Interviews of Snow White Authors: Kellyn Roth

Greetings, everyone!!!!  Today, I get to interview the lovely Kellyn Roth about her story, Adae.  This is my second Snow White interview, and I am having so much fun getting to talk with these authors.

Everybody, please welcome Kellyn Roth! (cue whistles and clapping and cheering)

Me:

     Hi, Kellyn!  Welcome!  Can you tell me a little bit about your Snow White story?

Kellyn:

My novella is about a young queen, Adae, who doesn't really seem to fit in. She's convinced her younger sister would make a much better ruler than she, but tradition binds her to the throne. Her fairy godmother gifts her a magic looking glass on her coronation day, and the mirror, Carmelli, becomes her only friend. After Carmelli warns her of an assassination attempt, Adae must flee to the forest to hide from her more powerful sister.

Necessary parts of the writing process:

This is Aubrey a couple months ago, when I was writing. 

She insisted on sitting in my lap (she's still a puppy)

and then crawled all over the keyboard. ;)

Me: 

How did you come up with the idea for this story?

Kellyn:

Well, honestly, it was heavily inspired by the Disney movie Maleficent with a touch of Mirror, Mirror - both fairytale retellings. The original idea was that the Evil Queen wasn't really so evil as much as misunderstood ... and from there it blossomed out!

Me:

Hey, great stories inspire other great stories!

How did you hear about the Rooglewood contest?  What made you decide to enter?  Are you glad you did?

Kellyn:

Well, I'd known about it for a couple years - I'd heard of the contest first when someone mentioned it on NaNoWriMo, I believe. And this year, I got invited to the Facebook group by a friend ... and it just looked like so much fun! I'm definitely glad I entered and finished a novella. It's my first (completed) fantasy work, so I'm really excited!

Me: 

That is exciting!!!  I have to say that one of the helpful things about these contests is that they make me FINISH a story.  Congratulations on completing a fantasy work!!! That is a huge accomplishment, and I'm so happy for you!

What was the hardest part of writing this story?

Kellyn:

The hardest part was probably figuring out the ending. I had a fairly good start and middle ... but how to resolve all the different threads was quite confusing! At last, I did, after a lot of brainstorming. 😉

Me: 

What advice would you give a writer who is struggling to find/create a good ending for his/her story?

Kellyn's dog: Riley

Kellyn:

It's important to leave the reader with a feeling of satisfaction ... but you also need to find that "Wow!" ending. It needs to be what the reader was longing for all along, and it needs to leave them with a desire for more. It's a tricky balance. The way I see it, there are two major things to worry about in the ending - climax and resolution. In the case of Adae, I had the resolution, but not the climax. The climax needed to be some final battle between the protagonist and antagonist. To finish Adae, I had to reassess who was the protagonist, who was the antagonist, and what their conflict was. My best advice is step back and try looking at the problem from a different angle ... and ask for advice! I've found that just explaining my problem to another writer is a huge help!

Me:

Good advice!

Can you share a snippet from your story?

Kellyn:

How about this?

   Adae paced up and down the length of her chamber. Twenty steps along the exotic rug between her bed and the door. It was wider the other way, but she wanted to face the door at least half of the time, and she doubled that by walking slowly towards the door and quickly away from it.

    “You know, vostra altezza, the bambino won’t arrive any faster for your pacing,” drolled Carmelli. He was propped up on her vanity at the north wall, easily able to view her walking back and forth. “Anyway, isn’t it the padre who’s supposed to wear down the carpets?”

    Adae scowled at him. “I’m so nervous. I read a book in which a woman felt obliged to kill the reigning Monarca to make way for her child.”

    Carmelli moaned. “I’ve told you time and time again, vostra altezza - books don’t necessarily reflect real life!”

    “But it’s possible, isn’t it?”

    “Is your sister capable of killing you?”

    “I don’t think so …” Adae said slowly. “But you never know.”

    “You don’t trust anyone, do you?” Carmelli said dryly.

    Adae sighed. “In some ways, I do, I suppose. My mind tells me that my sister would never hurt me. But something inside me won’t let me rest. I can’t stop thinking about it. And doesn’t the future seem to indicate …?” She couldn’t say it.

    “Your demise? Oh, not necessarily. Though that is a possibility. As for me, I’m a little excited to say the least. I can give you advice to prevent your death and, in the meantime, I get to witness an emozionante story.”

    Adae fake-scowled. “Selfish.”

    “Nonsense. I can’t hold a book - and I never liked novels, anyway - so I’ve got to look for entertainment elsewhere.”

    Adae had nothing to say in response to this, so she kept silent. The sun rested on the horizon when a light rap sounded at the door.

Me: 

That’s perfect!  I want to keep reading, though!!!!!

Kellyn:

Aw, thank you!

Me:

Who was your favorite character to write?

Kellyn:

Definitely Carmelli. That mirror had so much sass, and though he's definitely had a tough life, he still seems pretty happy. In his own sarcastic way, that is ...

Me: 

Haha, that’s awesome.

Now that we are all intrigued by your story, how about you tell us a little bit about yourself!

Kellyn:

The story is more interesting. 😉

But really…

Me: 

Haha! You sound like Anne of Green Gables: “If I could only tell you what I IMAGINE about myself…”

Kellyn:

Haha, totally!  I could definitely make up a more fascinating life of myself… 😉

Kellyn:

Kellyn and her brother

I'm a Christian & Historical fiction (and I guess now Fantasy?) author from North-Eastern Oregon. Other than writing, I enjoy blogging and graphics design. I'm a country girl who loves border collies, cats, cows, and horses!

Me: 

Border Collies are the best!!!!!

Excellent answers, my dear!

Kellyn:

Thanks! 😉

AND YES: border collies are definitely the best! I have two of my own, and they're my best buddies. 😉

Me: 

Thank you so much for joining us today!  Come back again, Kellyn!

Aubrey

Guys, you can keep up with Kellyn on her blog at https://kellynroth.wordpress.com  and be sure to check out her website at https://kellynrothauthor.com

Share some love in the comments for Kellyn.  And if you have questions for her, I’ll make sure the comments get passed along to her!

Thank you again, everyone!!!