Category: Author Interview

Q&A with Author Konstanz Silverbow (+ Giveaway)

Posted September 13, 2017 by Jana in Author Interview, Giveaway / 4 Comments

Magic, Myth, & Mischief, hosted by me and Bonnie, is a month-long event that celebrates fairy tales and mythological retellings, as well as retellings of favorite classic novels and books featuring mythical beasts such as mermaids, dragons, and fae! Find the schedule of events and other information here.

I’d like to welcome Konstanz Silverbow to the blog today to answer some questions about herself and her books. Konstanz has written a series of fairytale retellings called Finding Gold which she is talking about over on Bonnie’s blog this month.

Q&A with Konstanz Silverbow

Tell us about your fairytale/classic/myth retelling or any mythical creatures that appear in your story.
I am a sucker for everything fairytale related and all mythical creatures, but especially dragons! Every single one of my books features at least one dragon in some form.

If you could be any mythical creature, which one would you be and why?
That’s easy … dragon! Definitely a dragon! As for why … they are strong, majestic, beautiful creatures that can breathe fire on anyone who annoys them. … Kidding, kidding!

If you could live in any fairytale or mythical world, which one would you choose to live in and why?
My dream is to live in Middle Earth. I love the world J.R.R. Tolkien created and it’s the place I escaped to whenever life got hard. It’s my second home. It also sparked my love of fantasy and reading!

What lesson do you want your readers to learn from your retellings?
I think Samwise Gamgee said it best in The Two Towers: “There’s good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.” That’s the kind of inspiring message I try to make clear in each story. From Missing Royal, where Shanice learns that you never have to fight alone, The Enchanted Rose which teaches true love will always find a way, to Once Upon an Assassin where you’re reminded to never let your situation define you, and Beauty’s Thief, where looks aren’t everything, but a kind heart is.

If you found yourself trapped in a fairy tale, which would you want it to be?
Beauty and the Beast. Helloooooooo library!

Dragons or unicorns?
Dragons. Definitely dragons!

Mermaids or fae?
Hmmm … right now I have to say Fae. But that might change after I write my mermaid story!

Hans Christian Andersen, Grimms Brothers, or Disney?
Confession: All of the above! I love the original fairytales but I also love retellings!

About Konstanz Silverbow

Konstanz Silverbow has always been a dreamer . . . but not a writer. Being an author was something she was dragged into. But since that day, she hasn’t stopped. It has become more than a hobby, it is a passion.

During the day Konstanz works, making jewelry, playing the violin, collecting dragons, and learning all she can about medieval weapons. But at night she creates made up worlds and places where those dragons come to life and the weapons are used in battle.”

Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, with a dash of romance author, Konstanz Silverbow; Proud Creator of magical worlds, fictional creatures, ideal super heroes and sarcasm since 2007!

Author Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Missing Royal by Konstanz Silverbow
Series: Finding Gold #1
Self Published on March 20, 2014
Amazon • Add to Goodreads

One princess destroyed the world. One princess must save it.

When she was little she wished to be a princess. Now as a teenager she just wishes she fit in. But Shanice doesn’t feel like she belongs, she never has.

When her parents tell her she is the last known princess from another world, it all makes sense. A world full of magic in place of technology. One where she is more than just royalty, she is their last chance to stop the one who is bent on destroying it. Mendina.

But she can’t do it alone, first she must find the other missing royals. In her quest, Shanice will be forced to choose between the course prophecy set for her, and the one that leads to the man her heart belongs to.

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Q&A with Gabrielle Prendergast | Zero Repeat Forever Blog Tour

Posted September 4, 2017 by Jana in Author Interview, Blog Tour, Giveaway / 1 Comment

Welcome to my stop along the blog tour for Gabrielle Prendergast’s Zero Repeat Forever, hosted by Rockstar Book Tours! You might remember Gabrielle from my A Week of Beauty and the Beast event this past March, and I’m so happy to have her back to talk more about her book during this month’s event, Magic, Myth, and Mischief. Read more about Zero Repeat Forever, Gabrielle, and enter to win a signed finished copy and some cool swag below!

