A Book Review: A Wilted Willow (Plus EXCLUSIVE interview with the author!)

    Hi, everyone! I am super excited for this week's post, because I'm participating in my first ever blog tour! A huge thanks for the author for letting me promote her amazing writing.

    Along with the author's blog launch post (you can find her blog HERE), she and her upcoming book will be featured on the blogs of Annabeth Hazel, E.G. Bella, Raina Nightingale, and Ribbon Ash. You can click on those links to visit each site, and view the schedule for the blog tour below.

    This book review and interview contain no spoilers. Check out both of them below!

Title: A Wilted Willow

Author: Julia Witmer

Series: This is a standalone novel (for now).

Targeted Age Range: 13-18

Synopsis: Day one in fifteen-year-old Mira Miller’s new home, and a strange man steps through a door that should lead to nowhere. Informing her that a nation from another world needs help defeating a tyrant king with an insatiable taste for power, he presents her a choice: come with him and help, or stay behind and miss out on a chance for adventure.

    Cadmus Clark, a quiet boy her age who’s more than happy sitting at home all day, reluctantly agrees to join Mira’s escapade after she arrives in his world. Faced with training for battle, a magical assassin, and worst of all, extended time with bossy Mira, Cadmus is certain he’ll regret his choice to help her.

    Mira has a new skill to master. Cadmus has a stubborn girl to deal with. And together they have a war to win. They might just be in over their heads.

    . . . But Mira would never admit that.

Language: There are a few mentions of swearing, and one cut off swear, as well as a couple uses of "stupid" and "oh my gosh".

Violence: Human and animal characters are knocked out, punched, and stabbed. Torture and death are mentioned. Some characters use magic to attack others. It's mentioned Mira's mom was terminally ill.

Romance/Sexual Stuff: Mira admits to having a years-long crush on another character.

Spiritual Elements: God, and trusting in God, is a theme throughout the book. Mira and Cadmus both struggle with issues of faith. Various Christian terms and praying are mentioned, and part of the story deals with the belief that God has given Mira and other characters magical abilities, in order to use them for His glory and purpose.

Magic: Mira is able to travel to an alternate dimension (Nother World), and there magic is a well-known element able to be used by certain people. Mira is able to use magic to form shields. Other antagonists also use magic.

References: None

Other Issues: None

Where To Buy: Right now, you can pre-order A Wilted Willow on Amazon.

My Age Range: I think kids aged 14 and up would enjoy this book the most, though I'd say it's appropriate for anyone in their late tweens/early teens.

Read Aloud: This book would be a fun read aloud, though given that it's aimed toward teens it may not be for every family to enjoy together.

My Opinion: I first found out about this book on personal recommendation by the author, before the updated version was announced. I tore through it and enjoyed the whole thing, but I wanted more. I felt like I hadn't had enough of a chance to truly feel something for any of the characters or situation, and that made me feel hesitant to review it. After the author contacted me with the blog tour opportunity, though, I loved what I'd read enough to say, "Sign me up!" and enter Mira's world a second time.

    After reading through it again, this time with the newly added scenes, I can truly say that all of it is a masterpiece. Every page, every word is polished to perfection, and gave me that "more" I had been looking for. I found myself smiling, chuckling, and filled with wonder as I kept living through Mira and Cadmus' eyes. And, in my opinion, all of the updated parts made the anticipated end so much more moving and powerful.

    If you're looking for a well-done, thoughtful, and stay-up-'till-midnight-to-finish fantasy, you'll find it in A Wilted Willow. Maybe, like me, you'll latch onto the characters' perspectives, drinking every second of it in and never wanting it to end. And hopefully, through taking a step into Nother World, you'll find more meaning and purpose in yours.

Discussion Questions:

-While reading A Wilted Willow, did you relate to Cadmus or Mira the most? Why? Which perspective did you enjoy more? Is this different from the perspective you related to the most?

-What was your favorite part about Nother World? If you had a chance to be in Mira's shoes and travel to Nother World, would you want to? Why or why not?

