2014 Debut Authors Bash: R.C. Lewis

Welcome to my stop on the 2014 Debut Authors Bash, hosted by Y.A. Reads! Check out my interview of debut author R.C. Lewis (which includes her Stitching Snow Love List), and enter to win a copy at the end! 

THE AUTHOR

R.C. Lewis teaches math to teenagers—sometimes in sign language, sometimes not—so whether she’s a science geek or a bookworm depends on when you look. That may explain why her characters don’t like to be pigeonholed. Coincidentally, R.C. enjoys reading about quantum physics and the identity issues of photons.

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THE BOOK

Title: Stitching Snow

Release Date: October 14, 2014
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Summary: 

Princess Snow is missing.

Her home planet is filled with violence and corruption at the hands of King Matthias and his wife as they attempt to punish her captors. The king will stop at nothing to get his beloved daughter back-but that's assuming she wants to return at all.

Essie has grown used to being cold. Temperatures on the planet Thanda are always sub-zero, and she fills her days with coding and repairs for the seven loyal drones that run the local mines.

When a mysterious young man named Dane crash-lands near her home, Essie agrees to help the pilot repair his ship. But soon she realizes that Dane's arrival was far from accidental, and she's pulled into the heart of a war she's risked everything to avoid.

In her enthralling debut, R.C. Lewis weaves the tale of a princess on the run from painful secrets . . . and a poisonous queen. With the galaxy's future-and her own-in jeopardy, Essie must choose who to trust in a fiery fight for survival.

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THE INTERVIEW

Stitching Snow in one sentence:

Snow White in space, if Snow were a cage-fighting tech-head.

What was the initial spark that created Snow? 

During my commute home one day, the song “Blinding” by Florence + the Machine came on. There’s a line in the bridge—“Snow White stitching up your circuit board.” The basis of the story kind of blew up in my head right there. (Actually, I thought I was hearing the lyric wrong, but it turned out I wasn’t.)

Who was your favorite character to write in Snow, and why? Who was your least favorite and why?

I’m not sure I have “favorite/least favorite,” but there is “easiest/hardest.” The drones as a group were the easiest to write, because their individual personalities were always very clear to me. Tobias was probably the most difficult, because he went through a few iterations in the revision/editing process. Anytime a character gets changed, I have to “get to know him” all over again.

What were some of the subjects you researched for Snow? 

I researched the original fairy tale a lot, including commentary by several folktale scholars. I learned a lot about various interpretations of the symbols, like the magic mirror as the voice of Snow’s father, male judgment of female value, etc.

Snow is based on the Snow White fairy tale. What is your favorite fairy tale and why?

To get ready for my book releasing after Snow, I read a lot of lesser-known fairy tales, and two friends pointed me toward “The Wild Swans” by Hans Christian Andersen. What I love about that one is that its core is about the family bond between a girl and her brothers, and that she saves them.

I adored your drone adaptations of the seven dwarfs! If you could own one of the drones, which one would you choose and why?

Most of my critique partners immediately established the Dimwit Fan Club as soon as they read the manuscript. But one friend in particular says Cusser is her spirit drone, and she might have a point. Cusser works hard and gets things done, but he also doesn’t hold back in expressing himself.

What is your favorite line/passage in Snow?

Hmm, that’s tough, but maybe this one: “Feelings can’t be wasted. Knowing they’re real for however long they last makes them worth having.”

That, or just about anything Dimwit says.

Were there any particular songs/albums/soundtracks that inspired you while writing Snow?

Definitely! Besides “Blinding” (as explained above), I listened to a lot of Florence + the Machine in general while writing.

R.C. Lewis's Stitching Snow Love List 

• Petey and how he watches out for Essie in a quiet way
• Imagining all the creative ways Cusser might swear
• Putting Essie in heels
• Turning a particular fairy tale scene on its head

And that's it! My thanks to Ms. Lewis for the awesome interview! :)

~     ~     ~     ~     ~

THE GIVEAWAY

R.C. Lewis has graciously provided a copy of the book! 

