Sunday, February 8, 2015

'Dearest's Aletha Kontis Interview

A themed tour with Prism Book Tours.

Dearest (Woodcutter Sisters, #3)Dearest
(Woodcutter Sisters, #3)
by Alethea Kontis
YA Fantasy
Hardcover & ebook, 320 Pages
February 3rd 2015 by HMH Books for Young Readers

?A fabulous fairy-tale mashup that deserves hordes of avid readers. Absolutely delectable.? ?Kirkus Reviews, starred review of award-winning series debut Enchanted

Readers met the Woodcutter sisters (named after the days of the week) in Enchanted and Hero. In this delightful third book, Alethea Kontis weaves together some fine-feathered fairy tales to focus on Friday Woodcutter, the kind and loving seamstress. When Friday stumbles upon seven sleeping brothers in her sister Sunday?s palace, she takes one look at Tristan and knows he?s her future. But the brothers are cursed to be swans by day. Can Friday?s unique magic somehow break the spell?

What is your favorite fairy tale?


My favorite fairy tale has always been “The Goose Girl.” It's the reason Conrad is one of the main characters in Dearest! Conrad was the clever boy who reported to the king that there was something 

fishy about the girl he tended the geese with...like the fact that she knew how to call the wind. 

My second-favorite fairy tales are “Snow White and Rose Red” and “The Twelve Dancing Princesses.”

Where did you get the idea for your stories?


Goodness...for ALL my stories? For the Woodcutter Sisters in particular? Or just for Dearest? I have a 

bit of a twisted mind that can't stop making up stories, so this is a tough question to answer. 

Typically, my ideas for stories come from a combination of things—like ingredients in a recipe. I know 

I'm going to make a cookie, so I start with butter, flour, and sugar. What else have I got in the pantry? 

Here's some almond flavoring...ooh, and some honey...I love honey. I've got some powdered sugar 

leftover from last time...and score! Greek brandy! And maybe a few other secret ingredients, because 

the best recipes always have a surprise. 

Dearest is a good example of this. I started with “The Wild Swans.” But “The Goose Girl is my 

favorite, so that had to be in there too, in no small part. I had already seeded elements of “Rapunzel,” 

and I knew the romance would totally involve “A Weave of Words” and “Tristan and Isolde”...in fact, 

why don't I just name my hero Tristan? Oh, and since I'm already writing swans...score! “Swan Lake!” 

And then about a dozen other myths and rhymes and fairy stories I can't tell you about or it would ruin 

the surprise. <grin>

What's the most whimsical place that you would like to see?


Most WHIMSICAL. Hmm. My aunt and uncle and cousin did a Gaudi tour in Barcelona one year that 

I've always been envious of...oh, wait, I know! Duh. My DREAM destination is to get a car and travel 

the German Fairy Tale Route from Hanau to Bremen. Oh, the adventures I will have there. ONE DAY 

THIS WILL HAPPEN!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Fairy_Tale_Route

Who is your favorite princess/prince?


Amy and Peregrine from M. M. Kaye's The Ordinary Princess. Hands down. 

(Footnote: This is also the reason the male protagonist of Hero is named Peregrine.)

Who gets the best happily ever after? (In your books or in someone else's.) 


Amy and Peregrine are definitely up there. Also, Alleluia and Caleb from Jovah's Angel. Ooh...or Cale 

and Kane from Jude Deveraux's novella “Matchmakers.” No! Wait! I've got it! Alanna of Trebond and 

George Cooper from Tamora Pierce's Lioness Quartet. I have been in love with George Cooper pretty 

much my whole life. (And Tamora knows it!)

The Other Woodcutter Sisters Books
 Hero (Woodcutter Sisters #2)
Links for Enchanted

Alethea Kontis courtesy of Lumos Studio 2012
New York Times bestselling author Alethea Kontis is a princess, a fairy godmother, and a geek. She?s known for screwing up the alphabet, scolding vampire hunters, and ranting about fairy tales on YouTube.

Her published works include: The Wonderland Alphabet (with Janet K. Lee), Diary of a Mad Scientist Garden Gnome (with Janet K. Lee), the AlphaOops series (with Bob Kolar), the Woodcutter Sisters fairy tale series, and The Dark-Hunter Companion (with Sherrilyn Kenyon). Her short fiction, essays, and poetry have appeared in a myriad of anthologies and magazines.

Her YA fairy tale novel, Enchanted, won the Gelett Burgess Children?s Book Award in 2012 and the Garden State Teen Book Award i 2015. Enchanted was nominated for the Audie Award in 2013, and was selected for World Book Night in 2014. Both Enchanted and its sequel, Hero, were nominated for the Andre Norton Award.

Born in Burlington, Vermont, Alethea currently lives and writes in Florida, on the Space Coast. She makes the best baklava you?ve ever tasted and sleeps with a teddy bear named Charlie.

Check out Alethea's Road Tour HERE!


Tour-Wide Giveaway

3 Woodcutter Sisters Prize Packs (signed copies of Enchanted, Hero, & Dearest - US Only)
Ends March 8th



Follow the Tour
1 - Launch
2 - Lilac Reviews
3 - Special post @ Waterworld Mermaids
18 - Special post on @ Dear Teen Me

Prism Book Tours
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)