Hi guys! For the first feature of Celebrating Debutantes 2017, we have Siren Sisters by Dana Langer! I have always enjoyed reading about mermaids and sirens. It is such a delight to see this flowing into MG stories. I am a firm believer that each age group should have their own "representative" book of a specific topic.
Today I am interviewing Dana about her debut. Stick around until the end to get a chance to win a finished copy of Siren Sisters!
Could you tell us who or what inspired Siren Sisters?
Hello! Thank you so much for having me. SIREN SISTERS was inspired by a combination of things, mainly me growing up with my sister and female cousins and also teaching The Odyssey to high school students and wanting to hear more from the monsters and female characters.
Could you tell us about the Sirens in your book? Did they deviate from the typical siren mythology in any way? Did you make alterations?
My favorite aspect of siren mythology has always been that they generally appear in a group. I thought that idea lent itself nicely to a story about sisterhood and sacrifice, and I kept that consistent in my book. I added the detail about their changing hair color and scales growing in when they turn thirteen because I wanted their magical transformation to mirror some of the more mundane transformations that kids go through at that age.
Could you tell us more about Lolly's sisters Lula, Lara, and Lily?
I think of Lara as being very motherly, strong, and protective, someone who gives a lot of herself without thinking twice about it; I see Lily as being very angry, secretly quite sensitive, and a little immature; and I see Lula as being more impulsive and less of a worrier than all the others. I think they're all very loyal and loving, and I like to think they'd all grow up and do good things in the world.
In a review that I read, it was mentioned that the sea witch didn't like to be in the water. Why is this? Could you give us a bit of background on this?
I think of the sea witch as being a sea witch because her soul is hidden in the sea and because she can control storms. Historically though, one of the ways they used to test people to see if they were witches was by throwing them in the water and seeing whether or not they drowned (it was believed that witches would float). Also, she has a lot of negative associations with boats, drowning, and the shipping industry in general, so I just felt that she would not be a fan of being in the water.
What was the hardest part or scene to write?
The ending was difficult in terms of deciding how much to state explicitly versus how much to leave for the reader to infer. I've heard it described as a "cliffhanger" before, but, without giving away too much, in my mind the outcome is clear given the fact that Lolly is narrating the story.
Thank you, Dana!
About the Author:
Find Dana: Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Website
Book Description:
"Purposeful messages for inclusion and against stereotyping are scattered throughout. Touching on family relationships, grieving, growing up, first romance, and Norse mythology, this is an exciting fantasy with a heart-stopping ending by an author to watch." -Kirkus
When they're not in school or running their small town's diner, the four Salt sisters are secretly luring ships to their doom from the cliffs of Starbridge Cove, Maine. With alluring voices that twelve-year-old Lolly has yet to grow into (not that she wants to anyway) the girls do the work mandated by the Sea Witch, a glamorous figure determined to keep them under her control. With their mother dead after a mysterious car accident, and their father, a once famous folk singer, drowning in grief, the sisters have only each other to rely on, carrying on with their lives and duties until a local sea captain gets suspicious about the shipwrecks.
On the day before her birthday, Lolly watches in helpless horror as her sisters are lured themselves by curse-reversing fishermen--and suddenly it's up to her and her best friend Jason to rescue the sirens of Starbridge Cove.
Giveaway
Thanks to Dana for sponsoring this giveaway!
What's up for grabs: Finished Copy of Siren Sisters
Scope: US
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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