Title:
THE LAST FAERIE QUEEN
Author:
Chelsea Pitcher
Release
Date: November
8, 2015
Pages:
408
Publisher:
Flux
Formats: Paperback, eBook
A FAERIE REVOLUTION . . .
After risking her life in the mortal world, the faerie princess Elora returns home to incite a revolution. Allied with the Bright Queen, Elora rallies her people for a battle aimed at overthrowing her mother, the Dark Queen. While some question their ability to win, Elora senses victory, knowing she has a secret weapon: Taylor, the human boy she loves, and a motley crew of his school friends, each armed with a skill that can turn the tide of the coming battle.
A MORTAL SACRIFICE . . .
But then Elora's supporters in the Dark Court turn on her, believing she has forsaken them in favor of humans. When the Dark Queen kidnaps two of her human friends, Elora must mount a daring rescue mission to free them before her mother offers them up as a sacrifice.
Now on to the interview!
What about a book 3 and if there is one do you have a title yet?
Who was your favorite character to write? What about your least favorite?
What is your favorite passage/scene in THE LAST FAERIE QUEEN?
What kind of research did you have to do for the story?
What are you reading right now? Or what do you have on your TBR that you’re dying to read?
Who is your ultimate Book Boyfriend?
What inspired you to write YA?
Hi Chelsea! First I want to say welcome to Two Chicks on Books!
I am looking forward to THE LAST FAERIE QUEEN and I know my readers are as well
and am so happy that you could stop by for a visit!
For the readers: can you tell us a little bit about
THE LAST FAERIE QUEEN and the characters?
THE LAST FAERIE QUEEN alternates between two points of view,
Taylor (the human boy) and Elora (the faerie princess). Back in book 1 (THE
LAST CHANGELING), Elora helped Taylor overthrow the homophobic bully who was
terrorizing his school. Now, in the second (and final) book in the series, Elora
returns to Faerie with Taylor and his friends, to overthrow the corrupt
Unseelie Queen and her wicked followers. But even with all of their planning,
things start to go wrong…
What about a book 3 and if there is one do you have a title yet?
No book three! I pretty much always planned to wrap up the
story in two books (which was WAY easier said than done, by the way). I knew
that book one would be a faerie-in-the-human-world story, and book two would be
about the humans’ adventures in Faerie. I also knew that the grand, epic battle
with the Unseelie Court would take place at the end of THE LAST FAERIE QUEEN. (But,
just for the record, if I ever did write a third book, it’d be called THE LIGHT
IN THE DARKNESS, which is a phrase of significant meaning in the duology.)
Were any of the
characters in the book inspired by people from your real life?
My writing is always indirectly
affected by the people I have known, loved, or been betrayed by. (Okay, that
last one sounded really dramatic, but we’ve all been hurt by someone, haven’t
we?) So that definitely played into this book. And while Taylor and Elora both
have parts of me in them, none of the characters are directly based on anyone in my life.
Who was your favorite character to write? What about your least favorite?
I loved writing Taylor because he
always manages to be funny, even in times of dire distress. That said, it was
really fun to write from Elora’s POV as well. I didn’t have to think about how
a normal human might explain things, because she isn’t a human. She’s a faerie
princess raised in the Dark Court, so she has a unique way of speaking (though
it isn’t too formal. I’ve always been
adamant that my faeries use contractions! Ha.)
As for least favorite, I don’t really
have one. I have love for all of the faeries, even the wicked ones. That’s one
of the things that was so important for me in this story: I wanted even the
worst characters to have a history, desires, needs, and reasons for being the
way they were. Everyone has a motivation, and no one is quite as good or evil
as they originally seem.
What is your favorite passage/scene in THE LAST FAERIE QUEEN?
There was a passage I had to fight
for. Let’s call it a “love scene.” It happens the night before the characters
go into battle. My editor wrote me, and basically asked if this moment needed
to happen on the page (rather than behind the scenes). And I had to really
think about why this passage was important. First of all, it’s the only scene
of this type that’s in Elora’s POV. That was a big deal to me. Plus, all of the
battle scenes take place on the page. We see everything, the fighting, the bloodshed,
the loss. It didn’t make sense to show all of this, but hide the love scene
behind a curtain. So I fought for it.
That said, the scene isn’t exactly
graphic. I found myself focusing on the emotions, and the awkwardness of firsts.
And now, after I’ve told their story as honestly as I could, I realize how
pivotal that scene is. It’s the moment when both Taylor and Elora push away
their fears and go after what they really want. As Elora says:
We were
hands and lips and hearts, weaving together like vines. We were love and light
and darkness. We became that which we’d always wanted, and always were, but never felt until now.
Whole
within ourselves. Unstoppable together.
What kind of research did you have to do for the story?
