Golden Braids Blog Tour DAY 2: Interview with Molly Storm

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the second day of the Golden Braids blog tour! Today's release: Molly Storm, a short story featuring a sea witch, pirates, and a surprising emphasis on family. (You'll notice that last thing is a theme this week . . . which makes me happy, obviously!) For today's interview, we have the main character of this book, Molly Storm herself! And I'll share what she has to say with you just as soon as I tell you a little about her book and author.

About . . .

Molly Storm!

A witch, a pirate, a lighthouse, and... seaweed? Molly Storm is a short story inspired by the tale of Rapunzel.

“You and I, lass, we’re both sides of the same coin. We’re both the heart of the ocean, but you’re more the kindness and goodness. I’m the storms that crush ships. Don’t cross me, Molly. I’ll crush all the sweetness out of you.”

Find it On: Amazon || Goodreads

Annie Twitchell!

Annie Louise Twitchell is a homeschool graduate who is obsessed with dragons and fairy tales. She enjoys reading, writing, poetry, and many forms of art. When she's not writing, she can often be found reading out loud to her cat, rabbit, and houseplants, or wandering barefoot in the area around her Western Maine home.

Find Annie on: Blogspot || Facebook || Instagram || Twitter || Author site

Interview With Molly Storm

Hello, Molly Storm! Welcome to the blog! To start off, can you tell us a little about yourself? Who you are, what you do, maybe a random fact or two?

I'm somewhat of an outcast. I don't know who my parents are, and I was raised by an old widow who lost her husband at sea. Naturally, I took after her. People around here don't much like witches. They're foolish, most of them, but Ulva teaches me to think more kindly of them.

I don't know; I might agree with you . . . Now, if you don't mind my curiosity, how did you end up becoming a witch living in a lighthouse? After all, that's not an occupation or location many people take up.

The old woman who raised me was called a witch by the local folk because of her knowledge of potions and charms, and also because she took on the duties of lighthouse keeper when no one else would. They used to say that her husband's ghost haunted the island and that's why she lived out there. Now, me, I know better. The only ghosts on the island are the ghosts of memories and regrets and long-lost loves.

I don't know, sometimes those are the hardest ghosts to escape. So, what's been the hardest part about raising Ulva? The best part?

I never met a child as sweet and as mild as Ulva. In many ways, that's the hardest as well as the best. She's so mild that it can be hard to tell when she needs comfort and care.

That does sound both wonderful and challenging. If you had a day off to go anywhere and do anything, anywhere and in any world, where would you go and what would you do?

I always wondered what it would be like to travel to Scotland. Rumors whisper that my parents hailed from there.

Scotland would be wonderful, and I'm not surprised you might be Scottish. Last question! If you could go back to the start of your story and change your decisions, would you?

I don't know. If I hadn't made the choices I made, I wouldn't have lived the life I've lived, and I don't know what I'd do without my Ulva. Do I regret how things happened? Stars, yes. But I can't say as though I could change them. I've made my choices and there are consequences, good and bad, and I've accepted both.

And thank you all for reading and supporting the tour! I hope you're all excited to read Molly Storm now! What are you most looking forward to about it? Don’t forget to check out the rest of the tour posts and enter the giveaway!
Thanks for reading!

-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Blog Tour Stops: August 6

Knitted By God's Plan - Five Reasons to Read
Light and Shadows - Five Reasons to Read

Reviews:

Reality Reflected
The Page Dreamer
The Language of Writing

Interviews

Unicorn Quester - Annie
Dreams and Dragons - Molly

Or find the full list of stops here.

Hello, everyone! It's summer! Admittedly, it's felt like summer here for quite a while now . . . but this means I finally get to yell about all the new books coming out, and we all know that's the highlight of this season. It's the highlight of almost every season, really. That and NaNoWriMo. (Yet another reason why winter is actually horrible: it's the only season with no NaNoWriMo event. But I digress.) And this summer has a particularly awesome lineup, so let's get started!

Summer 2019 Reads!

1. Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson (June 4). Aaaahhhhh the author of An Enchantment of Ravens (aka that book that I yelled about a lot two winters ago) released another book! And it's about a librarian! And living books that turn into monsters! And enemies-to-lovers romance! And a sorcerer who sounds like he's going to be GOLD to read about! I need this book now! And I probably won't stop yelling about it for a month after I read it!

