I should start by saying that I hope readers are staying as safe and healthy as they can throughout this harrowing year. The promising vaccine news of the past month means there is now an end in sight. This is the time of year for best-of lists, and I haven’t been paying attention, because in…
Ilana C. Myer
First Reviews Are In For “The Poet King”!
The early reviews of The Poet King are in, and they’re better than I could have hoped for. First up is this Kirkus starred review: “Fully drawn characters negotiate complicated choices in a world that intriguingly intermingles Middle Eastern and Celtic folklore as well as a fantasy equivalent of the…
A Trilogy, Complete
Back in 2004 I had an idea for a fantasy novel that would combine the lore of Celtic poets with the troubadours, and explore my own complex feelings about the drive to create. I was in my twenties, in college, and had always known I wanted to write. But the thing about writing fiction is…
The Sequel to “Fire Dance”
Some have asked whether there will be a sequel to Fire Dance, since even though the core arc of the novel is resolved in this book, there are plot threads left open. I did that on purpose, seeing two books as an opportunity to think big, and create a long arc that the trilogy as…
Fire Dance: Publishing Tomorrow
Tomorrow is the publication day of Fire Dance. I’m so excited to share this book with the world. There’s been some positive buzz even prior to publication! Here are some of the highlights: Kirkus gave Fire Dance a starred review, something which carries weight in the industry. It would be an underst…
Fire Dance Launch Events! Or: Where to Find Me in April
I’m excited to announce that I will be celebrating the launch of Fire Dance at three fantastic indie bookstores in the US and Canada. The schedule: I’ll be reading, signing, and happy to sign copies of Last Song Before Night as well. See you there!
First Review and Thoughts Before a Book Birthday
Publishers Weekly has rolled out the first review of Fire Dance: “Forbidden enchantments and hidden machinations fill this well-plotted dark fantasy…Subtle cultural elements are reminiscent of the medieval Arab world. Fans of epic fantasy and court intrigue will enjoy following the characters…
The cover of “Fire Dance,” unveiled!
I am delighted beyond words to share the cover of Fire Dance, once again a creation of the incredible artist, Stephan Martiniere. With Fire Dance, the world introduced in Last Song Before Night is enriched and expanded upon. In addition to the influences of Celtic myth and the troubadours, I drew on…
San Francisco Events, Coming Up!
I have a couple of appearances in San Francisco in early April–both in wonderful venues. On April 6th, I will be signing at Borderlands Books from 6pm-7pm. This is exciting not only for a chance to meet readers, but also because Borderlands is one of my top three favorite bookstores in the world. (Y…
Publication Date for “Fire Dance”
Fire Dance, the sequel to Last Song Before Night, will be a spring baby. That is, it is coming out in April 2018, as confirmed by my editor. It is purely coincidence that the book is set at that time of the year. But a fun one. I’m now hard at work on the as-yet-untitled third…
Trade Paperback Release of Last Song Before Night, and Two Interviews!
A month ago, some events of significance occurred in the US, where I live. This made it a strange time to promote the release of the paperback edition of Last Song Before Night, which came out on November 8th–Election Day. Now that it’s a month later it feels appropriate to talk about something othe…
Times of Israel Interview
I lived in Jerusalem through my teens and for the latter half of my twenties, when I worked as a journalist. Almost the entirety of Last Song Before Night was written in Jerusalem, and the city found its way into the atmosphere of Tamryllin. So I’m especially pleased to have been interviewed for The…
New at Tor.com: Re-Reading Patricia McKillip’s “The Snow Queen”
My column at Tor.com is back, this time with a re-read of Patricia McKillip’s gorgeous short story, “The Snow Queen,” which I first discovered in the collection Snow White, Blood Red edited by Terri Windling and Ellen Datlow. https://www.tor.com/2016/09/02/the-great-classic-fantasy-reread-the-snow-q…
New Essay at Los Angeles Review of Books
I wrote about Helen Oyeyemi’s latest, What is Not Yours is Not Yours, at the Los Angeles Review of Books: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/a-trickster-imagination/…
Special Delivery: Sequel to Last Song Before Night
In November 2013 I was in Paris, a brief stopover on the way to visiting family. I had a plan: I would begin my next novel, the sequel to Last Song Before Night, in a cafe there. A lot of trepidation had led up to this moment–putting aside all the research I’d done, including a visit…
New Milestone: First Foreign Rights Deal!