1. What makes your book magical, mythical, and/or mischievous?

As science fiction Zero Repeat Forever not exactly magical, but the mythology it taps into is partly the Pinocchio myth (that of a manufactured non-human who wants to be human) and also, of course, Beauty and the Beast. These are two of my all time favorites. As for mischief, the protagonist of Zero Repeat Forever, Raven, is very mischievous, but never for its own sake. Before the aliens invaded she got into a little trouble just having teenage fun, but after the invasion she channels that impulsivity into surviving.

2. What elements of the original Beauty and the Beast tale did you incorporate into your retelling?

The dynamic of their relationship is very similar. Eighth is very taken with Raven from the first time he sees her, while she takes a LOT longer to warm up to him. Books play a part in the development of her trust of him, as in Beauty and the Beast. And they spend time in a penthouse apartment, which is an analog of the Beast’s castle. Some readers have declared Topher to be Gaston and I won’t argue with that!

3. What are some of your favorite novels influenced by fairy tales/mythology? (Besides, of course, your own!)

I love all of Rick Riordan’s books and am super excited about his new project, Rick Riordan Presents, where he’s working with diverse authors to write installment of his series based on multicultural mythologies.

4. If you found yourself trapped in a fairy tale, which would you want it to be?

Beauty and the Beast, obvs. Because I love the beast so much, just the way he is. Also his library.

5. Who are your favorite villains of lore?

Of lore? I love Macbeth, and Lady Macbeth. And Medusa. I can relate to her lifelong bad hair day.

6. If you could live in any fairytale or mythological world, which one would you choose to live in and why?

I mean everyone wants to go to Hogwarts, right? The problem with mythological worlds is that they mostly take place in sort of pre-medieval settings and life really sucked then. I suppose if I could actually have magical powers it might be okay, but there’s the still the whole itchy woolen corset problem.

7. If you turned your life into a fairytale story, what would the title of it be?

Rumpledshirtnskirt is about right.

8. What lesson do you want your readers to learn from your retelling?

Never judge someone by their group membership or their appearance.

Zero Repeat Forever by Gabrielle Prendergast
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on August 29, 2017
Genres: Science Fiction, Romance, Retellings
Find it: Amazon • B&N • Audible • iBooks • BD • Goodreads

He has no voice, or name, only a rank, Eighth. He doesn’t know the details of the mission, only the directives that hum in his mind.

Dart the humans. Leave them where they fall.

His job is to protect his Offside. Let her do the shooting.

Until a human kills her…

Sixteen year-old Raven is at summer camp when the terrifying armored Nahx invade, annihilating entire cities, taking control of the Earth. Isolated in the wilderness, Raven and her friends have only a fragment of instruction from the human resistance.

Shelter in place.

Which seems like good advice at first. Stay put. Await rescue. Raven doesn’t like feeling helpless but what choice does she have?

Then a Nahx kills her boyfriend.

Thrown together in a violent, unfamiliar world, Eighth and Raven should feel only hate and fear. But when Raven is injured, and Eighth deserts his unit, their survival comes to depend on trusting each other…

About the Author

Gabrielle is a writer, teacher and designer living in Vancouver, Canada. You can read about her books here. She is represented by Barbara Poelle at the Irene Goodman Literary Agency.

In 2014 she was the Writer in Residence at Vancouver Public Library. In 2015 she was nominated for the BC Book Prizes and chosen to tour the province to promote BC Books. In 2017 Gabrielle took part in the TD Canada Children’s Book Week Tour. She has also been nominated for the White Pine Award and the CLA Award.

