Interview with Juliet Grey + Giveaway (US)

Please Welcome Juliet Grey!

I haven't talked much about Juliet Grey on Small Review (yet) but she is by far one of my favorite historical fiction authors EVER. I adore her books like crazy (they're chock full of super real people and a bizillion facts), so I'm super stoked to have gotten the opportunity to interview her. If you're at all a Marie Antoinette fan, I highly, highly, highly recommend Juliet Grey's fantastic series. (Just ask my library patrons. I've shoved these books in their hands often enough!)

I hope you all enjoy reading her responses as much as I did. I even made my husband read them (and he totally had context because I've been bothering him with a million "Did you know...?" babbles because I'm reading the third book in the series now).

Also, I *may* have cried a little when I read Juliet's reply to my last question.   

Oh, and in case you're wondering, yes, this post talks about the series as a whole, but there aren't any spoilers. So feel free to read it all even if you haven't read any of the books in the series yet.  

Website | Blog | Goodreads

Q: What was your favorite scandal to write about? Can you tell us a little about it and its significance (without giving major spoilers, of course!)?

A: The major scandal that really cemented Marie Antoinette’s character as a villainess in the minds of the French was one that was none of her making and which she had nothing to do with. The various elements of this lengthy sting operation were so remarkable that they fall under the “truth is stranger than fiction” category. When the novelist depicts them based on the facts of the historical record, it’s hard to believe they’re really true!

Yet perhaps many of the events I illustrate in CONFESSIONS OF MARIE ANTOINETTE might not have occurred, were it not for the notorious “Affair of the Diamond Necklace” that played out over the course of two years in 1784-1786. In the second novel in the trilogy, DAYS OF SPLENDOR, DAYS OF SORROW, I depicted this juicy scandal where a con artist and her husband, passing themselves off as members of the nobility, convinced the queen’s distant cousin and arch-nemesis, the Cardinal de Rohan, that she secreted coveted an astronomically expensive diamond necklace and that she had asked him to buy it in her name so that she would not appear to be spending so much while her subjects suffered financial hardships. It was pure invention. Marie Antoinette had turned down an opportunity to purchase the necklace (which had been designed for the late Louis XV’s glamorous mistress Madame du Barry) because she knew that the king, Louis XVI, didn’t have the funds to buy it, and she already had diamonds aplenty. When the queen discovered that her name and reputation had been slandered in this arch-swindle, she insisted that the matter be taken to court and tried by the magistrates, rather than handled internally. It was with the best and most honorable of intentions, but instead of the con artists and the credulous Cardinal being taken to task for their misdeeds, it was Marie Antoinette, innocent of the entire transaction, whose character was publicly dragged through the mud. She was painted as caring only for glittering finery, insensitive to the needs of her people. And when the con artists were found guilty, the people were convinced that their punishments were unjust and it was Marie Antoinette who should have been clapped in irons instead. The Affair of the Diamond Necklace (which could have been a novel in itself—and I did have to cut some of my darlings or the novel would have been 1000 pages!) was a turning point in Marie Antoinette’s life. She could not stem the tide of the terrible press that followed and the savage attack on her character, 99% of which was false. Throughout CONFESSIONS OF MARIE ANTOINETTE, the queen endeavors to regain the love and trust of her subjects that was devastated by the diamond necklace affair.

Q: Marie Antoinette's clothes are a focus of much of the books, with her fashion choices being yet another factor used, unfairly, against her. What is your personal favorite fashion style that Marie Antoinette wears? Can you tell us a little about why you like it best and its significance in history?

A: Ohhh, there are so many! And you are right that each was used against her and each had its significance in history. She was damned if she did and damned if she didn’t, condemned both for dressing opulently, as befitting a queen of France, and for “dressing down,” affecting the minimalist white muslin gaulles  or chemises à la reine of the early and mid-1780s. The gaulles were of such a delicate fabric that the gowns did not last long and frequently needed to be replaced. Consequently, just as she was accused of bankrupting the nation because women had to spend so much to mimic her extravagant silhouettes, she suffered the same accusations with regard to the gaulles, because women had to purchase so many of them. She was derided for looking like a royal mistress during the glamorous 1770s with her outré skirts and three-foot-high “poufs” accessorized with all manner of props, and was equally admonished for looking distinctly unregal—like a dairymaid or as if she were dressed in her undergarments—when she favored the chemises à la reine. Marie Antoinette couldn’t catch a break because the French were predetermined to despise her.

My favorite style is a sort of wild card. Although the queen’s tastes famously changed throughout her reign, it’s the one silhouette she adored all her life and which was more her own taste and less influenced by the ideas of others, particularly her favorite modiste, Rose Bertin: I am partial to the riding habits that Marie Antoinette began wearing as a teen and favored all the way through the 1780s, until the French Revolution made military attire fashionable for the anti-royalist factions. Marie Antoinette’s mother, the hypercritical

