| I am Valshara, the black stone born of fire. Break me, and my edges turn into knives. Condemned to a slave camp for her crimes, goblin convict Valshara Sh’a makes a death-defying escape to freedom. But navigating Vindor’s treacherous cavern system is only the beginning of her troubles. An encounter with a rogue king turns her world upside down, and a bargain with fairy tricksters leaves her with a human child she doesn’t know how to care for. As she tries to smuggle the boy through the walls of a barricaded city, Valshara can’t let down her guard. Because somewhere in the darkness behind her, a bounty hunter rises—relentless as nightfall and merciless as death itself. Emily Golus re-imagines Victor Hugo’s beloved Les Misérables as an epic fantasy adventure about suffering, redemption, and the extraordinary power of love. |  |
Genre: Fantasy
Release Date: September 22, 2023
Release Date: September 22, 2023
Click here to get your copy!
Interview with Emily
1. How long did it take to finish writing this book?
It took exactly one year from the day I was first approached about joining the A Classic Retold series to writing “The End” on the first draft. The book then went through several months of editing and proofreading—so in all it took about 22 months.
It’s actually the fastest I’ve ever completed a book. Mists of Paracosmia took a little over two years to write, and my debut novel, Escape to Vindor, took (mumbles sheepishly) about thirteen years.
It took exactly one year from the day I was first approached about joining the A Classic Retold series to writing “The End” on the first draft. The book then went through several months of editing and proofreading—so in all it took about 22 months.
It’s actually the fastest I’ve ever completed a book. Mists of Paracosmia took a little over two years to write, and my debut novel, Escape to Vindor, took (mumbles sheepishly) about thirteen years.
2. What do you hope your readers will take away with them when they read this book?
Crack the Stone is a retelling of Les Misérables, which is at its core about redemption. I really wanted this theme to shine. I want readers to see the contrast between cold, rule-following traditionalism and genuine (and sometimes shocking) divine mercy and love, which changes a person from the inside out.
Crack the Stone is a retelling of Les Misérables, which is at its core about redemption. I really wanted this theme to shine. I want readers to see the contrast between cold, rule-following traditionalism and genuine (and sometimes shocking) divine mercy and love, which changes a person from the inside out.
3. How did you name your characters?
I put a lot of thought into giving my characters names that fit their personalities, but also sound like they come from whatever fantasy culture they hail from. The cast of Crack the Stone is pretty diverse, so names were adapted from Japanese, Arabic, Greek, Latin, Igbo and Yoruba (the latter two being principal languages of Nigeria). Other names approximate an imaginary language (such as Goblin).
With Crack the Stone, I also decided that characters that corresponded to people in Hugo’s original novel would have names that also sounded roughly similar.
So:
The exception is my villain (Javert), whose actual name is never given. We only know him by his bounty hunter nickname, the Faceless.
I put a lot of thought into giving my characters names that fit their personalities, but also sound like they come from whatever fantasy culture they hail from. The cast of Crack the Stone is pretty diverse, so names were adapted from Japanese, Arabic, Greek, Latin, Igbo and Yoruba (the latter two being principal languages of Nigeria). Other names approximate an imaginary language (such as Goblin).
With Crack the Stone, I also decided that characters that corresponded to people in Hugo’s original novel would have names that also sounded roughly similar.
So:
- Jean Valjean became goblin Valshara Sh’a (note the similar repetition of syllables)
- Fantine became Fatima
- Cosette became Makozi (Kozi for short)
- Éponine became Etsuko
- Marius became Mareso
The exception is my villain (Javert), whose actual name is never given. We only know him by his bounty hunter nickname, the Faceless.
4. Tell us something funny that happened involving this book.
When you write an adventure plot, you want to make things as difficult as you can for characters to reach their goals—that way it’s so much sweeter when they succeed. So I took pains to establish that the mud walls of B’jeme (my West-African inspired city) are impossible to climb, have a single guarded door, etc.
At one point in the story, I had Valshara get stuck on one side of the wall in a very dramatic way, which worked well for the plot. But then I realized in her next scene she was supposed to be on the other side—and I had spent chapters establishing there was absolutely no way for her to get there. I had literally written myself into a corner! So I had to figure out alongside Valshara a creative way to get out of this predicament—which took the plot a new and interesting direction.
When you write an adventure plot, you want to make things as difficult as you can for characters to reach their goals—that way it’s so much sweeter when they succeed. So I took pains to establish that the mud walls of B’jeme (my West-African inspired city) are impossible to climb, have a single guarded door, etc.
At one point in the story, I had Valshara get stuck on one side of the wall in a very dramatic way, which worked well for the plot. But then I realized in her next scene she was supposed to be on the other side—and I had spent chapters establishing there was absolutely no way for her to get there. I had literally written myself into a corner! So I had to figure out alongside Valshara a creative way to get out of this predicament—which took the plot a new and interesting direction.