Gabrielle won the Westchester Award for Audacious. Audacious was included in CBC’s list of 100 YA Books That Make You Proud to be Canadian. A poem from Capricious was chosen for the 2014 Poetry in Transit Program. Pandas on the East Side was chosen as an Ontario Library Association Best Bet for Junior Fiction in 2016. It was also nominated/shortlisted for the Chocolate Lily Award, The Red Cedar Award, the Diamond Willow Award and the Myrca Award.

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Tour Schedule:

9/4/2017- That Artsy Reader Girl– Interview
9/5/2017- Read. Eat. Love.– Review
9/6/2017- Novel Novice – Guest Post
9/7/2017- britreadsbooks– Review
9/8/2017- Brittany’s Book Rambles– Interview

9/11/2017- Bibliobakes– Review
9/12/2017- A Dream Within A Dream– Guest Post
9/13/2017- Lattes & Paperbacks– Review
9/14/2017- BookHounds YA– Interview
9/15/2017- Nerdophiles – Review

Barefoot On the Wind Author Zoë Marriott | Beauty & the Beast Interview Series

Posted March 17, 2017 by Jana in Author Interview / 0 Comments

I hope you’re enjoying A Week of Beauty and Beast, a special blog event hosted by Bonnie at A Backwards Story and me! We thought this would be the perfect time to host an event devoted to one of our favorite fairy tales, seeing as how Disney’s live action Beauty and the Beast is coming out in theaters on Friday! Woohoo! We’re excited to share our love of this tale as old as time with you, and hope you enjoy what we have planned! Make sure you enter to win a Beauty and the Beast themed book of your choice. And if you want to join in on the fun, link up your B&B themed posts so we can come see!

Today Bonnie and I are hosting an interview with Zoë Marriott, author Barefoot On the Wind. Barefoot On the Wind is a beautiful retelling of Beauty and the Beast set in Japan. It’s the second book in Zoë’s The Moonlit Lands series, but it can be read as a standalone. As per usual, we’ve split the interview between our two blogs. When you’re done here, head over to A Backwards Story to read the rest!

Author Interview – Zoë Marriott

What inspired you to reinterpret Beauty and the Beast?

Beauty and the Beast is one of my all time favourite fairytales. I read Robin McKinley’s YA classic Beauty at around age eleven, which was same year that I first saw Disney’s version of the story. These wonderful retellings made a massive impression. They’re the reason I started my career as a YA writer with a fairytale retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Wild Swans. I never felt equal to the challenge of writing my own re-telling of Beauty and the Beast, though; it seemed as if the tale had been told so well by others that there was nothing else to say. But one day I pulled out my favourite fairytale read, Robin McKinley’s Beauty, and suddenly it struck me that the Beast, my ideal fictional hero since I was eleven… doesn’t really act like much of a hero at several points in the story.

Because, you see, Beauty and the Beast is supposed to be about true love. About learning to perceive and value inner beauty. Which is great, and all that. BUT. It’s actually the heroine Beauty who is asked to learn this lesson, despite being blameless. She’s the one who’s asked to love a Beast. That seems a bit unfair? Especially when the Beast – the one who is supposed to be learning not to be so cruel and shallow – imprisons her for months at a time with only a single week’s leave, until she finally agrees to marry him. He never has to learn to see beyond Beauty’s outer appearance. She’s already physically lovely. She’s also kind, good and loving, but the Beast doesn’t care about that when he arranges to lock her up. He just wants someone, anyone, to marry him and break the curse.

All these years we’ve been told the story is about true love conquering all. But really, when you get right down to it, it’s about using coercion to get your own way and being rewarded for it. Although Beauty is still my favourite comfort read because Robin McKinley’s writing is so amazing that she makes you forgive the Beast, I felt… disturbed. That was the seed that grew into BAREFOOT ON THE WIND.

Would you rather have The Rose or The Mirror in your Bedroom?

Neither, thanks! Those would both be a sign that I’ve done something very wrong and was living under a curse. I prefer a peaceful sleeping environment.

If you could be a household object, what would you be?