Austrian Empress Maria Theresa, often said that the painting that most resembled her daughter and captured her spirit more than any other was one made in 1771 that depicted her in a riding habit, with its fashionable close fitting jacket, which the English call a redingote, and a full, sweeping skirt. Once she came to France, Marie Antoinette use to send to England to have her habits made for her. One thing I love about Marie Antoinette’s riding habits, apart from the fact that they flattered her figure no matter her age, was that they represent her independence. To her mother’s consternation, because she feared it would cause a miscarriage, if she became pregnant, Marie Antoinette insisted on riding on horseback when she was dauphine, in an effort to woo her diffident husband into consummating their marriage, events I depict in the first novel in my trilogy, BECOMING MARIE ANTOINETTE. No matter the decade, Marie Antoinette was fond of her riding habits. These streamlined silhouettes, free from the fripperies of the 1770s and the fragility of the gaulles of the early 1780s show a side of the dauphine and later queen, that few associate with her—not the ultra-feminine aspect of her character, but the indomitable side. The riding habits are the only fashion that Marie Antoinette favored throughout her life and they project the image of the resilient woman within, the woman we see throughout the final novel in the trilogy, CONFESSIONS OF MARIE ANTOINETTE—the woman who has been there all along, but had to face unspeakable challenges before she was able to tap into her remarkable wellspring of strength.

Q: Your Marie Antoinette trilogy is heavily researched and crammed with facts, but being told from Marie Antoinette's point of view, I imagine there were some pieces of information you discovered that could not be naturally included within this POV. What is one fact you learned about Marie Antoinette or the surrounding history that you'd like readers to know, but weren't able to include in your books?

A:Toward the end of CONFESSIONS OF MARIE ANTOINETTE, the final novel in the trilogy, there was a major fact that I could not include because the parties did not know it at the time! This section of the novel is narrated from Marie Antoinette’s point of view and she knows the truth; but as the author I was prevented from elaborating, by what my some of characters knew and what others could reveal—information that would change everything. I’m trying to avoid spoilers here, although when the parties have been dead for more than 200 years, there are few secrets. But I would like readers to enjoy the narrative as it unfolds. Suffice it to say that most of what Marie Antoinette was accused of in her trial in October 1793 was utter fabrication, intended to smear her character. Some of the lies that were told by the “witnesses” were so damaging and so preposterous that they actually garnered sympathy for the deposed queen. But there was one allegation that was in fact true—yet the Revolutionary Tribunal lacked the documentary proof
to substantiate it. The information reveals just how courageous Marie Antoinette was, how diligent and organized her campaign to free the royal family from the clutches of the Revolution when all other avenues had failed and their friends in France had given up hope or were powerless to aid them. Among the numerous allegations against her was the charge of corresponding with foreign powers—France’s enemies—soliciting their assistance to defend the royal family against the Revolutionaries, encouraging them to invade France. For years, ever since the royal family had been imprisoned in the Tuileries, Marie Antoinette had indeed corresponded with her family in Austria, desperately pleading for them to rescue the Bourbons and to quash the Revolution. Of course the verdict of Marie Antoinette’s trial was a foregone conclusion; however, she maintained her innocence of all charges, despite knowing that she was in fact guilty of the charge of treason. 

Q: Almost from page one, Marie Antoinette's story is a tragedy, filled with trials and tribulations, wrongs and slights against her, the void of childlessness, criticisms from every direction, vicious rumors, and unwarranted blame cast upon her. What do you personally view as the biggest tragedy surrounding Marie Antoinette's story? 

A: You’re right that there were so many tragedies, but Marie Antoinette’s own greatest wish had been to become a mother, and I think that if it had been fulfilled early on, perhaps history might have been altered in the sense that she would not have become such a focus for the hatred, first of the nobility she snubbed, and later of the bourgeoisie and the poorer classes, blamed as the architect of their ills. She would have occupied her time early on with her children, because she intended to follow the philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and be a hands-on mother. Instead, she remained unfulfilled, channeling her energies into the pursuits that garnered the censure of her subjects: shopping, high-stakes gambling, and dancing into the wee hours of the morning. In CONFESSIONS OF MARIE ANTOINETTE, as so much is systematically stripped away from her, it’s clear how precious her family is and how important motherhood is to the queen.

Q: If you could write a letter to Marie Antoinette--without attempting to alter history, what would you say to her and at what point in her life would you like her to receive your letter?

                                                                                                                       May, 17, 1770
To Her Royal Highness, Dauphine of France:

Allow me to offer my felicitations on your nuptials to His Royal Highness Louis Auguste. At fourteen years old, you are so young to have so many expectations thrust upon you—the great hopes of the Hapsburg Empire as well as those of the Bourbons to whom your illustrious marriage unites you. If you will indulge a woman over thirty who has seen something of the world, allow me to offer some words of counsel and advice.

Everyone at court wears a public mask. So indeed must you. Although times may often be trying, retain the outward show of sweetness and affability to all, regardless of how they treat you. As the highest woman in the land you have nothing to prove to anyone. Therefore, take the high road when others speak or behave unkindly. Feign a strength you may not yet possess to overcome the stings of falsehoods, gossip, and harsh remarks. If you display nothing but kindness to everyone, you can never become an object of reproach without your critics appearing churlish and unreasonable. Resist all temptations to exact revenge, though they be within your power. You are made of better stuff.

Name everyone your friend and let them see nothing but your modesty, generosity, and courtesy. But do not be so quick to trust their professions of amity, for they may harbor ulterior motives and may in fact wish to discredit you with the king, the court, or with your husband, who, although you may fail to recognize it, is a lamb as lost in the wood as you may feel yourself to be. Those who make an outward show of being your dearest friends may in truth be vipers, waiting for you to embrace them to your breast.

