Juliet Marillier on nature magic, druidry and the doubt that never leaves w/Sophie Janna

"You have to hold on to hope." — Juliet MarillierDutch folk singer Sophie Janna was 14 when she read Daughter of the Forest. Twenty-four years later she finally gets to ask its author the questions she's been carrying since. Juliet Marillier — the New Zealand-born, Western Australia-based novelist behind the Sevenwaters saga and the Blackthorn & Grim novels, and winner of the 2025 World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award — talks about the marriage that ended, the office job, and the first novel she wrote over three years purely to put her feelings on the page. She talks about being a musician long before she was a writer, about belonging to a druid order, about the trees in an Irish wood she was warned away from, and about the morning she lifted a magpie off a picket fence — a moment that became the opening scene of her new novel, The Amber Owl. Sophie takes the conversation into the song, and writes it back into the book that started her: the silent sister, the needle, and the word that must not be spoken.New single "Hold On" by Sophie Janna — out 28 August. Stream/pre-save: https://ffm.to/holdon-sophiejannaCHAPTERS00:00 Welcome to Podsongs00:40 Meet Sophie Janner01:09 Falling for Daughter02:43 Songs from the Books04:13 Juliet’s Late Start05:27 What Her Stories Are07:27 Juliet Joins the Call09:24 From Music to Writing11:15 Writing Through Crisis17:36 Music in Her Fiction20:43 Roots in Scotland25:07 Researching Wolfskin30:47 Forests and Climate35:39 Art as Activism38:19 Self Doubt Reflections40:35 Writing Battles Hard43:18 Creating Despite Doubts44:56 Rethinking Soulmates49:27 Libraries And Access52:46 Comfort Reads And Moomins54:43 Finland Research Trip58:29 Believing In Nature Magic01:04:11 Magpie Rescue Inspiration01:08:34 Signing Off And AftertalkSONG CREDITS"Hold On" performed by Sophie JannaMassimino Voza: drums, pianoLuigi Falcione: bassMaurizio Sarnicola: electric guitar, mellotronMixed and mastered at Goldmine Records, ItalyGUEST & MUSICIANJuliet Marillier: https://julietmarillier.comSophie Janna: https://sophiejanna.nl// SUPPORT THIS CHANNEL //Newsletter, donations and download the song for €/$1 @ https://podsongs.com// LINKS //Website: https://podsongs.comPodcast episodes: https://podsongs.com/podcast-episodesSongs: https://podsongs.com/musicSpotify artist: https://open.spotify.com/artist/32FYyRx1y1ex3jHHAgLMC7Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6sN1viy82HPiNTVX2YBxpq// SOCIAL //Twitter: https://twitter.com/podsongsInstagram: https://instagram.com/podsongsFacebook: https://facebook.com/podsongs#Podsongs #JulietMarillier #SophieJanna #folk #TheAmberOwl #druid #folklore