I have the delight of following Yakira on Instagram and when she said she was publishing a fairytale retelling, I leaped at the chance to interview her about it. I am super excited about her release and highly recommend it. Anyway, on to the interview!
How long did it take you to write Curse of the Midnight King, and what advice would you give to any budding novelists?
Surprisingly, it only took me about two years to write Curse of the Midnight King, which for me, is pretty fast. The first draft came out to only about 40k words and was written over the span of two months. I had originally planned to self-publish Curse for the fun of it, but when Kelly McWilliams, author of Agnes at the End of the World read my second draft, she encouraged me to try traditional publishing and here we are!
I feel super underqualified to give any advice, but I’ll try my best! Don’t rush into it. Give yourself and your writing time to grow. When I first started writing seriously, the only thing I could think of was getting traditionally published and I made that my life goal. But I tried to get published right away, which led to a lot of mistakes. So give yourself time and don’t feel like you have to get everything done in the next few years because trust me, you’ll appreciate all of that free time before signing that contract or pushing that publish button. So work hard, and try to strengthen your skills as best you can before diving in headfirst.
Your advice is spot on! So many novelists rush their books before they are ready (myself included!).
Who is/are your favorite character(s) from your own book?
This is a tough one as I love all of my characters! But I’d have to say my top three favorites are Faye, Leo, and Madame Leroux. Faye is gentle and kind and has a sweet soul, even if she is a little bit stubborn. Leo is a giant goofball marshmallow characters who gives me the excuse to use big flowery words and just makes me smile every time I think of him. And Madame Leroux is such an interesting character because you’re never one hundred percent sure if she’s good or bad, and she’s obsessed with time.
What are some of your favorite fairytale retellings?
Oh, there are SO many! Everything by Shannon Hale and Jessica Day George, are my top favorites, especially Goose Girl and Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow. I also really love J.M. Stengl’s Faraway Castle series, as well as Anne Elisabeth Stengl’s Tales of Goldstone Wood series, though I’m not sure if they’re exact retellings. Some other great authors are Sarah Pennington, E. J. Kitchens, Kendra E. Ardnek, C. S. Lakin, and Claire M. Banschbach. I could probably go on about this all day. There are so, so many good retellings out there!
All great recommendations! I’ve read stories by Shannon Hale, J.M. Stengl, Anne Elisabeth Stengl, and Claire M. Banschbach. I plan on reading Sarah Pennington and Kendra Ardnek soon.
What are your future book plans?
Curse of the Midnight King is the first book of a planned series called Tales of Faerie Land, so right now I’m working on the sequel! I’m hoping for there to be at least nine books in the series, each one being a retelling of a different fairytale.
I’m also working on two separate projects, one being an epic fantasy series and the other a YA fantasy trilogy based on Persian mythology and my love of astronomy!
This sounds so good! I can’t wait to see your next books.
What is one message you want people to know from the book?
There are a couple things that are the core message of the book. One is, essentially, recognizing emotional abuse and gaslighting from someone close to you. When you’re in that kind of situation, it’s really hard to see, especially if that person is your significant other. A lot of times it takes someone from the outside of the situation to help you realize what’s going on and escape, which really is the hardest part, but it can be done.
The second is self-forgiveness. A lot of times we as humans will take on a lot of responsibilities and guilt for things that were completely out of our control. We refuse to forgive ourselves and continue to pile on the guilt, which in the end only lowers our levels of self-worth. And that’s just the thing. As human beings, we have little-to-no control over the world, which can be a scary thought, but it’s exactly how things are supposed to be. God knows what He’s doing. So yes, we should take responsibility for our wrongdoings, but don’t heap blame on yourself for something that was out of your hands.
This is very true and makes me want to read your book even more!
Thank you so much for having me!
You’re welcome!
Can she break the curse in time to save her sisters? She may conquer more than the Midnight King; she may learn to conquer herself.
In this retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses and Cinderella, Faye must sacrifice herself to save her sisters, or risk them being trapped in the Underworld forever, suffering from the curse she helped create. After being separated for three years from her sisters except when she dances with Pathos, the Midnight King, at midnight on a full moon, Faye finally sees a chance to rescue them all. But things are not as easy as they appear. Pathos, the midnight king, is determined to keep her in the Underworld with him.
Buy the Book: https://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Retelling-Dancing-Princess-Cinderella/dp/1645263304/
How to Find Yakira:
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Twitter: twitter.com/YakiraGoldsber1