Lastly, though you may not yet be in love with your husband, knowing him as little as you do, court his friendship, for he will be your greatest, and perhaps your only, ally in the years to come. Destiny has yoked the pair of you together, but the prodigious tasks required of you need not become a burden unless you allow the situation to overwhelm you. On the surface you may have little in common. But I urge you to look deeper. Search his heart and plumb the recesses of his soul, for there you will find a most amiable companion. Mock him not for his foibles of temperament and follies of character for there is not a man or woman alive who is perfect, and he will need the support and succor of his wife in trying times.
I pray you heed the words, highness, of one who, like you, was once young and high spirited.
                                Amicalement,
                                Juliet Grey

About Confessions of Marie Antoinette:

Confessions of Marie Antoinette, the riveting and sweeping final novel in Juliet Grey’s trilogy on the life of the legendary French queen, blends rich historical detail with searing drama, bringing to life the early years of the French Revolution and the doomed royal family’s final days.

Versailles, 1789. As the burgeoning rebellion reaches the palace gates, Marie Antoinette finds her privileged and peaceful life swiftly upended by violence. Once her loyal subjects, the people of France now seek to overthrow the crown, placing the heirs of the Bourbon dynasty in mortal peril.

Displaced to the Tuileries Palace in Paris, the royal family is propelled into the heart of the Revolution. There, despite a few staunch allies, they are surrounded by cunning spies and vicious enemies. Yet despite the political and personal threats against her, Marie Antoinette remains above all a devoted wife and mother, standing steadfastly by her husband, Louis XVI, and protecting their young son and daughter. And though the queen and her family try to flee, and she secretly attempts to arrange their rescue from the clutches of the Revolution, they cannot outrun the dangers encircling them, or escape their shocking fate.

Author bio:

Juliet Grey has extensively researched European royal history and is a particular devotee of Marie Antoinette. She and her husband live in Washington DC.

Thank you so much for stopping by, Juliet!

Would you like to win a copy of 
Confessions of Marie Antoinette?

Click HERE to enter for a chance to win 1 of 5 copies!

Info for the giveaway:

• What you can win: Five winners will each receive a finished copy of Confessions of Marie Antoinette by Juliet Grey
• As always, you do NOT have to be a follower
• This giveaway is US only
• You must be 13 years of age or older
• One entry per person
• I will contact the winners through email and the winners will have 24 hours to reply before a new winner is chosen 
• This giveaway closes on October 1st 2013 

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A Spark Unseen Blog Hop, Day 10: Napoleon III Fun Facts

Please Welcome Sharon Cameron!

I am so excited to host Sharon Cameron here on Small Review! Last year I was surprised by how much I loved the first book in her Gothic/steampunk series The Dark Unwinding. Even more surprising was how much I loved the follow up A Spark Unseen even more!

I'll be reviewing A Spark Unseen soon, but until then Sharon has some nifty facts about Napoleon III to share with you today. Napoleon III (and his notorious behavior) play a key role in A Spark Unseen, and being both a lover of history and this series, I am super excited to be able to host this stop on the tour.

Check out Sharon's website for more information about the blog tour!

Stop by J reads YA! for the previous tour stop or head over to Book Brats for the next stop!

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Napoleon III Fun Facts

Charles Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, or Emperor Napoleon III, Fun Facts (and this time they really are facts!):

*Charles Louis-Napoléon’s mother, Hortense, was the step-daughter and a great favorite of Napoleon Bonaparte I, who was then Emperor of France. At Napoleon I’s request, Hortense was married to Louis, his brother. The marriage was an unhappy one, and the gossips of the time said that the resulting children of this marriage, including Charles Louis, were not the sons of the Emperor’s brother, but of Napoleon I himself. When asked about his parentage, Charles Louis’s only recorded response was, “I have done my math.” The identity of Napoleon III’s father is still debated among historians.

*Napoleon III was a noted “ladies’ man.” He was rumored to have fathered several illegitimate children during his lifetime, one when he spent a number of months in London with a local actress. There were at least two other children that he quietly supported (without the knowledge of the Empress), along with several mistresses. In 2011 a Napoleon DNA project was begun, attempting to find and identify all the children of the male Bonapartes.

Dashing, huh?

*Before proposing to the Empress Eugenie, Napoleon III asked for the hand of sixteen year old Princess Adelheid, the niece of Queen Victoria. Victoria strongly disapproved, and the princess’s parents therefore refused their consent.

*There were at least two assassination attempts against Napoleon III during his reign as Emperor. One in 1855, and the most infamous attempt in 1858, when an Italian radical threw bombs of his own design at the royal carriage while the Emperor was on his way to the opera. 8 people were killed and 142 wounded, though the Emperor and Empress were unhurt. There was also a “plan of assassination” recorded to have been “broken up” in September of 1854, though the details of this remain shrouded in mystery.

*Perhaps because of the constant threat to his life, Napoleon III was extremely superstitious. He kept a spiritualist in the Tuileries Palace, and regularly held séances there. He believed that his life was being guided by the supernatural spirit of Napoleon I.

*Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleon III, died in exile in 1874 after having been ousted from the throne of France by his own people. His son with Eugenie, Prince Louis, born in 1855, died childless just six years later. And though Napoleon III had been both the first elected president and last monarch of France, the rule of the Bonapartes was forever ended.


