This post may contain affiliate links. Read more here.
Hi everybody!
Today I interviewed Julianne Munich, author of Mages in the Mundane, a romantic fantasy trilogy set in the 18th century!✨
In this detailed interview, you’ll learn:
- How Julianne did her research work to make the story feel more authentic
- Julianne’s strategy into developing the main plot and characters
- The challenges of writing a trilogy
- Steps Julianne took the self-publish the books on Amazon
- …and more!
Tell me more about Mages in the Mundane trilogy, and what it is about.
My trilogy is titled ‘Mages in the Mundane’, and it’s romantic fantasy. The books are ‘The Reborn Prince,’ ‘The Ice Mage,’ and ‘The Frosted Roses’. They’re set in a fantastical storybook version of 1770’s France, where a hidden society of magic-users live in a portal city within Old Paris.
One of the main characters who ‘gets the plot rolling’ is Mathilde, a Mage woman who committed the great crime of having a child with a non-Mage man– a French prince of high ranking. The child, who was the second born of the prince, was not magical. When the prince learned his young mistress Mathilde was a ‘witch’ he cruelly banished her and kept the boy, Prince Renaud, to raise.
Many years later, Mathilde is shocked at the grown-up Renaud’s assassination attempt on his older half-brother, Prince Christopher. On the day of the fateful shooting, she intervenes to save both brothers– and risks punishment by her fellow Mages, including her own family whom she’d once run away from to escape their strict social rules.
In love with literature? Try audio books or writing classes
for free for 30 days.✨
Where did you get the idea? What inspired you?
I feel like my inspirations and ideas were taken from a hodgepodge of themes, fandoms, and tropes that I found elements of and mixed together to make something new and my own:
Disney Princess movies, classic fairytales like ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and ‘Frozen,’ Harry Potter universe (JK Rowling’s idea of magic users in the real world) historical TV shows about servants and nobles like ‘Downton Abbey,’ and style and mood inspiration from movies and shows like ‘Interview with the Vampire’ and ‘Marie Antoinette.’
How did you decide what genre you would like to focus on before starting to write?
I’ve been wishing and dreaming of writing a full novel during my entire adulthood, including the years spent raising my three kids and working. The genre has changed for that ‘dream book’. At first I’d wished to write a teen or YA story. Then I started really liking historical romance. Finally, I became interested in fantasy.
What is your routine as a writer, if you have one?
I don’t have a set routine. I do like to do most of my writing in the morning when the house is quiet, right after bringing the kids to school. (well, now just my son, since my daughters are grown and flown!) When drafting a book, I have days where I’ll write for hours on end, while other days I’ll try for at least 1000 words. I’ve used NaNoWriMo in November and April to give me a motivation boost!
How do you develop your plot and characters?
For me the characters and ‘main ideas’ came before the plot. My mind works abstractly and sort of whimsically rather than a formal, set plan. It’s hard to explain, but here’s a look into what my mindset was about 4 years ago, when my story concept was born:
I thought, “I want to write a fairy tale retelling. Oh, I know! A different version of Beauty and the Beast? What if the enchantress was the Beast’s mother? Oh wait– what if the prince doesn’t become a hideous beast?
What if he’s just made to live in poverty, in Old Paris, in pre-French Revolution times? What if everything goes horrible for him? What if he doesn’t know he’s a prince because his curse was that his memories were erased? Why would a Sorceress mother erase her son’s memories?”
After that, everything just started to snowball from there! 🙂
What was the most challenging thing about writing this book, since you started?
Honestly, it was the frustrating feeling that the book wasn’t working. And I needed a lot of help from beta readers and editors, several different sets of eyes on the manuscripts to steer it into a better direction.
Unfortunately, sometimes I didn’t always agree with my beta readers and their advice to cut things out that I loved. For the last book in my trilogy, I wanted to write 3… yes, THREE different wedding scenes to show the various couples (after all their angst) getting together for their happily ever after.
My best beta reader and writer-friend felt I should cut out all but one wedding scene. I was stubborn and wanted them all to be shown. I’m still waiting for more verdicts on that one!
How much research did you need to do for your book?
Most of my research had to do with the historical setting of the late 18th century. Since it was a fairytale genre, it didn’t have to follow exact history, but I wanted something like an alternate universe feel that was authentic.
I researched how maids and servants in aristocratic households lived, how a coachman would drive a horse-drawn coach, the names of period clothing items (stomacher, stays, cravat, etc.).
I found a very interesting video of how the streets of 18th century Paris might have sounded- seagulls squawking by the Seine River, merchants shouting to people to buy things, and added those details.
I also looked up the existence of people of color in that time and place, since I included POC characters who felt authentic even though they were from the Mages’ enchanted society.
Which part of the book is your favorite?
In each book:
The Reborn Prince – Luc’s (formerly Renaud) and Emilie’s first kiss.
The Ice Mage – Marcel reveals his powers to Adelaide.
The Frosted Roses – The emotional showdown between Alexis and the band of rebel heroes.
Tell us more about the publishing process behind the book.
I found the cover artist and designer through Fiverr, since budget was an issue. They were wonderful and helpful people to work with! 🙂
What are some tools, apps or tech you used to write this book from start to end?
I used Plottr for some basic outlining, and ProWritingAid, which helped me with my comma confusion that still hasn’t been cured.
What books inspired you into becoming an author yourself, if any?
The Harry Potter series
C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia
JRR Tolkien’s Hobbit series
and Disney fairytale movies, particularly my all time favorite ‘Beauty and the Beast.’!
What advice would you give to writers just starting out?
Keep writing, and don’t be afraid to share it with others. Critique hurts, but without it you are blind. It’s better to fix it and follow other’s advice after criticism, than wait until you’ve already published your work.
What are your future plans and where can our readers find you?
My future plans (besides dreaming of grandchildren someday) are to write one or two more shorter works that are spinoffs of ‘Mages in the Mundane’, and perhaps to write another fantasy romance book set in a different era and place.
I’ve always loved the Old West, Regency period, and the Civil War era, so maybe some Regency, Victorian, and Western romances with fair maidens, Sorcerers, and an occasional werewolf or vampire may be in my future!
To connect with Julianne, follow her on her Twitter account, or check out her website!
Have you enjoyed this Q&A with Julianne? Let me know in the comments below! ❤️