Mundie Moms

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Two and Twenty Dark Tales Blog Tour: Author Interview & Giveaway with Leah Cypess


Welcome to today's Two and Twenty Dark Tales blog tour stop. I'm so excited to have Nightspell author, Leah Cypess on MM's! If you've not picked up her books yet, I highly recommend them. Along with my interview with Leah, I've also got an exciting giveaway thank you to 



Hi Leah! Thank you for stopping by Mundie Moms today. Can you tell us a little bit about your story you wrote for the Two and Twenty Dark Tales?

Thank you for interviewing me. “Clockwork” is based on the nursery rhyme “Hickory Dickory Dock.” It starts with a mouse running toward a clock… but then she is transformed, and instead of a mouse she’s a girl, wearing a long fancy gown but with a knife strapped to her leg under the grown. Turns out she’s a princess who went missing after her family was assassinated, and in the meantime her cousin has taken hold of her throne. The story is mostly about her investigating the events that led to her being turned into a mouse, discovering something very surprising about who was responsible… and facing a very difficult choice about what she’s going to do next.

I really enjoy reading fairy tale retellings. What was it about your fairy tale that made you want to give it a different spin?

My sister (who is otherwise a very nice person, really), introduced my kids to a CD called “Silly Songs,” which is a collection of nursery rhymes. My oldest daughter, who is five years old, decided that Hickory Dickory Dock was her favorite. I must have listened to it several thousand times while driving my kids back and forth to school. When I got the email inviting me to contribute to this anthology, my immediate response was, “Yes, and PLEASE tell me Hickory Dickory Dock is still available!” It worked, too; writing the story made me much happier about listening to the song.

What was your favorite fairy tale growing up?

The Twelve Dancing Princesses has been my favorite ever since I read the beautiful picture book retelling by Marianna Mayer and Kinuko Y. Craft. And I’ve only come to love it more in the last few years after reading some YA retellings of that story, especially Entwined by Heather Dixon and The Princess Curse by Merrie Haskell.

Are you a fan of happily ever afters or cliff hanger endings?

Neither! I mean, I don’t mind happily ever afters, but my favorite kind of ending is actually the bittersweet ending. I very much dislike cliff hanger endings.

Do you have any other short stories you're currently working on that you can tell us about?

As a matter of a fact, I have a short story soon to come out in another anthology – Sword & Sorceress 27. This one is called Straw-Spun, and it’s also a sort-of retelling; it’s a sequel to Rumpelstiltskin, told 15 years later from the point of view of the queen’s daughter.

Thank you Leah! I can't wait to read Sword & Sorceress 27. 

If you guys fairy tale retellings, then you'll really enjoy Two and Twenty Dark Tales! Here's a little bit about the book. 




TWO AND TWENTY DARK TALES: DARK RETELLINGS OF MOTHER GOOSE RHYMES. THIS AIN’T YOUR TODDLER’S MOTHER GOOSE BOOK!

Fairy tales sung sweetly can take us back to childhood, but just beneath those same sweet tales, is a hint of something dark…

Month9Books, a new publisher of speculative fiction for teens and tweens launches in October 2012, with the release of TWO AND TWENTY DARK TALES: DARK RETELLINGS OF MOTHER GOOSE RHYMES.  This unique collaboration’s proceeds (from the first 5,000 copies sold) will be donated to YALITCHAT.ORG, an organization that fosters the advancement, reading, writing and acceptance of young adult literature worldwide.  

TWO AND TWENTY DARK TALES: DARK RETELLINGS OF MOTHER GOOSE RHYMES features some of today’s most admired young adult authors, including: 
  • Michelle Zink
  • Lisa Mantchev
  • Sarwat Chadda
  • Nina Berry
  • Leigh Fallon
  • Suzanne Young
  • C. Lee McKenzie
  • Angie Frazier
  •  Jessie Harrell
  • Gretchen McNeil
  • KM Walton
  • Heidi R. Kling
  • Nancy Holder
  • Karen Mahoney
  • Suzanne Lazear
  • Pamela van Hylckama Vlieg
  •  Shannon Delany with Max Scialdone
  • Leah Cypess
  • Sayantani DasGupta
  •  Georgia McBride, founder of Month9Books. 
  • Francisco X. Stork, author of the critically acclaimed MARCELLO IN THE REAL WORLD, provides a foreword that is nearly as riveting as the stories themselves. 

When asked why they wanted to be a part of TWO AND TWENTY DARK TALES: DARK RETELLINGS of MOTHER GOOSE RHYMES, the authors had a lot to say!

“I'm so excited to be working on Month9Books's epic anthology. I've been a Tudor© nerd since before the Tudors© were cool, and this nursery rhyme is about the accession of the Scottish king, James VI, to the English throne (as James I.)” -- New York Times Bestselling author, Nancy Holder

"As soon as I heard the anthology's theme, I knew there was no stopping me! I love anything to do with folklore, so immediately latched onto 'One for Sorrow' as my story's basis. I've wanted to write a crow story for a long time, and this was the perfect excuse!" -- Karen Mahoney, author of The Iron Witch and The Wood Queen, Flux Books

About Month9Books:

Month 9 Books is a publisher of speculative fiction for teens and tweens… where nothing is as it seems. Month9Books will donate proceeds from each of its annual charity anthologies to a deserving charity. Individually, authors may donate his or her advances and royalties to a charitable organization. Month9Books will also release 10-12 non-charitable titles annually. TWO AND TWENTY DARK TALES: DARK RETELLINGS OF MOTHER GOOSE RHYMES is Month9Books’s first release. Month9Books is distributed by Small Press United, a division of IPG. You may visit www.month9books.com for more information.

Links:

Goodreads TWO AND TWENTY DARK TALES

The Giveaway:


Thank you to Month9Books I have an e-book of Leah's NIGHTSPELL to giveaway to one lucky winner! This is open internationally. To enter, please fill out this form:


Don't miss out on following the rest of the blog tour!  

October 16-Hypable.com


October 18-Literary Escapism

October 19-Magnet4Books

October 20-Verb Vixen

October 21-ReaderGirls

October 22-Alise On Life

October 23-There’s A Book

October 24-Book Loving Me

October 25-MundieMoms

October 26-Forever 17 Books

October 27-Coverby Brittany

October 28-Pageturners


October 30- Alluring Reads

October 31-Novel Novice

November 1-Chapter by Chapter

November 2-Xpresso Reads


November 4-Moosubi Reviews



November 7-Books Over Boys


November 9-Supernatural Snark

November 10-Novel Thoughts

November 11-Girls in the Stacks

November 12-Ladybug Storytime

November 13-Reading in Winter

November 14-Minding Spot

November 15-Book Twirps

November 16-Imaginary Reads

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