Title: SPINNING STARLIGHT
Author: R.C. Lewis
Release Date: October
6, 2015
Pages: 336
Publisher:
Disney Hyperion
Formats: Hardcover,
eBook
Find it:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks
Sixteen-year-old heiress and paparazzi darling Liddi Jantzen hates the spotlight. But as the only daughter in the most powerful tech family in the galaxy, it's hard to escape it. So when a group of men show up at her house uninvited, she assumes it's just the usual media-grubs. That is, until shots are fired.
Liddi escapes, only to be pulled into an interplanetary conspiracy more complex than she ever could have imagined. Her older brothers have been caught as well, trapped in the conduits between the planets. And when their captor implants a device in Liddi's vocal cords to monitor her speech, their lives are in her hands: One word and her brothers are dead.
Desperate to save her family from a desolate future, Liddi travels to another world, where she meets the one person who might have the skills to help her bring her eight brothers home-a handsome dignitary named Tiav. But without her voice, Liddi must use every bit of her strength and wit to convince Tiav that her mission is true. With the tenuous balance of the planets deeply intertwined with her brothers' survival, just how much is Liddi willing to sacrifice to bring them back?
Haunting and mesmerizing, this retelling of Hans Christian Andersen'sThe Wild Swans strings the heart of the classic with a stunning, imaginative world as a star-crossed family fights for survival in this companion to Stitching Snow.
Now on to the interview.
Hi R.C.! First I want to say welcome to Two Chicks on Books! I
am looking forward to SPINNING STARLIGHT I loved STITCHING SNOW 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 SPINNING STARLIGHT and the characters? Will we see anyone from
STITCHING SNOW in this one?
Unfortunately, there is no crossover between STITCHING SNOW and SPINNING STARLIGHT. They’re “companion novels” just in the sense that they’re both sci-fi fairytale retellings.
SPINNING STARLIGHT follows teenage
tech heiress Liddi Jantzen as she uncovers a plot that has trapped her eight
older brothers. Her efforts to save them lead her to a world she didn’t know
existed and people with worldviews that may put her brothers in even more
danger. It’s a retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Wild Swans” with some
technological, sci-fi twists.
Will there be a third book in this awesome series?
I don’t currently have another fairytale retelling planned, but I wouldn’t rule out the possibility.
Were any of the characters in the
book inspired by people from your real life?
Not particularly ... or at least not consciously! Not beyond borrowing and tweaking some names.
Who was your favorite character to write? What about your least favorite?
I really liked writing both Liddi and Tiav. At the same time, Liddi was also the trickiest, because just like in the fairytale, she can’t speak for a large part of the story. So I wouldn’t say “least favorite,” but was the biggest challenge, and she was my only point-of-view character!
What is your favorite passage/scene in SPINNING STARLIGHT?
My favorite is actually the very last scene ... so I can’t say much about it because spoilers. It went through a couple different versions, and I really like the one it landed on.
What kind of research did you have to do for the story?
Most of my research was on the fairytale itself, reading scholarly commentary on the meanings and symbols within the story. I did the same with STITCHING SNOW and tried to incorporate threads of those underlying meanings even when I stepped far from the original context.
What are you reading right now? Or what do you have on your TBR that you’re dying to read?
My TBR (of books I own!) is gigantic, so my current goal is reading books I bought BEFORE 2015. I really want to read A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC by V.E. Schwab, though, so I may have to let it jump in line at some point.
Who is your ultimate Book Boyfriend?
It’s probably bad form to say anyone I wrote, but I honestly have a soft spot for a boy in one of my manuscripts which may or may not ever get published.
What inspired you to write YA?
Mostly being around my students. It’s the world I’m surrounded by on a daily basis, so it’s what made sense when I started writing.
Lightning Round Questions
Twitter or Facebook?
Twitter
Favorite Superhero?
Captain
America (if I have to pick one ... I’ll change my mind frequently)
Favorite TV show?
Mythbusters
What Harry Potter House would the
Sorting Hat place you in?
Probably
Ravenclaw
Sweet or Salty?
Salty
sweet! (With salted caramel, we no longer have to choose)
Any Phobias?
No,
there are things that make me anxious, but not full-on phobias.
Song you can’t get enough of right
now?
“Take Me
To Church” by Hozier
Fall Movie you’re most looking
forward to?
The Martian has all the buzz so I
hope it’s good. (Haven’t read the book yet!)
Thanks so much R.C. for answering
my questions!
About
R.C.:
R.C. Lewis teaches math to teenagers—sometimes
in sign language, sometimes not—so whether she’s a science geek or a bookworm depends
on when you look. That may explain why her characters don’t like to be
pigeonholed. Coincidentally, R.C. enjoys reading about quantum physics and the
identity issues of photons.
Giveaway Details:
1
winner will receive a signed finished copies of STITCHING SNOW & SPINNING
STARLIGHT. US Only.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Week
One:
9/28/2015- Fangirlish- Interview
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