About A Spark Unseen:

The thrilling sequel to Sharon Cameron’s blockbuster gothic steampunk romance, THE DARK UNWINDING, will captivate readers anew with mystery and intrigue aplenty.

When Katharine Tulman wakes in the middle of the night and accidentally foils a kidnapping attempt on her uncle, she realizes Stranwyne Keep is no longer safe for Uncle Tully and his genius inventions. She flees to Paris, where she hopes to remain undetected and also find the mysterious and handsome Lane, who is suspected to be dead.

But the search for Lane is not easy, and Katharine soon finds herself embroiled in a labyrinth of political intrigue. And with unexpected enemies and allies at every turn, Katharine will have to figure out whom she can trust–if anyone–to protect her uncle from danger once and for all.

Filled with deadly twists, whispering romance, and heart-stopping suspense, this sequel to THE DARK UNWINDING whisks readers off on another thrilling adventure.

Author bio:

Sharon Cameron was awarded the 2009 Sue Alexander Most Promising New Work Award by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators for her debut novel, The Dark Unwinding. When not writing Sharon can be found thumbing dusty tomes, shooting her longbow, or indulging in her lifelong search for secret passages.

Thank you so much for stopping by, Sharon!

Have you read A Spark Unseen or the first book The Dark Unwinding?

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Guest Post: Sonia Gensler + Giveaway Stop

Please Welcome Sonia Gensler!

I am very excited to be able to host Sonia Gensler a second time here on Small Review! The first time we got to chat was during the Historical Fantasy Jubilee and now Sonia's back to tell us a little background for her new book The Dark Between. Based on how much I loved Sonia's debut The Revenant, I'm super excited to try her latest Gothic foray.  

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Much of the action of The Dark Between takes place within two Cambridge colleges: Summerfield (based on Newnham) and Trinity. The University of Cambridge is over eight hundred years old (see this timeline) and is made up of thirty-one independent colleges, each with its own property, financial holdings, and what some might call “personality.” The oldest college is Peterhouse, the largest and wealthiest is Trinity (which educated many of the founders of the Society for Psychical Research), the friendliest is Homerton, and the sportiest (and possibly snobbiest?) may well be St. John’s.

(Does this remind you of Hogwarts? Well, J.K. Rowling knew how the English tend to divide their more prestigious educational institutions into houses or colleges, and how a student’s affiliation with a particular house might suggest something about his or her social standing, personality, and aspirations.)

It took me a while to understand Cambridge and Oxford’s collegiate system, but my friend Harry, a graduate student at Corpus Christi College, explains it nicely in this quick video (notice lovely King’s College in the background):

Learn more about the personality and amenities of each Cambridge college here, or take this quiz (which will be maddening for most Americans) to see which Cambridge College might suit you best.

In my next post, I’ll talk more about Newnham College, the inspiration for Summerfield in The Dark Between.

About The Dark Between

At the turn of the twentieth century, Spiritualism and séances are all the rage—even in the scholarly town of Cambridge, England. While mediums dupe the grief-stricken, a group of local fringe scientists seeks to bridge the gap to the spirit world by investigating the dark corners of the human mind.

 

Each running from a shadowed past, Kate, Asher, and Elsie take refuge within the walls of Summerfield College. But their peace is soon shattered by the discovery of a dead body nearby. Is this the work of a flesh-and-blood villain, or is something otherworldly at play? This unlikely trio must illuminate what the scientists have not, and open a window to secrets taken to the grave—or risk joining the spirit world themselves.

The Dark Between, a supernatural romance about the powers that lie in the shadows of the mind, is perfect for fans of Sarah Rees Brennan, Alyxandra Harvey, and Libba Bray.

Author bio:

Sonia Gensler grew up in a small Tennessee town and spent her early adulthood collecting impractical degrees from various Midwestern universities. A former high school English teacher, she now writes full time in Oklahoma and spends summers in England.

Thank you so much for stopping by, Sonia!

Have you read The Dark Between? How about The Revenant?

Here for the giveaway?
My code word is: 

SUMMERFIELD


Each stop on the blog tour is also revealing a code word that can be used to enter a contest on Sonia's website for a DARK BETWEEN prize pack, including a finished copy of the book.

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Hero's Guide Blog Tour and Giveaway

 

Please Welcome Frank!

You know Snow White's dwarfs? Well, Frank is one of them.

(Yeah, I know, you're probably wondering why he isn't named some random adjective, but there's an explanation for that in The Hero's Guide to Storming the Castle).

Occupation: Expert (at whatever you need done)
Affiliation: Sylvarian Dwarves
Kingdom of Origin: Sylvaria
Current Residence: A hovel in the Sylvarian forest just outside the Woodland Estate that once belonged to him and his fellow dwarfs.
Other Known Dwarfs: Flik, Frak, Frid, Ferd, Flup, Fork
Longtime Foe: Duncan (a.k.a., Dumb-can, Dunce-man, the Idiot Prince)
Likes: Snow White, backpacks, pluralizing with a V
Dislikes: Strangers who ask questions, historical re-enactments, humans who squat to talk to him
Signature Move: The Whipping Pinwheel Ax-Spin
Quote: “Why are you still talking to me?”
Little Known Fact: People assume that Frank is the leader of the Sylvarian dwarfs, as he is the one who most frequently communicates with humans. In reality, he is the lowest ranked. Because Sylvarian dwarfs hate communicating with humans.

