Interview & Giveaway with Danielle E. Shipley, author of The Wilderhark Tales!

A few days ago, Bonnie hosted a guest post on having to walk a mile in a fairy tale character's shoes, as well as a piece of flash fiction inspired by the tale "One Eye, Two Eyes and Three Eyes." Both of these pieces came from Danielle E. Shipley, author of the Wilderhark Tales, who has dropped in to chat with us today about all things fairy tale.

Check it out below, and then enter to win a copy of The Seventh Spell, one of the books of her Wilderhark Tales series!

If you could own any item from a fairytale, what would it be? (eg. The Queen’s magic mirror from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, the magic harp from Jack and the Beanstalk).
I’ll take Aladdin’s flying carpet, thank you very much! Not just any flying carpet; specifically his, unless they all have the same charming personality Carpet does.

Make a case for your favorite lesser-known tale or retelling: which story should we all read, right this instant?
The tale of Prince Prigio! Once upon 1889, a fellow by the name of Andrew Lang wrote a story of the obnoxiously-clever Prigio whose exploits include pitting a fire beast and an ice monster against one another, with a little help from such tools as seven-league boots, a cap of darkness, and even a flying carpet which may or may not be as much of a sweetheart as Aladdin’s. I read the story maybe once in my whole life, but an epic battle between fire and ice creatures is a plot point I’ve ever forgotten. Why hasn’t this gem been retold into the ground?

Would you rather...
- Be woken up by the Town Musicians of Bremen or a fire-breathing dragon who's just discovered you in her gold hoard?
TM of B. That way I’ll only be scared senseless until I’ve figured out what that unholy racket is. The dragon would probably just stop my ticker entirely.

- live in a gingerbread house or a door-less tower?
Door-less tower. Fewer children coming ‘round to bring down the property value, that way.

- Eat a poisoned apple (Snow White) or eat pomegranate arils/seeds (Persephone in Greek myth)?
Pass the pomegranate. A few months a year in the Underworld could be nice, so long as I avoid the grisly torture pits.

This or That...
- talking frog or talking donkey?
Donkey. (Um, maybe not the “Shrek” version, though.)

- City of Atlantis or Camelot?
Camelot. Chivalry or bust!

Word Association - Say the first word that pops into your head when we tell you….
a. Knight = Chain mail!
b. Fairy = Dust.
c. Orange = Peel. (Thrilling, I know.)
d. Potion = Lotion. (Clearly, there’s an incantation to be made of this rhyme.)
e. Shoes = Leather.
f. Grandmother = WOLF! (#NotFooled)
g. Sleep = Spell.
h. Angry = Scientist. (…Yeah.)

****GIVEAWAY****
To celebrate Fairy Tale Fortnight, Danielle has offered up a paperback of The Seventh Spell, part of her Wilderhark Tales series, to a lucky FTF reader! This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL, and ends May 10th at midnight.
**To enter this giveaway, you have to be registered on the Giveaway Registration Form.  Please make sure you have registered, and please do not leave any personal info (like your email) in the comments.  Thanks, and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


ABOUT THE BOOK:

An enchantress’s curse turns a spoiled royal into a beast; a princess’s pricked finger places her under a hundred-year spell; bales of straw are spun as golden as the singing harp whisked down a giant beanstalk – all within sight of Wilderhark, the forest that’s seen it all.

You’ve heard the stories – of young men scaling rope-like braids to assist the tower-bound damsel; of gorgeous gowns appearing just in time for a midnight ball; of frog princes, and swan princes, and princes saved from drowning by maidens of the sea. Tales of magic. Tales of adventure. Most of all, tales of true love.

Once upon a time, you knew them as fairytales. Know them now as Wilderhark’s.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Danielle E. Shipley’s first novelettes told the everyday misadventures of wacky kids like herself. …Or so she thought. Unbeknownst to them all, half of her characters were actually closeted elves, dwarves, fairies, or some combination thereof. When it all came to light, Danielle did the sensible thing: Packed up and moved to Fantasy Land, where daily rent is the low, low price of her heart, soul, blood, sweat, tears, firstborn child, sanity, and words; lots of them. She’s also been known to spend short bursts of time in the real-life Chicago area with the parents who home schooled her and the two little sisters who keep her humble. When she’s not living the highs and lows of writing young adult novels, she’s probably blogging about it.

Click here to go back to the Fairy Tale Fortnight Main Page, where you can access the schedule or find out more!