AletheaKontis.com

Okay, first…can I just say…now that I’ve written the title to this blog post, I really want to go write the short story that goes along with it. *sigh*

What the title ACTUALLY references is my guest spot on Justin Macumber’s Dead Robots’ Society podcast.

I had a GREAT time talking to Justin and Paul and Terry last night — that’s right, LAST NIGHT. Apparently, when Justin said, “I’ll get this edited and on the site right away,” what he meant was, “within the hour.”

So I don’t even really have time to waste talking up this really fun live interview (in which I talk about my birth as a writer, my fairy tale of getting published, and my hatred for being called “ALTHEA”). Let’s just skip all the hype and go straight to the main event, shall we?

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN.

Warning: I talk a lot in this one. Again. I know…the podcast interview is with ME, and the whole point is for ME to talk, and it’s better that I’m a guest who talks than one who doesn’t…but I still feel like a HUGE blabbermouth every time I finish one of these things. I promise, I will make a concerted effort in the future to let me host get a word in edgewise. Thankfully, I think Justin still loves me.

Also, check out Justin’s fabulous new book, A Minor Magic, here!

I have another fun and quirky interview today — my hosts are the lovely bloggers at Pages Unbound.

I also get to answer my favorite question: the “is there anything we forgot to ask you?”, or what I like to call The Blank Check.

What did I decide to ask myself on this particular occasion? There’s only one way to find out!

There are authors who don’t like interview questions. I suppose that, someday, I might get sick of them too. Maybe I’ve just always liked essay questions–maybe I just love talking about myself (and my books!).

The best part about doing interviews is when questions come along that are just REALLY FUN TO ANSWER.

I have to say, Emma’s questions for me for my Writer’s Voice Interview today were just that awesome. It was tough to pick a few from her list, but there are only so many hours in the day, you know?

Click here to head over to the Writers Voice website and check out the fun!

I was tagged by my dear friend Alma Katsu to participate in this infamous NEXT BIG THING meme that’s going around. I was asked to answer the following questions about the book I was working on at the time, and then tag more people at the end.

Want to know a little more about Hero? Here are my answers:

What is the working title of your next book?
Hero

Where did the idea come from for the book?
It’s the sequel to my fairy tale novel, Enchanted. Where Enchanted‘s main fairy tales were Cinderella, The Frog Prince, and Jack and the Beanstalk, Hero is based mostly on Petronella, The Snow Queen, and Hansel and Gretel.

What genre does your book fall under?
Young adult fantasy (though B&N shelves it under Teen Paranormal Romance)

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
I wish I knew! Peregrine is almost pretty, with dusky skin and long dark hair. Saturday is tall and blonde, with a very athletic figure. If anyone has suggestions, I’m willing to hear them.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Um…I can do it in two: Peregrine, whose father died of the Forgetting Sickness, is cursed into the body of a blind witch’s daughter. Saturday is mistaken for her infamous brother Jack, and tasked with rescuing them both from the witch’s clutches.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Hero will be published by Harcourt Children’s Books in October 2013.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
All together, probably about 4 months. There was a big gap in between where I had to change the outline three times before I could finish the zero draft.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I tell people that the Woodcutter sisters series is “Once Upon a Time” meets The Princess Bride (the book, not the film). I would shelve it next to Patricia McKillip, Tamora Pierce, Robin McKinley, Jane Yolen, and Diana Wynne Jones.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I was most inspired by the story of Petronella, a picture book I owned as a child by Jay Williams, illustrated by Friso Henstra. Petronella is a 1973 feminist retelling of the Grimms’ “Master Maid,” which just so happens to be my editor’s favorite fairy tale. Everything after that just fell into place.

What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?
Despite its fairy tale trappings, Hero deals with two very important contemporary issues close to my heart: Alzheimer’s disease and gender identity.

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Now I’m not a fan of the whole chain letter business, so I’m not going to perpetuate this by tagging more authors who will be forced to participate. (If you’d like to, please feel free, and say I sent you.) Instead, I’ll direct you to some of the Waterworld Mermaids who have already participated:
Loni Lynne
Denny S. Bryce
Carlene Flores
I encourage you to follow the links to their websites and hear what they’re working on.

Happy Boxing Day! xox

What better way to celebrate the world NOT ending that listening to a very fun interview with me, hosted by the Roundtable Podcast?  (I certainly can’t think of anything.)

