“Since I was a little girl I’ve been labeled a freak in my small town. There’s no blending in when your mom practices an ancient pagan religion and everyone believes she’s a witch. On my 15th birthday my secret wish is the same as always – to just be normal. But that’s not what I get. Not even close.”
– Brigit Quinn
Instead, Brigit is shocked to learn she’s descended from a legendary Celtic tribe - powerful people who serve as guardians of the stone circles of Ireland. A spellbound book of family history reveals the magical powers of her ancestors. Powers that could be hers - if only she wanted them.
And when someone sinister and evil returns to steal her family’s strength, Brigit has to make a decision. Fight to keep her unique heritage or reject it for the normal life she’s always wanted.
– Brigit Quinn
Instead, Brigit is shocked to learn she’s descended from a legendary Celtic tribe - powerful people who serve as guardians of the stone circles of Ireland. A spellbound book of family history reveals the magical powers of her ancestors. Powers that could be hers - if only she wanted them.
And when someone sinister and evil returns to steal her family’s strength, Brigit has to make a decision. Fight to keep her unique heritage or reject it for the normal life she’s always wanted.
When did you start writing?
I feel like I’ve always been a writer. I remember starting my first book in middle school, but I never finished it! As an adult I thought I’d turn my love for writing into a career by getting a journalism degree, but I always missed writing fiction. In 2009 I decided this dream couldn’t wait any longer and began the story that is now Circle of Nine – Beltany. It took me a year to finish the rough draft and then I spent the next few years alternately editing it and ignoring it while I worked on other books.
What is your favorite writing style?
I like writing in the first person the best—mostly past tense. Circle of Nine has historical chapters that are written in third person past tense and that style also comes easily to me. I’m experimenting with changing one of my middle-grade manuscripts to present tense, and I have to say that the immediacy of present tense is definitely growing on me.
What’s the best thing about writing?
Those super-awesome days when I’m in the zone and bang out a few thousand words without even looking at the clock. When I look up and realize I’ve written right through lunch (which is a big deal for me LOL), I am the happiest writer in the world! And even better than that has been when people tell me how much they love my book. I feel so humbled and grateful that I’ve been able to entertain someone with my story.
What do you do when you’re not writing?
I do a lot of publicity and membership building work for non-profits. Some of this is paid and some of it is volunteer. My work with the local historical society and the community theater productions is all volunteer and gets me out of the house, so I don’t turn into a weird reclusive writer who wears her pajamas all day.
I also have a massive yard with tons of fruit and a vegie garden. That keeps me busy when everything is not frozen over in Wisconsin. I can’t believe I actually have a garden and that I LIKE to work in it. I gave my parents so much grief when I was a teenager and they asked me to help with the gardening.
How Do you come up with your stories?
I like to travel and I get a lot of my inspiration from the places I see and the people I meet along the way. For instance, when I’ve traveled in Ireland I became fascinated with all of the standing stone circles dotting the countryside. In fact, Beltany (the subtitle of Circle of Nine) is an actual stone circle in County Donegal, Ireland. Other times my stories come to me when weird things collide. I might be reading a news article and overhearing part of a conversation, and then I start thinking things like I what would happen if …..? My brain works in weird ways.
Valerie Biel's love for travel inspires her books for teens and tweens. Circle of Nine - Beltany is set partially in Ireland where Valerie was inspired by the ancient stone circles which dot the countryside. Beltany, an actual stone circle in County Donegal, Ireland, plays an important part in this novel. "There's something eerie and beautiful about these circles which rise up out of the greenest grass you've ever seen. Who built them? Why did they build them? If that's not enough to start a story, nothing is."
This young adult novel was a top six finalist (out of 1000) in the Gotham Writers' YA Novel Discovery Contest.
When Valerie's not writing, she's working on freelance public relations projects, wrangling her overgrown garden, traveling the world, and reading everything she can get her hands on. Once upon a time, she graduated from the University of Wisconsin with degrees in journalism and political science. More recently, she moved back to small-town Wisconsin, happily violating her teenage vow that she would never do so. Valerie's husband and three children are always providing her with new story ideas whether they mean to or not.
This young adult novel was a top six finalist (out of 1000) in the Gotham Writers' YA Novel Discovery Contest.
When Valerie's not writing, she's working on freelance public relations projects, wrangling her overgrown garden, traveling the world, and reading everything she can get her hands on. Once upon a time, she graduated from the University of Wisconsin with degrees in journalism and political science. More recently, she moved back to small-town Wisconsin, happily violating her teenage vow that she would never do so. Valerie's husband and three children are always providing her with new story ideas whether they mean to or not.