Spring Blog Carnival: Lounging with Marissa Meyer and Jackson Pearce

Posted 9 May, 2012 by Pushy in Author Interview, Author Spotlight, Blog, Danny, Pushy / 24 Comments

Welcome to the

This is an exciting event hosted by Lori from Pure Imagination, Angela from Reading Angel, Candace from Candace’s Book Blog. The event goes the whole week May 7th – May 13th.

There are more than 50 blogs participating and on each blog you will find a amazing challenge, awesome prizes and tons of fun!!! Take some popcorn, a soft drink and hop through the Carnival, visiting the other blogs and completing the challenges! You will find links to all participating blogs at the end of this post!

So we here at the Bookworms welcome you to:

Ah…Wednesday.Β  Middle of a busy week, with so many sites at the carnival calling to you that you can feel overwhelmed.Β  Well, take a seat, dear reader!Β  Grab a coffee or a glass of wine and join us for a moment in the Reboot Lounge where we sit and chat with Marissa Meyer andΒ Jackson Pearce!!!

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Marissa and Jackson, thank you so very much for joining us!!!Β We’re really so thrilled that you took the time to stop by and answer some questions!

When we think of authors of fairy tale retellings, you both come immediately to mind with your fantastic and unique takes on the tales you tackled.Β  We’d love to share your thoughts with our readers so if you’ll have a seat we’ll get started….

Marissa, the first question is for you:
What was your favorite fairytale as a child?

The Little Mermaid – it started with a passionate love for the Disney movie, and grew into a very intense fascination when I read the entirely-different tale by Hans Christian Andersen.

I absolutely loved that movie!
My baby sister and I wore out the VHS we had of it because we watched it so much.

Jackson, what about you? Did you have a favorite fairytale as a child?

I actually didn’t necessarily have a favorite fairytale as a child– fairytales and children’s books were all lumped into one with me, in a way that I didn’t identify some as traditional fairytales and others as modern picture books. I tended to enjoy animal stories though, whereas my sister preferred stories about children.

That’s so interesting, because we do live in an age where there are so many amazing books for even the smallest of children and fairy tales really were at the forefront of that tradition!

And now you both are adding to that genre with your own amazing books!
So Jackson, let me ask you this:
What is your favorite fairytale reboot (other than your own of course!!)?

I don’t read very many reboots– I’m afraid they’ll mess with my head! But, if it counts as a reboot, I’m gonna say each and every Disney movie. I ADORE The Little Mermaid movie, but it’s nothing at all like the original fairytale. Beauty & The Beast is the same way. I enjoy the originals, but let’s face it, charming songs and animated teapots are pretty fantastic.

Disney definitely takes liberties with the fairy tales they turn into movies…which is sometimes for the best. I mean, can you imagine how kids would react to the classic intro to Handsel and Gretel if Disney did that true to the fairy tale???

Marissa, what about you? Have you read any reboots and do you have a favorite?

That’s a tough one! I really loved “Entwined” by Heather Dixon (based on The 12 Dancing Princesses), but “Ella Enchanted” by Gail Carson Levine (Cinderella) and “Heart’s Blood” by Juliet Marillier (Beauty and the Beast) are two of my long-time favorites as well.

Entwined was one of my favorite reads from 2011!Β  Such a lush book with such a dashing villian!!!

Which leads to our next question:
Not all things in fairy tales are goodness and light. What is your favorite underlying aspect of fairytales: The cautionary warning? The happy ending? Something else?

Marissa,Β  we’ll go to you first.

I love how they walk this fine line of telling a great story on one hand while being filled with symbolism and psychological themes on the other. Many fairy tales are telling two stories at once: the surface one and the deeper subconscious one, and as a writer I can appreciate how difficult and brilliant that is.

Jackson, what do you think?

Their lack of apology. Fairytales aren’t always about making you feel warm and fuzzy, at least not at their core. Many are about telling you how life is sometimes unfair and unkind, and how sometimes the only way out of the darkness is through. I also love that main characters tend to fight for the greater good, not just themselves.

It’s so true. Fairy tales have so many layers to them, many of them definitely poking at the darker underbelly of our subconscious. And I couldn’t agree more. It’s that subtler subtext that makes them so universal.

So both of you have brought up Disney, the juggernaut of fairy tale retellings. This of course almost requires us have to ask:
If your book were to be made into a movie, would you want it to be done in animation or with real-life actors?

Marissa, let’s go to you first.

Ha, this question touches a bit too closely on a topic that I’m not supposed to talk about right now. Ahem. *innocent whistling*

Oooohhh!!!! Exciting almost news!!! We’ll try to be patient but we DEFINTELY will be looking for an announcement.

Jackson, what do you think? Real life or animation?

I’m not picky– though I can’t see most of my books working as animations. So I guess I’ll say real-life actors, so long as there’s no cheesy CGI. πŸ™‚

Agreed! Although I’d put up with some seriously cheesy CGI to see Wish as a movie! Although Purity sounds like it would make a fantastic teen movie as well! Congratulations on your release of Purity, by the way!!!

So on that note, we’ll go to our final question:

Jackson, what’s next for you? Will Fathomless, due to be released in just a few short months, be the last in your Re-Telling series?

