An Interview With Lisette Prende
Thank you so much for sharing your book with me and agreeing to do a Q&A for my readers.
Give us a quick summary of Bianca de Lumiere!
Thank you for having me!
Bianca De Lumiere follows the titular character as she goes about her life as a supernatural teenager—which involves getting bullied on a daily basis for her abnormal appearance and anti-social behaviour.
Bianca not only looks like an albino, she’s also an auric-empath—able to see and feel the colourful auras of those around her.
To make matters worse, Bianca has recently started sleepwalking, waking to find herself naked in the forest, with visions of demonic beasts in her mind.
But when people in her small town start going missing and a handsome stranger warns her she is in danger, Bianca starts to fear that her nighttime wanderings may be putting her in harm’s way.
However, it’s not just herself she needs to worry about. In order to save her town from evil, Bianca must step into her unique power and accept who and what she really is.
While you’ve written for blogs and other collections, this book is your fantasy debut. What drew you to the fantasy genre?
I’ve always been a fantasy lover!
As a child I was obsessed with faeries, witches, vampires et al. and I loved anything remotely supernatural. I was an only child so I spent a lot of time drawing magical creatures or playing make believe in the garden with my dog, Tess (my trusty steed).
I grew up reading a lot of Roald Dahl (The Witches) and Enid Blyton (The Faraway Tree) and moved on to books by kiwi authors like Under The Mountain by Maurice Gee and The Juniper Game by Sheryl Jordan. While I also enjoyed other books like The Babysitters Club and Nancy Drew, it was the stories with magical elements that really excited me. I guess they all could be classed as Urban Fantasy now. I really love the idea that in our modern, everyday world there could be little pockets of magic hidden right under our noses.
Obviously, this book involves some mysterious magic, namely Bianca’s abilities of an “auric-empath”, a term I’ve never heard of before. Is this an ability that is unique to your stories or was it inspired by real-life events?
I’ve always been strongly drawn to the esoteric and over the years I’ve come to learn that I am incredibly intuitive and empathic. I tend to pick up on other people’s energies very easily—which is probably what lead me to reading tarot cards too!
Growing up with a very logical (Sagittarius) father, I was often told that empathy was a sign of stupidity and weakness and to be lead by your intuition or to make decisions based on your emotions, was foolish.
So, over the years I’ve pondered this greatly and, safe to say, it was bullsh*t. (Eternally grateful to be down here in Covid free New Zealand with Empath Queen, Jacinda Ardern at the wheel).
I see empathy as a huge gift and I wanted to create a character who was so highly intuitive that she literally felt other people’s emotions as if they were her own. I also wanted to convey how exhausting that would be and how it would potentially cause someone to withdraw from others. Ultimately though, Bianca’s empathy is an asset and her ability to feel for people is actually her superpower.
It is possible to be strong and empathic. Having emotions does not make us weak. It makes us wise and powerful leaders.
When it comes to Bianca ability to see auras, that came to me through a range of curiosities I'd been exploring.
I have synesthesia, which means I think in colour. When I think of the days of the week, months of the year, alphabet or numbers, I see them in different colours with little pictures assigned to them. For example, Monday is red, Tuesday is warm yellow, Wednesday is orange, Thursday is cool yellow and Friday is green with a funny bean shape above it. I also think of colours when I smell certain smells or hear certain sounds.
I actually assumed everyone’s brains did this until I stumbled upon an article about it and discovered that it’s only present in about 2 - 4% of the population. I also learned that some people literally see the colours in the air when they hear music. That really got me thinking! How would it feel to see colours floating through the air all the time? Would it be overwhelming or kinda magical? Would each colour affect your mood?
The other aspect was the spiritual concept of the aura. I’ve always been obsessed with magic and I’m still an avid goer of crystal shops.
When I was twelve I went to a spiritual fair with a twenty dollar note in my tiny (Clueless inspired) backpack and had an aura photo taken. At the time I was disappointed as there was a huge swirl of white light above my head, with a light haze of pink and purple down the bottom. I remember thinking ‘Dumb! White is boring!’ But then the photographer explained that to have white above your head in an aura photo is a sign of extreme intuition—which ultimately inspired Bianca’s ability and her aura colour.