One of my characters, Kylie, has a
disability and relies on a wheelchair to get around. I wanted to make sure I
did justice to her character, and realistically portrayed what it would be like
for her to be living in Faerie. Kylie is introduced in THE LAST CHANGELING, but
in this book, we learn so much more about her history, her wants and her goals.
I needed to portray her respectfully, because realistic representation is so
important, and also because I love her so much. I hope readers love her as much
as I do!
What are you reading right now? Or what do you have on your TBR that you’re dying to read?
I’m reading Mary Elizabeth Summer’s
TRUST ME, I’M LYING, which I totally love. And I desperately need an ARC of
April Tucholke’s WINK POPPY MIDNIGHT.
Who is your ultimate Book Boyfriend?
Such a hard question! I definitely
have a soft spot for Peeta Mellark (I just want to take care of him), and I’m really
digging Sam from TRUST ME, I’M LYING!
What inspired you to write YA?
Teenagers have such a unique view of
the world. They’re able to see the mistakes made by previous generations, and
willing to work to make a better world. My characters are the same way—they see
the problems around them, and they won’t stop until they make things better. When
you refuse to be broken by the world, when you fight for change, you become an
unstoppable force of nature.
Lightening Round Questions
Twitter or Facebook?
Twitter!
Favorite Superhero?
Catwoman. (Okay, she’s sort of good
and bad, but that’s one of the things I love about her.)
Favorite TV show?
Roseanne! (More current favorites
would be Veronica Mars and Pushing Daisies.)
Sweet or Salty?
Man, this is tough. But I’ve gotta go
salty. Of course, best case scenario, I’ve got a bit of both, to complement
each other.
Any Phobias?
Sprouting potatoes (yes, really!) Also,
not being heard. But I suppose that’s more of a fear than a phobia.
Song you can’t get enough of right now?
Can’t stop listening to Taylor
Swift’s “Wildest Dreams!” (And, let’s be honest, watching the video!)
Upcoming Movie you’re most looking forward to?
I can’t wait to see Mockingjay Part 2, and I also really want
to see Suicide Squad.
Thanks so
much Chelsea for answering my questions!
Thank you for having me!!!!
About
Chelsea:
Chelsea Pitcher is a karaoke-singing,
ocean-worshipping Oregonian with a penchant for wicked faerie tales. She began
gobbling up stories as soon as she could read, and especially enjoys delving
into the darker places to see if she can draw out some light. She is the author
of THE S-WORD (Simon and Schuster), THE LAST CHANGELING (Flux), and THE LAST
FAERIE QUEEN (Flux 2015).
Giveaway Details:
2
winners will receive a signed finished copy of THE LAST FAERIE QUEEN, US/Canada
Only.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Check out the Tour Schedule!
About the
Book
Check out the Tour Schedule!
Week
One:
11/2/2015- Seeing
Double In Neverland- Interview
11/2/2015- Driftless- Spotlight
11/3/2015- Mama Reads Hazel
Sleeps- Excerpt
11/3/2015- Revolutionary
Reads- Review
11/4/2015- Kelly P's Blog- Interview
11/4/2015- PBC - Spotlight
11/5/2015- Books Eater- Guest
Post
11/5/2015- Arkham Reviews- Review
11/6/2015- Two Chicks on Books- Interview
11/6/2015- Curling Up With A Good
Book- Excerpt
Week
Two:
11/9/2015- Once Upon A Twilight- Guest
Post
11/9/2015- Milky Way of Books- Review
11/10/2015- The Cover Contessa- Interview
11/10/2015- alwaysjoart- Review
11/11/2015- In Love
With Handmade- Guest Post
11/11/2015- Literary Musings- Excerpt
11/12/2015- BookHounds YA- Interview
11/12/2015- Cover2Cover- Review
11/13/2015- Me, My Shelf and I- Guest
Post
11/13/2015- The Book Lovers' Lounge- Review
Title: THE LAST CHANGELING
Author: Chelsea Pitcher
Release
Date: November 8, 2014
Pages: 360
Publisher: Flux
Formats: Paperback, eBook, audiobook
A Kingdom at War . . .
Elora, the young princess of the Dark Faeries,
plans to overthrow her tyrannical mother, the Dark Queen, and bring equality to
faeriekind. All she has to do is convince her mother’s loathed enemy, the
Bright Queen, to join her cause. But the Bright Queen demands an offering
first: a human boy who is a “young leader of men.”
A Dark Princess In Disguise . . .
To steal a mortal, Elora must become a
mortal—at least, by all appearances. And infiltrating a high school is
surprisingly easy. When Elora meets Taylor, the seventeen-year-old who’s
plotting to overthrow a ruthless bully, she thinks she’s found her offering . .
. until she starts to fall in love.
