Kristiana Sfirlea is a middle grade fantasy author of whimsical adventures involving time travel and things that go bump in the night. Her debut novel, Legend of the Storm Sneezer, released May 5th (2020) from Monster Ivy Publishing and received the 5-star seal from Readers’ Favorite. It’s available on Amazon (https://amzn.to/2Mxr20y), Barnes & Noble (https://bit.ly/2AFPeet), Bookshop.org (https://bit.ly/2Y1li4l), Indiebound (https://bit.ly/2AD26BW), and all other major book retailers!
Jim: Tell us a bit about why you want to be an author?
Kristiana: I wanted to become an author every time I read a book or watched a movie and thought of another way it could’ve ended or a different direction it might’ve taken and how it would’ve affected the characters. Those ideas would make their homes inside my head, and I realized the power in them—how words and characters and stories that broke away from conventional thinking can open readers’ minds to a whole new way of viewing the world around them.
Jim: How does it feel to be a published author?
Kristiana: Some days it feels like the best thing on the planet! Other days, I forget my book baby is now living in other people’s imaginations—until a reader randomly contacts me on social media and tells me about their favorite characters from my book or a positive new review pops up on Amazon…and then I just sit there and smile.
Jim: In twenty-one words or less, pitch the idea behind your first novel.
Kristiana: 13-year-old girl sneezes magical storm cloud at birth and is committed to an asylum by the friend she thought was imaginary.
Jim: Who is your favorite character in Legend of the Storm Sneezer (LotSS)?
Kristiana: Well, if push came to shove, I’d have to say—
Rose Skylar: HOOOOOLD IT! You aren’t allowed to have a favorite character! You love us all equally, and you know it.
Jim: Hey, wait a minute, Rose Skylar, main character of Legend of the Storm Sneezer. You weren’t invited to this interview.
Rose: And I forgive you for that. But this is my diary we’re discussing. Besides, I thought you’d be used to my interjectory commentaries by now.
Jim: How silly of me to forget the subtitle: The Stormwatch Diaries Book 1, and how it’s written like a diary. And how can I argue with logic like that?
Jim (shifting uncomfortably): Anyway, the book of Blackout’s Tales figures prominently in Legend of the Storm Sneezer. Will you tell us the spookiest legend from this book?
Kristiana: You’d think it’d be “Legend of the Ghost Who Lost His Eyepiece” but…
Marek: When you get down to it, what’s so spooky about a doddery old ghost trying to find his monocle?
Kristiana: Exactly.
Jim: Hold on, here. Who invited you, Marek Knoxwind, Rose’s best (perhaps imaginary) friend, to this interview?
Marek: I’ve been here the whole time. You haven’t noticed me?
Rose: Cut Jim some slack, Shadow Boy. You can’t see a mountain when you’re sitting right next to it. It’s so big it just blends into the scenery.
Marek: Thanks.
Kristiana: Back to your original question, I think we can all agree that the spookiest legend of Blackout’s Tales is, hands-down, “Legend of the Ugly Sweater Slayer.”
Rose and Marek: Killer cardigans for the win!
Jim: Talk about the illustrations in the book.
Rose: WE’RE ADORABLE!!!!
Marek: The likeness is uncanny, it’s true.
Rose: READERS WANNA HUG US THROUGH THE PAGES!!!
Marek: We are quite huggable. Even the ghosts.
Kristiana: If pictures are worth a thousand words, the illustrations in LotSS are worth a million a piece, and that’s no joke. I’m especially fond of the last one, but I can’t say much about it because it’s a spoiler.
Rose: And because it gets you all choked up. I still cry when I look at it.
Marek: I’m rather stone-faced about it, actually.
Kristiana: That’s…
Rose: Not even funny.
Marek: Really? Then why are you both smiling?
Kristiana: Jim? A little help here?
Jim: All right, you two! These last questions are for your author only. Can you promise to be quiet?
Rose: Mrr lrrps rrr sllld.
Marek: Rough translation: Her lips are sealed.
Jim (eyeing Rose and Marek with trepidation): Kristiana, if you could write a letter and send it immediately through time to your future self, what would it say?
Kristiana:
Dear Future Me,
How are you? Taking good care of our book babies? Of course you are.
I hope I like who I am when I’m you. I hope I learn how to not look at sales numbers but instead view and treasure the reader behind each and every one of them. I hope I never stop spilling my imagination across the page as wildly and as passionately as when I wrote LotSS. But more than anything, I hope that you are putting God first and letting Him tell our life story the way He wants, with gratitude and humility every step of the way.
I can’t wait to be you. But thank you for being me, too.
Love,
Your Little Me
Jim: If you could write a letter and send it immediately through time to your past self, what would it say?
Dear Little Me,
Take a freaking chill pill.
Love,
Your Future Me
P.S. Okay, that wasn’t very helpful, was it? And I want to help you, Little Me, I really do. The truth is, I get where you’re coming from with your hyperactive lists and obsession with efficiency. You want to feel in control of your dreams and your life journey. And there’s nothing wrong with being disciplined—that’s something I thank you to this day for learning. But life isn’t actually about being efficient. It’s about being personal. It’s about letting God bring the right people and the right connections at the right time and never trying to force that timing or predict the outcome. Life is about loving God and loving people. And one of the biggest obstacles you’re facing in doing this is your obsession with ensuring your own success. Dearest Little Me, you are not self-made. You are God-made. Live by that truth, and you’ll have everything you need when you need it.
Jim: Any final thoughts about your journey as a writer, your process of writing, or your wonderful novel?
Kristiana: For any book clubs, teachers, librarians, or homeschooling families, Legend of the Storm Sneezer has free reading/teaching guides on my website, www.KristianasQuill.com! The Reader’s Guide includes a letter from the author (moi), discussion questions, a Bible study (if you choose the faith-based one), and snack ideas! The Teacher’s Guide is a complete Unit Study that covers Literature, Creative Writing, Drama, Vocabulary, History, Social Studies, and Science.
Kristiana: And I’m always up for doing free virtual author visits!
Rose: Bye, Readers Names Here _____!
Marek: We can’t wait to meet you!
Jim: This has been Jim Doran [attempting to] interview[ing] Kristiana Sfirlea, a new published author of Legend of the Storm Sneezer. Find more information about her at www.KristianasQuill.com.
Review of Legend of the Storm Sneezer: Review
Purchase Legend of the Storm Sneezer: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084VTP6GD