A pen! One that never runs out.

If you were taken by the Beast, what’s one comfort item from home that you’d want?

My ereader! So long as I could keep charging it up and downloading new books, of course.

What song would you want to dance to with the Beast?

I Will Follow You Into the Dark by Death Cab for Cutie. Or A Thousand Years by Christina Perri. Or No One’s Gonna Love You by Band of Horses. Or Brightly by Sleeping At Last. Or Hex, by Mt. Wolf. Or…. well, you get the idea.

If you looked in a magical mirror that would show you your heart’s desire, what would you see?

Harry Potter special. I’d see my father, my lovely dog Finn, and all the other people and pets I’ve loved and had to say goodbye to over the years.

Read the rest of the interview here!

Barefoot On the Wind by Zoë Marriott
September 1, 2016 by Walker Books
Series: The Moonlit Lands #2
Add to Goodreads | Buy from Book Depository (currently not available in the USA)

A companion title to Zoë Marriott’s critically acclaimed Shadows on the Moon, BAREFOOT ON THE WIND is a darkly magical retelling of “Beauty and the Beast” set in fairytale Japan.

There is a monster in the forest…

Everyone in Hana’s remote village on the mountain knows that straying too far into the woods is a death sentence. When Hana’s father goes missing, she is the only one who dares try to save him. Taking up her hunting gear, she goes in search of the beast, determined to kill it – or be killed herself.

But the forest contains more secrets, more magic and more darkness than Hana could ever have imagined. And the beast is not at all what she expects…

About Zoë Marriott

I’ve known that I wanted to be a writer since I finished reading my first book; ‘The Magic Faraway Tree’ by Enid Blyton. I think I was about eight, but I’ve never changed my mind in all the years since then.

I got my first publishing contract when I was twenty-two, but had to wait until I was twenty-four to see that book published (it was The Swan Kingdom).

I live in a little house in a town by the sea, with my two rescued cats, one called Hero after a Shakespearian character and one Echo after a nymph from a Greek myth. I also have a springer/cocker spaniel called Finbar (otherwise known as The Devil Hound). There’s a picture of him on the left.

Author Website | Twitter | Facebook

Withering Rose Author Kaitlyn Davis | Beauty & the Beast Interview Series

Posted March 15, 2017 by Jana in Author Interview / 1 Comment

Today Bonnie and I are hosting an interview with Kaitlyn Davis, author of Withering Rose. Withering Rose is the second book in Kaitlyn’s Once Upon a Curse series (although it can be read as a standalone) and it turns the tables on the original tale as we’ve always known it. This time Beauty is cursed and the Beast is the one who has to do the saving. Just like yesterday, we’ve split the interview between our two blogs. When you’re done here, head over to A Backwards Story to read the rest!

Author Interview – Kaitlyn Davis

What are a few of the ways in which your retelling differs from the original tale?

The most obvious difference in my version is that Beauty is the one who is cursed, and the Beast is the only one who can save her! My Beauty, Omorose, is cursed with a type of magic that is slowly killing her. If these two mistrusting souls could learn to form a truce, the Beast might just hold the key to saving her life.

If you could be a household object, what would you be?

Hmm…so tough! Definitely not cleaning supplies or anything having to do with the bathroom! Probably a pen, because it’s what I use the most! Or a coffee mug…actually, that might be more accurate…

What magical/beautiful surprise would you hope the Beast had for you? (Belle’s library, Feyre’s art gallery, etc.)

This might not be very original, but I’d want a library too! So many books and so little time! But, I would prefer to turn a little section of the room into a coffee/frozen yogurt bar :) Then I would never ever leave!

Read the rest of the interview here!

Withering Rose by Kaitlyn Davis
May 17, 2016
Series: Once Upon a Curse #2
Add to Goodreads | Buy from Amazon

What if Beauty was cursed, and the Beast was the only one who could save her? Don’t miss WITHERING ROSE, a dystopian romance from bestselling author Kaitlyn Davis that reimagines the classic fairy tale of Beauty & The Beast.

