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Monday, January 22, 2024

Blog Tour- FAERIE TALES FROM THE WHITE FOREST SERIES by @danika_dinsmore With An Interview & A #Giveaway! #HydraHouseBooks

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the FAERIE TALES FROM THE WHITE FOREST SERIES by Danika Dinsmore Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

About The Books:

Title: FAERIE TALES FROM THE WHITE FOREST SERIES Vol 1

Author: Danika Dinsmore

Pub. Date: August 16, 2014

Publisher: Hydra House

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook

Pages: 610

Find it: Goodreadshttps://books2read.com/FAERIE-TALES-FROM-THE-WHITE-FOREST1

Brigitta of the White Forest / The Ruins of Noe / Ondelle of Grioth

A collection of the first three books in the Faerie Tales from the White Forest series.

For those who enjoy fantasy adventure, Faerie Tales from the White Forest offers a new twist on the traditional faerie tales so loved by young readers.

From devastating curses to death-defying quests, Water Faerie Brigitta and her growing collective of misfit friends face greater and greater challenges when destiny calls upon them to “make the balance right again” after the Great World Cry has left their world in elemental chaos.

 

Title: FAERIE TALES FROM THE WHITE FOREST SERIES Vol 2

Author: Danika Dinsmore

Pub. Date: September 5, 2023

Publisher: Hydra House

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook

Pages: 673

Find it: Goodreadshttps://books2read.com/FAERIE-TALES-FROM-THE-WHITE-FOREST2 

Continuing the saga of Brigitta of the White Forest, this Omnibus contains books 4-6 of the series.

 

 



Interview: 

For the readers: can you tell us a little bit about your series and the characters?

Faerie Tales from the White Forest is a 6-book middle grade fantasy adventure. The Earth, Air, Fire, and Water faeries of the White Forest have been living there ever since the Great World Cry sent their world into elemental chaos. The White Forest is the only balanced place left.

Five of the books focus on Brigitta, a Water Faerie, and her growing group of traveling companions, who face greater and greater challenges as they attempt to make the balance right again. In book 4, we travel back in time to the story of Narine, an Ancient Faerie, to find out how the world became unbalanced in the first place and how the Elemental Faeries came to live in the protected realm.

 

What are you working on now?

I’ve taken a break from children’s literature to work on a poetry manuscript and a memoir about caring for my elderly mother during COVID. My first love was poetry and I always return to it between other projects. The memoir is a mix of poetry and prose.

I do have several MG and YA manuscripts in various forms of completion that I will get back to at some point. 

 

Were any of the characters in the book inspired by people from your real life?

I think there’s a bit of me in Ondelle, the High Priestess, who becomes Brigitta’s mentor. Also, Brigitta’s relationship with her younger sister Himalette was inspired by the dynamic between two young actors I worked with on a film set (in a former life I was an on-set teacher). One of the girls actually gave me the idea for the giant caterpillar that appears in Book One. 

 

Who was your favorite character to write? What about your least favorite?

I loved writing about Gola, the Drutan (tree woman), who also becomes a mentor to Brigitta. She’s such a mystery revealed over several books. I love her wisdom and attitude and that she’s a Drutan of few words. Without giving too much away… I loved that she’s so ancient and that we experience her at the beginning and end of her profound life.

I had trouble writing Croilus (who we don’t meet until the 2nd book), because he’s pretty much just evil, and I didn’t want him to become cliché. His backstory isn’t as clear to me, so I had to really consider what was driving him to such evilness.


What is your favorite passage/scene in your book?

It’s funny that some of my favorite moments are these really quiet ones, like when Ondelle pays Brigitta a visit in her room or when Narine has a moment alone with her father, the High Sage. I think it’s because in these moments where relationships are developed the characters feel so genuine and real to me. I also love, love, love when new characters are introduced or when characters return in unexpected ways, which happens quite a bit as the series goes. I literally get giddy when this happens, picturing the reader’s surprise and delight. 

 

What kind of research did you have to do for the story?

Since this was a completely imaginary world, my equivalent to “research” is the world building process itself. Whenever I came across a new element of the world, I took time to figure out its magical properties, how it got there, its uses, etc. Other than the world-building, I spent time on babynames.com, online atlases, and a Gaelic translation site to find names for people, places, and things. I also drew lots and lots of maps, and there are artist renditions of them in some of the books.

