We're so excited to have author Gabrielle Wanek here with us to talk about her debut novel, Songs of Ash and Dawn. We'll be chatting with her about her journey to publishing her book, writing tips, and more. You'll also have a chance to win a copy of her book and a $25 Amazon gift card.
Before we get to that, here's more about Songs of Ash and Dawn:
Songs of Ash and Dawn is the first book in an all-new epic fantasy saga, where dark magic, ancient gods, and mythic creatures collide.
Some truths change everything. Some destroy it.
After her grandmother's sudden death, Aidan Klein inherits a powerful magical artifact-one she barely understands, let alone knows how to control. All she wants is time to grieve. But witches are vanishing, and something ancient is hunting in the dark.
Cora Scholtz believes she knows who she is. But when secrets about her true heritage begin to surface, the life she's built starts to unravel. Someone has been pulling the strings all along-and she's about to break free.
As monsters emerge from myth into reality, alliances shatter and trust fractures. Aidan and Cora must face dangerous magic, hidden powers, and the weight of destinies they never asked for.
With its blend of dark fantasy, urban fantasy intrigue, and mythology-inspired worldbuilding, Songs of Ash and Dawn launches an unforgettable saga of friendship, betrayal, and survival. Perfect for readers who love strong female leads, supernatural adventure, and found family fantasy.
Purchase the book now on Amazon, Bookshop.org, and Barnes and Noble. You can also add the book to your GoodReads reading list.
About the Author, Gabrielle Wanek
Her debut novel, Songs of Ash and Dawn, blends modern-day Midwest life with ancient power, exploring what happens when fate refuses to be controlled.
She draws inspiration from real-world folklore, family stories, and the quiet moments in life that carry unexpected weight.
She’s currently working on the next installment of the Songs of Ash and Dawn series.
When she’s not writing, Gabrielle can be found playing with her amazing miniature poodle, Cairo (pictured), training her new puppy Aro, running tabletop campaigns, or freeze-drying everything from meats to vegetables.
To sign up for three free chapters and exclusive content from Gabrielle, click here.
You can find her online at:
Her website: https://www.songsofashanddawn.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gawanek/
-- Interview with Nicole Pyles
WOW: First of all, congrats on your novel! What inspired you to write the Songs of Ash and Dawn series?
Gabrielle: I’ve been writing stories for a long time. I started when I was around 13 as a moody hormonal teenager – writing helped me process all my many emotions. Fast forward to college, I was taking theater and video game creation classes, all the awhile binge-watching Game of Thrones, and I just got really inspired to create a world and story of my own.
What’s interesting is that I wrote a lot of pieces then that sometimes find my way into my work now. Like I’ll remember or find a character or something I wrote then and say to myself, I’ve got to find a place for that now. And end up writing a whole plot line around it.
WOW: I love how you weave in past writing into your present novel. What was your process to write this novel? Did you do any planning or even any research or did you write the first draft without plotting? What was your revision process like? Walk us through your writing process.
Gabrielle: So the way I write is I just sit down, I put on music from one of my Spotify playlists for each character in Songs of Ash and Dawn – and I just. . . go. I write and write and just let it flow kind of stream of consciousness almost. Then the writing sort of really comes through in the editing process. That’s where things start to take shape, I look at what I wrote, see if any of it is usable.
It’s multiple, multiple revisions. I look at it and it’s like oh this is pretty good, then there are other chapters that are like – what is this? Then I keep going back over it, mostly to make sure the plot is moving correctly.
When I wrote Book One in the Songs of Ash and Dawn series, I had a rough outline – like, very rough. Literally a few bullet points. Then it slowly started to evolve over time and through writing drafts and revisions. At the time I didn’t imagine it getting off the ground, and now it’s like all consuming, and taking over my life but in a good way! I am on Book Three of the Songs of Ash and Dawn series – Book Two comes out in the Spring.
WOW: Music is such a great tool for creativity. You used mythologies in your novel. I love that! How did you decide which ones to be inspired by?
