A Wicked Thing by Rhiannon Thomas Pages: 337
Published by HarperTeen on February 24, 2015
Series: A Wicked Thing #1
Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy & Magic
Rhiannon Thomas's dazzling debut novel is a spellbinding reimagining of
Sleeping Beauty
and what happens after happily ever after.
One hundred years after falling asleep, Princess Aurora wakes up to the kiss of a handsome prince and a broken kingdom that has been dreaming of her return. All the books say that she should be living happily ever after. But as Aurora understands all too well, the truth is nothing like the fairy tale.Her family is long dead. Her "true love" is a kind stranger. And her whole life has been planned out by political foes while she slept.
As Aurora struggles to make sense of her new world, she begins to fear that the curse has left its mark on her, a fiery and dangerous thing that might be as wicked as the witch who once ensnared her. With her wedding day drawing near, Aurora must make the ultimate decision on how to save her kingdom: marry the prince or run.
Rhiannon Thomas weaves together vivid scenes of action, romance, and gorgeous gowns to reveal a richly imagined world … and
Sleeping Beauty
as she’s never been seen before.
1. Describe A Wicked Thing in a Tweet (140 characters or less)
The story of what happens after Sleeping Beauty wakes up.
2. What do you think is the hardest part of writing a retelling?
Finding the balance between the traditional story and your own ideas. I’ve definitely read retellings that seemed to be held back by the need to include certain familiar elements, but if you wander too far from the familiar, is it really a retelling any more?
3. What are some of your favorite fairy tales? (or their retellings?)
My favorite fairy tale has always been The Little Mermaid. The imagery really stuck with me, like the description that every step felt like she was dancing on knives… which is a pretty morbid detail for a kid to find compelling, now that I think about it.
As for favorite retellings, I have to gush over Mechanica by Betsy Cornwell. It’s such an amazing, magical, emotional book.
4. Did you plan your novel out or did you let inspiration strike your writing as you go?
A bit of both. I tend to plan out novels, then stubbornly ignore that plan as my writing spirals off in a different direction entirely. I find it hard to get started without at least the illusion of a plan, but they never last for long.
5. What is one thing that we would be surprised to learn about Aurora?
She’s not a kick-butt heroine. That’s not a surprise to anyone who’s read the book, but to new readers, it might be. There’s been a big trend in YA fantasy recently for the battle-hardened assassin/warrior/unstoppable mage figure, so I think people might expect that when they pick up a fantasy retelling. But although I LOVE those stories and characters, Aurora was never that sort of character to me. She starts the novel incredibly lost, as you would be if you woke up after sleeping for a hundred years to an entirely new world, and her strength comes from her journey as she figures out what she wants to do and who she wants to be.
6. If we looked under your bed right now, what would we find?
Probably about 5000 pens. My cat always steals them from my bedside table and plays with them, until they roll under there and are never seen again.
7. What are some of your bookish pet peeves right now?
Recently, I’ve been getting frustrated by narrators who keep secrets from the reader. It’s great if characters have secrets from each other, but it’s really frustrating when the perspective character has a secret and just… doesn’t ever think about it? Inside their own head? Not even a hint and a repressed “I don’t want to think about it”? Whether it’s “this was my secret plan all along” or “haha, tricked you, my friend isn’t really dead!”, if they know something, I think we should know it too. Otherwise, I feel really disconnected from the main character, like they’ve been lying to me, and I kind of lose interest.
Also, abusive jerkface guys treated like the most swoonily romantic things ever. Just… no. Always, no.
———————–
Thank you so much for being here today Rhiannon. I am totally with you about the pens and the narrators/perspective characters keeping secrets. That frustrates me as well 🙂
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kindlemom1
Great interview and this really was an interesting read!
LilyElement
I <3 retellings, this one sounds rather interesting. Enjoyed the Q&A – I think my favorite is The Little Mermaid as well!
ChatEbooks
Great interview! The book sounds interesting. Will include it in my to-read list…