Are you an avid reader looking for your next "fix"? Can't bear to be without some form of reading material in your spare time? Welcome to my world! Whether you are seeking a new book to "feed your need", or you are an author seeking an unbiased point of view on your own recent masterpiece, this is the place to be. With life as with books, you never know where the next step might take you...
Sunday, July 25, 2021
Silver Dagger Book Tours presents... THE LOST PRINCESS OF STORY by Suzanne de Planque - GUEST POST + GIVEAWAY!
Hi there!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.
Today, we've teamed up with Silver Dagger Book Tours for a stop along their current promotion featuring a curious title that begs to be read! Don't believe me? Well, you'll have your chance to find out why in a moment, but after the formal introduction, we also get to talk with the author about some bookish journeys and a little bit a nonsense (in the best way possible!). So read it, but don't linger because there is OH SO MUCH to discover ahead!
The
Lost Princess of Story
The
Chronicles of Story Book 1
by
Suzanne de Planque
Genre:
Middle-Grade, YA Fantasy
"The
magical land of Story meets Brooklyn in this unconventional fairytale
reminiscent of Narnia...a masterpiece..." San Francisco Book
Review
"...an
epic, imaginative portal fantasy touched with welcoming whimsy..."
Publisher's Weekly BookLife Reviews
Prince
Charming grew up, became King, and married and murdered his way
through six of the most famous fairytale princesses. Now the World of
Story is torn by civil war, the Wall has been built, and the Doors
closed.
Knights
and princesses, heroes and magical creatures are refugees in
Brooklyn, the place in this world most hospitable to magic. They
thought they would be home soon.
Fifteen
years later, Brooklyn girl Lilla is chafing at her guardian Gus's
strict rules. Why home school? Why can't she walk two blocks without
a chaperone? And why won't Gus answer questions about her
parents?
Lilla
escapes the rules in her beloved books. She is convinced she can find
a way to the worlds between the pages.
She
is right. Everyone around her has kept one giant secret. Magic is
real. On both sides of the Wall, in Story and in Brooklyn.
Can
Lilla find the Door that will take her to Story, the World that knows
her wildest wishes and her deepest hidden damage, where reward is
limitless and danger is beyond all she can dream?
MAGIC
IS NOT BIRTHDAY CAKE WISHES. MAGIC IS POWER AND TRANSFORMATION.
FIND
THE DOOR.
The
Lost Princess of story is YA crossover. All ages book of
multigenerational urban fantasy/portal fiction/ retold fairy tale
with a Tudor twist. LGBT+ characters.
Recommended
for readers of Seanan McGuire's Wandering Children series, Lev
Grossman's The Magicians series, Melissa Albert's The Hazel
Wood, Hafsah Faizal's We Hunt the Flame, and books by Gregory Maguire
and Terry Pratchett.
"The
magical land of Story meets Brooklyn in this unconventional
fairy tale reminiscent of Narnia. Exciting action, fun (and
sometimes messy) adventures, and of course, wondrous magic awaits
readers as the fine line between fantasy and reality is
explored. An homage to refugees who find themselves in a
world harsher than what they have left behind, The Lost Princess of
Story is a masterpiece that is representative of the
real-world issues we face today."
-San Francisco Book
Review
"The sweeping first volume of de Planque's
Chronicles of Story, created as a 'valentine to children's
literature and fantasy', invites readers to sink into an
epic, imaginative portal fantasy touched with welcoming
whimsy...There's amusing banter, an adorable and hungry
teacup-sized dragon, and an enthusiastic narrator given to wordplay
and allegory... Lovers of fairytales and epic adventures will
enjoy this dangerous quest filled with loveable heroes and magical
creatures." A grade.
-Publisher's
Weekly BookLife Reviews
"Author Suzanne de Planque
weaves a marvelous new world for fairy tale and high-fantasy
lovers alike. This endlessly creative novel
is an immersive new chapter to the fairy tales we've known for
generations. The narrative voice is charming, and there
are continuously smart turns of phrase and plays on words. A
tremendous creative achievement, The Lost Princess of Story will
thrill anyone who has ever fallen in love with a story." ⭐⭐⭐⭐
1/2
-Self Publishing Review
"... a great read,
with subtle nods to fairy tales and more current fantasy
fiction... carefully skewers and pays tribute to how fantasy
tales work... Recommended for readers who prefer works by Gregory
Maguire, Terry Pratchett, and works such as Ella
Enchanted."⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
-LibraryThing
Now, let's chat a moment with author Suzanne de Planque...
What
literary pilgrimages have you gone on?
I
love literary tourism! I have made quite a few pilgrimages. I live
in New York, which has plenty of literary high spots. High on the
list are my many visits with my son to visit the real Winnie the
Pooh, Piglet, Rabbit, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, and Tigger at the New York
Public Library. There is the Strand bookstore, immortalized (as if it
wasn’t already) in the Dash and Lily books.
My
son and I love to visit Eloise at the Plaza and check out her store
downstairs. We have done the Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler tour at the
Met, of course, and like the characters in my book, we have visited
the Lower East Side to see sites from the Pushcart Wars. The Upper
West side is famous for Judy Blume books, the upper East for Harriet
the Spy. We spent countless hours at Books of Wonder and look forward
to going there again as the city reopens. Went to Harry Potter and
the Cursed Child. My husband is in entertainment engineering, and a
colleague on the show got us great tickets in the director’s box,
and a little extra magic for my kid. My lips are totally sealed.