Gabrielle: Well I ended up deciding on using . . all of them. I did an incredible amount of research into cross-cultural mythological creatures. Like there is a slightly different version of a werewolf from Japan to Norway. But every culture has mythological creatures – many of them versions of the same creatures.
Songs of Ash and Dawn as a series is really an exploration in many ways of genetics, how genetics get transformed or diluted across generations. And the concept of interspecies. Everything has its quirks and specific parameters. Like a sphinx with fire in her hair – but she looks majority human. That’s just one example of how I merged different mythologies and characteristics.
WOW: That's an awesome blend. Why did you decide to ground your book in the real world as opposed to a created fictional world?
Gabrielle: Originally it was going to be really fantastical – but I wrote it and didn’t like it and the more I tried the less I liked the world I was writing. So I ended up scrapping the entire fantasy based world and was like let’s put it in today’s day and age. I loved the idea of the Midwestern forests and world I grew up in being forever cemented in this world.
WOW: I've always enjoyed fantasy novels based on our real world. Makes for an interesting story! You've been growing your platform as an author, and finding amazing success especially on TikTok. Any advice you can share with us on your techniques or approach?
WOW: You have such creative techniques! What was the importance of the villains in your novel?
Gabrielle: You cannot have a good story without a good villain – they’re the catalyst for everything. They kick off the storyline – because they made one mistake. Even the villains in the first book aren’t what they appear to be. Some of them screwed up trying to do good, then some are absolute psychopaths. Got to have that mix of both. One of my video game professors always used to say, “if you’re not running into enemies, you’re going the wrong way.” I could not agree more!
WOW: I love that tip! Let's talk covers! I LOVE yours. Who is the artist and did you have the chance to give any insight or guidance to its creation?
Gabrielle: Oh wow, thank you! I had finished the book and had tried to generate a few covers, but they just weren’t working. So naturally I headed to the place one goes when you need something that is cinematic and beautiful – Hollywood. I found this amazing illustrator Zelda Devon who does art for TV and movies. She had a really cool section of her website called soul work and it was all these really beautiful spooky illustrations and I was like ok this is my person.
We worked back and forth for about a month and she put together a lot of drafts and we just kept refining until we got the cover you see now. She did all the lettering by hand and the art and the design. I absolutely love it.
WOW: You put together a beautiful cover together. What advice do you have for authors who are on their journey to writing their novel?
Gabrielle: Just do it. Literally just start writing. That’s your joy – so just do it.
WOW: Good tip! What advice would you have wanted to tell yourself before starting your novel?
Gabrielle: Don’t overthink it! That how you get caught in loops then get caught on things that don’t matter. Don’t think just write until you end then go back and re-do it.
WOW: So true! What does your writing space look like?
Gabrielle: Honestly, most of my book was done sitting on my couch on my laptop with my fearless companion, Cairo. But I also have a desk with a big screen where I can go and look at things once they’re written or occasionally do edits. I also have all my mythological books for research in my office and crystals and things that kinda put me in the vibe of it all.
WOW: I love that. Tell me about your writing routine. Do you stick to a schedule? Or do you have any set daily word count goals? Anything in between?
Gabrielle: Every single day even if one of my many projects is going one, if I write a chapter a day I‘m good. Doesn’t matter if it’s for the book I’m working on at the moment or something else. I need to write about ten plus pages per day because that’s equal to a chapter roughly.
WOW: That's a great practice. What are you working on now that you can tell us about?
Gabrielle: I’m deep into Book 3 of Songs of Ash and Dawn, Book Two is done and should be out soon. It looks like there’s going to be like 8 books in the series right now – of course I am always adding to it so that number could increase!
WOW: Thank you so much for joining us! Remember, you can get the first three chapters of Songs of Ash and Dawn free right here: www.songsofashanddawn.com
***** BOOK GIVEAWAY *****
Enter to win a print copy of Songs of Ash and Dawn by Gabrielle Wanek and a $25 Amazon Gift Card. Fill out the form below for a chance to win. The giveaway ends December 16h at 11:59 pm CT. We will randomly draw the winners the next day and follow up via email. Good luck!
1 comments:
It is interesting that you went to Hollywood for help with your cover...it is great. ~Lisa Brown in widget
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