Today, the Inkies are thrilled to host author
Mette Ivie Harrison, whose latest release, THE ROSE THRONE, comes out this
month.
Here’s the Goodreads summary:
Ailsbet loves nothing
more than music; tall and red-haired, she's impatient with the artifice and
ceremony of her father's court. Marissa adores the world of her island home and
feels she has much to offer when she finally inherits the throne from her wise,
good-tempered father. The trouble is that neither princess has the power--or
the magic--to rule alone, and if the kingdoms can be united, which princess
will end up ruling the joint land? For both, the only goal would seem to be a
strategic marriage to a man who can bring his own brand of power to the throne.
But will either girl be able to marry for love? And can either of these two
princesses, rivals though they have never met, afford to let the other live?
Now to some questions
I’ve been dying to ask!
Mette (pronounced to rhyme with Betty, by the way), where
did the idea for THE ROSE THRONE begin for you?
I have been wanting to
write a story about a deep, complicated friendship between two women for a long
time. There are lots of bromances, but sromances seem few and far between. Most
of the time, two female characters end up in competition for a guy and the
friendship falls by the wayside.
Magic plays a fascinating role in this story. What
process did you go through in building a world that feels historically
realistic while balancing that with your magical rules? Did you draw from any
actual time period?
When crafting this
story, I used my old obsession with Queen Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots
as a bit of a backdrop, and the world owes some of its scaffolding to Tudor
England/Scotland. The magic grew gradually from draft to draft, but it began
with the idea that Elizabeth had been a queen who played with gender roles. She
was ruthless at maintaining power, but at the same time was very much “the
Virgin Queen” and quite as vain in many ways as her father was, though with a
feminine twist.
The two princesses, Ailsbet and Issa, are different in
how they approach their troubles, but their individual strengths and strategies
they each employ to survive make for a fantastic read. Was it hard to build
such different heroines?
Ailsbet was the easier
heroine for me to write to begin with. Her personality was so strong that it
seemed to just write itself. But it was also tricky to make her sympathetic to
the reader. Issa, on the other hand, was more passive in earlier drafts. I
really struggled to make her come alive as an independent voice, with her own
wishes and motivations. She was easier to like, I think, but harder to write. I
think that a lot of this has to do with our expectations of femininity, though.
Women are generally considered more feminine if they are passive, but that can
write them out of the most interesting parts of stories.
Without using spoilers (of course) can you share with us
a favorite line or brief scene from the book?
I love the scene when
Kellin finally declares his love for Issa. It’s clear to the reader that Issa
has a crush on him for quite some time, but Kellin is a spy and he’s very
closed. What he feels isn’t clear until this scene, but when he can’t hold back
any longer, there’s quite a bit of sizzle.
You’ve been in this business for some time. What have you
learned that you wish you had known at the beginning of your career?
I don’t know that I
would really wish to change any part of my career, but one of the most
important lessons I have learned along the way is to write the books that you
think will never sell. For one thing, it’s really hard to know what will sell
or won’t sell, but for another, constantly chasing sales numbers can make you
artistically bankrupt. I really like to toy with weird ideas that no one else
would dare try, and I love to break rules.
Now to some fast and furious questions about yourself:
Mountains or Beach?
Mountains.
Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, or Doctor Who?
I really liked the
first two seasons of Downton, and I haven’t loved the latest season of Doctor
Who. I loved the books of Games of Thrones, but haven’t seen the series. So . .
. I guess I would say The Tenth Doctor.
Magical ability you wish you had?
The ability to see
myself from the outside.
When you’re not writing, you are probably…
Working out.
Book on your nightstand right now?
Veil of Lies by Jeri
Westerson, a medieval noir mystery.
THE ROSE THRONE will
be released on May 14th. Please support your Indie bookstores first,
and you can also order online here.
Thanks for the great interview Jen and Mette. I am very intrigued by the friendship and the magic. I look forward to reading The Rose Throne!
ReplyDeleteA sromance! Fantastic! This will definitely go on my TBR list.
ReplyDeleteGreat interview - and the book sounds amazing! I'm definitely with you on the tenth doctor too.
ReplyDelete