Enter below to win - good luck! :)

Open US & CAN | Must be 13+ years to enter
(Cheaters do not prosper here - be warned I check every entry!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The 2014 Debut Authors Bash blog tour continues all this month - be sure to check out all the stops to find out more about this year's debut authors!

September 1st

YaReads - Geoffrey Girard

Swoony Boys Podcast - Jane Nickerson

Kristi's Book Readery - Page Morgan

September 2nd

Book Bandit - Laura Lam

The Word Mineur - Mindee Arnett

My Friends Are Fiction - Samantha Shannon

September 3rd

Nose Graze - Jessica Verdi

Between Printed Pages - L. M. Augustine

You've Been Blogged! - Jody Casella

September 4th

Skye's Scribblings - Kasie West

Lose Time Reading - Emily Murdoch

The Eater of Books - Kelsey Sutton

September 5th

Book. Blog. Bake - Lauren Miller

Bookend 2 Bookend - Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

Musings of a Blogder - Heather Reid

Allodoxophobia: The Fear of Opinions - Lindsey Scheibe

September 6th

Magical Manuscripts - Shaunta Grimes

The Reading Vixens - Sarah Ashley Jones

September 7th

Books for Birds - April Genevieve Tucholke

Book Blather - Romily Bernard

September 8th

The Unofficial Addiction Book Fan Club - Kara Taylor

Inspiring Insomnia - Stephanie Kuehn

September 9th

Kissed by Ink - Ellen Oh

Sleeps on Tables - J.R. Johansson

Always YA at Heart - Amanda Sun

September 10th

Lisa Loves Lit - A.G. Howard

whYAnot Reviews - Liz Fichera

Samantha Clark - Claire M. Caterer

September 11th

Rampant Readers - Leah Miller

Emily's Crammed Bookshelf - T. Michael Martin

September 12th

The Uninterrupted Reader - Cat Winters

The Book Beacon - Christina Mercer

September 13th

Read & Reviewed - Lindsay Ribar

Paranormal Book Club - Kit Grindstaff

September 14th

Books as You Know it - Mary Gray

Paranormal Reads - Elsie Chapman

Bibliophilia, Please - Helen Douglas

September 15th

The Book Cellar - Erin Bowman

Fantasy Book Addict - Miriam Forster

September 16th

Pond Across the Pond - Laurie Crompton

YaReads - Debra Driza

September 17th

Teen Librarian Toolbox - Mindy McGinnis

Le'Book Squirrel - Kimberly Ann Miller

Finding Bliss in Books - Lydia Kang

September 18th

Rachel Reads - Errica Lorraine Scheidt

Kentucky Geek Girl - Holly Smale

September 19th

Turning Pages - Amy Butler Greenfield

Beauty and the Bookshelf - Alison Cherry

September 20th

Synchronized Reading - J.L Spelbring

Reading is My Treasure - Kristin Halbrook

A&C Book Junkies - Carey Corp

September 21st

Playing Jokers - Lenore Appelhans

Lizzie's Dark Fiction - Elizabeth May

September 22nd

Sandwich Making Book Bitches - Anne Applegate

Little Bookwork Reviews - Jennifer Iacopelli

September 23rd

Moosubi Reviews - Megan Shepherd

Little Miss Trainwreck - Julianna Scott

September 24th

Fictionators - Emma Trevayne

Pimples, Popularity, and Protagonists - Corey Ann Haydu

September 25th

Breath of Books - Steven dos Santos

Jennzah - Chelsea Pitcher

September 26th

Nightly Reading - Liz Coley

Pandora's Books - Kelly A. Barson

September 27th

Forever 17 Books - Amie Kaufman

My Bookopolis - Jamie Blair

September 28th

Nick's Book Blog - Jennifer McGowan

Curling Up with a Good Book - Leila Howland

September 29th

Ex Libris - Mindy Raf

Adventures in YA Publishing - Carly Ann West

September 30th

YaReads - J.J. Howard

Fiction Freak - Kate Karyus Quinn