Today, allow me to introduce you to Michelle Pennington, whose story "Spindle Cursed" sounds like it will be the most romantic in the collection. The official description says it's about "Arabella, a living spirit trapped in her own comatose body, who helplessly watches from the realm of dreams as her usurping cousin plots to destroy her once and for all." And look at the beautiful artwork that goes with her story! That dragon just thrills me :-)
You can visit Michelle's website here and like her Facebook page here.
Okay, time for Michelle's answers to my questions.
My favorite book when I was a child: Putting the label “favorite” on a book is so hard, but I’d have to say The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope. It is a retelling of the ballad of Tam Lin and features old English history mixed with fairies, old pagan customs, a bit of romance and an awesome heroine. So read it!
My favorite book now: Again with the favorites. Since I’m being forced to pick, I’d have to say The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer. But truthfully, every time I try to pick my favorite Heyer Regency romance, I end up by naming at least ten of them.
A book I've read over and over: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See? —I have four kids, so I’m just being real here.
A book I never want to read again: I’m going to say the whole “Wheel of Time” series. I read them and absolutely loved them, but let’s face it, I don’t have room in my life to read those 4,000,000+ words again. (Yes, I looked it up.)
The last book I read: Water Girl by Juliann Whicker. It’s a YA fantasy romance with mermaids and sirens set in a mid-american high school, of all things. I loved it and was fascinated by the love interest. He was just completely different than I’ve seen in other YA books.
What I'm reading now: Funny enough, and I’m not lying, A Branch of Silver, a Branch of Gold by who else but Anne Elisabeth Stengl. Of course, I won’t still be reading it when this interview goes live because it’s good and good books don’t last long in my hands.
My literary hero: I’d have to say Lindsay Buroker. She’s an indie author (like I am for the most part) who writes fantasy with extremely superb characterization. I fell in love with her reading her steam punky series, The Emporer’s Edge. It’s a total master class in how to develop characters, build a world, write fight scenes laced with humor, and make every book in a series better than the last one. The first book, same title as the series, is always free so give it a try.
My favorite author: As I alluded to above, Georgette Heyer will always be dear to my heart. Seriously, my mom and I joke that we hope to get to heaven and find that she’s still writing so that we can read new books with her touch of genius.
The last book that made me cry: I don’t cry that often when reading. I laugh and rant and grumble and sigh happily, but I don’t cry often. But when I read Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe for a book club a couple of years ago (not sure how I never had to read it at school) I bawled my eyes out. It swamped me with this overwhelming glimpse at the magnitude of evil that has been done to people throughout the world’s history.
The last book that made me laugh: Okay, so bear with me on this one. I’m a huge fan of Bollywood movies, the cheesier the better. So, I recently read Love Muffin and Chai Latte by Anya Wylde. I found it vastly amusing. I laughed out loud through most of the book. I also chuckled through Adorkable by Cookie O’Gorman.
A book people might be surprised to learn I love: I’m not really much of a zombie book reader, but I loved The End Came with a Kiss by John Michael Hileman. It’s super cool!
The book I pretend I've read: In most company, I won’t make a big deal of the fact that I haven’t read The Hunger Games. People stare at me like I’ve been living under a rock, except the ones who know I’m a voracious reader. Those people demand to know why not. Maybe it’s all the hype or the first person present (not my favorite), or the frustrating love triangle, but I’m never going to read it. There, the truth is out.
Thanks for the awesome answers, Michelle! I'm so looking forward to reading your story. Soon!!!
Everyone else, please give Michelle a warm welcome. Do you have any bookish tastes in common?
Someone else who's never going to read the Hunger Games -- *high-five*
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to read this whole collection!!! :-)
Emma Jane, I know! Happily, won't be long to wait now ;-)
DeleteGlad to know I'm not alone in this world!
DeleteI can't wait to read your story, Michelle! It sounds so intriguing :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to read/watch "The Hunger Games" either; I know many people who have gotten a LOT out of them, and I think that's cool . . . but me, I just don't do dystopian fiction. At all.
"Uncle Tom's Cabin" is just SO EMOTIONAL. I know it's often been dismissed as simple propaganda, but I read pieces of it in college and was shocked how REAL it all is. Stowe wasn't making stuff up--she was dealing with the real issues slaves had to face every day. And it was awful.
Jessica, yeah, dystopian is not my thing either. But I hope to try the first book, at least. (I tried the first Twilight book *gasp,* so I figure Hunger Games deserves a fair shake too.)
DeleteThanks, Jessica! That means a lot.
DeleteAnd I have enjoyed a lot of dystopian stories myself, but I just couldn't make myself read this one. The truly funny thing is a reviewer increase compared one of my characters in my book Candid to Katniss. Favorably too. Aaaaalmost got me to try it just to see why she made that connection.
You aren't missing anything by not reading the Hunger Games. Just sayin'.
ReplyDeleteFun interview! So looking forward to reading this collection later this summer!
Jenelle, I'm getting so excited for July 22! I'm sure you remember the feeling :-D
DeleteI really enjoy Masqueraders too, although my favorite Heyer is the one with the older sister who has the wild young brothers (one of them accidentally goes up in a hot air balloon and then crashes). As usual, the name of the book escapes me.
ReplyDelete