Well, not really. But part of me is!
The wonderful Effrosyni Moschoudi, author of The Necklace of the Goddess Athena and The Lady of the Pier was gracious enough to feature me on her blog this week. It’s a very fun interview, and she’s got a ton of wonderful readers I’m having a blast connecting with :)
Check it out here: Effrosyni’s Blog: The public diary of a Greek dreamer Continue reading
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When I came across Elizabeth Blackwell’s While Beauty Slept, I knew instantly that I had to get her over to Skipping Midnight! Described as The Brothers Grimm meets The Thirteenth Tale, it puts a mysterious new spin on the fairy tale we’ve all grown up with.
After the interview, leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of While Beauty Slept.
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Reimagining classic fairy tales has become almost as timeless as the original stories themselves. How did the idea for While Beauty Slept come about?
While Beauty Slept is not the official Disney version of the story, but the idea for the book came from watching Sleeping Beauty many, many times with my daughter. The movie has a very distinctive visual style, which I found out was based on medieval tapestries. I began to wonder, “What if this story really happened sometime in the past?” Once I figured out how certain events could be explained without magic, I started envisioning the larger world in which the fairy tale takes place. And I kept going from there!
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I imagine this required a bit more research than a modern love story. Can you talk a bit about your process?
Well, the honest answer is that I didn’t have to do too much research, because I purposefully set the book in an unidentified time and place. I wanted it to feel like medieval Europe and be true to that time period, but I didn’t want to get bogged down with specific kings or queens or battles. Any story set in a generic “fairy tale land” forces readers to use their imagination to some extent, and I wanted my readers to have that same experience.
That’s not to say I made up everything from scratch. I had to create rules for my made-up land, and decide how technically advanced that society would be, what the people ate, what they wore, etc. I’ve always loved historical fiction, and books like Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett’s book about the building of a medieval cathedral, gave me a sense of what everyday life was like at that time. (See—reading books you love can count as research!)
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Filed under Author Interviews, Contests
How many times has your mother poked fun at her “prince?” Called her home her “castle?” Or made light of the whole damsels-in-distress, knight-in-shining-armor, happily-ever-after fairy tale?
How many times has she said someone should write about what really happened to Cinderella down the road? Would her iconic ball gown still fit? Would she be happy with all her new responsibilities? How many kids would she have? Would “true love” endure?
And what about Beauty? How long would it take “Beast” to go right back to his old, wolfish ways after she broke his curse? Or Sleeping Beauty? I mean, what kind of man comes across a comatose woman in the woods and decides to kiss her, anyway?!
In honor of International Chick Lit Month and Mother’s Day, Desperately Ever After has been marked down in both print and e-book formats. So forget flowers. Make her laugh this year and stock her beach bag early–before the sequel, Damsels in Distress, hits the shelves in August.
Click here for more about the book
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While you’re browsing, celebrate Chick Lit Month with some great titles discounted down to just 99 cents. And don’t miss out on Thursday’s big Facebook party. Events all day!
Filed under Desperately Ever After
Like many writers, Amanda Prowse started out doing something else entirely, but ultimately could not ignore the call of the pen. And it’s a good thing she didn’t! Now a bestselling author, she has published four novels and four short stories. The titles in her No Greater Love series all involve strong women “in extraordinary situations for love.” (She also gets extra points in my book for starting out self-published!)
After the interview, leave a comment for a chance to win one of FOUR SIGNED copies of A Little Love.
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You worked as a management consultant for several years before deciding to take the plunge and try your hand at writing full-time. Was this something you always knew you wanted to do? If so, what gave you the push to finally take that leap and how did you make the transition?
I think if you really really want to do something it’s often because you have a sneaking suspicion that you might be quite good at it! I had always scribbled notes for short stories and gathered snippets about people I met who I thought might make great characters, but writing for a living was inconceivable to me. I come from a working class family and didn’t know anyone that wrote, it felt like another world that I wasn’t part of. Finally aged 40, after overcoming cancer, my sons were older and my soldier husband back from his thirteenth tour—I realised that this is my one time around the block and I had to live the life I dreamed of, so I picked up my pen and haven’t looked back!
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Your first book, Poppy Day, began as a self-published novel. But it quickly became a bestseller, attracted the attention of Head of Zeus publishers, and triggered an entire series. This must have been an extremely emotional and rewarding process. What did that teach you about the industry and your writing?
Emotional, rewarding and like a fairytale! I still pinch myself when I look back at my journey so far. Self-publishing and my naivety about the book industry meant I didn’t see many of the boulders that were blocking my way, meaning I simply jumped over them. Now, looking from the inside out, I can see the enormous problem of actually getting your work read. Publishers and agents are inundated and I’m certain that many brilliant books slip through the net. This is the great thing about the digital world—you can put your work out there and if it’s good enough it will get noticed.
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Filed under Author Interviews
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Happy Monday everyone!