A bit about the series:

Prince Liam. Prince Frederic. Prince Duncan. Prince Gustav. You’ve never heard of them, have you? These are the princes who saved Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel, respectively, and yet, thanks to those lousy bards who wrote the tales, you likely know them only as Prince Charming. But all of this is about to change.

Rejected by their princesses and cast out of their castles, the princes stumble upon an evil plot that could endanger each of their kingdoms. Now it’s up to them to triumph over their various shortcomings, take on trolls, bandits, dragons, witches, and other assorted terrors, and become the heroes no one ever thought they could be.



My review of book one
My audiobook review
Interview with the Princes Charming 

Thank you so much for stopping by, Frank!

Want a chance to win a copy of The Hero's Guide to Storming the Castle? Or how about $200 to spend on books? Those are pretty much rhetorical questions because, I mean, really, who would say no?

Walden Pond Press is awesomely providing a bucket load of prizes! Each day during the blog tour the first three entrants will receive signed hardcover copies of The Hero's Guide to Storming the Castle. THEN everyone who enters will have a chance to win a $200 gift card to the bookstore of your choice!

Click HERE to enter! 

You'll be directed to Facebook where you can enter the secret code (Prince Charming) for a chance to win!

Giveaway details: 

You do NOT have to be a follower

Entrants with US addresses only

Ends 5/26/13

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Interview: Jessica Day George

Please Welcome Jessica Day George!

Jessica Day George is one of my favorite authors ever. Family, humor, sweet romance, fantasy mysteries, plucky heroines, and heartwarming friendships always make an appearance.

Princess Celie's adventures are no exception and I am over the moon in love with the latest installment Wednesdays in the Tower. Jessica was kind enough to stop by today to answer some of my questions. 

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Q: If you were transported into your book, which scene would you most want to reenact?

A: There’s a part early on in WEDNESDAYS IN THE TOWER where something hatches out of an egg . . . that would be pretty awesome to watch!

Q: Which one of your character’s brains would you want to pick the most?

A: Bran!  He is the Royal Wizard, after all!

Q: Which scene do you think will surprise readers the most?

A: The ending of WEDNESDAYS IN THE TOWER.  Some pretty craaaaaazy stuff happens in that last chapter!

Q: What is one piece of advice you would give your main character?

A: Trust the Castle!  (But I think she knows that already!  She’s pretty together.)

Q: Which room in Castle Glower would you like to have in your own home?

A: There’s a room with a bouncy floor, like a private bounce house that would be awesome!

Readers should add WEDNESDAYS IN THE TOWER to their To Be Read list if they like...

Books about:
    adventure, magical creatures, ancient mysteries, siblings that actually get along, and very small dogs!

Books/movies like:
     Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, Patricia C. Wrede’s Enchanted Forest Chronicles.

Main characters like:
     Sofie from Howl’s Moving Castle, Beauty from Robin McKinley’s Beauty.

Romantic leads like:
     . . . er, there is a cute young blacksmith, but . . . well, Celie’s a bit young for him!

About Wednesdays in the Tower:

A castle that is constantly rearranging itself, and a young royal family sworn to protect it... Celie, Rolf, and their beloved Castle Glower are back in this exciting sequel.

Strange things are afoot in Castle Glower: new rooms, corridors, and even stables keep arriving, even when they aren't needed. Celie's brother Bran, the new Royal Wizard, has his hands full cataloguing an entire storeroom full of exotic and highly dangerous weapons, while Celie has her hands full . . . raising the creature that hatches from a giant egg she finds! Will they be able to find out what's making the Castle behave this way in time?

Author bio:

Jessica Day George likes chocolate, knitting, books, travel, movies, dragons, horses, dogs, and her family. These are all things to keep in mind if you ever meet her. For instance, you could bring her chocolate to make the meeting go more smoothly. You could also talk about how adorable her children are, even if you have never seen them. You could discuss dog breeds (she has a Maltese named Pippin, and grew up with a poodle mix and a Brittany Spaniel). You could talk about Norway, and how it's the Greatest Place On Earth, and Germany, The Second Greatest Place On Earth. You could ask her about yarn, and indicate a willingness to learn to knit your own socks, if you can't already do so.

And, well, you could talk about books. Jessica's books, other people's books. It's really all about the books. To paraphrase Jerry Seinfeld, Friends, family, school, they were just obstacles in the way of getting more books.

She would like it if books came with chocolate to eat while reading them.

-Goodreads

Thank you so much for stopping by, Jessica!

You can't see it, but I'm pretty much dying of happiness over here because I am so delighted to be able to host Jessica Day George! Is it not already clear how much I love her books? They're total comfort reads. Like the book form of hot chocolate or fuzzy sweaters or puppies.

I also have to agree with Jessica on a bunch of her answers. Her books totally remind me of Howl's Moving Castle and the Enchanted Forest Chronicles books (though I think I like Jessica's books the best).

Also, I would LOVE to pick Bran's brain (he's a wizard AND he's super nice AND he gets to spend a lot of time sorting through all kinds of magical objects in a really awesome room), but I'd also love to spend some time chatting with a certain cute young blacksmith (his true professional field is squee-out-loud perfect).