-Mira struggles with harnessing her magic. If you could give Mira advice about that, what would you say? Do you think the different advice her friends gave were helpful?

-Cadmus shares a special bond with Ollie. Mira shares a similar one with Smoky. What do these relationships show you about them as people?

-Mira gave herself to save Nother World. Can you think of anyone who has done something like that for you? (The answer could contain a person's time, love, money, or advice...it doesn't have to be ultimate.)

-While many things in Nother World and Mira's life change, the wilted willow stays the same. What does this show you about the tree, and about how the author views change?

World of Words: An Interview with Julia Witmer

November 20, 2020

What was your inspiration while creating Mira? Cadmus?

When I sat down to write the original novella the first time, I had a short sentence for each of them. For Mira, it was, “Spunky red-head with an addiction to adventure” and for Cadmus it was “Victorian gentlemen who happens to also be a hermit.” I have absolutely no idea where those sentences came from, they just kind of…were. And I rolled with it. Obviously, they’ve developed a bit from one-sentence descriptions, but they’re pretty similar to what they started out as at the core!

What was your inspiration for creating, as Mira calls it, "Nother World"?

I went to watch The Nutcracker and the Four Realms in theatres, and the “Fourth Realm” started the whole thing. I loved the smoky, Victorian, broken-down aesthetic, and while I was there in the theatre, I pulled out my phone and quickly typed in two words: “Nother World.” Again, I have no clue where that came from (other than that I was thinking "Oh, shoot, am I really coming up with yet another world?"). When I got back from the theatre, I wrote the whole 10K word first draft in one sitting. It’s bulked up a bit since then.

A Wilted Willow was originally much shorter, and was considered more of a novella, focusing mainly on Mira a few years after her first trip to Nother World. Why did you want to work on this revised and expanded version?

Originally, I wasn’t planning on writing any more, actually. But then a lot of people who had read it told me via reviews and comments on my Facebook page that they wanted more! The way the story was set up, I couldn’t just write a prequel—I had to stick them together into one story. And that’s how this version came to be!

Faith is one issue that Mira, Cadmus, and the other characters in your book wrestle with. How has your own faith shaped your writing?

I think it’s mostly affected the writing process (although, as my faith improves, I’ve seen my writing improve, too). It used to be that I would rarely sit down to write while thinking about God at all, even if I was writing a story that revolved heavily around Him, which, quite frankly, I find ridiculous of my past self. How can I properly write about Him without Him?

But anyway, what I’ve learned as I’ve grown in my faith is that it’s a whole lot easier for me to write with God alongside me. It sounds a bit weird, honestly, but I tend to ask Him questions. When I get stuck with writer’s block, I ask Him what He thinks. If I can’t think of the way to word a sentence, I ask Him. That doesn’t mean that my stories are the best ever written and I have no areas in which I can improve, nor does it mean that I expect everyone has to buy and love them just because I included God, but rather that my process would be incomplete without Him.

Would you consider writing more books set in the A Wilted Willow world? Why or why not?

I’d definitely consider it! I think there’s potential for a story all about Cadmus, between parts one and two of the novel. But I also probably won’t be diving right into that project immediately, and it’s certainly not a set “I’m writing this book.” I am open to the idea, however, if people were wanting more and I felt led to!

What do you hope readers will take away from your story?

I hope that they take away that there is hope. And that it often shows itself in strange ways. And that God can use anyone—no matter how insignificant you may think you are—because He is magnificent, and He knows what’s best.

Do you plan to branch out into other genres? Why or why not?

I’ve definitely considered it! At the moment, I write fantasy and dystopian/science fiction. I’ve considered writing non-fiction, mystery, something other than what I’m used to. I don’t see myself doing that anytime soon, but some day in the future, I’d definitely be willing to look a little more in-depth in that idea.

Are you working on any other writing projects?

