Elise Edmonds is a writer from the South-West UK. Reading and writing have always been her doorways into another world—a way to escape and spend time walking with wizards, flying with fairies and dealing with dragons. By day she is a finance professional, and in her spare time she pursues writing as a creative outlet, to put the magic back into everyday life. In addition to reading, Elise enjoys watching movies, playing the piano, and going to Zumba classes. Her greatest loves are God, her husband, her family and friends, and her two beautiful cats.
Elise’s Young Adult Fantasy novel, Where Carpets Fly, is available on Amazon.
Q- What inspired your retelling?
A- My story, The Firestone, is based on the fairy tale The Tinderbox. As a child, I had an audio cassette tape of Hans Christian Anderson fairy tales, and this one was my favourite. There was something about the dogs with different sized eyes that fascinated me. So when I came to do my own retelling, the premise was based around the following question: What if the dogs were dragons instead? To find out the answer, you’ll have to read the story!
Q- Oh, dragons! How fun! What was the hardest part of writing it?
A- I actually bashed it out in one weekend because I’d committed to writing the story for July Camp NaNoWriMo and left it till the last minute. The hardest bit was all the mounds of editing that came afterwards, thanks to multiple rounds of feedback from all my critique partners!
Q- I wrote my retelling for July Camp NaNoWriMo, too! *high five* What other fairy tale would you like to rewrite?
A- I am a fan of Hans Christian Anderson tales, so I might choose another one of his sometime. Also, I like The Elves and the Shoemaker. That would be near the top of my list. I also considered combining The Tinderbox with a Chinese Fairy Tale called The Cowherd and The Weaver Maid. It didn’t work out in the end – but that’s another one I’d consider retelling.
Q- Mash-ups are fun, but can be hard to mesh the characters and endings together. Speaking of endings, do you prefer a Happily Ever After?
A- Yes, always! Although with fairy tales I’m quite partial to a bittersweet ending. I like endings that stick with you afterwards.
Q- I like those, too. Especially when writing fantasy because it helps bring in a little dose of reality. How do you combat writer’s block?
A- Fresh air, a day off, lots of tea, change projects, do some blogging, whine to my friends, and cuddle the cats.
Q- I’m very partial to the whining, myself. But, whining can also lead to talking things out, which usually helps more than thinking it through yourself. But, I’m a serious planner and I have to think everything through. Are you a “pantser” or a “plotter”?
A- I’m moving towards being a plotter, but I do need a degree of flexibility when I write. So I plot broadly, but let the nitty-gritty come out as I write.
Q- What is your favorite original fairy tale?
A- The Tinderbox – hence my retelling!
Q- What about your favorite adapted fairy tale?
A- I don’t have a favourite. Fairy tale retellings or adaptations aren’t something I really got into until the last couple of years – thanks to my friends at The Just-Us League! And I didn’t really watch movies as a kid so I don’t have any childhood favourites. I was more familiar with the original tales from books.
Q- You’re welcome! 😉 If you could meet one author, alive or dead, who would it be?
A- CS Lewis. I’ve been a big Narnia fan all my life, and he is one author where I was actually interested enough to learn about his life and how he developed as a writer and created the Land of Narnia. He definitely started my fantasy obsession.
Q- What is your non-writer alter-ego?
A- I’m a Chartered Accountant. (Hence why I have a creative hobby on the side!)
Q- And what is your spirit animal?
A- Definitely a cat. They are an amazing mixture of perfect and evil, and get to sleep and eat and play all day.
Q- I love it. So, who is the biggest supporter of your writing?
A- My mum is very proud of me, and my JL friends encourage me on a daily basis 🙂
Q- That’s awesome that she is so supportive. And I know how great it is to have a writing group so encouraging when writing can be so difficult. What is the biggest obstacle to your writing?
A- Time. With a busy day job, there are never enough hours in the day.
Q- Yes, especially because your job comes with busy seasons! So, you’ve published a novel, and now this short story. What other projects are you working on?
A- I’m currently working on the sequel to my debut YA Fantasy novel, Where Carpets Fly. I’m hoping to publish it later in the year, all being well!
Q- I’m looking forward to reading it! Final question, one I like to ask all my guests- Oxford comma, yes or no?
A- YES!
Good answer! Thank you so much for stopping by. That’s a wrap for the Of Legend and Lore Blog Tour!
You can check out Elise’s story, The Firestone, and 10 other fairy tale retellings in Of Legend and Lore, now available on Amazon! Don’t forget to follow her on social media-
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Thank you so much for following the Of Legend and Lore Blog Tour. Don’t forget to follow the JL website for updates about future anthologies! *hint hint*
~Allie