The bouncy floor room sounds really fun, but I love the sound of the room Bran is exploring. Ooh, and the room of cloth. Though some of the tower rooms sound so peaceful and perfect for reading. Which, wow, I can't even begin to imagine the library possibilities of a castle that accommodates your wishes!  

Have you read Wednesdays in the Tower?
How would you answer these questions?

If you lived in a castle that created new rooms all the time, what type of room would you want to explore?
 
(Remember, no spoilers please!)

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Author Interview: Marie Brennan + Giveaway! (US/CA)

Please Welcome Marie Brennan!

Marie was nice enough to stop by and answer some of my burning questions about her oeuvre. And what a collection it is! Fairies! Historical fantasy! Dragons! Witches! Doppelgangers! I'm already on a mad hunt to track down more of her books and there isn't a plot that doesn't look right up my alley!  

Website | Blog | Publisher | Twitter | Goodreads

Giveaway!
See below for details

Q: Which one of your characters would you most want to kiss?

A: If I’m being really honest (and my husband isn’t reading this), then Julian, from Lies and Prophecy. A much earlier draft of that book was the first novel I ever finished writing, so it’s not surprising that as love interests go, he’s the one I have the strongest attachment to.

by Todd Lockwood

Q: Which one of your characters would you want to swap BFF charms with?

A: It’s a toss-up between Isabella, the protagonist of A Natural History of Dragons, and Delphia Northwood, one of the secondary characters in A Star Shall Fall. Both of them are very bookish, which makes them near and dear to my heart.

Q: Which one of your characters do you most want to slap or give a verbal tongue lashing to?

A: One of the problems with being a writer is, you have to get into your characters’ heads, which tends to mean you end up sympathizing with them even when they’re being dumb. And then sometimes they go and develop depth on you, totally without warning. Even with a character like Carline -- a minor figure in several of the Onyx Court books -- I want to smack her for being shallow and callous (which she is), but then she comes out with a really telling observation about the way the fae of London relate to mortals, and I have to admit she has a point.

Q: If you were transported into your book, which scene would you most want to reenact?

A: The deployment of the Ephemeral Engine at the end of With Fate Conspire. It would scare the crap out of me if I didn’t know what the result would be, but since I do, that would be a mind-blowingly awesome thing to experience.

Q: Which one of your character’s brains would you want to pick the most?

by Todd Lockwood

A: Jack Ellin, from In Ashes Lie. He’s a very smart man, and also a smart-ass, which means the conversation would be fun as well as enlightening. But I’d want to invite Isabella and Delphia to the party, too, as well as Abd ar-Rashid, an educated and well-traveled genie from the later Onyx Court books.

Q: Which scene do you think will surprise readers the most?

A: Judging by the responses I’ve been getting from readers, the one that settles the fate of a particular character in A Natural History of Dragons. I can’t think how to be more specific without giving spoilers, but let’s just say that if it makes you want to send me a ranty e-mail, then you’ve probably found the right one.

Q: Which scene was the most fun to write?

A: For A Natural History of Dragons, the non-spoilery answer is the first time Isabella and Jacob meet, in the Falchester menagerie. A great deal of what I made up for that scene really laid the groundwork and tone for the novel and the series as a whole.

The spoilery answer is the cavern -- I will say no more.

Q: What is one piece of advice you would give your main character?

A: I would tell Isabella to pay attention to the people around her, as well as the natural world. She isn’t the best at reading social cues, nor to anticipating and dealing with the problems they can create.

by Todd Lockwood

Readers should add A Natural History of Dragons to their To Be Read list if they like...

Books about:

     headstrong young ladies, outspoken old ladies, Victorian science, ancient ruins, world travel, and of course dragons.

Books/movies like:
     Mary Robinette Kowal’s Glamourist series, Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate, or The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec.

Main characters like:
     Amelia Peabody, from Elizabeth Peters’ historical mysteries, or (from history) the travel writers Isabella Bird and Mary Kingsley.

About A Natural History of Dragons:

Click for larger images!

You, dear reader, continue at your own risk. It is not for the faint of heart—no more so than the study of dragons itself. But such study offers rewards beyond compare: to stand in a dragon’s presence, even for the briefest of moments—even at the risk of one’s life—is a delight that, once experienced, can never be forgotten. . . .

All the world, from Scirland to the farthest reaches of Eriga, know Isabella, Lady Trent, to be the world’s preeminent dragon naturalist. She is the remarkable woman who brought the study of dragons out of the misty shadows of myth and misunderstanding into the clear light of modern science. But before she became the illustrious figure we know today, there was a bookish young woman whose passion for learning, natural history, and, yes, dragons defied the stifling conventions of her day.

Here at last, in her own words, is the true story of a pioneering spirit who risked her reputation, her prospects, and her fragile flesh and bone to satisfy her scientific curiosity; of how she sought true love and happiness despite her lamentable eccentricities; and of her thrilling expedition to the perilous mountains of Vystrana, where she made the first of many historic discoveries that would change the world forever.

Marie Brennan introduces an enchanting new world in A Natural History of Dragons.

ISBN: 978-0-7653-3196-0

On Sale: February 5, 2013

Available here:

Indiebound, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, BooksAMillion,

Powells, Walmart,  Overstock


Author bio:

Marie Brennan is a former academic with a background in archaeology, anthropology, and folklore, which she now puts to rather cockeyed use in writing fantasy. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition to many short stories and novellas, she is also the author of A Star Shall Fall and With Fate Conspire (both from Tor Books), as well as Warrior, Witch, Midnight Never Come, In Ashes Lie, and Lies and Prophecy. You can find her online at SwanTower.com.