5. If you could change one thing in your life, past or present, what would it be?
I grew up in church, but I really didn’t understand the Gospel. I knew Jesus had done something to save me, but thought the impossible task of keeping God happy remained on my own shoulders. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I came to understand that Jesus truly did atone for ALL my sins and shortcomings, and my standing with God is based on His merit, not my own. That’s when my crippling anxiety and fear started to subside and I became a more secure and peaceful person.
I sometimes wonder how much better my teen years would have been if I had grasped this truth sooner. So that’s why I write what I do. My first book, Escape to Vindor, deals directly with the Love-based solution to insecurity. Crack the Stone shows the difference between who I used to be (a judgmental rule-follower who could never keep up with the exhausting hamster wheel of religion) and who I am now (an imperfect person who has been forgiven and lives in grateful response to Jesus’ grace in my life).
I grew up in church, but I really didn’t understand the Gospel. I knew Jesus had done something to save me, but thought the impossible task of keeping God happy remained on my own shoulders. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I came to understand that Jesus truly did atone for ALL my sins and shortcomings, and my standing with God is based on His merit, not my own. That’s when my crippling anxiety and fear started to subside and I became a more secure and peaceful person.
I sometimes wonder how much better my teen years would have been if I had grasped this truth sooner. So that’s why I write what I do. My first book, Escape to Vindor, deals directly with the Love-based solution to insecurity. Crack the Stone shows the difference between who I used to be (a judgmental rule-follower who could never keep up with the exhausting hamster wheel of religion) and who I am now (an imperfect person who has been forgiven and lives in grateful response to Jesus’ grace in my life).
More from Emily
Crack the Stone is a fantasy re-spinning of Victor Hugo’s redemptive masterpiece, Les Misérables. I’ve taken the major themes and characters of the original novel and recast them within the fantastical world of Vindor. The heart of the story is the same—a stone-hearted convict on the run from the law finds unexpected redemption—but there are new twists and turns along the way.
The Jean Valjean character—now a fierce goblin warrior named Valshara Sh’a—finds herself fleeing through treacherous caverns, an ensnaring forest, and a West African-inspired city under siege. Her pursuer, an expert bounty hunter who has never failed to catch his quarry, is dead-set on returning her to slavery.
Complicating everything is the human boy Valshara rescues from a fairy ring. The precocious and chaotic child not only jeopardizes the goblin’s escape, but starts to melt her obsidian heart.
Crack the Stone focuses primarily on Hugo’s themes of scandalous redemption, legalism, and the transforming love between a mother and child. Other elements of the novel—lovesick Éponine, the red revolution flag, the barricade, the Elephant of the Bastille—have been remixed in unexpected ways to support the redemption arc.
If you’re a fan of the book (or the musical!) you’ll enjoy the fun Les Mis “Easter eggs” throughout. But even if you’re not familiar with the original, you can still get swept up in Crack the Stone’s epic story of suffering, love, and light in the darkest places.
The Jean Valjean character—now a fierce goblin warrior named Valshara Sh’a—finds herself fleeing through treacherous caverns, an ensnaring forest, and a West African-inspired city under siege. Her pursuer, an expert bounty hunter who has never failed to catch his quarry, is dead-set on returning her to slavery.
Complicating everything is the human boy Valshara rescues from a fairy ring. The precocious and chaotic child not only jeopardizes the goblin’s escape, but starts to melt her obsidian heart.
Crack the Stone focuses primarily on Hugo’s themes of scandalous redemption, legalism, and the transforming love between a mother and child. Other elements of the novel—lovesick Éponine, the red revolution flag, the barricade, the Elephant of the Bastille—have been remixed in unexpected ways to support the redemption arc.
If you’re a fan of the book (or the musical!) you’ll enjoy the fun Les Mis “Easter eggs” throughout. But even if you’re not familiar with the original, you can still get swept up in Crack the Stone’s epic story of suffering, love, and light in the darkest places.
 Emily Golus | Emily Golus is an award-winning fantasy author with nearly 20 years of professional writing experience. Golus aims to engage, inspire, and show how small acts of courage and love create meaningful change. Her books feature diverse cultures, authentic characters, and cinematic fantasy settings. Her first novel, Escape to Vindor, won the 2018 Selah Award for Young Adult Fiction, and a spin-off novel, Crack the Stone, won the 2024 Kudos Award for Fiction. Golus lives in Greenville, S.C., with her husband, Mike, who is her greatest supporter. They have two active little boys and enjoy hiking, making Thai food, and exploring small towns in the Carolinas. |
It's Time For A Giveaway!
To celebrate her tour, Emily is giving away the grand prize of a paperback copy
of Crack the Stone, an obsidian arrowhead pendant, two Vindor stickers,
a Vindor mini-map, a Vindor bookmark, and a $25 Amazon gift card!!
of Crack the Stone, an obsidian arrowhead pendant, two Vindor stickers,
a Vindor mini-map, a Vindor bookmark, and a $25 Amazon gift card!!
Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries!
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