Welcome to my stop on the A Bit of Magic blog tour. My special guest of honor is Rebecca Mikkelson!
Rebecca Mikkelson has been writing fantasy stories since her early teens for fun and is thrilled to turn her dream into a reality. She currently lives in Hawaii with her husband of six years where they enjoy not going outside and avoiding the scare ball in the sky. In her spare time, she likes to cross stitch to relax.
Rebecca Mikkelson is Chief of Business Development at Authors 4 Authors Publishing – a publishing company run by authors, for authors, blending the best of traditional and independent publishing.
Rebecca Mikkelson is Chief of Business Development at Authors 4 Authors Publishing – a publishing company run by authors, for authors, blending the best of traditional and independent publishing.
Rebecca, I’m so excited to hear about your story, especially since this is your first publication. Let’s get right to it.
A- My desire to be published! Jokes aside, I wanted to show a woman in a fairy tale that wasn’t either an object or a lesson for repressed sexuality.
Q- What was the hardest part of writing it?
A- This was the first time that I’d written a short story, so it was an interesting experience fitting an entire story in nine thousand words or less, and also staying true enough to the original for people to see the connection but still make it my own.
Q- What made you choose The Princess and the Pea?
A- Well, if I’m being completely honest, it was because reading the story made me angry. I was trying to find a fairy tale to retell and when I read Princess and the Pea I quite literally yelled, “She freaking lied to you, you idiot! She saw the pea go under the bed!” And that was when I knew I had to rewrite it to suit my needs.
Q- Do you prefer a happy ending, and did that affect how you wrote your story?
A- In general, yes, I do prefer a happy ending, but I went with a bittersweet ending for mine because I thought it better fit the work.
Q- What is your favorite part of your main character?
A- You know, I’ve tried to answer this question a couple of times now, and I really think it’s a hard question to answer because Adelena isn’t a totally good person in the story–on purpose, mind you–and can be quite horrible at times. So, I think my favorite part about my main character is how determined she is, even if it’s to her detriment.
Q- What was the best part about this whole anthology process?
A- Really, it’s the amazing people I’ve been working with, but it has been nice to get validation that I can write something worth publishing.
Q- What is your favorite fairy tale (original or retelling)?
A- Is it cliche of me to say Beauty and the Beast? Although, I have a bone to pick with the animated Disney film, because apparently the writers don’t know what a flying buttress is.
Q- How long have you been writing?
A- In general, fifteen or so years. I started writing stories for my friends when I was in middle school just for fun, and I didn’t start writing with an intent to publish until about six years ago.
Q- What projects are you working on now?
A- Currently I’m working on six book series called The Anatalian Series that focuses on Margaret Doremis, daughter of the Count of Dorcia, who is thrust into a hostile and chaotic court life after the murder of her father. During a chance encounter with Liam Fulton, an escaped war criminal, she learns a long-lost secret that threatens to tear the Kingdom of Anatalia apart. In the series, we find out if she can she navigate the intricacies of court life, placate a delusional king and keep Liam’s secret, or if her actions will cause the kingdom to spiral into a civil war, taking thousands of lives, including her own.
Q- Final question, Oxford comma: yes or no?
A- Absolutely yes. You’ll have to pry the Oxford comma out of my cold, dead, and lifeless hands.
Thank you so much for stopping by, Rebecca! Make sure to check out The Measure of a Princess when A Bit of Magic is released on May 31st! In the meantime, follow Rebecca on Facebook and Twitter, and don’t forget to check out the rest of the blog tour!
~Allie
