Ask the Author: Betsy Cornwell
Answered Questions (11)
Betsy Cornwell
Thank you so much! Favorite retelling of Cinderella is a wide category and a big honor. :) I just sent half the sequel manuscript to my editor yesterday, so hopefully it won't be too long before you read more!
Betsy Cornwell
Hi Eden, thank you so much! Compass will be coming out after the Mechanica sequels, since there's been more interest in those books. I will keep you posted!
Betsy Cornwell
Hi JoAnn! I put off answering this question until I could tell you officially, so now that I can: my next book will be a Mechanica sequel in spring 2017, and then a Forest Queen novel in 2018. I am so excited about both books, and I'm incredibly grateful to everyone who's read Mechanica so far, because you're the ones who made selling the sequels possible. Thank you!
More info about the new books here: http://www.betsycornwell.com/mechanic...
More info about the new books here: http://www.betsycornwell.com/mechanic...
Betsy Cornwell
Hi Kelsi! Jules is my favorite character in Mechanica too :) I first got the idea for him by thinking about the mice that turn into horses to pull Cinderella's carriage in some older versions of the story. The idea of shapeshifting and changing sizes is always interesting to me, and I love the idea of tiny versions of big animals (I used to have a weird recurring dream about hamster-sized elephants and panda bears . . . ). I named Jules after the composer of the French opera Cendrillon, Jules Massenet.
I actually posted one of my favorite pieces of Jules art on my blog recently! http://www.betsycornwell.com/five-goo...
I also drew him myself for this trailer I made a long time ago: http://www.betsycornwell.com/mechanic...
Thanks so much for your question!
I actually posted one of my favorite pieces of Jules art on my blog recently! http://www.betsycornwell.com/five-goo...
I also drew him myself for this trailer I made a long time ago: http://www.betsycornwell.com/mechanic...
Thanks so much for your question!
Betsy Cornwell
Hi Lara! Mechanica will be available as an e-book starting tomorrow (eee!), the same day it releases in hardcover. I don't have a publication date for Compass yet, but the e-book should come out the same day as the hardcovers for that book, too. You can get Mechanica on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, or any other e-book supplier.
I'm so glad you enjoyed Tides, and please never apologize for telling a writer that after the fact! It's a big relief to hear that people are still reading and enjoying books after they've first come out.
I hope you like Mechanica!
I'm so glad you enjoyed Tides, and please never apologize for telling a writer that after the fact! It's a big relief to hear that people are still reading and enjoying books after they've first come out.
I hope you like Mechanica!
Betsy Cornwell
Thank you! I love the cover too. Goodreads is tough sometimes, but it's kind of a relief when anyone talks about a book at all. Question mark back at you? :)
Betsy Cornwell
Hi Lara! I'm so glad you liked TIDES! So here we go with my answers:
1. These are all Irish/Gaelic names, and I have to admit that before I moved to Ireland (*after* I wrote Tides) I still pronounced "Aine" wrong. Maebh=Mayv (rhymes with brave) Aine= EHN-yah (first syllable rhymes with hen), Ronan=ROH-nuhn (rhymes with go and then none), and Lir=Leer (just a long E sound).
2. I chose those names from name dictionaries, which I always love reading! Maebh I named after Mab, the queen of the fairies, since Maebh is kind of the selkie matriarch. According to those dictionaries her name also means "cause of joy" or "intoxicating."
Aine means "radiance." I think I chose it mostly because I thought it was a beautiful name (even though I got the pronunciation wrong!).
Ronan means "little seal." Simple enough. :) I think it's a good strong name, and Ronan is a good strong guy.
Lir is actually named after a great king from Irish mythology (and King Lear comes from that same root, too).
3. I first learned about selkies from a big book about fairies and folklore I found at my grandparents' house. That was the gorgeous FAERIES by Brian Froud and Alan Lee, which I highly recommend. I've been obsessed with them ever since; they're my favorite mythological being. I became even more invested in the Selkie Bride story at a Girl Scouts festival a couple of years later, which I describe more here: http://hardcoversandheroines.com/2013...
I hope I've answered everything, and please feel free to write again if you have more questions! I've recently finished writing a companion novel to Tides, called COMPASS, which follows Ronan to Ireland.
Thank you for writing!
1. These are all Irish/Gaelic names, and I have to admit that before I moved to Ireland (*after* I wrote Tides) I still pronounced "Aine" wrong. Maebh=Mayv (rhymes with brave) Aine= EHN-yah (first syllable rhymes with hen), Ronan=ROH-nuhn (rhymes with go and then none), and Lir=Leer (just a long E sound).
2. I chose those names from name dictionaries, which I always love reading! Maebh I named after Mab, the queen of the fairies, since Maebh is kind of the selkie matriarch. According to those dictionaries her name also means "cause of joy" or "intoxicating."
Aine means "radiance." I think I chose it mostly because I thought it was a beautiful name (even though I got the pronunciation wrong!).
Ronan means "little seal." Simple enough. :) I think it's a good strong name, and Ronan is a good strong guy.
Lir is actually named after a great king from Irish mythology (and King Lear comes from that same root, too).
3. I first learned about selkies from a big book about fairies and folklore I found at my grandparents' house. That was the gorgeous FAERIES by Brian Froud and Alan Lee, which I highly recommend. I've been obsessed with them ever since; they're my favorite mythological being. I became even more invested in the Selkie Bride story at a Girl Scouts festival a couple of years later, which I describe more here: http://hardcoversandheroines.com/2013...
I hope I've answered everything, and please feel free to write again if you have more questions! I've recently finished writing a companion novel to Tides, called COMPASS, which follows Ronan to Ireland.
Thank you for writing!
Betsy Cornwell
Haha, I don't think so! I do know that I am a ridiculously accurate fit for the Cancerian profile (I put up barriers but I'm way hypersensitive, I'm really into domestic things, I'm a homebody, I love food & romance & nurturing type things, etc etc etc). When I was little I was concerned that my sign meant I would die of cancer. I am glad that's not actually what it means.
Also I am a big fan of Chani Nicholas, for lyrical writing and just general solid advice as much as for horoscopes: http://www.chaninicholas.com/
Also I am a big fan of Chani Nicholas, for lyrical writing and just general solid advice as much as for horoscopes: http://www.chaninicholas.com/
Betsy Cornwell
Hi Krys, thank you! Mechanica is very much an open-ended standalone; my hope is that the ending will be satisfying in itself, but I definitely have some future plans for the characters and their world. I think I have trouble writing totally wrapped up, no-room-for-sequels endings anyway; those always seem unrealistic to me.
Thanks for your question! I really hope you enjoy the book!
Thanks for your question! I really hope you enjoy the book!
Betsy Cornwell
Hi! Thanks so much--I've been really lucky with the covers for both my books. I'm guessing you're asking about Mechanica since it's more recent, and its cover artist is Manuel Sumberac. The cover artist for Tides is Jolene Monheim. It's definitely worth Googling both of them to see their other work. Thanks for your question!
Betsy Cornwell
Hi! I actually wrote Mechanica in 2009-10 and my agent sold it in 2011, the year before Cinder came out! I can definitely see how you might think that, though.
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