Alethea Kontis – author of “Enchanted” (recently listed on Kirkus Reviews among the “Best Teen Books of 2012“), the award-winning “Alpha-Oops” series, and so much more – is a passionate and informed storyteller. Her diverse background includes, among other things, a love and respect for the theater and of the rich heritage of folklore and fairy tales, both of which informs her work and infuses it with authenticity and magic. Justin Macumber (co-host and founder of the Dead Robots’ Society podcast) joins me in a rousing 20(ish) minutes as Alethea waxes rhapsodic on the allure of fairy tales, who she writes for, her revision and editing process, and much more. The Fairy Queen is in the house people… woot! (and come back for more writerly goodness in Alethea’s Workshop Episode airing Christmas Day! It’s our present to you.)

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN.

Happy Yule, everyone! xox

The Waterworld Mermaids have a special feature we call “Guy Day.” This month for Guy Day I’m interviewing the one…the only…SANTA CLAUS.

Please stop by and tell the jolly old man what you’d like in your stocking!

(Featuring holiday art by Carol Berning)

Catherine Gracey contacted me via Ye Olde Facebook and asked if I wouldn’t mind answering 11 Questions for her “Catherine Asks” blog. Well, sure! Why not? So I did. And now I’m telling you about them

They’re not the questions you might expect, so they’re not the answers you might expect either.

Curious? Well, you’ll just have to pop on over and see what it’s all about!

xox

The great (and sometimes horrible) thing about the internet is that it’s forever.

I did this interview with Jean Marie Ward for Buzzy Media back at the Adam Ezra Concert that kicked off my giant three-week-long book tour back in May. It’s neat to think about how much has happened since then…and to look at myself and think, “Wow, there really WAS a time when I wasn’t tired from the inside out.”

It’s really a fun video. I’m not sure how soon I’m going to be this cute again. Please enjoy!

Janet and I just did a really great interview over at Sequential Tart. MAN they asked some good questions.

I love the irony of doing interviews for The Wonderland Alphabet: Alice’s Adventures Through the ABCs and What She Found There — all my answers are wordier than the entire book.

Heck, the title is almost wordier than the entire book.

Want to know which letters were the most difficult? What decisions Janet and I had to come up with before we even started planning the book? What we would say to someone who didn’t think Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass were two of the greatest books of all time?

Click on over here and find out.

So here we are…the very last day of July’s Month of Artist & Author interviews! It’s been another super-fun ride. I’ve been honored to host such amazing creators. As always, I encourage you to check them out.  If you missed any, don’t worry, you can still find them all on the Interviews Tab.

I was *this* close to letting Elaine Isaak close out this month yesterday with just an overview today…but I can’t skimp on you guys. YOU DESERVE THE WHOLE MONTH!

So when my YouTube digest came in with the newest Vlog from my gorgeous new author friend from NYC Zoraida Córdova, I knew I had to drop her a line. Zoraida was one of the women who performed with me at the May Lady Jane’s Salon reading, and I later joined her at her own launch party for her novel The Vicious Deep. If you’re a fan of mermaids (like I am), you need to be into this book. The sequel, The Savage Blue, releases in January of 2013.

Zoraida, darling, much love to you and your incredibly supportive family. Thank you so much for being my finale!

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Author or Artist?
Artist!

Who are your professional role models?
My MOM. Also, Libba Bray, Holly Black, and Ryan Lochte because he is a professional merman.

What’s your favorite writing/sketching weather?
Thunder with a chance of rain.

Set your current playlist/musical device to “shuffle all” and hit PLAY. What’s the first song that comes up?
18 & Life – Skid Row (don’t judge me.)

If you could win any award, which would it be?
The best hair award

Would you rather have magical powers, or a spaceship?
Magical powers.

What was your favorite book as a child?
The Little Leftover Witch

What thing do you wish you could go back in time and tell your 10-year-old self?
Don’t wear the pink lycra.

What’s your favorite constellation?
I don’t really know any. I just like looking up at the stars.

What’s your favorite fairy tale?
Errrr….. “The Little Mermaid.”  [LOL Raise your hand if you're surprised! ~Alethea]

What thing are you most proud of?
My family. We all left everything to come to America in pursuit of better things.

The Colin Harvey Memorial Question: Name 3 things on your List of Things to Do Before You Die.
1. Travel — Greece, Italy, England, Denmark, Egypt, Ireland, Scotland, Australia.
2. Write the best novel I possibly can.
3. Be loved.

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Zoraida Córdova was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, where she learned to speak English by watching Disney’s The Little Mermaid and Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker on repeat. Her favorite things are sparkly like merdudes, Christmas, and New York City at night. You can find Zoraida online at http://www.zoraidawrites.com. Watch her vlog on her ZoraidaLand YouTube Channel.