Music flows in Sing Da Navelli's blood. When she enrolls at a prestigious conservatory, her first opera audition is for the role of her dreams.
But this leading role is the last Sing's mother ever sang, before her controversial career, and her life, were cut tragically short. As Sing struggles to escape her mother's shadow and prove her own worth, she is drawn to the conservatory's icy forest, a place steeped in history, magic, and danger. She soon realizes there is more to her new school than the artistry and politics of classical music.
With the help of a dark-eyed apprentice who has secrets of his own, Sing must unravel the story of the conservatory's dark forest and the strange creature who lives there -- and find her own voice.
"A stunning debut, fresh, original, and utterly mesmerizing." -- Jenna Black, author of the Faeriewalker series
"Like an enchanting melody, Strange Sweet Song slipped into my soul and colored my thoughts long after the final phrase." -- Jodi Meadows, author of Incarnate
"A lushly woven melody of grief, arrogance, and hope. Beautifully written." -- Jana Oliver, author of the Demon Trappers series
"Strange Sweet Song possesses a fairy tale quality that is irresistible . . . Be careful of looking up from the page, because the dark forest is all around, and creatures with frightening appetites and old associations are circling nearer. Adi Rule dazzles in her first novel. Read it and report back if you’re still breathing!" -- Joseph Monninger, author of Finding Somewhere and Wish
"Strange Sweet Song is as musical as its name. Lush, compelling, and atmospheric, it soars like the voice of a soprano." -- Sarah Beth Durst, author of Conjured and Vessel
Interview with Adi Rule (STRANGE SWEET SONG):
STRANGE SWEET SONG
is about a singer and takes place in a music academy -- and you yourself are a
singer for the Boston Pops! (The Pops at Tanglewood was the last concert I went
to before my first child was born, so this made me squee.) Can you tell us
about how your training and career as a singer influenced the book?
The Pops are always fun, but Tanglewood is extra fun! I see
classical singing as an embodiment of the pro music world itself. On the
outside, it may seem easy, it's very expressive and free looking. (And the best
singers make it look the easiest!) But it's not enough just to feel it. There
are a hundred calculated, technical, physical things that are happening, too.
You could say that about a lot of artistic disciplines, but singing is the one
I know best so it was the easiest for me to write about.
I have no trouble believing that - it's
certainly true about writing!
This line in the book
description made me laugh: "the artistry and politics of classical
music." My sister-in-law is a professor of music, so I know it's just as
political as the rest of academia! Did any real-life political incidents or
maneuvering make it into the book?
The only slightly real life incident in the book is a single
line that's something like, "For every soprano on stage, there are twelve
more waiting in the wings for her to die." This is something that occurred
to me one time when I was singing a leading role and started to get sick around
dress rehearsal. I just had this sense that my understudy was gearing up for me
to collapse and roll off the stage so she could kick my carcass aside and go
shine.
In a larger sense, I think it's fascinating that music,
which is one of the ways we explore and express humanity, has this intense
"business/politics" side. To make it in classical singing, you have
to be tenacious and ferocious. But at the end of the day, you also have to
captivate an audience, and there's a certain sensitivity -- and vulnerability
-- that goes along with that. It's a very strange double world for musician
creatures to inhabit.
STRANGE SWEET SONG also features an intriguing icy
forest. Did anyparticular forest or
forests inspire this?
I'm very entrenched in the land I grew up in, rural New
Hampshire and Maine. So while STRANGE SWEET SONG is set in a fictional town, in
my mind it's vaguely northern New England. We have some spectacular ice storms
here! I don't like going for days without power (you do NOT want to sample my
nasty woodstove-baked gingerbread), but snowy forests are gorgeous. And I
definitely didn't have to do much research, other than going outside, for that
aspect.
Your main character
is named "Da Navelli" - does that reflect the country/time period
your world is based on?
Not really. It's just an Italian last name that means
"from Navelli" (Sing's dad is Italian). Although I did just look up
Navelli on Wikipedia, and apparently they're known for their saffron. Fun fact
of the day! :)
That is fun. I love
saffron!
Redwing
St. Martin's Press: Coming Soon
Excerpt:
My father says I’m a good girl, and he’s right. I don’t do anything bad. I’ve never stolen a piece of cake or killed an ash beetle. I’ve never wished harm on anyone, not even the priests who would damn me to Eternal Drowning. Not even the people who burned our house to the ground the night my mother died.
It’s a safety precaution. I can feel wickedness smoldering in my chest, balled up, writhing. Like the boiling water they pump out of the lake, solid lead pressing it on all sides until it sloshes and frenzies itself into steam, still trapped. I feel like if I did one small evil thing, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself until I’d laid waste to the world.
My father says I’m a good girl, and he’s right.
For now.
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