Author Interview (and a Giveaway!): The Whisperer’s Wish by Janilise Lloyd

Welcome to the Blog Tour for The Whisperer’s Wish by Janilise Lloyd, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours! I’m delighted to have Janilise on the blog today to chat about her book!

THE WHISPERER’S WISH by Janilise Lloyd
GENRE: Young Adult Fantasy
PUBLISHER: Expanse Books (Imprint of Scrivenings Press)
RELEASE DATE: March 21, 2023
PAGES: 302

For sixteen years, Laurelin Moore has been keeping a secret. She is a whisperer, and she knows that to reveal her gift now is a dangerous risk. Past whisperers have been exploited for their power. But Ausland’s queen is dead and acknowledging her magic is her only chance at becoming a Rook in the Pentax—a competition that will decide the kingdom’s next ruler.

Laurelin isn’t in it for the crown, though. She’s after the wish that will be granted to the victor. A wish that would save her dying brother, Pippin. But there are dangerous undercurrents to the competition, and Laurelin finds herself at the center of it. She begins to search for answers and discovers a secret with the potential to shatter the entire kingdom.

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Hi Janilise! Welcome to the blog!

Janilise: Definitely summer for me. I’m not a fan of the cold and I love to be outside. Eighty degree weather is my perfect spot. I love to camp, hike, kayak, and run. Being from Utah, winter is waaaaay too long.

Carrie: then we need to change states because I hate Georgia’s heat and I would love a long winter haha

Janilise: Between the two? Dogs. I grew up with them and still enjoy them, but I don’t actually have a pet dog. I do have a pet rabbit, and I’ve decided they are the ideal pet as long as they’re litter box trained (mine is). They’re quiet, furry, and they don’t make messes. Win, win… win!

Carrie: oh man! I had a pet rabbit when I was a kid and the litter box training would have made such a difference!!! LOL

Janilise: Given my genre, this may surprise some people, but I’m a Hallmark Channel girl. I’m always up for the romance movies, I enjoy the mystery shows, and during December… forget about it. I’m staying in to watch a Hallmark movie.

Carrie: Hallmark Mysteries are my fave, though i do enjoy some of the Christmas ones too 🙂

Janilise: Overall, my answer is print. There’s nothing quite like holding a book in my hands. However, mom life sometimes puts me in the ebook category. I find I actually get through more ebooks than physical books in a year.

Carrie: Ebooks are so much easier on my eyes but I do love hugging print books still – and owning my faves in print, of course.

Q: Around here I like to say that reading is my superpower. If YOU had a superpower, what would it be?

Janilise: Stretching time. Life is busy and hectic and I don’t do everything perfectly. But somehow, everything that has to be done somehow gets there, and the only explanation I have is that I must have a secret power. 😉

Carrie: haha love it!

Q: Other than the Bible, what are five of your most cherished books?

Janilise: I was lucky to be a child and teenager during what I consider to be the golden age of books. I grew up right alongside the Harry Potter series. I got the swoon-worthy Twilight when I was in junior high school. The Hunger Games came out through junior high and high school as well. As a young adult, my first Brandon Sanderson book I read was Steelheart, and I’ve learned so much from his writing. And finally, Love, Lucas was the first book I read by an author I knew personally, so that impacted me as well.

Carrie: ok i feel very old now as I was an adult when all of these were released LOL

Q: Writing spaces are as diverse as authors and books. Where is your favorite space to write?

Janilise: Wherever is relatively quiet and I won’t be setting my laptop in spilled jam or Goldfish cracker crumbs. My writing life is very much shaped by young mom life right now. I see many authors with pretty writing spaces, and I hope that will be me someday. But for now, the place I do most of my writing is on my green couch, usually next to a pile of picture books, blankets, and stuffed animals. And honestly, it works for me. I absolutely love this crazy life I’m living.

Carrie: sounds sweet & cozy ♥

Q: Which of your main characters in The Whisperer’s Wish is most like you?

Janilise: There are traces of myself in Laurelin. She is motivated by family and a deep love for her brother, and those are qualities we share. Laurelin’s desperation to save Pippin was shaped somewhat by experiences with my own brothers. I see some of Laurelin’s thoughts and emotions in myself, relative to that experience of fearing for her brother’s life. Of course, there are so many ways Laurelin is not like me. She’s much braver than I am, and she’s better at speaking her mind. That’s a common theme I’ve found in my writing. Most of my female main characters are good at some of those things I wish I was better at.

Carrie: that’s very profound – i love that!

Q: Which character was the most difficult to write?

Janilise: There are magical creatures called pygsmies in my book. They are small, beautiful creatures that are sort of a cross between a humming bird and a pixie. Laurelin’s magical ability is that she can speak with and control these creatures, which gives her access to the invaluable elixir they carry in their wings.

Pygsmies have human-like thoughts, and when I first wrote the book, I shied away from developing them. I’m not a huge fan of reading about mythical/magical creatures, and this showed up in my writing. Thankfully, I had an editor who told me the relationship between Laurelin and the pygsmies wasn’t working. That’s when Sun Petal was born. Sun Petal is a pygsmy that Laurelin becomes attached to through the story. Many people who have read the book have told me Sun Petal was their favorite character. It took a lot of digging deep and going outside my comfort zone to pin down what pygsmies were really like, but I’m so glad I did. They really added to the story.

Carrie: Sun Petal sounds like a great character!

Q: What do you most want readers to take away from The Whisperer’s Wish?

Janilise: I hope readers find courage to face really difficult things in life. There are few experiences more challenging than grappling with the potential loss of a loved one, like Laurelin does throughout the book. I want readers to feel hope for the future—no matter the outcome of similar situations they may have to overcome.

Carrie: Hope is a powerful thing ♥

Thank you so much for taking time to talk with me! 🙂 Before we say goodbye for today, tell us what‘s coming up next for you.

Janilise: I am very excited about the upcoming release of The Cyrun, the first book in a two-book YA fantasy series. This is actually the first full book I wrote. It is getting a lovely make over and will release from Expanse Books on November 14, 2023.

Janilise Lloyd is a former junior high school teacher who lives in Northern Utah with her husband and toddler. She balances a love for running with a love for all things dessert. Her family likes to be on the go, so you will often catch them at the zoo, the park, or skipping rocks by the river. Janilise is the coordinator for the ScrivKids writing community for student writers and is a member of the Storymakers Guild. You can find her on Instagram or Facebook @janiliselloyd or on her website, janiliselloyd.com.

Connect with Janilise by visiting janiliselloyd.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.

(1) winner will receive a $25 Amazon Gift Card, a signed copy of the paperback (ebook if outside US), and character art print.

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight March 14, 2023 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on March 21, 2023. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only for print copy & art print. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

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What about you? What makes you want to read The Whisperer’s Wish by Janilise Lloyd?