Glass and Feathers Giveaway and Interview with Lissa Sloan

Hello lovely people, today I have something special for you, an interview with author Lissa Sloan, and a giveaway of her enchanting novel Glass and Feathers! Let’s jump right in and explore her creative process, inspirations, what’s next on her writing journey, and then, there is of course the giveaway!

What inspired you to write a novel inspired by the story of Cinderella?

I’d been writing fairy tale poetry for some time as a way to process my experiences that I struggled to deal with any other way. Some of them I was aware of; others, not so much. And I happened to write this poem about a Cinderella who, after the royal wedding, finds that her glass slippers no longer fit her and takes drastic action. Unlike the other poems I’d been writing, it felt like there was more I could do with the idea of this girl achieving happy ever after only to find she didn’t fit there. In time, I picked the idea back up and started it as a short story. I put it down after about seven pages, and when I read those pages years later, I realized it wasn’t a short story but a novel. I didn’t know quite where it would go, but it felt right to expand it into a full-length book. And I was off and writing about the things I needed to (both the conscious and unconscious things).

By the way, the poem I mentioned is an exclusive gift for anyone signing up for my newsletter at lissasloan.com.

Were there any big challenges in retelling such a well-known story?

One of the advantages to retelling a well-known tale is that I could feel confident that pretty much anyone who picked up the book would be familiar with the basic elements of the story: cruel stepmother, royal love interest, and of course, the glass slipper. In the US, where I’m from, Charles Perrault’s Cendrillon is the version that inspired a lot of the most popular versions here—like the Disney animated movie for instance—making the glass slipper pretty much shorthand for Cinderella. So there was no question I would use that element of Perrault’s story, but most of the other Cinderella details I used are from a less well known version. So the challenge was making sure I established those the details in a way that would make things clear for readers not familiar with the tale but still be satisfying for readers who are.

Glass and Feathers has some very unique twists and approaches the fairytale in a refreshing and new way. The classic story of Cinderella is also known to have many variations. Are there any of those that appealed to you more than others or influenced your writing in a significant way?

When I began writing Glass and Feathers, I knew there was a huge variety of Cinderella tales, but I was really most familiar with Cendrillon and Aschenputtel. And between the two tales, Aschenputtel was by far my favorite because it’s considerably darker. For instance, the stepsisters, at the urging of their mother, mutilate themselves in an attempt to fit the slipper. And instead of receiving forgiveness and rich husbands at the end, the stepsisters receive a gruesome punishment for their unkindness. But it’s not just the darkness; it’s the magic. I love that Aschenputtel plants a hazel twig at her mother’s grave and waters it with her tears. It’s from this tree that she gets her beautiful gowns and shoes. This magic made of grief so intrigued me that I expanded it to give my narrator the ability to grow living things by putting her hands in the earth. And this became a big part of the story.

Was there a particular scene in Glass and Feathers that was especially difficult to write?

The first part of the book finds the girl in the glass slippers in a pretty dark place. While her husband seems to love her for who she is, she still doubts him. The rest of the court treat her like she’s not enough and never will be. And with everyone, she feels she is only pretending to be someone who deserves this life she wished for. This atmosphere eventually takes its toll on her. Her mental state wasn’t hard for me to write, because I’ve been there, so it actually felt good to write about what she was going through. But when it came to the actual depictions of self-harm, those scenes were a challenge. It’s an important part of the story that she is desperate enough to do what she does, and I took it very seriously. But I didn’t want to be graphic or gratuitous in the way I went about it.

What I really like about your novel is that the story begins after the wedding and draws the reader into the challenges the girl in the glass slippers faces when her life changes in such a drastic way, considering the prince and her have very different backgrounds. Why did you choose to start the story there or was this an obvious choice?

The original question—what if, after the royal wedding, the glass slippers start getting tighter and tighter?—didn’t need to start any earlier. I knew readers would know the basics of Cinderella that I was twisting. I needed an occasional flashback here and there to establish some details from before the wedding, showing the narrator discovering her magic, for instance, or making the rash wish she regrets through the entire story. But mainly, I wanted to jump in and explore her feelings of inadequacy in a marriage with a man she loves but doesn’t really know all that well. The book is really about my narrator’s journey to healing, but before that journey begins, I had to focus on what it was she needed to heal from.

Do you have a personal connection to the Cinderella story, or does it have a special meaning to you?

Before writing this book, I wouldn’t have said so, because Cinderella has never been a favorite tale of mine. But my mother died when I was in college. So I definitely relate to her as a motherless daughter, and I naturally incorporated my experiences with loss in general and the loss of my mom specifically. I also feel like traditional Cinderella tales have some pretty damaging messages about women’s bodies. And I have a lot of thoughts on that message that I wanted to explore.

What do you hope readers take away from Glass and Feathers?

I began writing this book when I was dealing (still unconsciously) with a lot of unprocessed trauma. So I know what it’s like to self-sabotage and make choices that are harmful to myself and those I love as my narrator does. And I wrote her journey to healing because it was something I needed to map out for myself. I needed to understand that healing was possible and to have an idea of how I might achieve it. I imagine I’ll be on this journey the rest of my life, but things are better now than they were. So for the readers who see themselves in my girl in the glass slippers, I hope this book is encouraging.

Do you have any plans to write more fairytale retellings or are there any new projects on the horizon for us to look forward to?

Oh, there’s so much I want to write! I have always loved tales of immortal characters like Death or the Devil walking the earth with ordinary mortals, so I have plans to mash up some of those tales in a novel set in a fictional 18^th century English village. I also want to give a couple of characters from Glass and Feathers their own novel, each based on a different tale, and I’ve got an idea for a Baba Yaga book. But before any of those, I am currently editing a short story set in the Glass and Feathers universe, which focuses on another classic tale from the Brothers Grimm.

And finally, do you have any tips for those of us who would like to write our own stories based on fairytales?

I love it when a retelling comments on the original tale, so I suggest changing it up in some way: focus on a different character, change the world it’s set in, write a prequel or sequel, ask yourself “what if?” make it a mash-up, or subvert the ending.

And when it comes to choice of tale, pick one you feel strongly about. It doesn’t have to be a tale you love, either. You may find yourself incredibly inspired by a tale you hate or one that at least really upsets you. Once you chose a story, you can really dig in to what it is that gets you fired up or why and explore that element. Your passion will show in your work!

Glass and Feathers Giveaway!

Sorry! Due to high shipping costs, this giveaway is limited to Belgium, Germany, and The Netherlands. To enter for a chance of placing this wonderful book on your bookshelf, simply be a free subscriber to this newsletter, like this post, and comment with your favourite fairy tale!

The winner will be chosen randomly on Sunday at noon CET.

Thank you for reading!