I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the blog tour for HEARTSTONE by Elle Katharine White! I loved this freaking awesome historical fantasy re-imagining of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE! I have an interview with Elle to share with you today! And make sure to enter the awesome giveaway for a chance to win the book!!
Haven't heard of HEARTSTONE? Check it out!
Title: HEARTSTONE
Author: Elle Katharine White
Pub.
Date: January 17,
2017
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Pages: 352
Formats: Paperback eBook
A debut historical fantasy that recasts Jane Austen’s beloved Pride & Prejudice in an imaginative world of wyverns, dragons, and the warriors who fight alongside them against the monsters that threaten the kingdom: gryphons, direwolves, lamias, banshees, and lindworms.
They say a Rider in possession of a good blade must be in want of a monster to slay—and Merybourne Manor has plenty of monsters.
Passionate, headstrong Aliza Bentaine knows this all too well; she’s already lost one sister to the invading gryphons. So when Lord Merybourne hires a band of Riders to hunt down the horde, Aliza is relieved her home will soon be safe again.
Her relief is short-lived. With the arrival of the haughty and handsome dragonrider, Alastair Daired, Aliza expects a battle; what she doesn’t expect is a romantic clash of wills, pitting words and wit against the pride of an ancient house. Nor does she anticipate the mystery that follows them from Merybourne Manor, its roots running deep as the foundations of the kingdom itself, where something old and dreadful slumbers . . . something far more sinister than gryphons.
It’s a war Aliza is ill-prepared to wage, on a battlefield she’s never known before: one spanning kingdoms, class lines, and the curious nature of her own heart.
Elle Katharine White infuses elements of Austen’s beloved novel with her own brand of magic, crafting a modern epic fantasy that conjures a familiar yet wondrously unique new world.
Now on to the interview!
Hi Elle! First I want to say welcome to Two Chicks on Books! HEARTSTONE
was absolutely fantastic and I can’t wait for everyone to read it! And am so
happy that you could stop by for a visit!
For the readers: Can
you tell us a little bit about HEARTSTONE and the characters?
Thanks for having me! HEARTSTONE is a
reimagining of Pride and Prejudice in
an epic fantasy world where dragons are commonplace, monsters run amok, and the
gentry have traded in their cravats and petticoats for hauberks and swords.
Darcy is Alastair Daired, heir to a long line of dragon-riding monster-hunters
and professional grouch. Elizabeth is Aliza Bentaine, a healer and artist who
doesn’t like the sight of blood and whose curiosity often gets her into
trouble. Needless to say they do not hit it off well . . . at first.
Is this a
standalone or a series? And if it’s a series do you have a title for book 2
yet? And if it’s a standalone what are you working on next? Also I would love
to see a reimagining of Persuasion
set in this world ;)
Right now HEARTSTONE is a standalone, but
who knows? We may see more adventures in Arle in the future. In the meantime
I’m working on a series of cyberpunk novels filled with ALL my favorite things:
augmented transhuman drama, corporate espionage, complicated sibling dynamics,
and GIRL POWER.
Were any of the
characters in the book inspired by people from your real life?
Yep. Mari, the bookish Bentaine sister, is
teenaged-me. I was always the one to bring a book to the party and hoped no one
noticed me in the corner.
Who was your
favorite character to write? What about your least favorite?
I loved writing the hobgoblins and
creature characters; Tobble the Hobgoblin is my favorite. I could hear his
voice in my head every time he entered a scene, which made his dialogue easy to
write. Charis Brysney, my reimagined Caroline Bingley, was the hardest, as her
voice had to walk the tricky line between haughty, aloof, and endearing.
What is your
favorite passage/scene in HEARTSTONE?
The first scene between Daired, Aliza, and
Tobble is my favorite, if only because it never ceases to make me laugh. (A hint
to those who haven’t read it yet: it involves Daired getting pelted with mud by
an irate inconvenience of hobgoblins.)
What kind of
research did you have to do for the story?
As someone to whom the complexities of
mathematics might as well be sorcery, I’m quite proud of the fact that I managed
to calculate the average airspeed velocity of an unladen European swallow—er, I mean dragon—in order to make
the travel scenes realistic. I also spent a lot of time binge-watching medieval
weaponry masters on YouTube as they demonstrated the best methods for beheading
and the proper way to wear chainmail.
Who is your
ultimate book boyfriend?
Gabriel Syme from G.K. Chesterton’s The Man Who Was Thursday. Brave,
British, good with words, rocks a cravat, soul of a poet, and just a little bit
crazy. My kinda man.
What inspired you
to write a Jane Austen reimagining?
I’ve been obsessed with the fantasy genre
since I was a child and I fell in love with Darcy the moment I read Pride and Prejudice, so some part of me
has always wanted to read a mash-up of the two. After years of searching
without luck, I finally thought, “Aw, screw it. I write it myself.” The final
piece of inspiration fell into place one Sunday afternoon in college when my
housemate started the movie How to Train
Your Dragon. I happened to be rereading P&P
in the same room, and halfway through the movie I had the sudden image of Mr.
Darcy riding a dragon and thought “THAT’S IT.” I couldn’t sleep until I
outlined the story that would become HEARTSTONE.
Lightening Round
Questions
What are you
reading right now? Or what do you have on your TBR that you’re dying to read?
N.K. Jemisin’s dark and lovely The Killing Moon. And I’m kicking myself
for waiting so long, but I’m dying to read V.E. Schwab’s A Gathering of Shadows, because I MUST finish it in time for the
release of A Conjuring of Light.
What Hogwarts
House would the Sorting Hat place you in?
Ravenclaw.
Twitter or
Facebook?
Twitter. A helpful
training tool for writers looking to kill characters.
Favorite
Superhero?
Batman, of course.
Because he’s Batman.
Favorite TV show?
Doctor Who, Sherlock, and anything by Masterpiece: Mystery!
Sweet or Salty?
Yes.
Any Phobias?
Heights. And
velociraptors. (I’m serious. Don’t ask.)
Song you can’t get
enough of right now?
“Hold My Hand” by Jess
Glynne
2017 movie you’re
most looking forward to?
It’s a tie between Beauty and the Beast and The Dark Tower.
Thanks so much Elle for answering my questions! I can’t wait for
everyone to read HEARTSTONE!
About Elle:
Elle was born and raised in
Buffalo, NY, where she learned valuable life skills like how to clear a snowy
driveway in under twenty minutes (a lot easier than you think) and how to cheer
for the perennial underdog (a lot harder than you think).
MEET ELLE
When she's not writing she
spends her time reading, drinking absurd amounts of tea, having strong feelings
about fictional characters, and doing her best to live with no regrets.
Connect with her on Facebook
at @ellewhite.author, or witness the hilarious spectacle that is a writer
contending with the 140-character limit on Twitter at @elle_k_writes.
Giveaway Details:
3 winners
will receive a finished copy of HEARTSTONE, US Only.
Tour Schedule:
Week
One:
1/9/2017- YA Book Nerd- Interview
1/10/2017- Seeing
Double In Neverland - Review
1/11/2017- Novel Novice- Guest
Post
1/12/2017- What the Cat Read- Review
1/13/2017- Two Chicks on Books- Interview
Week
Two:
1/16/2017- Fiction Fare - Review
1/17/2017- The Eater of Books!- Excerpt
1/18/2017- History from a
Woman's Perspective- Review
1/19/2017- Stories & Sweeties- Excerpt
1/20/2017- The Book Nut- Review
