An Interview with a Princess

Today I'd like to introduce you to the heroine of my upcoming novel, SURVIVAL OF THE FAIREST, due July 15, 2008, from Samhain Publishing. It's a paranormal romance with comic overtones, often due to the antics of the heroine, Princess Talista of the Fairy Clan Serendipity, as she experiences all the delights the human world has to offer...including the delightful hero, Jake Story, a stage magician who has a high tolerance for unique people.

Luckily for Tali.

In Tali's Realm, fairies became dependent upon their magic to handle day to day tasks, and when magic disappeared from the Realm for a period of time, there was much hardship, chaos and starvation. Now, fairies are sent to remote areas of humanspace -- our current world -- to learn to get by without magic. They master the basics of building fires, cooking food, setting up camp, digging latrines, avoiding humans, and so on and so forth.

Tali has absolutely no desire to live in a tent and boil water for drinking, so as soon as her survival training teammates turn their backs, she uses some contraband magic to transport herself to Vegas, where the adventure of her lifetime commences.

Me: Tali, what motivated you break the long-standing rules of your people and hightail it off on your own?

Tali: I didn't make those rules, the Fairy Court did. They're over-protective, secretive, ancient geezers who ignore the fact that our salvation -- you know, if magic disappeared in the Realm again -- would be mingling with humans, not sleeping on the ground and eating nuts and berries in some spirit-forsaken wilderness. I'm so sure the Court wouldn't buy some mansion somewhere, to rest their old fey bones on fancy human beds and drive big cars and eat hamburgers.

Me: In other words, because you disagreed with the rules, that means you weren't under any obligation to obey them? What makes you so special?

Tali: I'm a twosies. Come on, human. You created my world. You know that. All fairies are multiple births but twins are the strongest magically, blah blah blah, my sister and I will be part of the Court some day, blah blah, so yeah, I'm special...whether I want to be or not. I was really looking forward to being normal for two weeks. A normal human tourist in Vegas, baby!

Me: But still. Your little side trip risked your safety and your sister's wellbeing, because if you got killed, considering the psychic connection twin fairies have, she might die, too. Not to mention you endangered the whole fairy Realm when it came right down to it. Some readers might say you were a bit TSTL.

Tali: What is this TSTL? That's not a human word I recognize.

Me: You must have skipped that class.

Tali: Human Studies was the one class I didn't skip. I learned a lot more eavesdropping on the Court than I did in History of Magic. You're making stuff up again, aren't you?

Me: It's kind of my job.

Tali: Seriously, what's TSTL?

Me: It's an acronym that stands for--

Tali: Right, acronym! T...S...T...L. The Sexiest Tali Alive!

Me: No, it stands for--

Tali: Terrific Story They'll Love.

Me: Uh, no. Although they will. It's Too S--

Tali: Too Sexy To... Laugh. No, I laugh all the time. Love. No, I'm quite loveable. Just ask Jake. He's too sexy. Spirit! Did I tell you about the time he--

Me: It's in the book, but it's too late in the plot to reveal. That's considered a spoiler.

Tali: You told them that? Can't a fairy have any privacy?

Me: You were about to tell me in a public interview.

Tali: This is public? Hi, you guys! I love humans! (blows kisses) We should do lunch. I'll be having the chocolate.

Me: Can we get back to the interview? Like I was saying, your behavior wasn't what one expects from a mature romance novel heroine. You might be eighty in fairy years, but in human years one might say you acted like a headstrong teenager.

Tali: I'm mature enough to know not everyone has to act, look, dress and think exactly the same as everyone else. I like excitement, intrigue and researching human technological advancements. My version of survival training was for the future as much as it was for myself. It's not like I had magic past that initial transport spell. I used my surroundings to get by as best as I could, and that's what my training was all about. Survival. Do you really think fairies would be better off in some forest if they lost their magic? Heck to the no!

Me: That sounds good on paper.

Tali: Which is a good thing, because eventually it'll be on paper.

Me: I know researching humans as a future Court member was a small part of your motivation, but--

Tali: Small? It was most of it. Some of it. Enough of it.

Me: Yeah, I'm not convinced. Readers still might label you TSTL because of the way you--

Tali: I've got it. Too Sexy To Languish!

Me: It stands for Too Stupid to Live.

Tali: I am not!

Me: It could have gone south.

Tali: To Mexico? I'd like to go to Mexico.

Me: No, that means it could have gone very badly indeed. It didn't work out quite the way you expected, did it?

Tali: Surprises are the spice of life. They taste like chocolate.

Me: Taking off on your own, in a foreign country--

Tali: I spoke the language, I studied the culture, I had an escape tooth, and I had a lot of money.

Me: Gold coins?

Tali: Like anyone would have thought that paper stuff would be more desirable than gold.

Me: I think you learned that lesson.

Tali: Oh, shut up. And anyway, it was worth it. I met Jake. Ah, Jake. Total hottie. And smart! When the Fairy Court tracked me down, he--

Me: That's a spoiler too. In fact, I think they've had enough for today. Shall we sign off?

Tali: Hey, next time, interview Jake. I'm busy. I've got a Chip and Dale ballet to watch, and he said no way was he going.

****

Thanks for stopping by! You can read an excerpt of Tali and Jake's first meet if you sign up for my newsletter and read the 3rd edition, which I recently released: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jodywallace/ It only comes out once every two months, so don't worry you'll be bombarded by promos and solicitations.

My website can be found at http://www.jodywallace.com and my books at http://samhainpublishing.com/authors/jody-wallace

SURVIVAL OF THE FAIREST--Coming 7/15 from Samhain Publishing
A SPELL FOR SUSANNAH--Available now from Samhain Publishing