1.- Could you introduce yourself to Jamreads’ readers?
Hi, and thanks for having me on Jamreads! I’m Cristin Williams, author of The Whisper of Stars and more forthcoming historical fantasy novels. Most of my books are rooted in real-world historical settings, but have a fantasy twist that could classify them as alternate history. 

2.- When did you start writing with publishing it in mind?
I’ve been writing seriously for about twenty years, but I also spent many of those years raising four daughters. It was hard to finish projects when they were small, so I would get up at 5am every morning to write. I signed with my first literary agent in 2015, but it took me another eight years to finally sell my debut!

3.- How did the original idea for The Whisper of Stars appear?
I actually had a dream in which a doomed prisoner looking out at a wild snowscape began to tell me their story. When I woke up, I wrote down as much as I could remember. Some of that writing is still in the book (in the epilogue).

4.- What made you choose Lenin’s Russia as the setting for your first novel? 
That initial jolt of inspiration made me believe the character was a prisoner in the Gulag. I began to research the time period and eventually zeroed in on the early years of the prison on Solovetsky Island as the setting I wanted to explore. There were practical reasons for this, like there only being about twenty guards on the island that first year, so the prisoners could move around quite freely.
But also thematic reasons. Despite the misery and hard labour, the prisoners of Solovetsky Island started a theatre, published a newspaper, organised lectures and concerts, and even carried out scientific studies of the island. They refused to be dehumanised, even though every aspect of prison life was meant to strip them of their dignity. That resilience and hope was something I wanted to depict with this story.

5.- Historical Fantasy is a genre attached to research. Could you tell us some topics you had to research for The Whisper of the Stars?
I loved researching this book! Aside from looking into Russian history generally, I took a deep dive into seventeenth-century Cossack society and the peasant rebellion led by Stenka Razin, the history of magic and folklore, and the esoteric leanings of the Bolsheviks. My main character is an anarchist, so I read quite a lot of early twentieth century anarchist literature. I also read every prisoner memoir that has been translated into English or French.

6.- Did The Whisper of Stars change much during the revision process?
Yes, it changed significantly! The first draft was written in first person present, like poetry. Katya, the main character, was the only point of view at first, and the text flowed freely between poetry and prose. I decided to change to third person past when I added Dima’s and then Natasha’s points of view.

7.- You chose to tell the story through three POV, including one that acts as the villain; how did you manage to strive a balance between all of them?
I think it helped that I started with a single point of view and expanded from there. Adding each point of view was done purposefully, and they are all so different from one another that it felt natural to let them carry their own storylines.

8.- There are two details that I found really cool inside the book: calligrams and cyphers. Who had the idea of including them?
I love these aspects, too! As I mentioned, the first draft was party written in verse. I came to a place where I wanted to write a poem about the prison guards. Memoirists mentioned that they all wore sheepskin greatcoats, so I wanted  to play off the image of them being wolves in sheep’s clothing. Then I thought, what if my wolf poem were shaped like a wolf? That poem is still in the book, and I wrote a few other calligrams to go with it. Most of the other poetry was incorporated into prose, but my agent and editors all agreed that the calligrams were unique and added to the story in their current form.
The ciphers came about in the writing process as well. Katya finds a message from her murdered mother, written on the day she died. Because they were both anarchists, and very active in the movement, it made sense to me that they would communicate in code. I decided to incorporate ciphers, and I wanted them to be working codes that the reader could potentially solve before the characters do. It was a challenge to pull off, but readers seem to be really enjoying that aspect of the book!

9.- How would you pitch The Whispers of Stars?
The Whisper of Stars is the story of three political prisoners – an anarchist, an aristocrat, and a witch – who are sent to a new prison colony on a frozen island in the white sea. They must follow clues to uncover a legendary relic hidden on the island, a relic that may be powerful enough to overthrow the Bolshevik regime.

10.- What can we expect from Cristin Williams in the future?
I have several books in the works, most of which I can’t talk about yet! However, I can say I have another standalone historical fantasy coming from Gollancz (probably in early 2027) that is set in jazz-age Paris and features secret societies, an alchemy-based magic system, and second-chance romance.

The Whisper of Stars is Cristin Williams' historical romantasy debut. You can already get a copy at many retailers, including this link.