Author Chat with K Eason (How Rory Thorne Destroyed The Multiverse), Excerpt, Plus Giveaway! ~ (US Only)
Today we're excited to chat with K Eason author of
How Rory Thorne Destroyed The Multiverse.
Read on for more about K Eason and his book, an excerpt, plus an giveaway!
Meet K Eason!
Eason is a lecturer at the University of California, Irvine, where she and her composition students tackle important topics such as the zombie apocalypse, the humanity of cyborgs, and whether or not Beowulf is a good guy. Her previous publications include the On the Bones of Gods fantasy series with 47North, and she has had short fiction published in Cabinet-des-Fées, Jabberwocky 4, Crossed Genres, and Kaleidotrope.
Meet How Rory Thorne Destroyed The Multiverse!
Rory Thorne is a princess with thirteen fairy blessings, the most important of which is to see through flattery and platitudes. As the eldest daughter, she always imagined she’d inherit her father’s throne and govern the interplanetary Thorne Consortium.
Then her father is assassinated, her mother gives birth to a son, and Rory is betrothed to the prince of a distant world.
When Rory arrives in her new home, she uncovers a treacherous plot to unseat her newly betrothed and usurp his throne. An unscrupulous minister has conspired to name himself Regent to the minor (and somewhat foolish) prince. With only her wits and a small team of allies, Rory must outmaneuver the Regent and rescue the prince.
How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse is a feminist reimagining of familiar fairytale tropes and a story of resistance and self-determination—how small acts of rebellion can lead a princess to not just save herself, but change the course of history.
Amazon * B & N * Indiebound
~ Author Chat ~
What gave you the inspiration to write this book?
I wanted to write the story that I'd always wanted to read, one that both blended fantasy and science fiction, and also subverted the tropes of fairytales that always annoyed me (princesses in towers, princesses needing rescue, evil stepmothers, dead mothers, and...I will stop now lest I spoil the plot.)
Who is your favorite character in the book?
Grytt, closely followed by Rupert.
Which came first, the title or the novel?
Oh, the novel, definitely. My books have super goofy working titles (for instance, "Tin Can Fun Fur" for a recent manuscript). My agent and I worked hard to come up with the title we have.
What scene in the book are you most proud of, and why?
The first chapter did that rare and magical thing that almost never happens when I draft: it wrote itself. The narrator's voice appeared on the page and I knew exactly what would happen, who the characters were, all of it. (After that, the blank expanse of Chapter Two got trickier.) But I'm proud of it for how it takes all these familiar tropes and bits and bobs of fairy tales and knocks them askew, while still being a fairy tale.
Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you've learned as a writer from then to now?
I am allowed to write the ugly, awful, no good, very bad draft. I can't revise as I go--I have to turn off the editor-brain and just write. I have to let the story be messy (and the writing, too) and just get it onto the page. I had gotten into a rut of going back and trying to edit as I went along, and... yeah. No. I ended up trashing most of a manuscript.
What do you like most about the cover of the book?
I love this whole cover. Every bit of it. But...if I had to pick, I love all the tiny math symbols and space icons woven in among the absolutely awesome lettering.
What was your favorite book in 2018?
The Calculating Stars, by Mary Robinette Kowal.
Which part of the writing process do you enjoy more: Drafting or Revising?
Revising, definitely. Drafting is this scary battle with blank pages and hoping (praying, sacrificing imaginary chickens) the story happens (I am not one of those writers who outlines; I have a vague idea of a direction, and a couple of characters I find interesting, and that's it). Revising means confronting the mess of the early draft, but there's a foundation on which to make miracles happen.
What would you say is your superpower?
In real life? My self-discipline. If could pick one... I'd love to be able to alter reality somehow... magic, psi, arithmancy...
Is there an organization or cause that is close to your heart?
There are many, but right now, the ACLU and Sierra Club are the two at the top.
~ Excerpt ~
The Regent was alarmingly close already, and, even more alarmingly, not alone. A pair of young men trailed in his wake, both alike enough to each other and to the Regent himself that their identities were easy to ascertain.
“Princess,” said Moss, with a precisely correct bow. “You are looking lovely this evening.”
Rory smiled, her very sweetest, and dropped into a Thorne-style curtsy, arms spread, chin lowered, chest just so slightly out-thrust. Her gaze remained fixed on Moss, unblinking.
“Regent. What a delightful gathering.”
“You are too kind, Princess.” He tilted his head. His gaze wandered over the Lanscottar, and his lip curled. “I see that you have found some of the Free Worlds’ more, hm, eccentric inhabitants. The Lanscottar do love their stories, and those stories are very diverting. I hope you’ve enjoyed them.”
His tone suggested that, whether or not she had, her time with Robbie the very clever dog and the sheep-thief of the Clarster Moors had come to an end. Behind Moss’s shoulder, the young men traded sly, knowing looks. The taller of them kept trying for Rory’s eye, slinging his smirk at her like a grappling hook.
Rory wished for more room in the bodice, so that she might take the deep and slow breaths necessary to douse her temper. Then she turned a shoulder to Moss, and looked back at the Lanscottar.
“Thank you for the conversation,” she said. “I look forward to hearing the rest of Robbie’s tale at a later date.”
“Your Highness,” said Maggie. The Lanscottar bowed, of a piece, and shuffled away into the arboretum. The smell of overwarmed human and wet sheep trailed after them.
“Much better,” muttered the taller boy. “You don’t have to flatter them, Princess.”
Rory had practiced this particular gesture a dozen times in the mirror. Chin up. Shoulders back. Eyebrow . . . just the one on the left . . . up, up. There.
“I’m sorry,” she said crisply. “I don’t believe I know you.”
The taller boy’s cheeks turned red. The shorter one caught his sniggering in his hand, which he turned into an unconvincing cough when his father turned to glare at him.
A cold little smile took up residence in the corner of Moss’s mouth, as if it were trying to get as far away from its wearer as possible. “Indeed. My apologies, Princess. Allow me to introduce my sons, Merrick and Jaed.”
Merrick and Jaed shared their father’s striking good looks: blond, both of them, tall and wide- houldered, with narrow hips and long legs. Merrick was the taller, the one with the sense to blush. Jaed was perhaps four centimeters shorter, which he made up for in the increased breadth of his shoulders. His hair was perhaps two shades darker, as well, bronze rather than gilt.
Rory suffered the obligatory hand-kissing, all the while battling twin impulses of regret and relief at Grytt’s absence. Not that Grytt could have done anything about the social niceties. She did catch sight of Messer Rupert, trapped on the edge of the room. His expression suggested he wished Merrick and Jaed reduced to insectivore amphibians on the spot.
Unfortunately the only remedy to Rory’s situation was diplomacy. She decided she’d have to rescue herself.
How Rory Thorne Destroyed The Multiverse
By: K Eason
Release Date: October 8th, 2019
Publisher: DAW
*GIVEAWAY DETAILS*
One winner will receive a copy of How Rory Thorne Destroyed The Multiverse (K Eason) ~ (US Only)
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, Excerpt, Plus Giveaway! ~ (US Only))
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Comments 1
This book will really help anyone having to deal with unscrupulous ministers and foolish princes!
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