Oh my gosh it’s official! Exactly one year ago today I hit publish on my very first post for Read. Sleep. Repeat. This past year I’ve screwed up, had fun and met some amazing people. I could have never guessed that Read. Sleep. Repeat. would be what it is now and I’m so damn grateful for all you folks that put up with my crazy babbling. Thank you. Just thank you a billion times!
And to celebrate I’m bringing you something I hope you guys will squeal about. First, an interview with the AMAZING Marie Rutkoski! She is probably the nicest woman ever, and I say that as someone who almost had a panic attack at the thought of emailing her for an interview. So without further ado I give you Marie Rutkoski and a few cool facts about her upcoming release.. THE WINNER’S CURSE!
Seventeen-year-old Kestrel is an aristocratic citizen of Valoria, a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers. Here, a girl like Kestrel has two choices: join the military or get married. Despite her skills in military strategy, Kestrel’s real passion is music.Which is why she feels compelled to buy Arin, a slave with a talent for singing, at auction. It’s not long before she finds herself falling in love with Arin, and he seems to feel the same for her. But Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for Arin is much higher than she ever could have imagined.
Set in a new world, The Winner’s Curse is a story of wicked rumors, dirty secrets, and games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart
So in honor of my blog turning one I’m giving away a copy of your upcoming book The Winner’s Curse. Can you tell us a little about The Winner’s Curse for those who haven’t spent hours staring at its cover on Goodreads?
It’s about wanting what you can’t have, and the gorgeous danger of getting it.
Wanting what you can’t have, and the gorgeous danger of getting it. Thanks for making us all fall over from excitement and anticipation! What was the inspiration behind the MC, Kestrel?
I knew I wanted a heroine whose strength lies in her intelligence. As smart as you are, though, there are things that you might not understand about yourself, and there are things that you won’t get–cannot get– if you are privileged, and Kestrel very much is. The title The Winner’s Curse alludes to what happens when you win, but also lose at the same time. Kestrel is very intelligent. Even cunning. Even, I must admit, manipulative. But, like winning and losing at the same time, her intelligence operates in the midst of ignorance. There are secrets she cannot see. Evidence she misinterprets. In this, she resembles Jane Austen’s Emma– though Emma is comic and The Winner’s Curse is pretty serious. Jane Austen’s world and characters helped inspire Kestrel’s character, in part because what happens in Austen’s books is sometimes small– a trip to a neighboring town, a picnic, a ball, drinking tea, playing whist, etc. But the emotions that unfold alongside these high society event are huge. Kestrel, like Emma Woodhouse or Elizabeth Bennett, knows this kind of world; she knows its codes and its rules. But what happens when someone like her breaks those rules? Austen never really gives us a rule-breaker who isn’t also selfish. Kestrel’s inspired by the Austen books I love, and she has an unselfish heart…but she will break the rules.
Sounds like my kind of girl! Smart and rebellious? Yes please! I’m sure, dealing with such a cunning girl, there must have been some give and take right? Were there any parts that were especially difficult to write, when it came to Kestrel and her rebellious nature?
I think the hardest thing was getting the emotions right. Kestrel has been born into a society that conquers and enslaves people. She is smart and sensitive enough to see that this is wrong, but on the other hand this society is made up of people she genuinely loves– her father, her friends. What do you when the people you love practice injustice? What do you do when your very way of life is based on that injustice, and you profit from it every day? What happens if you are forced to choose between people you love, and that choice means that you will forever break with someone dear to you? What’s right and wrong isn’t always clear. It was tricky to convey the impossibility of some of her choices, and how she feels about them.
March is a long way off! What are some things you like to do when you have to be patient and you don’t really want to? I’m working on a time machine myself… or knitting. Knitting has to be time consuming right?
I wish I knew how to knit! Alas, I’m not very crafty. But I have recently (well, “recently” being last March) begun learning the violin, and I love it. I’m not great at it, but it’s fun to learn something new for pure pleasure.
The winner’s Curse is set for a March 2014 release, but in honor of my blogoversary I am giving away a SIGNED paperback copy to one lucky international winner! Thank you all, again for making this first year wonderful!
