will take within this world? I was curious how you’ve developed the series and how the series knitted itself together in regards to length and forward motion.
Springbett responds: When I first wrote Tree Magic it was intended as a standalone book. But while re-reading it during the editing process with my publisher, I realised that, actually, the most difficult / rewarding part of Rainbow’s life lay ahead of her. So I carried on and wrote Tree Slayer and then the third book (whose working title is Tree Sacrifice). I’ll probably stop there, though I must admit that I can see where I’d go if I were to write a fourth book. In terms of forward motion, I could use the simile of Rainbow when she climbs her first mountain to explain how the series has been for me:
“She thought the summit of the mountain was just ahead of her, but when she arrived she realised it was only a bump, and that the top was a little higher. When she reached it, there was yet another peak ahead of her.”
As I mentioned on my spotlight and notes for the previous blog tour celebrating “Tree Magic” – I interpreted the two girls on the cover art as being two different infractions of Rainbow however, I was thinking in a metaphysical way of describing two halves of a whole – in regards to introspective exploration of the self – however, in researching “Tree Slayer” and noticing there are parallel worlds at play, I now realise the two Rainbows could have in theory been living two separate lives apart from each other. How did you root the science of what we know about parallel worlds into the framework of the Tree Magic series with your own curious theories of how parallel worlds would work in the context of the series itself?
Springbett responds: I did research multiverses but I also loosely based Tree Magic on the idea that each time we make a decision, a parallel world is created. I’ve invented most of the rules for parallel worlds and merged them with those I’ve dreamt up for the spiritual lives of trees. There’s a lot more about this – as well as some great tree folklore and legends I found during my research – in the third book of the series.
This! This answer is what excites me the most about starting to read the series – I am so thankful to have a copy in print now for “Tree Magic” – a delightful surprise bit of #bookmail from your publisher and a story I am keeping close to my shelf for November when I hope my spirit and heart have healed to where I can read about trees and not feel the gutting anguish I have this past week.
Literary Fiction and Magical Realism are wonderfully inventive branches of literature – do you have any favourite authors or story crafters within these realms where the fantastical and the literary creative readily give you something to ruminate over after you’ve read their stories? What drew you to those writers and the stories you’ve read?
Springbett responds: My favourite genre as a reader is literary fiction. I’m a huge fan of Ali Smith, whose originality I admire, and also the work of Kate Atkinson (Human Croquet, Life after Life). Both these authors make their readers work, which I love doing as I read. I like the way a writer can use the structure of a book to demonstrate a theme of the story, too. My favourite books are those that make me think about some aspect of life that I hadn’t considered before.
When you’re not researching and writing your stories what renews your spirit the most?
Springbett responds: Easy! I live in the countryside so a run or bike ride through the woods and vineyards is guaranteed to remind me of the beauty in this world.
This Blog Tour is courtesy of:
NOTE: Similar to blog tours wherein I feature book reviews, book spotlights (with or without extracts), book announcements (or Cover Reveals) – I may elect to feature an author, editor, narrator, publisher or other creative person connected to the book, audiobook, Indie film project or otherwise creative publishing medium being featured wherein the supplemental content on my blog is never compensated monetarily nor am I ever obligated to feature this kind of content. I provide (98.5%) of all questions and guest topics regularly featured on Jorie Loves A Story. I receive direct responses back to those enquiries by publicists, literary agents, authors, blog tour companies, etc of whom I am working with to bring these supplemental features and showcases to my blog. 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. Whenever there is a conflict of connection I do disclose those connections per post and disclose the connection as it applies.
{SOURCES: Book covers for “Tree Magic” and “Tree Slayer”, book synopsis for “Tree Slayer”, author biography and photograph and the tour badge were all provided by Love Books Tours and are used with permission. Post dividers and My Thoughts badge 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 with the Bookish banner and the Comment Box Banner.}
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