Interview with Sarah K. L. Wilson, Author of Tangled Fae

What can you tell us about your new release, Tangled Fae?

I fell in love with stories of the fae, particularly Daughter of the Forest by Juliette Marillier and The Folk of the Air series by Holly Black. I was particularly drawn to how limitless and ingenious fae stories can be – a melding of the dark and twisted and the gloriously beautiful and I wanted to try my hand at writing one. So, I imagined a world threatened by these magnificent but dark fae and what sort of girl might stand up against them, only to eventually be lured into their twisting, evolving story. That girl was a practical village hunter, mortal in every way, steady and determined. Her opposite is a charming fae – like a cat in human skin – who preens, and boasts, and lashes out violently but who has a plan to change everything with her at the very center of it all. I like things that try for a new perspective on something that’s been done a hundred times. I hope this series measures up to that standard.

What books are currently on your nightstand?

I’m reading Swordheart by T Kingfisher and next on my to-be-read list is Elise Kova’s Loom Saga. I must say that T Kingfisher has become an obsession of mine. Her work is the embodiment of everything I loved and have sorely missed in the work of Terry Pratchett since his untimely death.

What advice would you give your teenage self?

Daydreaming isn’t a waste of time. It’s how you’re going to earn your living someday. So keep on daydreaming and don’t be embarrassed when people catch you at it.

If you had an extra hour each day, how would you spend it?

Reading. I read a lot already, but it’s impossible not to want to add more time to that, don’t you think?

What makes your world go round? Why does it bring you joy?

I have a deep faith that gives me a lens through which I see everything so that nothing is without meaning or passion. It makes simple things bright with joy and dark things laced with golden hope.

What scene in Tangled Fae was your favorite to write?

There’s a scene in the beginning of the books where the fae character kills a mouse with a sewing needle (he has been shrunk to mouse-size) that made me laugh while I wrote it and I think scenes that make the author laugh are fun for readers, too.

There’s also a scene where the fae character surprises the main character with a dark gift – and I loved the complicated emotions they both had surrounding that gift. Both of them see it so incredibly differently – him with pride, her with horror – and you just know that readers are going to take a side on that, and it thrills me to be able to surprise them, too.

There are a few running games the characters play with one another through the series and I like it when they resurface for a few lines. I think people like anticipating and guessing when those will pop up again.

 Sarah K. L. Wilson is the author of the new book Tangled Fae.

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