Author Spotlight: Adalyn Grace talks ALL THE TIDES OF FATE

I'm so excited to be taking part in Adalyn Grace's official blog tour for ALL THE TIDES OF FATE! In addition to being a supportive voice in the YA community, Adalyn is the New York Times bestselling author of All the Stars and Teeth, which was named “2020’s biggest YA fantasy” by Entertainment Weekly. Prior to becoming an author, Adalyn spent four years working in live theatre, acted as the managing editor of a nonprofit newspaper, and studied storytelling as an intern on Nickelodeon Animation’s popular series The Legend of Korra.

The thrilling sequel to instant New York Times bestseller All the Stars and Teeth. Now author Adalyn Grace is back with more high seas adventure in All the Tides of Fate, this electrifying fantasy, perfect for fans of Stephanie Garber’s Caraval and Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass series.

Through blood and sacrifice, Amora Montara has conquered a rebellion and taken her rightful place as queen of Visidia. Now, with the islands in turmoil and the people questioning her authority, Amora cannot allow anyone to see her weaknesses.

No one can know about the curse in her bloodline. No one can know that she’s lost her magic. No one can know the truth about the boy who holds the missing half of her soul.

To save herself and Visidia, Amora embarks on a desperate quest for a mythical artifact that could fix everything—but it comes at a terrible cost. As she tries to balance her loyalty to her people, her crew, and the desires of her heart, Amora will soon discover that the power to rule might destroy her.

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Hi, Adalyn, it’s so great to have you on the blog again! Congrats on the upcoming release of All the Tides of Fate. Can you share a little about where this story picks up after the events in All the Stars and Teeth?

Thank you so much, and of course! All the Tides of Fate picks up just a few months after the events of the first book, with Amora still very much reeling from the losses she suffered, and trying to figure out her role in this new world. Without delving into too many spoilers from the first book, Amora is dealing with a lot of grief going into the second book, as well as suffering from PTSD. All the Tides of Fate is a much more character-driven story than the first book, with everyone trying to figure out how to adapt to the new landscape of the world, as well as trying to find their place within it.

What was your experience drafting a sequel? Do you have any tips for writers about to attempt one?

Sequels are tough, but I am so proud of this book and the journeys of these characters. The sequel was much more of a challenge to write, especially since it’s a much heavier book overall, but with that challenge comes a great pride once you’ve overcome it. In terms of advice, I’d suggest to writers that if traditional publishing is your main goal, not to write the sequel when you’re trying to get an agent or even sell the book on submission. The reason for this is because you never know if an agent and an editor will bite, or if they do, how many books they’ll buy from you. You may have an idea for four books, and they only buy two. So then it’s up to you to figure out how to tell that story on two books! I always suggest working on the next project rather than a sequel when you’re querying. For anyone who is facing a sequel though, I’d just say to get really comfortable with edits. You know all those plot threads you created in the first book and glossed over because you figured you’d solve them later? Well, it’s time to actually solve them all!

Without getting into spoilers, Amora is dealing with some pretty big trauma in All the Tides of Fate, and I love that you made readers walk through that pain with her, vs. skipping over it to get to the ‘next thing’. Was grief a big theme you had planned for this book, or was it something that developed organically?

Amora’s grief was absolutely always going to be a major part of Tides. She really goes through so much, and I would have felt like I was doing the characters an injustice by glossing over everything they’d experienced and all the pain they had suffered. Grief is part of life, you know? I know it’s heavy, but it’s real, and if I wanted to do right by her and the others, I needed really go to that dark place and let them experience their feelings and grieve.

And finally, what’s the #1 piece of advice you would give an aspiring YA fantasy author?

Oh gosh, I have such a hard time just giving one piece of advice! How about a speed round of quick advice, instead?! I’m totally cheating, here. First and foremost, finish your book. You can’t publish anything if you don’t have the discipline to even write it, and then to take the time to revise. Next, find your community. This doesn’t have to be big, and it shouldn’t just be anyone. Be picky about who you let into your circle and trust with your writing. They should be people who will root for you and not feel the need to compete with you, and whose advice helps you to strengthen your vision of the book, rather than trying to make it their own. Finally, if you’re going the route of traditional publishing, remember that agents are not unicorns; they’re your business partner. Don’t go into business with a schmagent who is going to ruin your career before it even gets started, and be sure to do your research. I suggest checking out Publisher’s Marketplace right before you query—look for agents with reputable sales. Look for ones who sell to the big publishers that you want to work with. See how often they sell books and what level of deals they’re making for those clients. If someone is only making digital deals to indie publishers but you want your books on the shelves of a bookstore with a big name publisher like Macmillan, Hachette, Harper, etc on the spine, that’s not going to be a good agent for you. Also, be sure to check out their agency as a whole! No agent is significantly better than a bad agent.

So many thanks go out to Adalyn for taking the time to tell us more about the work that went into ALL THE TIDES OF FATE, as well as for sharing tips and lessons she's learned along the way in her publishing journey. Be to sure to add ALL THE TIDES OF FATE to your Goodreads list, or (better yet!) order your copy (WRITE) NOW from retail sites like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or request it at your library, or local independent bookstore!