We all do what we must to survive.
And in Alexandra Beaumont’s folkloric / historical fantasy novel Dissonance Of Bird Song (paperback, Kindle), what the people must do is inhale an enchanted mist from the lungs of birds.
(You can insert your own Affordable Care Act joke here.)
In the following email interview, Beaumont discusses what inspired and influenced this story, including why the mist comes from birds as opposed to some other musically-inclined animal.
To start, what is Dissonance Of Bird Song about, and what kind of a world is it set in?
So, Dissonance Of Bird Song is a historical fantasy tale set in Bronze Age England.
It centers on a small clifftop settlement of people relying on an enchanted mist inhaled from the lungs of birds to survive the harsh climate they live in. When Eseld and her sister’s mist runs out, Eseld sets out to find a cure and save her sister from something I won’t spoil. What she discovers is a deeper, more twisted mystery than she ever expected as she ventures out to sea to find out where the mist-birds come from…
Where did you get the idea for Dissonance Of Bird Song?
I have always loved Cornwall, and spent a lot of time exploring the craggy coastlines when I was younger. I wanted to write something that combined this with a lot of the mysteries and folklore that I have read for many years, and still makes me breathless with excitement even now. It really came from an idea of people living symbiotically with nature, and taking that to its logical extreme. I explored a number of different ways to do this, and settled on there being a mutual benefit for the birds and humans of Dissonance breathing mist between them.
Yeah, I was going to ask why it’s birds and not some other kind of animal. I know not every animal is musically-inclined, but some are, and Dissonance Of Whale Song seems like it could’ve worked, too.
Its true, the sea plays a strong part in Dissonance so it could have been whales…but in Cornish folklore there is something very sacred about birds. There are beliefs that some birds carry the souls of the dead, and so early on I knew I had to use this cornerstone.
I also knew that there was something powerful about the life I saw the people of Dissonance living, waiting upon the clifftops for their sacred birds to emerge from the foggy coast. Once that image had formed in my mind, I couldn’t really set it aside.
As you said, Dissonance Of Bird Song is a historical fantasy story, though it also sounds like it’s more of a folklore / fable one than a medieval one like The Lord Of The Rings or an urban one like Harry Potter.
Absolutely right; the name is very much intending to be invocative of folklore. I describe my writing as folkloric fantasy, and that’s important to me as a lot of what I write draws on nature folklore or old belief systems that I can the play with and expand into new ways of telling stories. I think there is something timeless about the magic you can find in these ideas, and it is why stories like King Arthur or Robin Hood endure to this day…both have a sense of the enchanted old world about them, and that’s a theme I love to pull out in my writing. For Dissonance, I also draw heavily on folk songs and vengeance ballads so it felt fitting to name it that way. Music is very important in the book.
Dissonance Of Bird Song is your second novel after Testament Of The Stars, though you’ve also written some short stories. Are there any writers who had a big influence on Dissonance but not on anything else you’ve written?
Shortly after I began writing Dissonance, I read Sistersong by Lucy Hounsom. This is a book set in a very similar time period, and takes sister relationships in a very different direction to mine — Hounsom tests the tensions of sisterhood. In Dissonance, the story is more about how far Eseld will go to save her sister. What Hounsom’s writing did help me do is see a different way of blending ancient world stories with modern ideals about writing and creating a story that endures.
What about non-literary influences; was Dissonance Of Bird Song influenced by any movies, TV shows, or games?
Although it is also a book, a very big influence for me is the TV adaption of The Last Kingdom. Mostly, to be honest, the atmosphere created by the cinematography and the music as well as the continued sense of there being something otherworldly and fated about Uhtred’s life.
And what about your cat, Trouble? How did they influence Dissonance Of Bird Song? … Wait, is that why Eseld is involved with birds? Is this some elaborate plan to lull birds into a sense of false security so your cat can…oh no…
Ha! Trouble would have certainly liked to have gotten hold of some birds. But as much as Trouble was apparently a hunter, the only things she ever brought us was a stuffed penguin and someone else’s car keys. Oh, and she stole a pork chop once.
Trouble has sadly now gone over the great cat bridge to the sky, but we are sure she is causing carnage up there and stealing as much food as she can get her paws on.
Trouble
Fantasy novels are sometimes stand-alone tales, and sometimes they’re part of larger sagas. What is Dissonance Of Bird Song?
I very carefully constructed Dissonance to work as a stand-alone tale, and be self-contained enough to be a one and done if that’s where its story ends.
However, what I will definitely say is there is a whole saga and world built around what happens at the end of Dissonance that I will definitely be exploring. In no way does it have to be the same characters either, but they will probably still be around. I wanted this to be a world I could expand and grow in the same way Brandon Sanderson has done with his Mistborn universe.
So, what can you tell us about this series?
It will be an ongoing thing, and has the potential to span many different time periods with different characters and ongoing mutation of the magic system as time passes. I can’t really say any more without spoiling it. Dissonance itself doesn’t absolutely need a sequel, but it may get one depending what happens when I venture into planning the Myst Cycle (my work in progress name for the wider series).
Earlier I asked if Dissonance Of Bird Song was influenced by any movies, TV shows, or games. But to flip the script, as you kids don’t say anymore, do you think Dissonance could work as a movie, show, or a game?
Ah, hard question. I think Dissonance could make a great show. It has a pacey drum-beat to it which I think would make for a great serialization, and I am just thinking now about where I would put end of episode cliffhangers / dramatic pauses.
I also think it would work well as computer game, and I am thinking about the excellent Hellblade as a comparison game that I think Dissonance would have a similar feel to.
So, if someone wanted to adapt Dissonance Of Bird Song into a show, who would you want them to cast as Eseld and the other main characters?
I would cast Anya Taylor-Joy as Eseld. She is a very wild-looking person and, while this isn’t her best-known film, I think her role in The Northman would be a great comparator for how I see Eseld being played.
The other one I see quite clearly is [Kingdom Of Heaven‘s] Eva Green as a very critical character in the story, as she has the charm and the peculiarity needed to pull off this role…as well as wildness of her own. I can’t say more, or I would spoil things.
Following on from the wildness, I would also want Alexander Dreymond from The Last Kingdom as a character called Merryasek. He has the brightness, humor and fierceness needed for that character.
I could go on, but I won’t go too wild.
So, is there anything else you think people need to know about Dissonance Of Bird Song?
I would say don’t come with preconceptions of anything, as far as possible. This is a story really personal to me, as well as one that I think has a broad appeal. I wrote it at a time where I was coming to terms with having recurring chronic sinus problems and this came out in the story as Eseld striving to find a vibrant life with those she cares for despite the challenges she faces.
In terms of reading the book itself, if you can: find some trees or a little patch of nature and listen to the bird song before beginning.
Finally, if someone enjoys Dissonance Of Bird Song, what folklore-ish historical fantasy novel or novella of someone else’s would you recommend they read next?
I mentioned Lucy Hounsom’s Sistersong earlier. I would recommend that for a similar setting and bringing ancient stories up to date with diverse characters.
In terms of another book that tells a poignant mystery, I would recommend something completely different: The Shadow Of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. It is not directly fantasy, but feels like it has fantastical elements and has some absolutely phenomenal characterization in it. It will always live in my head as a book that influences me in life and in writing.
