Interview with Leah Giarratano, author of 'Disharmony'

Today is the happy release of Leah Giarratano's new Australian paranormal YA book, 'Disharmony', the first in a new series called 'The Telling'.

'The Telling' follows three siblings on their path to destiny; a psychopath, an empath and a genius. From Romania to Sydney Australia, these three teenagers hold the fate of the world in their hands - and whether or not their coming together will bring about peace, or destruction, is entirely up to them.

And, yes, it is as cool as it sounds. I was lucky enough to get my hands on an early copy of 'Disharmony' and I was thoroughly impressed with this dark new paranormal tale... and I was doubly-lucky when I got to ask Leah Giarratano a few burning questions!

So, rush out and buy 'Disharmony' today! And in the meantime, check out my interview with the lovely author;

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Q: How long did it take you to write ‘Disharmony’, from first idea to final manuscript?

Well, that's a tricky question - and it's only your first one (LOL!). You see I have a 'day job' too, practising and teaching psychology, so I tend to have blocks of writing time between blocks of 'shrink' time. I think that writing and planning Disharmony took around a year... no, probably longer when I think about the editing process to arrive at the final manuscript, but by then I'd already written the second book in the series.

 

Q: Are you a plotter or a ‘pantser’? – That is, do you meticulously plot your novel before writing, or do you ‘fly by the seat of your pants’ and let the story evolve naturally?

Well, I'm quite organised, ordinarily, and there is a lot of planning involved in writing a series. Having said that though, once I have a plot, I do enjoy following my characters down alleyways and through portals and uncovering their adventures on the run. It can be scary not knowing what's going to happen to them next - being a 'pantser', as you say. Sometimes it's so scary I end up with my pants on my head in a corner, rocking!

Q: Where do story ideas generally start for you? Do you first think of the character, theme, ending? Or is it just a ‘free-fall?’

My stories usually begin with my characters. In this case, I just had to have an adolescent psychopath: think of all the hell he could get up to! As he grows into his powers, his darkness really begins to emerge in Book Two.

Q: ‘Disharmony’ is your first foray into YA, after releasing four adult crime novels. What made you want to write for a younger audience, and what has been the biggest challenge in writing for young adults?

I've always wanted to write YA urban fantasy - way before I wrote my first crime novel. But after completing my doctoral placement in Long Bay gaol, studying psychopaths, I had so many gruesome and terrible stories in my head that my tales were far too dark and bloody for young minds. After four crime fiction novels, though, I'd slaughtered enough baddies and was zen enough to write YA. The biggest challenge - to be honest - has been not using too many swear words when my characters speak! I realise that lots of teens swear (some kids I've worked with in lock-ups are particularly gifted at finding new and creative uses for the F-bomb), but I don't want to potentially alienate some younger readers.

Q: One of the characters in ‘Disharmony’ is Samantha White, and she’s a gypsy fortune-teller living in Bucharest, Romania. Sam’s background was so interesting to read about – from her perspective on Gaje (a Romany word for non-gypsy) lifestyle, to her curious pickpocket friends. What inspired you to write a gypsy character, and how did you conduct research into the Romany gypsy life?

I'm fascinated by all types of magic - gypsy magic included. And the romance of the nomadic gypsy lifestyle has always appealed to me. I liked exploring the juxtaposition of the romance and magic with the hard realities of the modern gypsy lifestyle - poverty, a crime culture, facing extreme racism. I read a lot about gypsy traditions and spoke with lots of people to try to understand the Rom.

Q: On the other side of the ocean is Luke Black, staying in a Juvenile Detention Centre in Sydney. Luke has a really sad history of foster homes and violence. What’s really interesting is that you have a background as a psychologist, and are an expert in psychological trauma, sex offences and psychopathology. Did you draw a lot on your work experiences in creating the character of Luke and his ordeals?

All of my characters have been influenced by people I've worked with, and I've certainly met lots of 'Lukes' in my work - well, maybe not quite as special as this Luke. I think the best thing about having a background in psychology is that I have a lot of insight into how people think and behave. I also have had access to 'special' worlds, like psychiatric hospitals, gaols and juvenille detention centres, which can add authenticity to the settings.

