[Day Twenty Six of 31 Days] Author Interview: Tara Maya, author of The Unfinished Song

Hi guys! Tara Maya, the author of The Unfinished Song is visiting The Fairytale Nerd for an author interview.

Tara Maya has lived in Africa, Europe and Asia. She's pounded sorghum with mortar and pestle in a little clay village where the jungle meets the desert, meditated in a Buddhist monastery in the Himalayas and sailed the Volga river to a secret city that was once the heart of the Soviet space program. This first-hand experience, as well as research into the strange and piquant histories of lost civilizations, inspires her writing. Her terrible housekeeping, however, is entirely the fault of pixies.

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Welcome to The Fairytale Nerd! how are you today?
Thank you for having me, Fairytale Nerd!

So for the first question, tell me about your book.
Faearth is a world of pixies, sprites, and High Fae, who can be frightening. Instead of the usual medieval setting, the humans have a level of technology closer to the Celts in the age of Stonehenge or the Zuni in twelfth century North America.

At the heart, my book (a series, actually) is about Dindi, a young girl who yearns to dance and is forbidden to do so. In Faearth, dancing alters the world, so only powerful those with powerful magic are allowed to learn to dance, and the kinds of dances people are allowed to do are strictly controlled by taboos. In the beginning of the series, she has a huge challenge just proving her right to dance at all. All young people must go through an Initiation and a Test, and no one from her clan has ever passed. It doesn’t help that an age-old war between two enemy tribes breaks out just as Dindi is trying to pass her Initiation.

But even those who are allowed to dance, such as Kavio, the hero of the story, have to fight against taboos and restrictions. Kavio is the most powerful warrior dancer of Faearth, but he is exiled from his tribehold because he is accused of inventing his own dance. To his people, innovation is tantamount to witchcraft.

Why fairies?
Faires are hot and trendy right now, but when I started writing about Faearth, you never saw any actual fairies in fantasy. I always loved pixies and fairies and the sidhe and seelie courts and wanted to build a world where they could frolic. At the same time, I didn’t want them to be just Disney cute, but to retain some of the ancient awesome scariness that you find in the original fairytales. In those stories, fairies are not always sweet and innocent! The other thing I wanted to so was bring in other cultures, so that although I call my beings “fae” they are as much based on magical creatures from Africa, Indian and Polynesian legends as from European mythology.

What is the message (from your books) that you want to convey to your readers?
I didn’t start out with a message, but let it emerge from the story. What I did do was draw on my own experiences in high school. In my freshman year I made it onto the cheerleading squad. However, shortly after that, I was diagnosed with scoliosis and discovered I’d have to wear a huge, ugly back brace for my whole four years of high school. Suddenly, the leader of the squad didn’t want me on the team anymore, and did everything possible to make my life hell to make me quit.

The message that I hope shines through the story is what I would have liked to tell my fourteen year old self: Don’t listen to anyone who tells you that you aren’t good enough, pretty enough, or “magic” enough. Just keep dancing.

If you had the chance to rewrite your book, would you change anything?
I have rewritten the book many, many times. Ironically, even though my book is about learning to have confidence in your own art, I didn’t have that confidence myself. I had to learn it from my own heroine, and accept that the book was done, even if it would never be “perfect.” I understand the book won’t be all things to all people. Not even to me. (Especially not to me, I am my own worst critic.) But at some point, you have to let the tree out of the pot if it is to grow.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I dance as I write. I get so excited about a scene I love that I jump out of my seat and dance around the room, or even around the block. My husband thinks it is hilarious. Crazy, and unnerving, but hilarious.

What is your favorite fairy book?
I love illustrated fairy books, and some of my earliest favorites were the little pocket sized Flower Fairy books.

The man who loves you or the man you love?
I tried loving someone who didn’t love me back once, and except for great writing fodder, it was a pretty bad idea. But I couldn’t be with someone I didn’t love (and respect) either. So if I couldn’t have both, I’d have to become a Buddhist nun. Fortunately, I am spoiled, and found a man I love who also loves me.

Boxers or briefs?
Boxers. But don’t tell my hubby. 

Pancake or waffle?
Either, or both, with Old Fashioned Maple, please.

Viral epidemic or nuclear explosion?
Oooh, both terrify me. I hate the idea of a slow, painful, depressing, lingering death. So nuclear explosion, but only if I get to die right away. No radiation poisoning.

Jack Sparrow or Will Turner?
Will Turner, definitely. I heart Orlando Bloom.

Fantasy or reality?
When I was in fourth grade, my mother took me to a shrink because she was concerned I could not differentiate. I’m afraid it’s still a concern of those around me.

Blind or deaf?
I’ve heard it’s worse to be deaf, but I can’t believe it. If I had my sight, my kindle and a computer, I’d still be good to go, I think. I would miss music terribly, of course.

Yoga or pilates?
Either, as long as it’s in ten minute increments.

Comedy or drama?
Happy endings and historical costumes are my favorite combination.

Vampires or shifters?
My new love is Josh, the schlemiel werewolf on Being Human (the US version, although the UK version is great too.)

What's your next project?
The Unfinished Song is going to be 12 books, so I have my hands full. I’m also putting out a serial version, for those who like to read it that way, which will be the same material but in smaller doses. I already have the rest of the series finished in draft form, but each of those drafts needs quite a bit of polish. I expect to bring out the rest of the books over the next two years.

Meanwhile, I also have a military sf trilogy, STRAT, in the works. Actually, the first book is complete; it’s just a matter of going through the edits. The second and third book should follow quickly. I have children, and that’s also inspired me to write some children’s books.

After that, I have a number of ideas that make me leap out of my chair and dance around.

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BUY

Initiate (The Unfinished Song #1)

by Tara Maya

DEADLY INITIATION
A DETERMINED GIRL...
Dindi can't do anything right, maybe because she spends more time dancing with pixies than doing her chores. Her clan hopes to marry her off and settle her down, but she dreams of becoming a Tavaedi, one of the powerful warrior-dancers whose secret magics are revealed only to those who pass a mysterious Test during the Initiation ceremony. The problem? No-one in Dindi's clan has ever passed the Test. Her grandmother died trying. But Dindi has a plan.
AN EXILED WARRIOR...
Kavio is the most powerful warrior-dancer in Faearth, but when he is exiled from the tribehold for a crime he didn't commit, he decides to shed his old life. If roving cannibals and hexers don't kill him first, this is his chance to escape the shadow of his father's wars and his mother's curse. But when he rescues a young Initiate girl, he finds himself drawn into as deadly a plot as any he left behind. He must decide whether to walk away or fight for her... assuming she would even accept the help of an exile.