Sadly, I lost the photo years ago. I really must get a new one taken!
This was your first published novel. Did you have any major hurdles in getting this book out into the world?
Yes!
Originally I started out with the intention of having the series traditionally published.
I sent out countless query letters and waited, and waited to hear a response. Mostly I heard nothing but I also got a lot of ‘not quite right for us’ replies too.
After a year of querying I discovered that when you’re writing YA and especially urban fantasy, where there are pop culture references that are starting to date, you really don't have time to wait for traditional publishing. I’d also spoken to a lot of friends who were traditionally published, but not yet best sellers, who confessed that they were making around fifty cents a book but still had to do a lot of the promo themselves. So, I made the decision to self publish and become an indie author instead!
I am so glad I did but at the same time there is a whole lot more work to do when you are doing it all yourself! I’ve had to hire an editor (and learn about all the different types of edits!), designers, learn about marketing, get my head around all of the online publishing platforms and liaise with printers. And if you’re doing all of it on a start up budget it does make it a little trickier!
I love how self publishing allows you to make your own call on things. When it comes to YA there can be a lot of censorship when it comes to teenagers and sex. I wanted to write a book that my teenage self would have wanted to read so I knew I was going to have to be honest about what it’s really like to be a teenage girl—and not gonna lie, my teenage years were a blur of angst and lust.
I think the biggest challenge though was not giving up. There were times when I’d hit a wall and think ‘Oh man, will I ever get this out there?’ I learned a lot from reading Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic and following her podcast Magic Lessons. I had to accept the fact that the book would only be as good as I was currently able to make it and that was good enough.
How long did it take you to finish your book, from first draft to publication?
Hmm, it’s hard to say.
It took me about a year to write in stolen moments when my youngest son was at creche and kindergarten. When he started school I managed to get into the big re-writes. Then it was on hold for a year while I queried agents and wrote other things. It was around June of 2019 that I officially decided to self publish it and then it was published in August this year. So I’d say around three and half years! Interestingly if anyone had ever told me it would take that long I’m not sure I would have kept going.
Did you always envision this story to be a series or did it happen unexpectedly?
When I first started the story I didn’t really consider the fact that it could be a series. I was just writing, trying to make sense of these characters that were appearing on the page in front of me! But once I had created the world; the town, the characters, the whole intricate web, I thought, ‘wow, it would be a real shame to create all of this just for one book. There’s so much more that can happen here!’ So, in that moment I knew it would have to be a trilogy at least!
In addition to being a writer, you’re also an actor. Do you feel that one profession helps you with the other? How so?
I think so. When I write a chapter I tend to see it happening in my head like a scene from a movie so all I really need to do is find the words to describe what I’m seeing.
It was also really helpful when it came to writing —especially writing Bianca’s character from first person perspective. I’d find myself stepping into her head, feeling her feelings. When another character would come into the room I had to speak for them but not exactly jump into their head (because I could only know what Bianca would know, not their inner workings).
I’d find myself writing character lists—the kind I would normally write when I’m preparing for an acting role—in order to fully understand all my characters. And, sometimes I’d even practice their voices out loud. So yes, now that I think about it, the two crafts really do compliment each other!
Your website says you’re a “full-time unicorn”. What do that mean to you?
Being a full time unicorn to me is a promise to myself to find the fun in small moments and to do the things that make me feel good. It’s a reminder to play and follow my curiosities without judgement and without pressure to be amazing at everything I do. What is ‘good’ anyway?
I had an epiphany after years of living in a should mentality. Of thinking, ‘I’d love to paint a picture but I should clean the house instead.’ Or ‘I want to write a book but I should really just take my kids to the park.’ Or my favourite ‘I’d love be an author but I should probably get a real job.’
After years of living my life how I thought I should, I quit and dyed my hair pink, started wearing fabulously ridiculous outfits, began writing fantasy, painting portraits of notorious women, reading tarot, singing every word to every Taylor Swift song ever written and dancing (terribly). Life has never been so fun!
Bianca de Lumiere is available now. What are you working on next?
I’m currently writing the next book in the series Into the Vortex, as well as working on a few other writing and film projects. There’s quite a few things set up for 2021 already so I’m really excited for the new year!
Thanks for having me! Happy to be here!