– Thanks for joining us here at YALC. We would love you to introduce yourself
Thank you for having me! I’m Tig Wallace, author of Storm Bringer, which is my debut novel. When I’m not writing, I am also a book editor. I used to work in YA and was lucky enough to publish books like All That’s Left in the World, If This Gets Out, and King of Scars in the UK. I’m a keen tennis fan, will attempt to befriend any cat I see, and really like karaoke.
– Can you give our readers an overview of your YA novel Storm Bringer?
Absolutely. Storm Bringer is YA fantasy novel and the opener of a series. It’s set in a kingdom besieged by huge magical storms and centres on Amelio, who has to throw himself into the unknown when his storm chaser mum goes missing. His search for her gets wrapped up in a centuries-old prophecy and he finds the fate of everyone might depend on him. He’s on a race-against-the-clock journey through a broken land, accompanied by two enigmatic sidekicks, as the biggest storm ever is approaching.
It’s packed full of all the things I love in my YA fantasy and the inspirations that are ingrained in me: blockbuster disaster movies like The Day After Tomorrow and Titanic; complex magic systems; chaotic, lovable, infuriating characters; an insane road trip across a vast map; high stakes romance…and enormous magical tornadoes. Imagine the movie Twisters (but with a teenage cast who love trouble) mixed with Shadow and Bone.
– And, if you could do it in just 5 words or less, what would they be?
Magic. Tornados. Romance. Road-trip. Destiny.
(I know I cheated a bit with ‘road-trip’)
– Who was your favourite character to write and why?
Paige is a lot of fun to write, because, as Amelio observes early on, her reactions are big and immediate – there’s no filter there. Paige is the friend who is definitely going to land you in trouble but you’ll have the best time and it’ll be worth it. Paige is looking for adventure, she’s looking to prove herself and she has total confidence in her Gift (the ability to draw magic), all of which set her up to be full of drama.
– Is there a character that you relate to?
There are elements of each of the central trio that I relate to, but it’s probably Amelio most of all. Amelio’s thrust into a world he used to know but no longer belongs to, which prompts big questions for him about his identity. It’s one of the things I love in YA, watching characters explore that who am I? dilemma. It’s a universal question, one that everyone has to tackle, and I saw my younger self strongly in that element of Amelio’s journey. I put Amelio through a lot (I’m sorry) and he deals with it pretty impressively – I found a calm, steely strength to him when I went back to edit the book, that I hadn’t noticed at first. I liked that and wish I’d had a bit more of that when I was his age!
– When you write a novel, do you plan the story from start to end, or do you see how it evolves as you write?
Storm Bringer is my first book and I have a learned a lot about what does and doesn’t work for me in writing – all of which I wish I’d known before. This is a book that has changed and shifted a lot over time as I’ve revised it: characters, plot, world-building, you name it. I set out with a vision of how it started and I’d say the first three to four chapters have always been pretty much the same; I also had an idea of how it would end. The rest evolved as I wrote, and when I got to the end of the first draft I thought it didn’t quite work. I went back to the point it had come unstuck, and started again, this time planning out the rest more carefully. That helped me see the flaws that needed to be fixed and was transformational for the later drafts. Writing a series means you also have to plan ahead for the next books and there’s a lot of invisible work in book one that paves the road for books two and three. In short, I am now a planner, but I also leave room for the story to expand and flex within the structure I set out at the beginning.
– What inspired you to include a queer love triangle?
Storm Bringer might be fantasy, but I wanted to make sure it reflected the world I see around me – that feels more important now than ever. Love triangles in the biggest YA franchises we know are often a female protagonist choosing between two men; I wanted to write something that felt more complicated than that. Like a lot of YA writers I know, I think I also wanted to fill in the gaps of the YA I loved when I was younger, when representation in books wasn’t what it is now. I wanted to see myself reflected more in the books I was reading and now I get to get to make that happen in what I write. I would love to think there are readers who will see themselves reflected in Amelio, Paige and Vintane.
– I love the ‘titles’ for the five parts of the story. What gave you this idea?
Thank you. I love the world-building element of writing, but not everything can make it into the final draft (believe me, or my book would have been double the length). I love that the five part structure gave me a chance to add other titbits, information that deepens the lore and history of the world, that wouldn’t have fit into the text otherwise. I’m a huge fantasy fan and there’s something about reading an in-world quote that I love as a reader, so I found it hugely satisfying to include as a writer.
– Did you listen to music while writing? If so, what kind?
I usually work without music, but occasionally for a big, action-packed scene I might listen to something. It can’t have lyrics, or at least not prominently. It’s hard to beat the LOTR score. There’s a band I like called Timecop 1983: their music has a neon-washed, cyberpunk feel that clicks for me. I did actually make a storm-inspired playlist – featuring an eclectic range of artists and songs, from Bob Dylan’s Shelter from the Storm to AC/DC’s Thunderstruck to Sabrina Carpenter’s Tornado Warnings – which I tend to listen to between writing. Otherwise, it’s just the background chatter of cafes!
– Who would you cast as the main characters if your book was turned into a movie?
This is such a fun question. I find it hardest to picture actors for the central trio, maybe because actors in the right age group are less well known to me. That said, I thought Emilia Jones was amazing in Coda and could totally see her playing Paige. I’d love to see what Mason Thames or Walker Scobell or Jay Lycurgo would do as Amelio. Xolo Marideuna might make a good Vintane, unless Jacob Elordi is free – I imagine he’s not busy. I would cast Carrie Coon as Amelio’s mum in a heartbeat.
– Which scene do you think the readers will enjoy the most?
There’s a scene towards the end that I hope readers will love, but I won’t spoil that here! The first scene of the three central characters together, setting out on the road, is a fun one. I hope readers will enjoy seeing that dynamic – with the bickering, joking and undercurrents of plenty more – begin to get established.
– Where do you write?
I wrote this book everywhere. I’m jealous of writers who have a designated and efficient space they can retreat to – I need to work on that! I write at the kitchen table, in cafes and restaurants, on the sofa, on the floor. Anywhere and everywhere.
– What is your favourite genre to read?
Honestly, it is fantasy of all kinds, YA, adult, literary, commercial. I have always loved books by Garth Nix, Ursula Le Guin, Philip Pullman, Leigh Bardugo among many others. I love action packed plots too, whether fantasy or not, like Matthew Reilly’s books, or the Alex Rider and Percy Jackson series. More recently, I’ve read all of the Powerless books, I’m up to date on the Empyrean series and I’m excited to read Blood Bound by Ellis Hunter and The Last Starborn Seer by Venetia Constantine. I also love speculative novels like Station Eleven and Never Let Me Go.
– Where can our readers find you on social media?
@tigwallace on Instagram, Threads and X.
– Finally can you give us your favourite quote from a novel (it can be yours!)?
‘“Let this be my final lesson. Everyone and everything has a time to die.”’ Sabriel by Garth Nix
Thanks for having me!
Storm Bringer by Tig Wallace is out now in paperback (£8.99, Chicken House)