Author Interview: K.S. Trenten

About the Book

Title: Fairest (included in Once Upon a Rainbow vol. 1)

Author: K.S. Trenten

Publisher: NineStar Press

Publication Date: November 20, 2017

Word Count: 27k words

Category: f/f, fairytale, ambient fantasy, Young Adult, anthology

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

Purchase Links

NineStar Press | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo

Synopsis

All of my life, I’ve been haunted by her dark eyes. At birth, she cursed me to prick my finger on the spindle and sleep for a century. She appears in my dreams, my reflections, shaping my desires. Who is she? My guardian has only revealed a few enigmatic words as to her identity, the fairest of them all. Follow me into the lonely Forest of Tears where the dwarves dwell, walking where she once walked. Gaze into the depths of the magic mirror which reveals her secrets. For I refuse to fear her, even if I should.

Interview

Today, K.S. Trenten has graciously stopped by to answer a few questions about life, writing, and her current projects. Welcome!

Start us off by telling us how and why you chose your genre.

To be honest, I didn’t. I’ve always loved tales of magic, fantasy, and science fiction. I took a look at the genre requirements and expectations, realized they had little to do with me. I created a sub genre, ambient fantasy or ambient science fiction, which still dealt with magic, fantasy and the otherwordly, yet it was more emotionally driven than action driven, using flowers, softer colors and themes, and a more androgynous, slender look than the hard, muscular imagery often used to promote science fiction and fantasy. I’m hoping it will appeal to a lot of people who like to read shoujo manga and anime, whose visuals often conjure up the sort of fantasy settings I’m trying to create.

I love the term “ambient fantasy,” and I think it’s apt for your work. It does draw readers into a deep emotional connection with the characters. Speaking of which, is there a character you feel especially connected to? Why?

Rose is the most like me…I put a lot of myself into the main character of Fairest. At the same time, I can’t get Quartz out of my head (my deceased dwarf) because he will not shut up. He’s even taken over one of my blogs once a month to interview my various other characters, which is called Secondary Characters Speak Out. (laughs)

Ha! Those pesky characters, just taking over.

Choose a favorite line or short passage from any of your work. What do you like about it?

“Who is the fairest of them all? Me, you, or her?” In fact, I’m very proud of that entire little poem. It’s the first poem I’ve ever been paid for. Well, it did come with a story, but I’m still very pleased to see it in print.

That’s really cool. Do you have any upcoming projects?

Wind Me Up, One More Time, this is the project I keep getting blocked on. I’m having a hard time getting myself into a Christmas state of mind to turn it into a Christmas story, although I’ve finally got an idea where I’m going with it. Stealing Myself From Shadows is the first in a series of books I considered my life’s work, which I’m trying to polish up and self publish. I’ve also got Aissa and Polyxena, a mythical retelling of Achille’s (Achilles) passion for Troile (Troilus), including the two characters cross-dressing as Aissa (Achille when he was on Scyros before Odysseus unmasked him) and Polyxena (Troile/Troilus’s twin sister whom Achille fancied, but never appeared in the Iliad…this made me decide to make Troile and Polyxena the same person).

Wow, that’s a lot! I wish you the best with those. In the meantime, how about some Word Sprints?

Cats or dogs?

Cats, although I had a dog once I was very attached to. These days I’m a feline slave. 🙂

What’s your favorite food?

Hard to choose, but I’m going to say a really ripe heirloom tomato. It’s particularly good with buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil.

What superpower do you wish you had?

I’ve often yearned for Darth Vader’s ability to throttle people, hurling their weapons, or them away. It’s best I don’t have it. I’d definitely abuse it. 🙂

If you could have any career (other than writer), what would it be?

Something which allowed me to travel in a luxurious fashion.

Thanks for stopping by, and come back to tell us how it’s going with all those amazing projects you have in the works.

Excerpt

MY FIRST MEMORY was of her dark eyes. They captured all the colors of my infant universe, even as they threatened to swallow me.

Her eyes should have been terrifying, but they weren’t.

Her blood red lips moved, shaping words I could not recall.

My parents remembered them only too well, as did everyone else who’d gathered at the castle for my christening.

“I, too, have a gift for this child. She shall grow up, with all the beauty and promise of the dawn, but her sun will never rise.”

My mother told me she nearly swooned with terror at the look of sheer malevolence the witch gave to the sunbeams playing about my cradle. She wanted to stop the witch from speaking, as did my father.

No one could move, no matter how much they wished to. Everyone stood still, spellbound by the witch’s gaze.

“Before the sun sets on the eve of her sixteenth year, the princess shall prick her finger on a spindle. With the first drop of her blood, a sleeping curse will fall upon her, claiming her for a hundred years.”

My mother tried to call in another witch to remove the curse. My father burned every spindle he could find.

For all their efforts, nothing could remove the curse.

The witch had disappeared into a cloud of green smoke. No one could find her after my christening, despite many attempts. The only thing she left behind, besides her curse, were dreams of dark eyes.

I wondered if she’d been real. Her appearance was the sort of thing I’d heard about in old legends. The way she haunted my dreams was too much like giggled tales of falling in love.

About the Author

K.S. Trenten lives in the South Bay of California with her husband, two cats, and a host of imaginary characters in her head, all screaming for attention.

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