Q: What was the last great book you read?

'What I Loved', by Siri Hustvedt and I enjoyed 'The Magicians' by Lev Grossman.

Q: Favourite authors of all time?

Thomas Harris, Stephen R. Donaldson, Enid Blyton, JK

Q: Is ‘Disharmony’ the first in a trilogy, or an open-ended series? Can you give us some small hint about the second book (and when it will be released?)

Well, that depends on what happens when I'm writing the third manuscript. At the moment it's planned to be a trilogy, but the series could extend to five books. In the second novel the siblings are hunted and tempted by dark forces, and the psychopath, especially, begins to feel the power of the plans his mother put into effect decades ago. I believe it will be released Feb 2013.

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All pictures were found on 'we heart it'

'Disharmony' The Telling #1 by Leah Giarratano

Received from the Publisher 

From the BLURB:

A psychopath . . . an empath . . . a genius.

Three siblings who will save the world – or destroy it. They know nothing of each other. They know nothing of the Telling. But they'll need to learn fast if they're going to survive . . .

A gripping new series about a collision of worlds, the power of destiny, and the darkness in us all . . .

We live in a world of chaos, but it has not always been this way. Wars, murder, poverty… they all started five thousand years ago. And when the chaos started, a prophecy foretold of three children who would one day bring an end to it. A psychopath. An empathy. A genius.

One, a child with no capacity to feel emotional pain and no ability to understand the emotions of others.
Another, the opposite, a child of such pure emotional connection that she would have known where and why you had an itch before you even knew that a mosquito bit you.
And the third, a laser beam of concentrated brilliance – pure, personified intelligence.
And there you have it. The Psychopath, the Empath and the Genius.
Together, they can create harmony. You know, heal the world. Peace, love and hummus, baby.
But the big problem was, according to the Telling, they could also be used as a weapon if the wrong person got a hold of them, schooled them up the wrong way. You see, they have to be taught about their Calling. They have to be instructed from their earliest years in how to use their powers, in how to fulfil their destiny, in how to save the rest of us. They need guidance, the right parents. They need love.

Those children were born to the witch, Morgan Moreau, who died birthing the genius. Then the children were separated – and that’s where the story really begins.

‘Disharmony’ is the first book in a new Australian YA series by Leah Giarratano.

 Samantha White is a stolen Gaje-princess, living with her adoptive gypsy family in Pantelimon, Romania. She is sixteen-years-old, and loves her family dearly, even if she knows she isn’t really one of them. Lala is the closest thing to a mother that Sam has ever had, and she teaches her how to trick foolish Gaje (non-Romony) out of their money during fortune-teller sessions. Only, sometimes Sam’s gypsy witchery is real – sometimes she can tell when a person’s heart is breaking, or they’re too blind to see their own ignorance. Sam loves walking through the forest at night, hanging out with her best friend Mirela or meeting up with her pickpocket friend, Birthday Jones, in the streets of Bucharest. Sam also loves being near Tamas – a fellow gypsy boy who tends to the camp’s horses, and has held Sam’s heart since she was just a girl.

But the winds of change are coming; Sam can feel them chilling her skin. The gypsy king – an overweight ex-mobster – has his sights set on Sam and her ability to read people’s fortunes with such pin-point accuracy, beyond just a gypsy show. Sam and her friends find themselves running through the city streets, being chased by gypsy mobsters, female ninjas and other villains who belong in comic books, not real life;

The girl seemed clad in a black rubber membrane. Toe to throat, she wore a single skin-like sheath that slicked across lean limbs and muscles. She wore a high, shiny-black ponytail, a filigreed-blossom tattoo on her neck, and a smile like nuclear waste. Samantha’s first thought was to wonder whether they might be the same age; her second was to decide that she had never seen a more beautiful girl. Her third thought tore at her heart: who or what had created a creature so completely devoid of human feeling?

