Interview with Kendra E. Ardnek

On this very day, not one, not two, but three Sleeping Beauty short stories have been released by their caring authors into the wild to survive on their own. To celebrate this very momentous occasion, I have been given the opportunity to interview one of these brave, caring authors: Kendra E. Ardnek! So now, without further ado, I present to you the illustrious cover of the small little book Kendra is now releasing.

About the Book

Everyone knows that Sleeping Beauty's curse is triggered when she pricks her finger on a spindle and that she is awakened by true love's kiss...but what happens when the wicked fairy decides to switch things up?

Edmund didn't mean to put Auralea to sleep, but now it's up to him and the famous Puss in Boots to figure out how, exactly, a spinning wheel is supposed to awaken her.

Let me introduce you to Kendra:

About the Author

Kendra E. Ardnek is a homeschool graduate who picked up a pen at an early age and never put it down. The eldest of four, she makes her home in the Piney Woods of East Texas with her parents, younger siblings, giant herd of giraffes, and honor guard of nutcrackers. 

You can connect with Kendra on her website, blog, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Now, I invite you to sit down with me as I ply questions to this intriguing author.

Hello, Kendra, and welcome to my blog! Go ahead and introduce yourself to the readers.

Hello, readers! It is so, so nice to meet all of you. I love readers – they’re, like, my favorite sort of people. Able to look at these little black lines that I put onto paper and somehow translate it into words, and somehow they can interpret those words into stories, and it’s just plain amazing.
Stay awesome, readers, stay awesome.

What draws you to fairy tale retellings?

The ability to revisit my favorite stories over and over, yet they be different every time. I read Ella Enchanted, and Ella’s an independent young lady cursed with obedience. I read Cinder, and Cinder’s a cyborg. In Secret of the Hazel Tree, Cynthia’s going to the ball to solve a murder mystery (And, Kiri, if you read this, I NEEEEEEED you to publish this so I can shout my love for it from the rooftops). In CinderEddy, it’s an adventure to save a princess from a tower. MoM (Sorry, title not revealed yet), the prince doesn’t even know how to dance, and they meet because she just happens to find the curtain he was hiding behind.
But it’s Cinderella every time. There’s still the theme of hard work, honesty, overcoming oppression, and finding a better future.

How did you get obsessed with MBTI personality types?

I’m not obsessed – it’s my sister who’s obsessed. I will absorb the obsessions of anyone I’m close to, though. I find them fascinating, though, learning how people’s minds work.

What are your future authorial plans?

World domination.
I’m in the process of revising all of my published books, giving them a bit of a spit and a polish, adding a bit of content to some of them. And I’m giving all six of my novels brand-new, 1000 times more gorgeous covers. You can go here for more information. https://knittedbygodsplan.blogspot.com/2017/07/1000th-post.html?
I’m currently writing Worth of a King, which I hope to have ready to release in the fall of next year. I just finished The Seven Drawers, a retelling of Snow White for the Rooglewood contest, and am currently considering writing two more retellings of the tale – Red as Snow and Snowella White. So, yeah, lots on my plate.

Who are your favorite authors and how have they influenced you?

C.S. Lewis – my first serious work of any length was a script for a play based on LWW, a play that was never produced but eventually morphed into what is now Lady Dragon, Tela Du.
J.R.R. Tolkien – Before I was rewriting Narnia, I was kidnapping hobbits.
Gail Carson Levine – she reawakened my love for fairy tale retellings.
Laura Ingalls Wilder – It was thanks to her that I realized that books were written by people, and thus a viable career option for me.

What advice would you give to new or aspiring authors?

1 – Write, write, write. Aspiring doesn’t get you anywhere if you don’t create content.
2 -  Edit, edit, edit. Content doesn’t get you anywhere if it stinks.

3 – Market, market, market. Build your platform even before you’re ready to publish. Perfect content doesn’t get you anywhere if no one knows about it.

Ah, and I'm sure if more authors were to heed that advice, the flocks of stories continuously released into the wild would be more ready to face this frightening world alone, would they not? Alas, for the many stories who do not survive... But hurrah for the few who do, of which I am certain Poison Kiss will be one. Let me introduce you further to it before we move on:

Illustrious Snippet:

“Ah, now you’ve done it, boy,” came a silky, unfamiliar voice, and the princess’s large, blue-gray cat bounded onto the arm of the couch.

“You – did you just talk?” asked Edmund. First a sleeping princess, and now a talking cat?

“I did,” said the cat, licking his paw. “My vow of silence is at its end.”

“Are – are you a shapeshifter?”

“Oh, dear me, no!” The cat started preening its whiskers. “I am the Great Puss of the Boots. Perhaps you’ve heard of me? I eat shapeshifters for breakfast.”

“Um, yes,” said Edmund. He nodded towards the sleeping princess. “Do you have any idea…”

“She’s cursed, that’s the long and short of it,” Puss explained. “And you, dear boy, were the implement of bringing it about. The dear girl shall sleep for a hundred years until she is awakened by a spinning wheel.”

“A hundred years...”

“She’s Sleeping Beauty, and such is her curse. Although, now that you mention it, Geneva didn’t actually specify the hundred years, so maybe you’re in luck. Quick now, there’s a spinning wheel in the closet for just this sort of emergency.”

“A…” Edmund stared in confusion.

“Quick boy! I’d do it myself, but I don’t have hands.”

Such an intriguing snippet cannot help but implore you to purchase this book. Please, show it some love and take it into your hearts. 

I have also been informed you are also able to view this book on the Goodreads and add it to your lists. You may do so here.

Now that we have properly celebrated the momentous occasion on this my blog, I invite you to participate even more in the festivities by exploring the Blog Tour Schedule. Auf wiedersehen!

Don't forget to join the giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway