Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing debut author, Ms. Amanda Connolly. She is the author of the recently released novel, The Lure of Wolves and Whispers. It is the first novel in a planned trilogy titled The Martyred Isle. This trilogy is set in a fantastical version of medieval Ireland and is heavily inspired by Irish mythology. In this interview, we discussed her inspiration that led to her writing, The Lure of Wolves and Whispers. She also tells us what we can expect from the next two future installments in The Martyred Island trilogy. Thank you Ms. Connolly!
What inspired you to write The Lure of Wolves and Whispers?
There are so many elements that shaped, and continue to shape, this story and series. Chief among them is my love for Irish folklore and history, especially my fascination with the legend of St Patrick and how he came to be known for banishing the snakes from Ireland – when there never were any snakes there to begin with. I’ve always wondered: what is that meant to symbolize, and how are the stories that define us shaped by those who come before?
THANK YOU for recognizing the setting as a fantastical version of parts of medieval Ireland! It’s so interesting – I’ve seen so many reviewers calling the setting Gothic, which is so curious to me as I never set out to write a Gothic story. I wrote this intending it to be deeply influenced by my fascination with medieval and Viking-era Ireland, mainly because I wrote this story in the depths of crushing burnout, grief and multiple brutal injuries that meant I was searching for a story where I could combine all of my favourite things and write purely for my own fun. I wanted the setting to feel gritty and grounded – and like it could reflect aspects of stories like The Last Kingdom that I find so fascinating. I minored in history in university along with my major in journalism and have always been drawn to the periods we often call the Dark Ages and the early medieval. I think there’s something inherently alluring about that era, particularly because there was so much in transition within the bigger, chaotic geopolitical environment, much the way there is now, and The Lure of Wolves and Whispers draws a lot of inspiration from the Ivar dynasty circa the early 900s. There might be a reference to this in Book 2, if you look carefully!
How did you incorporate history, fantasy, and Irish mythology into The Lure of Wolves and Whispers? What was your writing process like?
I love a good research rabbit hole – I can spent hours reading obscure historical references on Irish university websites and Wikipedia. I’m also really lucky to have grown up in a home where reading and fantasy stories were deeply embraced and encouraged, so combining all of these felt entirely natural when I sat down to write. I had written five manuscripts before this and none of them went anywhere, so I was on the verge of giving up my dream of publication when I sat down to write this story and decided: this is just for me, and for fun. This is my last chance before I give up writing and let go of this wild dream, so I might as well make it a good time! My writing process hasn’t changed much since then, to be honest. Like most authors, I have a career that I love – I’m a Canadian political journalist and have been for almost 15 years. It means my writing time is carved out around a demanding day job. I write in the mornings before work, in the evenings after I get home, on every weekend and holiday and vacation time I can get. And when I do get that time, I guard it ferociously – I am locked in, entirely focused, and everything else waits. I have playlists for each book and often I light a candle. Shifting from the journalist part of my brain to the creative part of my brain can be tricky sometimes, but I find focusing on sensory details in the writing is an easy way to slip into the world along with a song or songs on repeat. And then once I’m in the flow, I keep going until I get to the end of a scene or chapter – I try to finish either a scene or a chapter every time I sit down to write, and it adds up faster than you think.
For those interested in Irish mythology, what works would you recommend?
The door into that mythology will be different for everyone. My first substantive entry point was O.R. Melling’s The Chronicles of Faerie, a fictional young adult series that draws heavily from Irish mythology from the mid-1990s, and that inspired me to first begin exploring Irish history and lore more deeply. I’d also encourage people to find particular historical anchor periods that fascinate them. For me, that’s medieval and pre-medieval, though I also love the poetry of Seamus Heaney and WB Yeats that draw from Irish mythology in their own ways. I’m a big fan of The Ancients podcast by Tristan Hughes, and the History Hit family of podcasts in general, as well as the resources available through Heritage Ireland. I’ve also loved WB Yeats’ Irish Fairy Tales and Folklore, and there is a wealth of historical articles available on Irish university websites that provide an anchor into history and folklore. Find what stirs your curiosity! I’m by no means an expert here but my fascination and research tends to be most fun when I approach it from a historical lens and try to understand how mythology intersects with history – especially around the High Kings, and ancient, mysterious places like Newgrange, the Hill of Tara and Dún Aonghasa … all of which play their own roles and have influenced elements of the world of Eireann that I’m excited to share with readers in the coming books!
What drew you into the fantasy genre? What appeals to you most about writing a romantasy? Which authors have inspired you the most?
I love fantasy, first and foremost as a reader. I grew up reading it, and feel enormously gifted to have had a childhood where reading and fantasy stories were encouraged and embraced. So there was never any question that when I started trying to write my own books, they were going to be fantasy and they were going to be romance as well. What fantasy does, at its best, is hold different facets of our world up to the light and force us to ask: what can we do better? I think romance is similar – it often gets smeared as unserious or “girly,” as if that’s an insult. But love is the most powerful thing that we do as humans – love shapes us in ways that no other force ever can, and drives us to make sacrifices nothing else ever could. What I love about romantasy is how it combines these to create fantastical worlds that are deeply focused around tackling authoritarianism and injustice while also creating deeply human stories where we can understand character motivations on the most intrinsic level – who among us wouldn’t risk everything for the people we love most in this world? Growing up, I was deeply inspired by the works of Tamora Pierce, who was my first introduction into fierce female characters who fight for justice and what’s right while also not shying away from love and the physical realities of being a woman. Now, I’ve found so much inspiration over recent years in the works of authors like Hannah Whitten, Rebecca Ross, LK Stephen, Rebecca Yarros, Carley Fortune, Ali Hazelwood and Deborah Harkness: authors who craft smart, strong women who have their own hopes and dreams but are made stronger by their love, never weakened by it – and who aren’t afraid to let their female main characters be brutal.
What were the challenges in writing The Lure of Wolves and Whispers?
Physically, this book and Book 2 in the trilogy were a challenge. I struggled with damage from a nerve injury while writing – incurred several years earlier, but that manifested ferociously after I sustained several back to back injuries in late 2023/early 2024, and that I was foolish enough to try to push through before seeking help. Trying to fight my way through the pain for years left me with lasting nerve damage that I still grapple with today, and that requires me to modify my activities and writing process even now, as well as keeping on top of physical therapy exercises. While in the later stages of editing Book 1 and drafting Book 2 simultaneously, the pain was debilitating and excruciating – radiating down my arms into my hands and fingers, like white-hot tingling knives across my palms and forearms. That pain inspired the nerve pain that my main character, Maeve, struggles with in this series and has to learn to adapt to … but I’m really happy to say even though it’s not gone, it’s manageable at a much healthier and sustainable level now. Physical therapy is a godsend, and I’m privileged to have had insurance to afford that when I needed it.
What emotional challenges will Maeve face in the sequel?
Without spoiling anything, I would say that the sequel picks up pretty much right where Book 1 ends and grapples with several core questions: what are we left with when we lose what we’ve sacrificed everything for, how do we face ourselves in the mirror when forced to reckon with what we’ve done to survive … and can love hold us together when everything we know falls apart?
What can readers hope to expect in the future sequels?
Pain … and also hope.
What message do you hope readers can gain from The Lure of Wolves and Whispers?
We are always stronger when we stand together. Find the courage to fight for what you know in your gut is right, regardless of what those in power say. And sovereignty is sacred – might does not make right.
About Amanda Connolly:
Also, check out my review of The Lure of Whisper and Wolves!
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