How to Find a Princess (Surprise Post- Author Interview)
Friends, I had the awesome opportunity to ask Alyssa Cole (squeal) a few questions about her newest release How to Find a Princess. Any opportunity to talk with authors about inspiration or process feels like inside scoop. So I'm so thankful Alyssa took time out of her busy release schedule to answer a few questions for this interview. Enjoy!!!!
Publish Date: Tuesday, May 25, 2021
Publisher: Avon Books
Steam Level: Mild/Tickle
Makeda Hicks has lost her job and her girlfriend in one fell swoop. The last thing she’s in the mood for is to rehash the story of her grandmother’s infamous summer fling with a runaway prince from Ibarania, or the investigator from the World Federation of Monarchies tasked with searching for Ibarania’s missing heir.
Yet when Beznaria Chetchevaliere crashes into her life, the sleek and sexy investigator exudes exactly the kind of chaos that organized and efficient Makeda finds irresistible, even if Bez is determined to drag her into a world of royal duty Makeda wants nothing to do with.
When a threat to her grandmother’s livelihood pushes Makeda to agree to return to Ibarania, Bez takes her on a transatlantic adventure with a crew of lovable weirdos, a fake marriage, and one-bed hijinks on the high seas. When they finally make it to Ibarania, they realize there’s more at stake than just cash and crown, and Makeda must learn what it means to fight for what she desires and not what she feels bound to by duty.
Interview
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WR: What inspired you to write an Anatasia retelling with HTFAP?
Alyssa Cole: Well, I was already thinking of having a princess who is part of a long lost monarchy in a country that has already moved on but is now looking to explore it’s past (and, in this case, has realized how profitable even a powerless monarchy can be as far as tourism, merchandising, etc), plus the charmer who has to bring her in. And I realized that what I already wanted to write meshed really well with the Anastasia story, which would be fun both to use as a framework, but to subvert in some ways—for example, after a childhood dealing with her mother’s royal obsession, Makeda absolutely doesn’t want to be a princess, even if it’s true.
**If you haven't read it yet Makeda is the long lost princess and her mother is obsessed with stories of being the daughter of a prince. Also, it's been two weeks, why haven't you read this book yet.
WR: The world is expanding in the Runaway Royals. How many books can we expect in this. series?
Alyssa Cole: There will be at least one more novel in the foreseeable future, but who knows in the long run.
WR: What was your inspiration to be have an expansive Afro-centric world?
Alyssa Cole: I think this is just an aspect of my writing following the path of what’s interesting to me in the world. I basically pull up a kind of map in my head when I think of these kingdoms I want to create and then decide what places on the map I wanted to zoom in on and fill in, as far as fairy tales and fantasy kingdoms in romance go. I decided I could root my world on an axis that doesn’t revolve around the US and UK, as far as the seats of power go, and create worlds inspired by kingdoms in or around the African continent, and other non-Western kingdoms.
WR: HTFAP has a strong female multigenerational matriarchy in my experience women's lives aren't often the in royalty romance. Can you share why you made the decision to focus on their association to the Royal lineage?
Alyssa Cole: I think this is just another one of those things that I just felt like doing because if I was going to go through the trouble of creating entire fantasy societies, I didn’t want them to only replicate the patriarchal societies that have been dominant in the west. I also love exploring intergenerational connections and how they can be affected by the political decisions of the past and, in both How To Catch A Queen and How To Find A Princess so much of the protagonists' lives have been shaped by things they had no idea even happened in the past!
***Yes to all of this!!!!
WR: What's one thing you want readers to takeaway from reading the Runaway Royals series especially readers who loved the Reluctant Royals series?
Alyssa Cole: Hm, I think I want everyone to take away the same thing I tried to get across in the Reluctant Royals, which is that each and every one of us is deserving of love and support. I think one slightly different thing in this series is that I also wanted to make clear that it’s fine to be unsure of your worth and in the midst of finding yourself, but it’s also fine to be confident, know what you want, and not take shit from anyone.
Again, I want to thank Alyssa for squeezing me in to do this short interview. If you haven't read How to Find a Princess yet it's out and available in varying formats. Checkout my GoodReads review on How to Find a Princess here.
Oh and because I've been doing zodiac couple pairings, I thought it would be cool to do one for Reluctant Royals and Runaway Royals couples.
Enjoyed the interview. Saw your steam index for this book and was hoping it would be higher (read Once Ghosted, Twice Shy and was excited for a longer sapphic romances from Cole).
ReplyDeleteThank you! Alyssa is always so fun to work with and gracious with interview requests. In terms of the steam level, I've seen other reviews rate this book higher but I thought it was pretty tame similar to book 1 in this series. If you read it, you'll have to tell me what you think, since steam is really subjective.
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