Monday, March 2, 2015

Blog Tour Q&A with Marie Rutkoski + Giveaway


Q&A with Marie Rutkoski


Does your career as a professor and the works you teach ever help to inspire your own writing? 

All the time. There’s a sentence in The Winner’s Crime inspired by a line from Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. It seemed like a throwaway line in the play, a metaphor that was so interesting to me, but I could almost feel Shakespeare’s disinterest, like he wrote it and thought, “Well, that’s serviceable,” and moved on. It’s not like him to let an idea he loves lie. I don’t think he loved this line. But the metaphor was great, so I tried to see what I could do with it. 

Do you ever write any calling cards (a signature characteristic, such as a style of writing, a reoccurring theme / joke / name / idea / symbol, etc) into your stories? If so, any hints as to what readers should look for? 

I like to invent myths for my cultures. Each of the books in the trilogy has at least one small story that is told as a story. In Curse, it’s the one Enai tells Kestrel about the seamstress. In Crime, it’s the story of Jadis. In The Winner’s Kiss, well…you’ll see.

If you could write one famous literary / TV or film character (hero, villain, supporting character) into  The Winner’s Crime, who would you choose? 

Maybe Veronica Mars. She and Kestrel would be close friends, and I think Veronica could help Kestrel see that you can be strong but also let yourself be vulnerable with people you trust. Also, Kestrel could see how Veronica is with her dad and realize, “So that’s what a healthy, loving father-daughter relationship looks like.”

If only Veronica could be a part of this trilogy! That would be amazing. 

What two songs do you believe capture the essence of  The Winner’s Curse and The Winner’s Crime? 

For Curse, I think maybe “Sigh No More” by Mumford and Sons.
For Crime: U2’s “With or Without You.”
For The Winner’s Kiss (the third book): Florence and the Machine’s cover of Drake’s “Take Care.”

(Very) Random Question: If you were a font, what type would you be? 

Maybe Henry Morgan Hand.

Marie Rutkoski is the author of The Winner's Curse, The Shadow Society, and the Kronos Chronicles, which includes The Cabinet of Wonders. She is a professor at Brooklyn College and lives in New York City.

Connect with Marie Rutkoski: 


About THE WINNER'S CRIME


Following your heart can be a crime

A royal wedding is what most girls dream about. It means one celebration after another: balls, fireworks, and revelry until dawn. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement: that she agreed to marry the crown prince in exchange for Arin's freedom. But can Kestrel trust Arin? Can she even trust herself? For Kestrel is becoming very good at deception. She's working as a spy in the court. If caught, she'll be exposed as a traitor to her country. Yet she can't help searching for a way to change her ruthless world . . . and she is close to uncovering a shocking secret. 

This dazzling follow-up to The Winner's Curse reveals the high price of dangerous lies and untrustworthy alliances. The truth will come out, and when it does, Kestrel and Arin will learn just how much their crimes will cost them.

Giveaway


Thank you so much to Gina at Macmillan and Marie Rutkoski for the wonderful interview and the chance to have a stop on The Winner's Crime blog tour.

 

Macmillan is generously giving away either one The Winner’s Curse paperback OR The Winner’s Crime hardcover - winner's choice (and both are excellent)!

US Only
Ends March 7th
Enter using the rafflecopter below


a Rafflecopter giveaway


11 comments:

  1. Fantastic interview, Lea! I really enjoyed The Winner's Curse, so I can't wait to check out book two. Thanks for the great giveaway!

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  2. Pleased as punch that Veronica Mars would be welcome in this universe. Veronica is always relevant.

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  3. Great interview! I loved Winner's Curse, it's nice to be able to get some further tidbits!

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  4. Amazing post Lea. <3 Love this awesome interview with Marie :D Thank you both so much for sharing. <3 Sigh. These two books are all kinds of perfect :)

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  5. I love stories within stories. :) And creating myths for the cultures, sounds interesting.

    Veronica Mars! <3 Yes, I love her and that show.

    Good song choices.

    The Winner's Crime sounds interesting. Nice interview.

    --Amber

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  6. I am excited to read this one! Thanks for the giveaway!
    Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings

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  7. Hah, I love that last question about the font!!! And I feel like I may be the only person in the blogosphere who has not watched Veronica Mars...need to get on that :/

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  8. Much Ado About Nothing is probably my favorite Shakespeare play. I'll have to see if I can recognize the line when I read The Winner's Crime. Great interview!

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  9. Yay for Veronica Mars! And Mumford and Sons! :)

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  10. Also, Kestrel could see how Veronica is with her dad and realize, “So that’s what a healthy, loving father-daughter relationship looks like.”

    LOLOLOL
    Great interview, Lea!

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