Hi Roshani! First I want to say welcome to Two Chicks on Books! THE
STAR TOUCHED QUEEN was freaking awesome and I can’t wait for everyone to read
it! I am so happy that you could stop by for a visit!
Thank you for having me!
For the readers:
can you tell us a little bit about THE STAR TOUCHED QUEEN and the characters?
THE STAR-TOUCHED QUEEN is my love letter to fairytales from all over
the world. There’s constellations that spell out your doom and destiny, a demon
horse you’ll want to exchange BFF necklaces with, a princess who’s power hungry
and a king with his heart on his sleeve.
Is this a
standalone or a series (I know this answer but thought it would be cool for my
readers to know)? 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?
Standalone! But there’s a companion coming out in April 2017 (don’t
hold me to this date!) that follows the adventure of two side characters in
TSTQ. I just finished my horrific draft of the companion, so now it’s with my
editor waiting to be hacked at and cobbled into something resembling a book.
I’m also working on a YA heist fantasy set during La Belle Epoque in Paris.
Were any of the
characters in the book inspired by people from your real life?
Only one. Kamala is, without
a doubt, based on the strange sense of humor me and my best friends share.
(Yes. I did write myself as a flesh-eating demon horse. I regret nothing.)
Who was your
favorite character to write? What about your least favorite?
Favorite: Mother Dhina. I didn’t have quite enough room to flesh out
her character as much as I would’ve liked, but I found her arc very satisfying.
I hope I get to share a little more about her with readers soon! She’d surprise
you.
My least favorite character
to write was Amar. (Shocker!!!) I *adore* him, truly. But he was persnickety. I
couldn’t always guess what he would do in a situation and more importantly
*why* he would do something. Getting to know him was rough. He’s frustratingly
enigmatic. Still, he was also the most satisfying to write J
What is your
favorite passage/scene in THE STAR TOUCHED QUEEN?
I’ve talked a bit about this, but THE STAR-TOUCHED QUEEN went through many revisions, both before/after I
signed with my brilliant agent and before/after we accepted SMP’s offer. But
there’s one passage that never changed even from my first draft. I love this,
and I think it speaks a lot to the deep bond you create when you’re in love:
“Neither the secret whirring song of the stars, nor the sonorous
canticles of the earth knew the language that sprang up in the space between
us. It was a dialect of heartbeats, strung together with the lilt of long
suffering and the incandescent hope of an infinite future.”
What kind of
research did you have to do for the story?
Not much, actually. TSTQ drew a lot from the childhood stories I’d
grown up with and my own studies majoring in 14th Century British
Lit (try explaining that one at parties). In a way it was the best kind of
research because all I did was go on walks and think about the stories that
made me feel most at home.
Who is your
ultimate book boyfriend?
Koschei The Deathless from Catherynne Valente’s DEATHLESS. Loved him. Without
fail, I ALWAYS go for the villain type or the most magnetic dude. Loki, Scar,
The Darkling, Jafar (in my head, I prefer the tumblr fanart of what he looks
like) Malfoy, Gansey, etc…I love them.
What inspired you
to write YA?
I don’t think I ever consciously decided to write YA. I’ve always been
a huge reader. I wrote fanfic in middle school/high school and still consider
myself a fan/reader first and a writer second. When I started writing, I wanted
to write what I wanted to read! So, I wrote about people who looked like my
family members and had magical adventures based off of our own folktales. The
YA community is incredible and YA books are truly magical because they speak to
a thousand different experiences growing up and each one is more unique than
the last. I just wanted to add my own story in there :)
Lightening Round
Questions
What are you
reading right now? Or what do you have on your TBR that you’re dying to read?
I’m reading a couple books at once. I loved SIX OF CROWS and Leigh
Bardugo’s Grishaverse short stories, so I’m in the middle of SIEGE AND STORM.
I’m also reading THE PRINCE, which is Book 3 in Tiffany Reisz’s incredible THE
ORIGINAL SINNERS series (love the writing and deft characterization). And I’m
reading SIX GUN SNOW WHITE by Catherynne Valente, which is a Western retelling
of Snow White.
What Hogwarts
House would the Sorting Hat place you in?
Slytherin
Twitter or Facebook?
Twitter!
Favorite
Superhero?
Never had one. But my favorite villain is Dr. Hannibal Lecter.
Favorite TV show?
I loveeee VIKINGS and I just finished the Jonathan Strange miniseries
and loved that one too!
Sweet or Salty?
Sweet!!! I have the worst sweet tooth.
Any Phobias?
Being awake but not being able to wake up.
Song you can’t get
enough of right now?
Er…depends on my mood. I go through phases of my
existence where I only listen to three songs over and over every day.
My get-pumped-to-write song is Tyga’s “Faded.” (I listen to a lot of
hip hop). My get-ready-to-write-a-swoony-scene is Zhu’s “Working For It.” And
my WITHOUT-FAIL-MAKES-ME-GRIN is Talking Heads “This Must Be The Place.”
Spring Movie
you’re most looking forward to?
TARZAAAAAN!!!!
Thanks so much Roshani for answering my questions! I can’t wait for
everyone to read THE STAR TOUCHED QUEEN!
