Monday, August 13, 2012

The Treachery of Beautiful Things Tour Stop

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The Treachery of Beautiful Things is a highly anticipated novel for lovers of fantasy, and especially perfect if you’re looking for an old-fashioned fairy tale. Today I’m very happy to have Ruth Frances Long over for an interview, and you can win your very own copy!

The Treachery of Beautiful Things
Ruth Frances Long
Publication date: August 16th 2012
by Dial Books

 

A darkly compelling mix of romance, fairy tale, and suspense from a new voice in teen fiction

The trees swallowed her brother whole, and Jenny was there to see it. Now seventeen, she revisits the woods where Tom was taken, resolving to say good-bye at last. Instead, she’s lured into the trees, where she finds strange and dangerous creatures who seem to consider her the threat. Among them is Jack, mercurial and magnetic, with secrets of his own. Determined to find her brother, with or without Jack’s help, Jenny struggles to navigate a faerie world where stunning beauty masks some of the most treacherous evils, and she’s faced with a choice between salvation or sacrifice–and not just her own.

Interview with Ruth Frances Long

Q. Let’s start with telling us what it is about writing fantasy that you love the most?

I love the sense of exploring the edge of human existence and beyond, the way it combines our oldest and newest tales, adventure, mystery and passion.

Q. What was the best part of creating the world inside The Treachery of Beautiful Things?

While researching for The Treachery of Beautiful Things, the stories and legends I was looking at seemed to form links of their own, to interconnect in unexpected ways. Stories also emerged from between the words I wrote, old stories I did not originally intend to use, but they seemed to force their way in nonetheless. It was sort of magical.

Q. What type of research went into building this fantasy world?

I read a lot of folklore and fairy tales, tracing stories as far back as I could wherever possible. I looked at a wide variety of tales from different cultures and found the places where they intersected. We also visited the White Horse at Uffington and Waylands Smithy on a glorious summer’s day, and traced Jack’s path along the Ridgeway between the two.

Q. The cover for The Treachery of Beautiful Things is absolutely gorgeous and I’m sure you’ve had tons of feedback on it. What’s the best comment you ever got? Is there one that stands out?

The feedback on the cover has been wonderful, and so exciting. I love when people notice the tiny details pertinent to the story, like the way the flowers become part of the dress. The details are amazing and I’m so grateful to the very talented artist, Danielle Delaney, for doing such a fabulous job. On a more humorous not, there was the comment from a good friend: “that girl needs a sandwich!” J

Q. Is there anything you can  tell us about yourself or the book that would surprise your readers?

Much of the landscape—the forests, the Ridgeway, Wayland’s Smithy—are real places, or based on real places. There are old forests and old places everywhere. It’s worth a visit to get a sense of the other that seems to linger there.

Thanks so much for coming over the blog, Ruth! I’m glad I got to be a part of your tour!

 

A lifelong fan of fantasy, romance, and ancient mysteries, Ruth Frances Long studied English Literature, History of Religions, and Celtic Civilization in college and now works in a specialized library of rare and unusual books. She lives in County Wicklow, Ireland. The Treachery of Beautiful Things is her first novel for teens.

This post was a part of:

Giveaway
Thanks to Itching For Books Tour and treachery Penguin Young Readers Group, there’s one finished copy of The Treachery of Beautiful Things up for giveaway.

Open to US addresses only
Giveaway ends August 15th, 2012
Use the Rafflecopter below to enter
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Giselle

Canadian blogger, wife, mother, coffee lover, and sarcastic at heart! She has had a love for all things bookish since before Amazon and eReaders existed *le gasp*. You can also find her organizing tours and other fun things at Xpresso Book Tours.

Latest posts by Giselle (see all)

43 Responses to “The Treachery of Beautiful Things Tour Stop”

  1. Nick

    Great interview, Giselle! 🙂
    I read the book and really enjoyed it myself. 🙂
    It’s really cool that the locations in the book are based on real life. Unfortunately, there are no forests over here. –‘
    The only things close to forests we have out here are sugar cane fields. 😛

  3. Amy

    Great interview!! I have been looking forward to this book. It sounds really great! I absolutely love the cover too. It’s so pretty! I like that the locations in the book are based on real places. It would make a fun road trip to go visit some of them. 🙂

  5. Alexa

    This book sounds absolutely lovely! I like that a lot of research and work went into its making, plus that it’s based on older fairytales and stories too!

  9. Meg K.

    Great interview! I have yet to read this one, but it sounds really interesting–especially the setting, since they’re real/based on real places. 🙂

  10. Eileen

    Fantastic interview! 🙂 It’s really cool how she did so much research and that comment about the cover cracked me up! 🙂 She kind of does need a sandwich, doesn’t she? 😛

  12. Valerie

    Great interview! I’m really looking forward to this one, the nature and folklore aspects sound fantastic. 🙂 Thanks for the giveaway!

  13. bookworm105

    Trees swallowing people? Dangerous creatures in the forest that are actually scared of you? Sounds like an awesome book! And i love the cover!

    Great interview! 🙂

  16. Lexie

    Fantastic interview! One of the reasons I’ve always loved faerie books so much is that there are so many legends to work with. It must’ve been ridiculously awesome to research for this. I can’t wait to read it! 😀

  17. Addie R.

    Love the interview! I’ve honestly have been reading quite a few negative reviews of this one, but I’m still curious to try it out. And that cover is STUNNING.<3 Thanks for the giveaway! ^__^

  18. Mary @ BookSwarm

    This one is definitely on my wishlist! I love that the author did a bunch of research into folklore and fairy tales (which I adore). And the cover’s beautiful–ethereal and intriguing.

  20. Sam

    Lovely interview! I finished this recently and thought it was a sweet book. It’s interesting to hear about the research now. The magical aspect really fed through into the world-building. 🙂

  25. Vegan YA Nerds

    Great interview! I have to say, I’m not normally a fan of girls-in-big-dresses on covers but I think this looks like it suits the story and the details are just lovely!

  29. Maggie K.

    The cover is beautiful and the interview is very nice. I like that she did her homework/research on the matter. A lot of authors fall short when writing Fantasy but I am glad to see she made an effort. Thanks for sharing!

  30. The Bumble Girl

    I am SO super excited to read this story! I love when the author is inspired by the surroundings that they find. And that cover really is pretty!
    Can’t wait to read it 🙂

  31. Katie @ BlookGirl

    This book has been on my Wish List FOREVER. I adore the cover and always love a good, light-hearted fairy tale. Sounds like it’s right up my alley.

    Thanks for providing us with an entertaining interview, Giselle and Ruth 🙂 And thanks for the giveaway, too!

  34. Christine

    This book sounds so great! Love the interview, too–and I really loved reading that she incorporated old ideas into the book, because I’ve always found that re-imagining old, scrapped ideas can help propel a new story forward.
    Thanks for the awesome giveaway! 🙂

  40. Chas

    I just started following blogs. I never understood them. My friend has her own blog and I follow it. That is what got me into the whole blog thing. I can say this is one of my favorite blogs by far!