Storyteller Sessions: Meet Author Iolanda R. Santos, and her First Indie Novel, ‘The First of Their Kind’, a Romantasy
As a marketer of almost 20 years, I can’t help myself. “Author Q+A” was sooooo boring. Allow me to introduce you to the new official name for this author Q+A series: Storyteller Sessions. And this week, I’m thrilled to introduce you to an indie author who showed up in my inbox with an intriguing Romantasy book I think many in this community may love based on the description I read: (full disclosure, I have not read it yet!): Iolanda R. Santos. She’s also generously offered to give away an ebook copy of her newly published novel, The First of Their Kind to a member of the BAMTP community, and it’s open internationally. So make sure you enter below! Ready to get to know her, and the stories she writes? Keep scrolling…
This giveaway is hosted by the Author for the BAMTP community, and the winner will be chosen and contacted by her.
Tell us the cocktail party version of how you’d describe your book:
I truly love the trilogy I'm creating and see it as realistic fantasy, where I touch on a lot of strong themes (like grief, finding your identity, finding your place in society), and where the characters and the world are as real as I can make them. Mostly because that's what I love reading!
My book is set in a kingdom where magic was abolished, but not everyone is willing to abide by the rules. We have an assassin with a very forbidden power looking for her sister. Then we have the Princess of the kingdom (and daughter to the very paranoid and magic-hating King) who discovers she's a shapeshifter (and therefore the thing she was taught to hate). And finally we have a Mage with a dying magic and a secret plot of revenge. And their paths will all intertwine as they try to survive and save those they love.
Most surreal moment as an author so far?
Seeing the true excitement from people around me that have read the book. I wasn't expecting people to love it that much (you know, they're your friends, you expect them to like it "as friends", but they truly loved it and it actually became their favorite book of the year, so I was very surprised!)
That’s got to feel so amazing to have people who truly support you and genuinely love what you’ve created! What books are on your nightstand table right now?
Too many. Funny Story, Fated Throne, She Who Became The Sun, A Fate Inked In Blood, The Gilded Wolves, The Bone Shard Daughter, and The Priory of the Orange Tree. (See? Too many!)
Haha My nightstand has a huge stack of books too. Glad I’m not alone! Tell us about your writing process…
I always write in the mornings (so I can feel productive even if I spend the rest of the day rotting on the couch), and have a word count of 2-3k that I shoot for. However, somedays I write (a lot) more, and some days I can't even reach that. And of course, I always have my Earl Grey tea beside me, to fuel my writing.
Fully support some good couch rotting time as a reward! What's something people don't know about you?
I used to work in Hollywood and worked with some big names (and even some heroes of mine) for a while! Oh, the stories I could tell you.
Wait, you can’t just leave us hanging like this! We’ll have to come back to the Hollywood tea… What's a favorite comfort read and why do you keep coming back to it?
Fate Breaker is definitely a comfort read (anything by Victoria Aveyard, truly). I love how she writes incredible villains, worlds that feel lived in, and magic that is always interesting. I love her books.
Ok, but seriously, tell us something amazing about your time in Hollywood?
I have too many stories that are tea-filled, but I wouldn't want to talk badly about anyone. I can tell you that Octavia Spencer and Viggo Mortensen are everything good that everyone says they are. They are incredible souls. Octavia Spencer always had a kind word to say, called me babe just upon meeting me, and at the end of the show (I worked with her on "Self Made", on Netflix), she gave EVERYONE on the crew one of those expensive massagers. I still have mine!
And Viggo Mortensen, I met him as he was doing press for Green Book and right before it won the Oscar (I worked on his directorial-debut "The Falling"), and was obviously a huge fan of his because of LOTR. As soon as he met me and gave me a handshake, I could feel him looking deep into my soul. He really paid attention to everyone he talked to. And after introducing himself (like I didn't know who he was haha) he got a CD from his back pocket and gave it to me. After everyone he met that day, I still wonder why he offered the soundtrack of Green Book to me. That was such a kind thing to do. And he would often just come up to my desk and talk, like we were old friends! An amazing soul. Every time I saw him I screamed in my head "ARAGOOOORN" and had to hold my tongue not to tell him I have a LOTR tattoo cause I didn't want him to think I was a stalker. But oh boy, he was incredible to work with.
Wait, that’s like…LIFE GOAL ACHIEVED! And so amazing to hear two of my favorites are actually amazing humans. Ok, so tell us what's the most challenging thing about being an author?
Trying to get everything inside your head on paper. It's so weird because I know SO MUCH about my book, its world and characters, but maybe 30% of that has made it on the page. So it's definitely a balance to keep the book interesting and build the world, but not to drop all the information you have without bogging down the story.
Any influential authors from your childhood?
Not from my childhood because I only started reading in my teenage years, but J.R. Ward was definitely an inspiration to me. I don't write spicy books (yet) or vampire books at all, but I loved the world she built and how she managed to have so many characters that were so interesting and have so many books about them.
If you could meet another author who’s no longer with us, who would you meet?
Tolkien! I know, such a cliche answer, but I would love to pick his brain. So much of his work was him battling with what happens after someone dies. I would love to know his theories on that, on what he actually believes happens when we die. And I would thank him for creating such a beautiful, peaceful and non-toxic piece of work. It's just a beautiful world to marvel at.
I mean…he’s one of my absolute favorites too, and the fantasy GOAT, so I get it. Favorite format to read? (physical book, ebook, audiobook)
Physical, but I've been reading more and more ebooks and they're growing on me!
What’s a hill you will die on?
Let people read what they like and how they like! Yes, audiobooks count as reading. Yes, smutty books count as reading. Yes, it's okay to read whatever you want even if you're not "learning anything". It's okay! Just read <3
Amen to that! Where you can find Iolanda:
Full Synopsis of The First of Their Kind:
An Assassin with a forbidden power. A Princess with a deadly secret. A Mage with a dying magic.
The King of Atjas outlawed magic twenty years ago, ensuring the prosperity of his human kingdom and the eradication of magical beings across the continent. But not everyone is willing to comply.
Ashe, the most skilled assassin in the capital, is on a mission to find her younger sister. She disregards the king’s orders by using a magical dagger that entraps her victim’s souls, and defies the laws of magic as a human who can channel its power–something that should be utterly impossible… and very deadly.
Eleanora, the princess raised to despise anyone who isn’t human and fated to continue her father’s work, discovers she’s a Shapeshifter. When this revelation comes to light, both the assassin’s and the princess’s lives implode, threatening to shatter a kingdom held together by lies.
Ashe must trust her skills, bend her morals, and rely on a judgemental Mage if she wants any chance of escaping persecution and finding her sister. Eleanora must forge new alliances, embrace her true nature, and reconsider everything she’s been taught if she wishes to be free.
Can they save themselves and those who dare help them? Will they uncover the hidden truths behind their kingdom’s facade? And will they save their loved ones or lose themselves in the process?
—
P.S. If you end up getting a copy of any books through an Amazon affiliate link above, you’ll be helping me support this site and newsletter, as well as the author. Thanks in advance for supporting a fellow bookworm! BTW, I will always disclose affiliate links when they’re present. :) Happy reading!