“As the heat finally disappeared, I felt the bloom blossom in the very core of my soul, a rose just like my name–a ticking clock hidden behind a façade of beauty. From that moment on, my life would become a countdown, and all I could do was wait and watch as the petals of time slowly started to fall.”

Omorose Bouchene has a secret–magic. There’s only one problem. At the age of seven, an earthquake struck, catapulting her into a new world. A land made of skyscrapers and cell phones. Fast cars and fluorescent lights. A land where magic isn’t supposed to exist and anyone who wields it is the enemy.

But after ten years of hiding, she’s desperate to find a place where she can be free. Because all magic comes with a curse, and her curse is time–every ounce of power she uses strips days off of her life. The clock is winding down, and the only option left is to escape to the realm of the Beast. But the king of monsters isn’t what he seems. And the more Omorose opens her heart, the more she comes to realize that the only person she may need to fear is herself.

About Kaitlyn Davis

Kaitlyn Davis, a bestselling author with over a quarter of a million books sold, writes young adult fantasy novels under the name Kaitlyn Davis and contemporary romance novels under the name Kay Marie. Publisher’s Weekly has said, “Davis writes with confidence and poise,” while USA Today has recommended her work as “must-read romance.”

Always blessed with an overactive imagination, Kaitlyn has been writing ever since she picked up her first crayon and is overjoyed to share her work with the world. When she’s not daydreaming, typing stories, or getting lost in fictional worlds, Kaitlyn can be found playing fetch with her puppy, watching a little too much television, or spending time with her family. If you have any questions for her–about her books, about scheduling an event, or just in general–you may contact her at: KaitlynDavisBooks@gmail.com

Author Website | Twitter

Roses In Amber Author C.E. Murphy | Beauty & the Beast Interview Series

Posted March 14, 2017 by Jana in Author Interview / 1 Comment

Today Bonnie and I are bringing you an interview with C.E. Murphy, author of Beauty and the Beast retelling Roses In Amber. We’ve split the interview up between our two blogs, so read the first part here and then hop over to Bonnie’s for the second part! Read more about C.E. and her book below.

Author Interview – C.E. Murphy

What inspired you to reinterpret Beauty and the Beast?

It’s always been my favourite fairy tale, and I recently read the oldest extant written version of it and found all kinds of delicious things–backstory about the Beast, especially–that hadn’t made it to our more modern version. I wanted to play with that information and see what it could lend to a new retelling of a tale as old as time! :)

If you could be a household object, what would you be?

…probably a book. :)

If you were taken by the Beast, what’s one comfort item from home that you’d want?

…my kid? :)

What song would you want to dance to with the Beast?

Out Of The Woods, Taylor Swift :)

If you looked in a magical mirror that would show you your heart’s desire, what would you see?

Right now, a good night’s sleep. Somebody’s house alarm went off for 4 hours last night… @.@

Read the rest of the interview here!

Roses In Amber by C.E. Murphy
February 6, 2017 from Miz Kit Productions
Add to Goodreads l Buy from Amazon

There is a story of a beast, and a merchant’s daughter, and a curse that must be broken.
This is not—quite—that story.

Amber Gryce believes in magic the way anyone does: as a thing of the past, marked now only by the long reign of an ancient queen sworn to live until her stolen son is returned to her. Such stories are romantic but distant for Amber, surrounded by family and wealth.

But like magic, wealth can disappear. Left destitute, Amber’s family retreats to a forest holding far from their city home, where Amber’s love of roses leads her into the heart of enchantment, and draws her into a retelling of the tale as old as time….

About C.E. Murphy

C.E. Murphy is a writer of fantasy novels and short stories. She also writes “action-adventure romance” novels under the pseudonym Cate Dermody, which was her grandmother’s maiden name.

Author Website | Twitter