Thank you so much for stopping by, Marie!

It was probably around, oh, maybe page 200 or so that I put down A Natural History of Dragons last night and vowed not to read another page (that night). Not because it was bad, but because it was SO GOOD and I realized I only had about another two hours worth of reading time left with it. I had to start rationing.

So, what did I do to occupy my time instead? I went straight to Goodreads, of course, and proceeded to (desperately) check out all of Marie's other books and see which I could find in my library. Yes, it's that good!

Oh, and notice all those pictures in my post? Those are only a handful of the awesome full-page illustrations peppered throughout the book! I LOVE books with illustrations! Even better, they really bring to life the images I was already mentally picturing and don't clash at all with how *I* was already picturing the dragons.

Have you read A Natural History of Dragons?
How would you answer these questions?
(Remember, no spoilers please!) 

Want a chance to win your own copy of A Natural History of Dragons? Thanks to the publisher, I have three copies to offer!

Click here to enter the giveaway!

Info for the giveaway:

• What you can win: Three people will each win one finished hardcover copy of A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan!
• As always, you do NOT have to be a follower
• You must have a US/CA mailing address
• You must be 13 years of age or older
• One entry per person
• Your address is not required, but including it will help with sending the book out to you sooner
• I will contact the winner through email and the winner will have 24 hours to reply before a new winner is chosen 
• This giveaway closes on March 20th 

Click here to enter the giveaway!

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Author Interview: Gillian Philip + Giveaway

Please Welcome Gillian Philip!

Gillian was kind enough to stop by today to answer all of my very important questions, providing what are quite possibly THE BEST answers imaginable (there's Spike, Clint Eastwood, evil queens, guys you want to kiss and slap, AND flesh-eating horses in this interview!). 

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Q: Which one of your characters would you most want to kiss?

A: Oh boy. Seth, without a doubt. I fancy him like mad and I think he’d be a great kisser. Not so much with the long-term relationship though... he’s so cranky and temperamental. Also, seriously unfaithful.

Q: Which one of your characters would you want to swap BFF charms with?

A: Jed. Jed doesn’t appear till the second book in the series, but I adore him and I think he’d be a brilliant friend. He’d also be willing to sing karaoke for a laugh, would let me steal food off his plate because it looks better than mine, and get me home safely after a wild night out. If I had to choose one person in Firebrand itself, it would be Sionnach. He’s kind of monosyllabic, but he’d be such a relaxing companion. I could watch movies with him and he wouldn’t be constantly asking me what just happened or where he’s seen that actor before.

Q: Which one of your characters do you most want to slap or give a verbal tongue lashing to?

A: And again with the Seth. In fact he quite often gets a slap or a tongue-lashing from the other characters, but he deserves it, and there are times when I’d like to do it direct.

Q: If you were transported into your book, which scene would you most want to reenact?

A: The part where Seth tames his kelpie. I would LOVE to ride a kelpie, so long as I could be guaranteed not to get eaten at the end of it. Two of my best memories involve galloping horses across wild landscapes (in the Scottish borders and on the slopes of Mount Kenya) so to reenact that scene would be kind of an extreme version.

Q: Which one of your character’s brains would you want to pick the most?

A: The evil queen, Kate NicNiven. I’d love to know what makes her tick. Actually, I’d really like to know what she’s up to. I’m not entirely sure she’s told me the truth about the ending yet. Or Seth’s mother, Lilith. I’d like to ask her what on EARTH she was thinking.

Q: Which scene do you think will surprise readers the most?

This is what I call "motivation to read book 2"

A: Um. There’s a scene in Kate NicNiven’s fortress, during a year Seth and Conal have to spend working for her. Something happens between the brothers that kind of surprised me when I was writing it.

Q: Which scene was the most fun to write?

A: The one when they leave the fortress, and go back to their own dun. A few violent things happen, but nothing anyone doesn’t deserve. And Seth is at his absolute rudest. 

Q: What is one piece of advice you would give your main character?

A: For heaven’s sake, settle down, stop being so defensive and give everyone around you a chance to get close to you. (On the other hand, that wouldn’t make for much of a story...)

Readers should add FIREBRAND to their To Be Read list if they like...

Books about:

Hey, it's a rule: Mention Spike, pictures must follow

     Lost causes and last chances, non-fluffy romance, battles, witchfinders, wolves, snarky adolescents with heroic big brothers, and flesh-eating horses.

Books/movies like:
     Um... A Fistful Of Dollars meets Macbeth meets Merlin the TV series with a dash of Kill Bill. Does that make any sense? No...

Main characters like:
     He’s surly, resentful, violent, bitchy, a bit on the prejudiced side. But underneath it all, he’s mush. I was watching Buffy The Vampire Slayer recently and he’s a little bit Spike.

Romantic leads like:
     He’s not very romantic. As I mentioned earlier, he needs a good slap, frankly. But he looks and acts rather like Billy Crudup as Ned in Stage Beauty.

