Recently, my friend, Isabella, and I were given the opportunity to interview B. R. Myers, author of Runaway Princess! It’s a beautiful sci-fi novel: a gender-swapped retelling of Cinderella! We loved the story, and it was so awesome to have the chance to speak with Ms. Myers and learn a bit about the behind-the-scenes of her book!
Without further ado, here are some highlights from the interview:
Rosie: So how did you come up with the idea for Rogue Princess? I know it builds on that classic fairytale of Cinderella — but how did you initially think of doing a spin-off story?
B. R. Myers: In the beginning, I think I just wanted to do something different from the few contemporary novels I had already worked on. And coincidentally on Twitter, Pitmad was going on, which is when authors get to pitch their ideas for novels in a very limited number of characters. I noticed that there were a lot of retellings amongst the pitches, and I found that really cool! Cinderella is also my favourite fairytale, so that was the first thing that popped into my head when I first thought about possibly doing a twisted fairytale. So I started to think about how I could make it more unique, and gender swap came to mind. Then I joked about “oh, how about I set it in space!” and what do you know?
Isabella: That’s so funny that it started as a joke! Yes, I’ve read many Cinderella retellings, but I’ve never encountered a gender-swap version, so I thought that was awesome! My next question is: what do you like best about being an author? What don’t you like?
B. R. Myers: What I love the most about being an author is meeting my readers, like you two! Connecting with other authors, other readers, is definitely my favourite part. As for what I don’t enjoy as much, I would have to say the “waiting” portion. When you’re trying to get published, there are so many external factors that take a long, long time to work out! For example, after I wrote Rogue Princess, I was super excited and I wanted to share it with the world, right away! But I had to wait for almost a year before the actual publishing because so much work goes into it, so that was definitely a test for my patience.
Rosie: I never knew that! But it makes sense, a lot of work goes into publishing a book! Moving on, which character in Rogue Princess do you think you’re most like? And do you ever write characters that are similar to you or your friends and family?
B. R. Myers: That’s a really great question. See, I actually think the hardest thing for writers is to write characters that AREN’T like themselves! Especially new authors, because you’re taught to write what you know, authors tend to put in a lot of their own catchphrases just unconsciously! But for Rogue Princess, I really can’t pinpoint one I’m most like — but I do have to say, Shania is definitely my favourite. She’s the type of person I would’ve loved to have been in high school.
Isabella: Ooh that is so true! Well, my next question is, do you have any suggestions for becoming a better writer? Because a lot of our audience love reading and many are likely aspiring authors. Do you have any tips that you’ve learned?
B. R. Myers: If I could go back to when I first started writing, I think I’d tell myself to not rush things. Instead, you should really ponder the story that you want to write and take all the time you need to work on it. Also, you should never compare yourself to other writers! You are unique, and you are telling this story in a way that no one else can ever replicate. A more constructive piece of advice would be to make sure your book has a purpose. Passion is great, but it is fleeting, so there needs to be something else pushing you forward, pushing you to keep writing. Something I’ve heard that really stuck with me is this: when you’re sitting down, ready to write your story, think about what mood you want your reader to feel when reading it. How do you want them to be affected? Do you want them to be crying, to be scared, to be happy?
Rosie: I think that’s an awesome piece of advice! Because at the end of the day, reading is meant to evoke emotion!
These are just a few of the many great topics we discussed. I learned so much from the interview, and I loved reading Rogue Princess! Thank you Ms. Myers for taking the time to talk with us about writing and your stories. It was so nice to meet you!
If you’re a fan of twisted fairytales, adventure, sci-fi, and a hint of mystery, go check out Rogue Princess! You’ll love it 🙂
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