 

Lightning Round Questions

What are you reading right now? Or what do you have on your TBR that you’re dying to read 

I just finished reading the YA sci fi novel EXO by Fonda Lee, and I’m now listening to Erin Morgenstern’s The Starless Sea, which is so fantastic. Certain books make great bedtime stories, and I love to be read to.

 

Favorite social media site?

I’m rarely social on social media. I find it a bit overwhelming. I do admire other people’s ability to be creative on different platforms. For instance, I’m working with a TicTok cosplay artist to develop a live action Brigitta character on her cosplay channel. That’s pretty exciting.  

 

Favorite Superhero or Villain? 

Do Doctor Who and Buckaroo Bonzai count as superheroes?

 

Favorite TV show?

If I had to pick I’d say The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Dr. Who. I am also a sucker for any con artist or heist story as long as it’s not overly violent, like Lupin or Imposters. I wish I could write a good fantasy con artist story. That would be amazing.

 

Sweet or Salty?

Can I do both at the same time? Love me a good salted caramel anything.

 

Any Phobias?

Large, hoofed animals. Although, I’ve managed to overcome some of this due to a few old horses that live next to me in Hawaii. I still wouldn’t want to be alone in a barn with them, though.   

 

Song you can’t get enough of right now? 

Last year I discovered The Secret Sisters, and I just love their song “He’s Fine.” I also really dig the This is Us soundtrack.

 

2024 Movie you’re most looking forward to?

Wicked is coming! And Beautiful, a biopic about Carole King. And, Beetlejuice II, because I saw the original in the theater and hope it’s as funny.

 

Do you play video games? If so what are some of your favorites?

The only “video game” I play is Words with Friends because I am a word nerd. I also do at least one Duolingo lesson every day, which is kind of gamish, right?


About Danika Dinsmore:

Danika Dinsmore is an award-winning author, performance artist, and educator. Over the past 30 years she has developed content for the page, stage, screen, and web. Danika writes literary and speculative fiction with an emphasis on juvenile & young adult literature as well as working as a story editor for other writers. She often takes her interactive Imaginary Worlds Tour events on the road, performing and teaching world-building & creative writing at schools, conferences, and festivals across North America. She has delivered her quirky and innovative curriculum to thousands of young writers.

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Website | Twitter | Facebook | Brigitta of the White Forest Facebook Page | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

 

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a finished copy of the omnibus FAERIE TALES FROM THE WHITE FOREST SERIES, US Only.

1 winner will receive an eBook of the omnibus FAERIE TALES FROM THE WHITE FOREST SERIES, International.

Ends February 20th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

1/22/2024

Two Chicks on Books

Interview/IG Post

1/23/2024

Kountry Girl Bookaholic

Guest Post/IG Post

1/24/2024

Lady Hawkeye

Excerpt/IG Post

1/25/2024

YA Books Central

Interview/IG Post

1/26/2024

@darkfantasyreviews

IG Post

Week Two:

1/29/2024

#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog

Blog Spotlight/IG Post

1/30/2024

A Dream Within A Dream

Guest Post

1/31/2024

Little Red Reads

Guest Post/IG Post

2/1/2024

@anitralovesbooksanddogs

IG Review

2/2/2024

Rajiv's Reviews

Review/IG Post

Week Three:

2/5/2024

GryffindorBookishnerd

IG Review

2/6/2024

@enjoyingbooksagain

IG Review

2/7/2024

Callisto’s calling

IG Review

2/8/2024

Country Mamas With Kids

Review/IG Post

2/9/2024

jlreadstoperpetuity

IG Review/TikTok Post

2/10/2024

A Blue Box Full of Books

IG Review/LFL Drop Pic/TikTok Post

Week Four:

2/11/2024

Kim's Book Reviews and Writing Aha's

Review/IG Post

2/12/2024

Confessions of the Perfect Mom

Review/IG Post

2/13/2024

@evergirl200

IG Review

2/14/2024

Books and Zebras

IG Review

2/15/2024

@bookish_aly_cat

IG Review

2/16/2024

The Momma Spot

Review


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