I am! I’m working on editing a young adult fantasy novel about Death incarnate (except he’s a nineteen-year-old-looking-guy in a suit), fixing brotherly relationships, and learning to forgive others and yourself. I’ve been working on this project for somewhere over seven years, trying to make it as good as it can be before I move on. I’m hoping that I’ll finish the edits on that one within the next year or two and begin the querying process (which ties into the next question!).

Why did you pursue indie publishing? Do you ever plan to pursue traditional publishing?

Originally, I published the novella as a gift to all of the wonderful people who had been following me. I felt bad that they didn’t have any in-genre writing from me (because all they had access to at the time was my blog, where I occasionally posted short stories, but otherwise wrote mostly about life as a missionary kid and what writing is like). So, I decided to revise and publish what’s now A Wilted Willow: Revised & Updated Edition’s “Part Two.” I also just really wanted to experiment with what it was like to have complete control over the publishing process, and I certainly don’t regret it!

As I said above, I’m hoping to pursue traditional at some point in the future, unless I feel a calling towards simply being indie published.

To me, it’s really a case-by-case basis on whether or not a book is indie or traditionally published, because I think both paths are equally valid. It has more to do with questions like, “What are my circumstances like? What would be best for the book itself? What am I feeling called to?” than anything.

You started writing as a teen, publishing an early version of A Wilted Willow last year. What's your opinion on being a young writer? Do you believe young writers face certain challenges or have certain perspectives older writers may not have? If so, what kinds of perspectives or challenges?

I love being a young author! I think that if God puts a passion in your heart and you have the tools to pursue it now, you should do it. I do think there are certain challenges young writers face, such as the fact that, as a young writer, your writing simply isn’t fully developed yet and has a lot of places to go, so if you publish young and your writing isn’t quite up to par, people may not give you a second chance. I think this may be why not a lot of young authors are traditionally published—because agents and publishing houses are aware of that risk (even if your writing is good).

But I also think that young authors have a lot of advantages. I think young people tend to be more in-tune with their imaginations. I think that their ideas are often unique and unhindered and unaffected by other people’s writing (once they get out of the “I’m just learning to write, let’s plagiarize everything!” phase, which happened to me from ages 5-10, honestly).

Do you learn writing tips better from blogs, podcasts, or YouTube videos? Why?

I think I learn best from podcasts, at this point. There was a point when I spent 2+ hours a day reading through writing blogs like Go Teen Writers (highly recommend to any new writers, by the way). After that phase, I became obsessed with watching authors like Bethany Atazadeh and Kim Chance on YouTube, because I found their advice so helpful. I still do watch a lot of authorly things on YouTube, but mostly, I’ve been listening to podcasts like The Gatecrashers Podcast and Novel Marketing and Christian Publishing show now, because I can multitask and do something productive like cleaning my room while I listen.

What's the most exciting place you've been to?

Well, I’ve spent the last five (ish) years in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I think that in itself is fairly exciting (elephant rides, being within arms' length of a python, having a five-story mall within walking distance, etc.), but my favorite place to go in Thailand is the “sticky waterfalls.” Basically, you get to climb up a waterfall because the rocks cling to your feet really well, and I found that so exciting the few times I went! My imagination absolutely runs wild when I'm there.

What advice would you give to other writers?

To older writers: Don’t give up. Keep writing. Someone needs that story you’re working on.

To young, new writers: Listen to teachers and parents when they give you advice, and see if there’s a way you can apply it. Remember that you don’t know everything, but if you’re willing to learn, you can go really, really far.

And to both: I believe in you!

    I hope you enjoyed reading about A Wilted Willow! If you're interested in the rest of the blog tour, don't hesitate to show the bloggers some love by clicking on those links. And, of course, I'd highly recommend pre-ordering the book if this sounds like something you're interested in. If you liked this interview and want to see more interviews I've done in the past, click HERE.

    As always, I am open to review requests! Please take a look at my Review Policy page, and let me know if you have a book or book series that would be perfect for reviewing on here.

    Join me next week for a look at one of the most famous Presidential wives in history...