First, I want to give a huge thanks to Jonita Fex for featuring Desperately Ever After today on her blog, The Book Chick. I’m looking forward to her review later this summer! Click here to read the full article at book-chic.blogspot.com
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Second, here’s a reminder that Cathy Bramley is giving away an e-copy of Conditional Love through Tuesday. All you have to do is leave a comment. Plus, she’s a great interview, so it’s a win-win! Check it out here
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Third, Amanda Prowse will stop by Wednesday to talk about her latest novel, A Little Love, and give FOUR signed copies to you lovely Skipping Midnight readers. You won’t want to miss it.
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And finally, the price of Desperately Ever After has just dropped again to $3.99! Loads of Amazon and Goodreads reviewers have called it a great beach read, so plan ahead! Summer will be here before you know it ;)
Filed under Uncategorized
Now that spring has officially sprung, all eyes are turning from the living room to the back yard. Daffodils are bursting through the soil. Tulips are waiting in the wings. And ambitious gardeners are browsing home improvement stores with green-eyed envy and thumbs to match. But beyond planting beautiful flowers, spring is the ideal time to start a backyard vegetable garden.
Why?
For starters, while that emerald green ball of broccoli at the supermarket may look packed full of vitamins, the truth is vegetables start losing nutrients the moment they are picked. Growing your own lets you control how long your produce waits for mealtime, how organic it is, how much damage it does to your wallet (especially when it comes to those pricey herbs and berries!), and even how good it tastes. Continue reading
Filed under Home & Family, Journalism
Just a few days ago, Cathy Bramley’s debut novel, Conditional Love, hit number one on Amazon UK’s Romantic Relationships chart. Talk about perfect timing!
Cathy has one of those fantastic self-publishing stories that gives other authors hope to keep going. Though oceans apart, we share a phenomenal cover designer, blog tour organizer, and protagonists who begin on the meek side but grow in confidence as they come into their own.
I am so thrilled to have her here today. After the interview, leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Conditional Love!
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After spending many years in public relations, you decided to self-publish your first novel in October 2013. Can you talk a bit about how that decision came about?
I had been to lots to conferences where the general consensus was that debut authors have about as much chance of getting an agent as they have winning the lottery. I decided that I would save myself the heartache of rejections and go it alone!
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Conditional Love is about a woman in her thirties who gets dumped by her boyfriend (on Valentine’s Day—yuck!), then receives a mysterious inheritance under the condition that she meet her long estranged father. What else can you tell us about that story?
I had great fun writing this book. Although the main character, Sophie is a bit weak-willed to begin with, I think she’s great fun and big-hearted and she grows in confidence as the story progresses. The theme is love in all its guises. We find love in the most unexpected of places and sometimes love comes with conditions attached. Continue reading
Filed under Author Interviews
Image courtesy of adamr/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Maybe I’m just weird, but there’s something euphoric about the post-draft cleanup period … when the manuscript reaches its (temporary) end and the keyboard-punching squalor in which I’ve been living finally goes away.
Out go the late-night fro-yo bowls, the drained mugs with solidified coffee residue at the bottom, the piles of notecards, the “reference” books, the illegible pencil notes, and the reams of print-outs bloody from my Bic round stic pen. Oh, and the random sweaters I kept taking on and off. And the receipts I meant to file away. And the inboxes that look like George Costanza’s wallet. And the to-do list for my non-writing life that’s been completely on hold for months. Continue reading
Filed under Writing Process
Today, I am pleased to welcome Effrosyni Moschoudi, author of The Necklace of Goddess Athena. Last month, her debut urban fantasy reached Amazon’s number one spot in the mythology category, and was number two in fairy tales. It also received a perfect five-star rating from The Fantasy & Sci-Fi Network, where it was described as “A Rare Gem.”
After her interview whets your appetite, head over to Amazon (US or UK) tomorrow and Friday to download a free copy! Limited time only!
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1. You published your first book, The Necklace of Goddess Athena, in January. What can you tell us about that story?
The Necklace of Goddess Athena is a fantasy adventure of Greek myths and time travel that is suitable for all ages. It is about two time travellers from antiquity (a brother and sister) who are sent to modern-day Athens by their mysterious father without knowing his purpose. They team up with two orphaned siblings in this new world and soon realize there is a reason that they stumbled upon them. Together, they wind up tracing their family history, trying to reunite with their parents and in the process, find themselves entangled in an ancient rivalry between two Olympian Gods.
Filed under Author Interviews
Bestseller Giveaway
Stephanie Evanovich, author of Big Girl Panties and The Sweet Spot, is giving away two paperback copies of her bestselling novel through Tuesday. All you have to do is leave a comment. Plus, she’s a great interview, so it’s a win-win!
Link: http://bit.ly/1iJ4NNG
Filed under Author Interviews, Contests, Desperately Ever After
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