About Firebrand:

At the end of the sixteenth century, religious upheaval brings fear, superstition, and doubt to the lives of mortals. Yet unbeknownst to them, another world lies just beyond the Veil: the realm of the Sithe, a fierce and beautiful people for whom a full-mortal life is but the blink of an eye. The Veil protects and hides their world…but it is fraying at the edges, and not all think it should be repaired.

Discarded by his mother and ignored by his father, sixteen-year-old Seth MacGregor has grown up half wild in his father’s fortress, with only his idolized older brother, Conal, for family. When Conal quarrels with the Sithe queen and is forced into exile in the full-mortal world, Seth volunteers to go with him.
But life beyond the Veil is even more dangerous than they expected, and Seth and Conal soon find themselves embroiled in a witch-hunt—in which they are the quarry. Trapped between the queen’s machinations at home and the superstitious violence of the otherworld, Seth must act before both of them are fed to the witch-hunters’ fires…

Brimming with intrigue and rebellion, Firebrand is the first book in the Rebel Angels series by Gillian Philip, the Carnegie Medal–nominated author of Crossing the Line and multi-award-nominated Bad Faith.

Author bio:

Further proof of author awesomeness

I live in the north-east highlands of Scotland, with one husband, two children, three dogs (Cluny, Milo and Otto), two psychotic cats (the Ghost and the Darkness), a slayer hamster (Buffy), three chickens (Mapp, Lucia and Mrs Norris) and a lot of nervous fish. I have taken a solemn vow not to get any more pets. I will probably break this vow.

Writing for a living is (a) what I always wanted to do; (b) occasionally frustrating; (c) a lot of fun – I take dictation from the characters in my head, who spend their lives telling me what’s going to happen next.

But I like it that I never know just how it’s all going to end – not till the fat lady sings, the villain meets a suitably sticky end, and the boy gets the girl (or indeed the boy).

As well as full-length books, I write fiction for secondary Key Stage 3. Life Of The Party, Mind’s Eye, Sea Fever and Cyber Fever have been published by Evans Brothers, and short stories The Changeling, Rockface, Misty and The Kindest Cut appear in their sci fi, crime, ghost and comedy collections. And I ghostwrite fiction for companies including Hothouse and Working Partners. (From Goodreads)

Thank you so much for stopping by, Gillian!

Oh Seth, doesn't he sound wonderful? In that totally not a guy I'd like in real life but exactly the kind I'll swoon all over in fiction kind of way. Though Jed sounds like a pretty good real-life catch. Any guy who would let you eat food off his plate because it looks good is a keeper.

(and, shhhh, while watching a movie, I'm totally the person asking what just happened or where I've seen that actor before).

Have you read Firebrand?
How would you answer these questions?
(Remember, no spoilers please!) 

Want a chance to win your own copy of Firebrand? 

Info for the giveaway:

• What you can win: A finished hardcover copy of Firebrand by Gillian Philip!
• As always, you do NOT have to be a follower
• You must have a US/CA mailing address
• You must be 13 years of age or older
• One entry per person
• Your address is not required, but including it will help with sending the book out to you sooner
• I will contact the winner through email and the winner will have 24 hours to reply before a new winner is chosen 
• This giveaway closes on March 9th 

Click here to enter the giveaway!



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Author Interview: Laura Powell

Please Welcome Laura Powell!

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Read the prologue and first chapter | View the video trailer

Q: Which one of your characters would you most want to kiss?

A: Troy Morgan. He’s the heir to a mobster empire, but he’s as charming and intelligent as he is ruthless. I’d want to get hold of him before he turns to the Dark Side.

Q: Which one of your characters do you most want to slap or give a verbal tongue lashing to?

A: Glory’s from a famous family of witch-gangsters; Lucas is the latest in a long line of famous witch-hunters. They both start off being rather arrogant and pleased with themselves – maybe that deserves a slap. However, they’re soon caught up in forces beyond their control and have to do a lot of growing up in quite a short space of time.  So I guess I’ll let them off.

Q: If you were transported into your book, which scene would you most want to reenact?

A: I’d like to gatecrash the posh high-society party towards the end of the book, and drink champagne with Glory and Troy.

Q: What is one piece of advice you would give your main character?

A: Trust no one!

Readers should add Burn Mark to their To Be Read list if they like...

Books/movies like:
     The Sopranos TV series, Witch Child  novel by Celia Rees, The Godfather movie, Curseworkers series by Holly Black.

About Burn Mark:

Glory is from a family of witches and lives beyond the law. She is desperate to develop her powers and become a witch herself. Lucas is the son of the Chief Prosecutor for the Inquisition—the witches’ mortal enemy—and his privileged life is very different to the forbidden world that he lives alongside.

And then on the same day, it hits them both. Glory and Lucas develop the Fae—the mark of the witch. In one fell stroke, their lives are inextricably bound together, whether they like it or not . . .


Author bio:

Laura Powell grew up in rural Wales and now lives in West London. She wrote her first book while studying Classics at Oxford and worked in publishing for five years before leaving to concentrate on her writing.

Thank you so much for stopping by, Laura!

A guy that is as charming and intelligent as he is ruthless? Sounds like my kind of book boyfriend! Ever since Anakin Skywalker, I've had a thing for the guy with a good heart on the cusp of going Dark Side.

Also, I like the mob influences and the peril vibes I'm getting. Trust no one? Oooh, that has certainly piqued my interest!

Have you read Burn Mark?
How would you answer these questions?
(Remember, no spoilers please!)

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