Olivia: Welcome to the second interview with Isabella Stofka following the release of her second book. Both novels, released in 2025, are fantastic YA/NA (Young Adult/New Adult) fantasy books with strong female characters. Tell us about them. 

Bella: Hello, my name is Isabella Stofka, but most people call me Bella. It's surreal to say that I'm the author of two book series: Curses of Lavender, a Young Adult Sleeping Beauty retelling where she saves herself, and The Ice Queen and the Keeper of Death, a New Adult Romantasy loosely inspired by Pandora's Box. They're vastly different books, but both hold a very special place in my heart. I'm really excited that they're out in the world for people to read. 

Olivia: Now that you have two books out, how did you find writing this book as somebody who was already published? 

Bella: Both. It was easier because I had experience with the admin side of books: the marketing, Street Teams, formatting, ISBNs, etc., but because it was for two books, the workload doubled. That, on top of going to book signings, reordering books, and doing the marketing for two vastly different books, as the readerships were different. The Ice Queen and the Keeper of Death is a lot darker than Curses of Lavender, so the readership doesn't always overlap. 

I underestimated how much of a perfectionist I am and how much tweaking I had to do for Ice Queen. I did not give myself a lot of time to execute my second book in the same year as the first. I experienced "Second Book Syndrome", where I put myself under a lot of pressure to meet the expectations I set for my first book. I feel stronger going into book three. 

Olivia: Did you find that you were more confident in your voice with tweaking things around?

Bella: I questioned my voice a lot with The Ice Queen and the Keeper of Death, but I think that's because Curses of Lavender lent itself to flowery prose, with an anxious protagonist who is in a new world. The Ice Queen characters do not overthink, as they are hundreds of years old and know the world, and because I felt Curses of Lavender was my best work, I kept doubting myself. Both projects are different, so individual tones suit them. As it took me five years to write this book, I became more experienced and knew how to handle issues like plot holes, meaning my drafts were stronger. 

Olivia: How did you construct the characters? 

Bella: I kept trying to make Wynter emotional, as I thought the reader wouldn't like her, but when you're writing morally grey characters, you can't be afraid. So writing "goody two shoes" characters in Curses of Lavender helped me go full dark with the Ice Queen characters. 

Olivia: Did being published before help with formatting your books?

Bella: With the overall appearance, yes. I had the cover lined up and a new map artist. I had to come up with individual chapter headers and scene breaks, as I felt one style would not fit all.

I got better at pacing in Ice Queen than in Curses of Lavender. In a single-protagonist book, there's one clear progression with three acts, but with three different characters, it becomes staggered. At first, I thought the character chapters had to be equal, but when distinguishing characters by their voices and worldviews, it affects how the story is told depending on the character.

Bella: The characters stayed fairly true to their backstories, but as the story was tweaked, so did they. Niav was originally calculated, but became more of a spitfire as the story developed. Evander was always a tyrant, but he ended up having more on-page appearances, as Beta Readers liked him. Motivations changed too, as I felt it would be too weak for the immortals not to stand up to Evander, and it emphasised them being morally grey. 

Bella: The key to characters is to let them be. Tropes can be good for direction, but if you cling to them, the characters can resist. Give yourself a flexible idea so you can allow your characters to be themselves — that's when they come alive. 

Olivia: What made you decide that Ice Queen would be a longer series?

Bella: I took inspiration from Percy Jackson, which is a five-book series, but as I wrote, I realised book two didn't have enough material to be a full book, so I merged the two. 

Olivia: And forcing books into a series that's longer than it needs to be damages the fragility of the book itself. 

Olivia: How did you find balancing writing Dreams of Dust with Ice Queen? 

Bella: I didn't. I planned to bounce between Ice Queen and Dreams of Dust, but Ice Queen was too big of a project, and I was too much of a perfectionist to do this. For the timeline I set for myself, I had to write from 6am to 9pm and barely stopped, just to eat and go to the toilet. 

I have 70,000 words of Dreams of Dust ready after splitting it from Curses of Lavender. I don't foresee it taking as long as I have a lot of it done, but we'll see! I want to get both book twos out this year, starting with Ice Queen #2, as it needs more work. I want to honour the previous release date of Dreams of Dust, so it will be out by the end of the year. 

Olivia: It shows you care, but you also need to take time for yourself too. 

Bella: Yeah, I definitely relaxed a little after Ice Queen, but I've learnt a better work pace and scheduled me-time in. 

Olivia: Are there any sneak peeks or inspiration that you've taken into book two?

Bella: I can't say too much, as it'll ruin the ending of book one, but there will be way more myths coming into play. I'm very excited for people to read it! 

Olivia: Is there anything you're reading at the moment that is inspiring you?

Bella: I've been getting back into reading, which is something I lost whilst dedicating my time to writing. I'm a reader at heart. It's good to see how good books should work. I'm currently listening to Percy Jackson to see how mythology is implemented, and I've subconsciously taken elements from it. Of course, there will be overlaps with the same source material, but I want it to feel original. 

Olivia: As someone who is now twice published, what would your tips be for writers?

Bella: Write for you. Don't go into writing trying to get published. If you know you'd like to, that's a great goal, but don't make it the focus, as this will take the enjoyment away. When I was writing my first big idea, I rushed into selecting book covers before even finishing a draft. I loved the idea of publishing more than the book. Once I put that aside, I finished the book that became Ice Queen. 

You should write for yourself, even when you're a published writer. When you publish, you're putting your heart and soul into the world for people to judge, and they're not always nice. Having something you've worked hard on is something to be proud of, not something you've rushed out to please other people. I know my books aren't perfect, but I'm human, and I'm proud of them. 

Olivia: Absolutely, and you're always learning as you write and as time goes on.

Bella: There's no sense in comparing. Knowing you didn't cut corners or rush, that's what matters. You did what you could at the time with the skills you had.

Olivia: Thank you again for the interview and for the Street Team opportunity — it's really blown up since I first joined! Congratulations! 

Bella: It feels so surreal. I know my books are out there. I go to signings and hand my books out, but it still feels so weird — like you're reading my book? It's out in the world? 

But I'm the one who's honoured to be here, and for sticking with me from before Curses of Lavender had a cover or synopsis. Thank you!