Right now, there’s nothing officially coming out after FATHOMLESS! That will change though, I’m sure. At the moment, I’m writing away at a “just for fun” project. More fairytales are definitely a possibility, but nothing’s official quite yet!

Oooh! We love the mystery! We’ll definitely stay tuned to your blog to make sure we hear the latest news as soon as you’re ready and able to share!

What about you, Marissa?
Do you have any other stories in the works beyond the Cinder quartet or are they keeping you fully busy these days?

The Cinder quarter is keeping me very busy, but I’m hoping to get ahead of my deadlines and start working on something new this fall. For that, I have lots of ideas, but don’t yet know which one I’ll choose. I suspect it will have magic, though…


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Thank you so much Jackson Pearce for taking your time to answer our questions and contributing to this phenomenal event!! We know you are super busy so we appreciate taking your time!

 

 

 

 

And thanks toΒ Marissa MeyerΒ Β woΒ is a genius. She wrote a tale for our Spring Carnival Β which is beyond awesome!Β Thank you so much for contributing this awesome tale for our readers!

 

So, do you like ReTellings? If so, those ladies are phenomenal. What is your favorite Re-Telling and which Fairy Tale would you love to see “re-told”Β 

Don’t forget to enter our Spring Carnival Giveaway!

 

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Lover of words and authors; absolute fan girl of books! Give me a good story, with characters I can love (and hate) and I'll follow you anywhere. Sing me a song of worlds I can dream of, and I'll listen forever.

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24 Responses to “Spring Blog Carnival: Lounging with Marissa Meyer and Jackson Pearce”

  1. Oh my gosh, I LOVE CARNIVALS! But I think I love fairytale re-tellings even more — and I love that you called them “fairytale reboots” even EVEN more!! x) LOL I’ve never heard of that term before but it’s so hilarious! (I’ll be using it from now on!)

    I’m a sucker for Disney fairytales even though they’re so different from the Grimm originals too LOL! They’re so much more kid friendly — I mean, you wouldn’t exactly show the tale of how Cinderella’s sisters cut off their toes to try to fit into the slipper, right? Or the Little Mermaid ending up alone… It’s a little depressing! x) But aside from this dark corner, I ADORED this interview, and I love MM & JP! πŸ˜‰ <3
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    Danny 5/9/2012

    Pushy is the most awesome person ever! You know how we come up with those names? I tell Pushy my ideas what we could do on the Blog and she comes up with those incredible names: Reboot Lounge? Totally made of awesome my girl!!!

    And .. I love Disney movies.. Even at my Age *cough* I still love watching those movies, it’s like totally stepping into another world! And I say, I’m happy they do not show those cruel details – I would be scared shitless! lool !!
    Danny recently posted..Spring Blog Carnival: Reboot Lounge with Marissa MeyerMy Profile

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  2. Great interview! I’m embarrassed to say I still haven’t read Cinder. I’ve had it since the release…I really need to get to it.

    I am a huge fan of Pearce’s though!

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    Danny 5/9/2012

    I haven’t read it either but, after working with Marissa here for this Interview and the Carnival Challenge I HAVE to read it! Plus, Pushy LOVED it insanely!
    Danny recently posted..Spring Blog Carnival: Reboot Lounge with Marissa MeyerMy Profile

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    Amanda @ Letters Inside Out 5/9/2012

    Everyone I’ve talked to that has read it loved it! There’s just not enough time…lol! Maybe during the read-a-thon next week.
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  3. Such a fantastic interview ladies! I adored The Littler Mermaid as well, I couldn’t stop watching that movie when I was younger. My poor brother would be forced to watch with me and I think he still harbors an intense hatred for it today:) I loved Cinder so much (and yay for exciting news!) and I can’t wait to get my hands on Fathomless!

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    Danny 5/9/2012

    OoOO The Little Mermaid. But Sweetie, who needs the Little Mermaid when we have Galen.. I mean.. duh.. GALEN!!!

    Totally need to read Cinder.. soon!
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  4. Yes, I do love fairy tale retellings and there have been many good ones this year. I recently read Cinder and Kill Me Softly and enjoyed both. In fact Kill Me Softly highlighted many of the Grimm versions and I was shocked to read the scarier versions, yes it is a good thing Disney remakes them. My favorite tale is Disney’s Sleeping Beauty. Hmmm what do I want to retold maybe Princess and the Pea.
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    Danny 5/9/2012

    I loved your review of Kill Me Softly and I nearly would have skipped it! It’s funny, so many tales are so dark but can be easily turned in something so beautiful…

    Love Sleeping Beauty too! ;-)) *sigh*
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  5. Disney made the best fairy tale movies by far! Well, those are the only ones I watched so yes I will say this!! haha. I haven’t read Cinder yet but I’ve been meaning to since it was on Netgalley! I think it would make a great summer read! Ia haven’t read very many retellings at all I think the only one was Beastly and i liked it.

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  6. Such a great interview! I love hearing more about their take on fairy tales.
    I love retellings! My favorite one is probably Beauty by Robin McKinley. It stays pretty close to the original but not exactly.

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