It's the second-to-last day of the Tattered Slippers blog tour, and today we have one of the books I'm most excited about: The Dark King's Curse by my lovely friend Wyn Estelle Owens! This is a fabulous fae retelling of the tale, full of marvelous and colorful characters — one of whom I'm interviewing here on the blog today. But we'll get to that in a minute — first, as usual, a bit about the book and author.
About . . .
The Dark King's Curse
A darkness seems to hang over the lands of Conall, slowly but surely growing in strength with each passing year.
It all comes to a head when the twelve daughters of King Muir begin to disappear each night. None will admit where they go, and the only clue is their shoes; new in the evening, tattered and torn by morning.
When no one can stop the disappearances, Ailsa--lady-in-waiting to the youngest princess--volunteers to try and solve the mystery, or she and her peers will pay the consequences for failing to watch over their charges.
Armed with nothing but her gift of Fae-sight, Ailsa ventures forth on a quest to free her lady and the other princesses. With the help of an grumpy, glamoured gardener, a cursed faerie cat, and the mysterious Lord of Autumn, she may discover both the secrets and the truth behind the Dark King that lies at the root of the curse.
Find it on: Amazon || Goodreads
Wyn Estelle Owens
She is fond of reading, writing, drawing, speaking in dead or imaginary languages, playing videogames, quoting classic or obscure literature, being randomly dramatic, and generally making things out of yarn. Her dream is to write stories that inspire people to chase after the wonderful world of storytelling.
Her favorite all-time authors are Anne Elisabeth Stengl, Christa Kinde, and above all, J.R.R. Tolkien, who first inspired her to pursuing novel writing when she read the Hobbit at the age of seven.
Find her online at: Goodreads || Facebook || Amazon
The Tattered Slippers
The Tattered Slippers are six retellings of the Twelve Dancing Princesses fairytale, each one fantastical and magical. You don't want to miss any of them! You can learn more about the books and find the full tour schedule on the tour page.
The Tattered Slippers are the result of the 2019 Arista Challenge. The Arista Challenge is hosted by Kendra E. Ardnek; it invites fairy tale authors to come together in community as they work on unique retellings of a selected fairy tale.
Interview with Fionn
Welcome, Fionn! We're excited to have you join us here at Dreams and Dragons! To start out, can you tell us a little about who you are and what your role in the story is?
Ah, thank you for your hospitality. I’ve served as the royal gardener in Castle Greer for a hundred years, when I wasn’t fighting in the wars. Before that… was a long time ago, and doesn’t matter. As for my role in the story, I just got dragged along in this mess because that girl’s going to end up dead if someone doesn’t watch her back.
A reluctant hero! I like that. So, I'm already starting to get an idea of your answer to this question, but what are your thoughts on the other characters in the story? (At least, those you've interacted with or know about?)
The other characters? Simple. Laisren has better things to do than bother with a cursed man like me, if you mess with Siobhra do so with the knowledge you’re taking your life in your hands, and Ailsa needs to look before she leaps. She has the most irritating way of growing on you, too. Mairead’s a good friend, and she doesn’t deserve to suffer the pain a curse can bring. As for Fiachra... pretty much the same as Laisren.
Hmm. I know you're talking about others, but you seem a bit down on yourself here. Who would you say has had the biggest influence on your life thus far?
…Fiachra. And Laisren, because he’s been popping out of nowhere for a hundred years and bothering me. He’s a king and has responsibilities, I’m only dragging him down.
I see. What’s one thing that you think most people don’t know or don’t understand about you?
Well, there’s the fact that I’m not mortal. Most people don’t know that because of the curse. Otherwise? …I really like gardening. I’ve been raising flowers since I was hardly more than a child, so I’m glad that if I’m stuck here, it’s at least I’m doing something that I like.
Well, that is good. Speaking of gardening: if you were a plant, what kind of plant would you be and why?
A plant?... A thistle, I suppose. They’re strong, able to take care of themselves, not easily removed from where they belong.
Fascinating answer. One last question! If you could spend an afternoon doing anything you wanted with anyone you wanted, what would you do, and with whom would you do it?
Anything and anyone? …I’d like to work in my own garden, back home, I think… with my family. And I would like to show Mairead the flowers that I grew back then. And, I suppose, might as well bring Ailsa along. It’d be boring without having her around to tease.
Naturally. Well, I hope one day you get the chance to do just that. Thanks for answering my questions!
What do you think about Fionn? Are you excited to meet him and the rest of the cast of The Dark King's Curse? Please tell me in the comments! And don't forget to check out the rest of the tour stops!
Thanks for reading!
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