The
Alice in Wonderland statue in Central Park is a favorite, and
features in my Professional Children series, which I hope to launch
once The Chronicles of Story is well underway. Also, a visit to
Alice’s Tea Cup carries the Alice in Wonderland theme along. There
are so many literary spots in New York City that I could go on
forever, but I want to talk about my best literary pilgrimage.
When
my son was seven, we took a month-long trip to the UK (England,
Scotland and Wales, plus a little trip to Paris on the side) that we
called the Great Children’s Book Trip. We had planned another on
his thirteenth birthday (which is this year, but we are holding off a
little bit, what with the pandemic). So many great kid’s books come
from the UK, and we made the rounds. The Harry Potter content alone
could have taken a month, if we had the time.
We
stayed at the Harry Potter hotel, rode the steam train in Scotland,
took the Harry Potter tour in Edinburgh, went to the Elephant House,
did the WB studio tour, and so many other Harry Potter sites. We went
all over London. Peter Pan, Bastables, Fossils, Paddington, Sherlock
Holmes, Mary Poppins—the list is endless. Out to Oxford, for Narnia
and Alice in Wonderland and Lord of the Rings. Went to the Roald Dahl
museum in Great Mittenden, where his writing hut is preserved. I
found it very empowering to sit in a replica of his writing chair,
which he rigged with a lap desk and customized to make more
comfortable for his war injuries. It inspired me to do the same and
having a writing chair that caters to my wonky spine has been a huge
help.
We
saw shows—Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the Railway Children.
Winnie the Pooh, the Twilight Barking, the Borrowers—you name it,
we visited. We slept in a castle, and a grand five- star hotel we
booked cheap online that upgraded us to a suite, and on a sleeper
train, and wound it all up at Hay-on-Wye, the Book Town in Wales,
which is the home of my heart. It was one of the most wonderful
things I’ve ever done, and I hope someday to have another grand
tour like it.
On
my to do list of literary travel, the top must visit places for me
right now are Prince Edward Island (Anne of Green Gables, Emily),
Chincoteague for Pony Penning (Misty of Chincoteague) and Concord MA,
for Little Women and the Hall Family books. I recently discovered the
Hall Family house shown in the book is real. I must visit it in
person and see if it really has a summerhouse with a swing and a
diamond in its window.
As
a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
I
think my mascot would have to be Tickey-Ding, the teacup size banzai
dragon (the “z” is for “zazz”, according to him) who is a
character in The Chronicles of Story. Tickey came into my mind years
and years ago, a combination of a love for magical creatures and a
bout of aphasia.
Sometimes
I am briefly aphasic and lose words. On one of these occasions, I was
asking my husband to pass me the kitchen timer but could not find the
words I needed. I called it a Tickey Ding. (Because it goes tick…
tick…tick… ding!) I had been toying with the idea of a little
dragon, and Tickey Ding became his name. Shortly after that I
imagined a dragon small enough to sleep in a sneaker, and Tickey has
been with me ever since, through many years and partially written
versions of this book.
Tickey-Ding
is a spiritual descendent of Peter Pan’s crocodile. But Tickey ate
a kitchen timer. Tickey is magical, curious, lovable, and funny. And
always hungry. I hope that my book is all those things, too. (Well,
not always hungry. Though it may make you hungry. When I was a kid, I
loved books that talked about food and feasts, especially ones with
recipes in the back so I could eat the same things as the characters.
The Lost Princess of Story is chock-full of favorite food, and there
is a mini cookbook at the back so you can make your own Story-style
feast.)
Suzanne
de Planque is a writer, actor, and a stay-at-home mom.
Theatrical
credits include off-Broadway and other New York, regional, and tours;
everything from Shakespeare to Sondheim. A few highlights from her
years in the theatre include enacting what must be
every Grimm's
fairytale in her years as the self-proclaimed Queen of Children's
Theater, playing cut-rate Disney princesses at birthday parties,
inspiring a generation of high school students as the DON'T examples
in a series of job-seeking educational videos, and breaking her neck
falling out of a giant teapot dressed as the Dormouse.
The
latter resulted in a career change to playwriting, and a healthy
respect for teacups. Her plays have been commissioned and performed
in New York and regionally. This is her first novel.
She
lives in a little white house in Brooklyn with her husband and son,
an impressive array of costumes, swords, and Original Broadway Cast
albums, and a world-class collection of children's books. She is an
avid collector of antique and vintage children's literature and a fan
of literary tourism in person and on Pinterest. She has never
passed a wardrobe without checking, just in case.
Thanks for hosting The Lost Princess of Story and the giveaway! Lost Princess is a #1 Hot Release on Amazon today in Teen and YA Family. It’s also on two Top 100 charts! Get your copy today. Just 2.99 in e book, special series launch price. FREE on Kindle Unlimited. 15.99 paperback.
Check out this modern Brooklyn-based Narnia-style adventure. Perfect for the whole family. Moms, you can read this with your tweens and teens. But you may want to save it for yourself! The kids aren’t the only heroes in the book. Moms and Dads were heroes once.. and they might be again!
1 comment:
Thanks for hosting The Lost Princess of Story and the giveaway! Lost Princess is a #1 Hot Release on Amazon today in Teen and YA Family. It’s also on two Top 100 charts! Get your copy today. Just 2.99 in e book, special series launch price. FREE on Kindle Unlimited. 15.99 paperback.
Check out this modern Brooklyn-based Narnia-style adventure. Perfect for the whole family. Moms, you can read this with your tweens and teens. But you may want to save it for yourself! The kids aren’t the only heroes in the book. Moms and Dads were heroes once.. and they might be again!
Post a Comment