I’ve been keeping this under my hat for awhile. Very excited to announce that Japanese rights to Last Song Before Night have sold to Tokyo Sogensha. Other authors on their roster include Diana Wynne Jones, Patricia McKillip, and Cassandra Clare. Obviously, we’ll be going out for sushi to celebrate!
Upcoming: Queens Library Event
On March 8th, Queens Library is hosting an event with me and authors Alex Shvartsman and Rob Dircks, in a restaurant in Long Island City. Details are here. It’s safe to say that I owe nearly everything to the Queens Library, the public library system with which I grew up. Until the age of 12,…
Campbell Award Eligibility
Last Song Before Night, which came out in 2015, was my first fiction publication. I had no short stories or even poetry published prior to that, mostly because I tend to write short fiction on average every 10 years. Anyway, this means I’m eligible for the Campbell Award for Best New Writer. I would…
Writing War in Fantasy: High Stakes vs. Logistics
In writing the sequel to Last Song Before Night, I’ve been contemplating the challenge of writing about lands at war, which is a theme in the next two books. Most epic fantasies are about sweeping and, well, epic battles. This is also true of many of the books I loved growing up. Now that I’m ventur…
Announcing: New Column at Tor.com, Locus Recommended Reading List, and Other Stuff
I’ve started a monthly column at Tor.com, The Great Classic Fantasy Reread! (Yes, I chose the name, why?) First up is The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley. Spoiler: I love this book. Last Song Before Night made the Locus Recommended Reading List under First Novels! I’m truly honored: Locus is an…
When Fairy Tales Backfire
I’ve been thinking lately about how the way we present ourselves and our work can have enormous consequences for the way it is received. This has always been something I’ve had to think about–when interviewing for jobs, introducing myself at conferences–but it’s become all the more compelling now th…
KGB Fantastic Fiction Reading!
Wednesday, January 20th signifies another of many firsts for me: My first reading at KGB! The bar has a venerable (or at least widely-known) tradition for literary reading series, and the Fantastic Fiction series hosted by Ellen Datlow and Matthew Kressel is a staple of the New York science fiction…
“There’s a sequel? But isn’t it a standalone?” Yes, and yes!
The book has been out more than a month, the blog and book tours at an end. It’s probably past time for me to deal with a question that keeps resurfacing–and understandably so! It’s confusing for people when I say I’m working on a sequel to Last Song Before Night. It’s a standalone novel, and…
News: Amazon Top Pick, World Fantasy Convention, and a Tor party!
So I was minding my own business one day when my editor pinged me with this link. Amazon has listed Last Song Before Night as a pick for Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of October, along with Margaret Atwood, Brandon Sanderson, Jim Butcher and other stellar authors. I am okay with this! * Next week…
Fall Flights of Fantasy Tour!
So the Fall Flights of Fantasy Tour in which Seth Dickinson, Fran Wilde, and I conquered New England ahem, toured various bookstores in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, upstate New York, and Vermont (in precisely that order) was in the past week. It began with a bang in Wellesley Books, where th…
New York Comic Con, Hogwarts Houses, and Lies About “Last Song Before Night”!
New York Comic Con was a great time, as John Scalzi put us (Fran Wilde, Seth Dickinson, Lawrence Schoen, and me) through our paces in the “Tor: The Next Generation” panel–and sorted us into Hogwarts houses! Unsurprisingly, Seth Dickinson, author of The Traitor Baru Cormorant, was sorted into Slyther…
Where to Find Me in October
As October begins and the leaves change, Tor will be sending me and authors Fran Wilde and Seth Dickinson on the road to bookstores throughout New England. It’s like they planned it. I hope to sample local apple cider and apple cider doughnuts at every stop. But first up is New York Comic Con where…
Reddit AMA Tonight!
