New York Times bestselling author Maria V. Snyder returns to the world of Sitia in her newest fantasy novel from MIRA, Storm Glass. Discover more about the book’s roots in her bestselling series of books Poison Study, Magic Study and Fire Study and the special brand of magic in Storm Glass in this post by Maria…
As a glassmaker and a magician-in-training, Opal Cowen understands trial by fire. Now it’s time to test her mettle. Someone has sabotaged the Stormdancer clan’s glass orbs, killing their most powerful magicians. The Stormdancers—particularly the mysterious and mercurial Kade—require Opal’s unique talents to prevent it happening again. But when the mission goes awry, Opal must tap in to a new kind of magic as stunningly potent as it is frightening. And the further she delves into the intrigue behind the glass and magic, the more distorted things appear. With lives hanging in the balance—including her own—Opal must control powers she hadn’t known she possessed…powers that might lead to disaster beyond anything she’s ever known.
The idea for Opal’s glass magic formed when I wrote my third book, Fire Study. For Fire Study, I learned how to work with molten glass to accurately portray Opal and her family’s glass factory. Molten glass glows with a bright orange light that eventually disappears as the glass cools (turning fire into ice). When I worked with the glass, I wished that inner fire would remain. So when I wrote the scene where Yelena sees Opal’s glass animals for the first time, she comments on the inner glow. Well, in real life that wouldn’t happen, so to explain the inner fire, I had Yelena discover that the glow is magic trapped inside. Magic that can be used by other magicians but not Opal. Only magicians can see the inner glow and they use the magic to communicate telepathically with other magicians far away–like magical cell phones.
This wonderful discovery expanded and became one of the core plot lines in both Storm Glass and Sea Glass. Opal’s glass messengers are a major advancement for the people in Sitia and they can also find new magicians who may have been passed over because their magical powers are not traditional.
As a “seat of the pants” writer or “pantser” as we say in the biz – the unplanned discovery of Opal’s magic is the best part of writing process for me. Not outlining a plot can be scary, and I always spend the first half of the book worried I don’t have enough story for a full novel, and then I spend the second half of the novel worried I have too much story.
But when these golden nuggets are uncovered as I write and there have been lots of them–that, to me, is truly magical.
