My recommendation for today’s Marvelous Middle Grade Monday has one of my favorite openings EVER.
You know all those stories that claim fairies cry sparkle tears and elves travel by rainbow? They’re lies. All lies. No one tells you the truth until it’s too late. And then all you can do is run like crazy while a herd of unicorns tries to kill you.
What did I tell you? Of course you’re dying to know the title of this book, right? And I’m happy to tell you this week’s Operation Story Share book is called My Very UnFairy Tale Life by Anna Staniszewski.
Here’s what the back of the book says:
I’ve spent my life as an official adventurer. I travel across enchanted kingdoms saving magical creatures and fighting horrible beasts that most of you think are only myths and legends. I’ve never had a social life. My friends have all forgotten me. And let’s not even talk about trying to do my homework. So – I’m done!! I’m tired and I want to go back to being a normal girl. But then along comes “Prince Charming” asking for help, and, well, what’s a tired girl like me supposed to do?
Hey, wait! Where are you going? I know you’re excited to rush out and get your paws on a copy of My Very UnFairy Tale Life, but I haven’t had a chance to tell you the good news. Actually, it’s better than good news, it’s amazingly awesome news!
On March 1, the sequel to My Very UnFairy Tale Life will be in bookstores everywhere! It’s called My Epic Fairy Tale Fail and it sounds just as good as the first one.
Jenny has finally accepted her life of magic and mayhem as savior of fairy tale kingdoms, but that doesn’t mean the job’s any easier. Her new mission is to travel to the Land of Tales to defeat an evil witch and complete three Impossible Tasks. Throw in some school friends, a bumbling knight, a rhyming troll, and a giant bird, and happily ever after starts looking far far away. But with her parents’ fate on the line, this is one happy ending Jenny is determined to deliver.
To celebrate this epic fairy tale occasion, I was able to use my top-secret fictitious book-character connections to get an exclusive interview with both Anna and Jenny. I know—cool, huh?
Hi there! Thanks for joining me today on my little blog, Adventures in Imagination. I know you guys are super busy with the launch of your new book, but I have a few questions for you. First up is Anna. I’ve heard it said that authors sometimes put parts of themselves into their characters. I read all about you on your website (click here), but you didn’t address this question: Do you use cheesy sayings as much as Jenny does? And of all the cheesy things Jenny says, do you have a favorite that you live by?
I’d like to think I don’t use nearly as many cheesy sayings as Jenny does. However, I am a huge fan of puns, which means I get the occasional eye roll from friends and family. As for my favorite of Jenny’s sayings, I think “can’t we all just get along” is right up my alley—I hate confrontation and just want everyone to run through fields of daisies holding hands.
Fair enough. I like fields of daisies, too! And now a question for Jenny. I know you’re not a fan of unicorns, but what fairy tale kingdom character do you like the most?
Yeah, unicorns are pretty crazy. I mean, just because you have a razor-sharp horn doesn’t mean you need to go poking people with it. But there are some creatures that aren’t too bad. Pixies make amazing jewelry, and trolls—even though they like to suck the meat off your bones—are great at solving puzzles.
Really? I never knew that about trolls–they just scare me! Okay, finally I have a question for both of you. Who is the boss when it comes to writing? Jenny, do you ever get to take over and run away with the plot? Or does Anna hold the reins too tightly for that?
Ugh, Anna never lets me control the story. Sometimes she takes out entire characters or plot-lines and then I’m totally confused. At first, she had the whole thing written in third person so I couldn’t even tell my own story. Luckily, she finally got a clue and let me tell it in my own voice.
I’m sorry, Jenny. Here’s a helpful hint: maybe you could poke Anna with a unicorn horn once in a while to get her attention!
Well, thank you both for joining me today. I’ll let you two get back to business and get myself out of the path of the hordes of readers stampeding past to get hold of a copy of My Very UnFairy Tale Life. And don’t forget—My Epic Fairy Tale Fail will be out in a few short days on March 1!