Just a quick heads up that I’ll be doing a Reddit AMA tonight at 7pm EST! Come ask me anything! I will also be at New York Comic Con on Thursday and Friday…more to come!
Publication Day!
The book came out yesterday, and that morning I awoke to this stunning NPR review of Last Song Before Night: “Myers’ depiction of Tamryllin and the land it inhabits is shadowy and lush, a tapestry of gossamer wonders as well as theocratic oppression and brutality. But the core of Last Song’s strengt…
Amazing Review of Last Song, io9 List
There are some rare reviews which seem to engage fully with the book in a way an author can only dream about. This review of Last Song Before Night is one of these, on top of being incredibly generous. For a taste: “The beginning of [Last Song Before Night] is a captivating page-turner of winding th…
Fun at the New York Renaissance Faire, Locus Blog Post
The New York Renaissance Faire has been a part of my life since I was six. It’s a haven for creative people and it feels like home. Here are some highlights from this weekend: Shane the Blacksmith is excited about my book! Here is a man of ferocious skill and the soul of a poet. We…
Save the Dates: New York Book Launch! Barnes and Noble Reading!
I have lots of tour news, but first up: The book launch! It will be October 1st at 7pm in the Red Room above the KGB bar, and will be in collaboration with Traitor Baru Cormorant author Seth Dickinson. The event is titled, “Songs of Rebellion: A Reading with Seth Dickinson and Ilana C. Myer.” On Oct…
One Month to Publication!
Now I know the lead-up to publication is much as I’ve heard war described–a lot of waiting, and then suddenly, a lot of marching! The waiting is at an end as September 29th fast approaches, and everything is suddenly moving quickly. Last Song Before Night is a Barnes & Noble Bookseller’s Pick for Se…
BEA and Bookcon Schedule
Book Expo America (BEA) and Bookcon are coming up! While I’ve attended BEA in the past as a book reviewer, this time I’ll be on the other side of the table–the side where I’ve always wanted to be. I’ve never been to Bookcon and look forward to seeing what it’s like. This is my schedule–and…
ARCs Going Out Into the World…
It’s a big moment when Advance Review Copies, or galleys, start going out to reviewers and other advance readers. While a few authors received the book in bound manuscript form and provided cover quotes, this is the first time in a book’s life when it’s exposed to the world and feedback starts to tr…
Debut at Tor.com!
My very first Tor.com piece is now live! It’s called “Oh No, She Didn’t: The Strong Female Character, Deconstructed.” This is a topic that’s been widely discussed lately, but I felt like a lot of the discussions were not entirely hitting the mark. The response to this piece has been mainly generous…
Last Song Before Night – Exists!
No, the book isn’t out yet, but it is available on Amazon for pre-order: Last Song Before Night. Official release date will be in September of this year. And this is fun–my piece for the Los Angeles Review of Books about Tyrion from Game of Thrones nearly tops the list of the site’s most-read pieces…
Cover Art – Revealed!
The cover is here. I’ll let it speak for itself:…
Reading at World Fantasy Convention (Updated)
Recently I found out that I am scheduled for a reading at the World Fantasy Convention in DC next week. It will represent two firsts for me: My first reading, and the first time I will be reading from the novel. EDIT: The reading is on Friday, November 7th at 10am. Appropriately, I’m scheduled for d…
Title Change
Titles are tricky. This is something I soon discovered when I realized I’d need to somehow sum up my 500+ page manuscript in a single phrase. I imagined that over time, the perfect title would just come to me. Now I wonder how often the author feels, with real conviction, that they’ve arrived at the…
Review of “Fool’s Assassin” by Robin Hobb
I wrote a review at the Los Angeles Review of Books of Robin Hobb’s latest, Fool’s Assassin. As a cousin of mine observed–one who has watched me grow up and heard me talk for years about books, and especially fantasy–this feels very much like coming full circle. Assassin’s Apprentice came out when I…
Welcome
Welcome to my site! This is the place where I will be posting news and updates leading up to the publication of my first novel, Tower of the Winds, an epic fantasy coming from Tor in 2015. (You can read more about it on the dedicated page, here.) Though it works as a standalone novel, Tower…