Meanwhile, across the seas in the Dwight Juvenile Justice Detention Centre, Sydney, Australia resides Luke Black. A childhood spent in foster care has taught Luke a thing or two – about never trusting anyone and always looking out for yourself. So he’s a little surprised when new inmate, Zac Nguyen, defends him during a scuffle with a fellow kid. And why Zac keeps saving his butt when a weird new inmate attacks him for seemingly no reason, after mistakenly calling him ‘Lucifer’.

‘Disharmony’ switches between Luke’s story and Samantha’s, as they both battle with mysterious foes and begin learning the secrets of their orphaned past … all the while we, the reader, are seemingly being led down the plotted path by ‘User: Intellicide’ – a mysterious narrator logged-in who needs us to know of The Telling, to understand what is coming.

If it sounds like a lot is going on in Giarratano’s debut YA book, you’d be right. She throws us into the deep end and then writes at a break-neck pace – sliding between Romania and Sydney, dropping hints of ‘The Telling’ and unwinding the complicated histories (and even more complicated destiny’s) of our two protagonists . . .

What makes ‘Disharmony’ even more complex is that as readers, we know more about Sam and Luke than they do. Our protagonist’s are living in ignorance of their true selves, and while readers are made privy to the history and mystery surrounding ‘The Telling’ and the murderous mother witch, Morgan Moreau, Luke and Sam only start to play catch-up when assassins and ninjas start coming out of the woodwork and conspiring to let them in on the secret of their lives. Heck, even readers know that Sam and Luke are twins – different sides to the same coin, an empath and a psychopath, two pieces to the prophetic puzzle. So ‘Disharmony’ feels like a lot of push and pull, between readers piecing the puzzle together and then reading how Luke and Sam are slowly coming to see the truth. . .  it doesn’t always work, this disparity between the reader knowing more than the protagonists, but it is an interesting plot twist. What’s even more interesting is how we are all waiting, with bated breath, to know more of ‘the genius’ – the third child of the prophecy who is conspicuously missing from ‘Disharmony’s’ narration.

One thing I really loved in the book was Samantha’s story, set in a Romanian gypsy camp. I’m going to reveal a guilty pleasure and say I’m a big fan of the TV show ‘Big Fat Gypsy Weddings’ – and I was really impressed at how Giarratano wrote such a true and fascinating gypsy home for Samantha. Everything from their Gaje-cons, to the lovely family community and male-dominated households was very honest and compelling. I also loved the people in Sam’s life – like Birthday Jones (his quirky real name, courtesy of a smart-aleck night nurse) a pick-pocket living on the streets. Then there’s Tamas – Sam’s crush and a veritable horse-whisperer with killer smile and allergy to t-shirts. Giarratano wrote a really vibrant community around Sam, and I look forward to how that community will hold up in the wake of Sam’s revelations. . .

Luke’s story is much bleaker – set in a juvenile detention centre and revealing the hard-knock life he has had.  Leah Giarratano is a psychologist, and I think it showed in Luke’s story, with regards to the bullying inside the government facility (from staff, as well as fellow boys), really interesting if a little disheartening. The bright spot in Luke’s story is his developing friendship with Zac – a new inmate whose rake-like vegan physique belies his whip-quick fighting skills. Luke and Zac have some fantastic moments in ‘Disharmony’, and are a great buddy-pairing. I do wish though, that the character of Luke had revealed a bit more of his psychopathic-tendencies. I don’t mean I wanted to read about him killing kittens or anything, and I’m not even sure if  Giarratano intended for readers to be guessing if Luke was the genius or psychopath (once it became obvious that Sam was the empath) – I just needed a little more evidence of Luke’s nature. It might also be because ‘Disharmony’ is told in third-person, omniscient narration that we don’t get inside Luke’s head to know how unfeeling he really is, but by the time it was revealed that he was the psychopath – I wasn’t entirely convinced.

Overall, I really enjoyed ‘Disharmony’. Giarratano has written a dark and twisted new series that’s wholly unique and has the potential for great longevity. She left enough tantalizing breadcrumbs in ‘Disharmony’ to have me eager for the second instalment, to continue Luke, Sam and their mysterious sibling’s journey to prophecy. . . and the big question remains; will their coming together bring about peace, or destruction? I don’t know, but I’m going to enjoy finding out!

4/5