Friday, July 19, 2013
Of Beast and Beauty
By Stacey Jay
Published: 7.23.13
Pages: 400
In the beginning was the darkness, and in the darkness was a girl, and in the girl was a secret...
In the domed city of Yuan, the blind Princess Isra, a Smooth Skin, is raised to be a human sacrifice whose death will ensure her city’s vitality. In the desert outside Yuan, Gem, a mutant beast, fights to save his people, the Monstrous, from starvation. Neither dreams that together, they could return balance to both their worlds.
Isra wants to help the city’s Banished people, second-class citizens despised for possessing Monstrous traits. But after she enlists the aid of her prisoner, Gem, who has been captured while trying to steal Yuan’s enchanted roses, she begins to care for him, and to question everything she has been brought up to believe.
As secrets are revealed and Isra’s sight, which vanished during her childhood, returned, Isra will have to choose between duty to her people and the beast she has come to love.
Stacey Jay is a recovering workaholic (or at least working hard at recovering) with two small children, and a passion for playing pretend for a living. She’s been a full time mom-writer since 2005 and can't think of anything she'd rather be doing. Her former careers include theatre performer, professional dancer, poorly paid C-movie actress, bartender, waiter, math tutor, and yoga instructor. In her very limited spare time, Stacey enjoys cooking elaborate dinners and eating them very slowly, dressing up in costumes with her sons, and drinking wine with her husband. She loves to hear from readers and personally answers every single email she receives.
And now it's time for 'Silly Songs with Larry'..just kidding! An epic interview with Stacey!!
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Suppose I'd never heard about OF BEAST AND BEAUTY. Now pitch meyour book, in 13 words[or less].
Off-world-fantasy retelling of Beauty-and-the-Beast with a flipped script
(Beauty imprisons the Beast).
(I
could only get 13 words or less with a little creative hyphenation!)
Your last release duology was also a retelling. What do love about retelling a popular story?
I would say “Juliet Immortal” and “Romeo
Redeemed” are more re-imaginings than re-tellings. I took the characters from
Shakespeare’s play and gave them supernatural powers, new stories, and
alternate romantic endings. “Of Beast and Beauty,” however, is a more
traditional retelling. You may have to squint hard to see them, but the
elements of the original myth are all there. I love revisiting classic stories
for many reasons, but mostly because the status is not quo, you know?
OBAB has undergone a cover change recently. Do you like it? How do you feel it portrays your book better than the previous one?
I do like it! Initially, I was sad to see the old cover go (it was so pretty,
and changing it wasn’t my call), but now I’ve come to love this new cover just
as much. I think it reflects the essence of the story much better. The story
takes place on another planet, after all, and that is much more clearly
conveyed with the new cover.
I'm sure you’re a pro author by now, but what's one thing you've learned as you've grown as an author? ;)
I’ve learned that I will always be learning, and that the harder I work and the
more I improve as a writer, the more obvious it becomes that mastery of this
craft is a lifelong endeavor.
The world is ending! Are you living on sour gummy worms or chocolate malt balls?
Neither. I really can’t stand too many sweets. (Now, if cheese is on the menu,
however, all bets are off. I will be eating it for every meal until the
fireball hits Earth.)
*gasp* Isra's heart has led her to fall in love with a guy who is NOT Gem. Which fictional boy stole her heart?
Wow. This is a hard question. Isra and Gem are such a matched pair to me, more
so than any other couple I’ve written. (I think because I finished their story
completely instead of leaving elements untold.)
I
honestly can’t think of a single fictional boy who would suit Isra so
perfectly, and I would loathe her if she left Gem, so I’m going to have to
abstain from answering this question.
(See
how difficult I am? It’s probably for the best that I spend hours in my
basement office alone playing pretend and sparing other people my
contrariness.)
If Isra wasn't a portrayal of the Belle character, which fairy-tale princess might she be?
Isra isn’t much like Belle, or any Disney princess that I can think of, so that
really wouldn’t fit. She might have something in common with Rapunzel from the
original fairy tale, after the witch blinds Rapunzel and forces her to wander
the desert. Isra was blinded in an accident as a child, and I think she would
have the stubbornness and fortitude to keep searching for her prince until she
found him.
If you had to set Isra's “fairy-tale” in any other fictional city what would it be?
The Capitol of Panema from “The Hunger Games.”
The base of OBAB is obviously a heart-throbbing romance. What is the most important quality in a strong romantic relationship to you?
A common love of something bigger than the beloved. For Isra and Gem, it is a
common love for their people and their world. They see this love reflected in
each other, and it draws them even closer.
The world is dying to know; are you a Planner or a Pantser?
Planner. Mostly. With some pantsing thrown in. (Though I wear pants, or a
skirt, at all times while writing.)
Beauty and the Beast is such a well-loved fairy-tale, and it's been retold many times. In your mind, what set's the story of Isra and Gem apart from all the rest?
Gem and Isra’s story isn’t exactly what it seems. The both take their turn as
Beauty and Beast. The roles are fluid, and change as their perceptions of
themselves and their world change.
And
also there is way more kissing in “Of Beast and Beauty” than in other
retellings I’ve read. Just saying…you know…if you like kissing…
Oh don't tempt me!! Thanks for stopping by Stacey! It was a blast!
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Thanks so much for stopping by! A big shout-out to Rockstar tours! Don't miss the rest of the tour stops including super fun Guest Posts and Interviews! Have a great weekend! XOXO,
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Heyo! Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! I love to hear from my awesome-sauce blog readers. You just made my day! I try to reply to every comment I get so if you have a question check back later! Or just link me up to your blog (if you have one) and I'll visit you! Have a Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious day! <333 Inky