2. Stronger Than a Bronze Dragon by Mary Fan (June 4). Ok, so I have a few reservations about this one, but on the other hand? Steampunk Asian fantasy? Featuring, apparently, epic journeys and worldbuilding? I'll give it a shot. I just hope the author doesn't make the mistake of letting the inevitable romance overwhelm the plot.

3. Wicked Fox by Kat Cho (June 25). This is another one where I have reservations, but it's more Asian fantasy (urban fantasy this time!) and I need more urban fantasy in my life, so how can I really refuse? The main characters are probably going to spend a ton of time angsting and being illogical, but I'm hoping that the urban fantasy setting and Korean lore and the actual plot will make up for it.

4. Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim (July 9). Is this the summer of Asian fantasy or something? I feel like I should be releasing a sequel to Blood in the Snow to keep the theme going. But anyway — storms YES to this book. Just from the synopsis's description of the protagonist, I'm getting vibes of Creel (from Dragon Slippers; she's a rather underrated heroine who I didn't appreciate enough when I originally met her). And I absolutely love the whole "make a dress from the stars/sun/moon/other improbable light source" trope, and I'm excited to see how it plays out here. And yeah. I'm excited.

5. Before I Disappear by Danielle Stinson (July 23). Oh, look! Contemporary fantasy! Which will probably be really angsty, but it's a genre I don't read enough of, and it's about siblings, and I can't not give it a chance, ok? Anyway, I can live with angst. And the book sounds like it has the potential to be truly and properly terrifying in a good way, so it's got that going for it. (Fun fact: I don't like straight-up horror, but I do like books in other genres that'll give me a good scare before reminding me that evil never triumphs.)

6. Hair We Go Again by Kendra E. Ardnek (August 5). The first of the Golden Braids collection! I've already preordered this one — I mean, technically I've also already read it, or most of it, but y'know. Bookania just keeps getting better, even if I get super frustrated with certain characters in this one. On the upside, I can tell you now that Maryanne is adorable, and Kendra's take on Rapunzel is pretty fabulous. And, again, we need more books that take place after Ever After.

7. Molly Storm by Annie Twitchell (August 6). Another Golden Braids book! This one is basically Rapunzel in a lighthouse, and I am HERE FOR IT. And it's told from the perspective of the witch, which should be pretty cool. It's technically a short story instead of a full-on book, but y'know, I'm ok with that.

8. House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig (August 6). Wait, this isn't a Golden Braids book . . . but hello, new Twelve Dancing Princesses retelling! I haven't read a new 12DP retelling in a while, not since The City Beyond the Glass. And this author seems to understand quite well that if your 12DP retelling isn't at least a tiny bit creepy, you're doing it wrong. Actually, her story sounds like it'll be more than a tiny bit creepy — which suits me fine as long as it doesn't go full-on horror. Like I said a few books ago, I enjoy a good scare as long as good wins in the end.

9. Mechanical Heart by Sarah Pennington (August 7). Oh, hey, this looks familiar. Yeah, my new book is coming out this summer with the Golden Braids collection! If you like steampunk and politics and friendship and siblings (and more than a bit of deaf representation), you'll hopefully like this. I don't know; I'm just super excited to share it with y'all!

10. Rebekah's Refuge by Meredith Leigh Burton (August 8). More Golden Braids! Apparently this is Western fantasy, so that's cool. And it sounds like a beautiful story and maybe a bit of found family? Though we'll see how Meredith plays the tale out . . .

11. The Dragon's Flower by Wyn Estelle Owens (August 9). One last Asian fantasy and one last Golden Braid! I've read snippets of this story in the Arista's Challenge Facebook group, and I am super excited to get the full story. Her samurai character, Shichiro, sounds like a wonderful mess who I look forward to spending time with, and her Rapunzel sounds pretty cool too.

12. The Silence Between Us by Alison Gervais (August 13). Ok, so it's contemporary and I almost never read contemporary, but it's also about a deaf girl going to a hearing school, and I want to know how the author is handling the deaf perspective and sign language, so, yeah. I'm reading it. It does sound interesting, if likely to involve angst.

What books are you looking forward to this summer? Please tell me in the comments! I can always use more additions to my TBR list! (That's actually true; I have given up on actually conquering it and instead just want to get as many awesome options on there as possible.)
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)