Interview: The Fairy Godmother Dilemma

Welcome to Day 3 of Danyelle Leafty’s Fairy Godmother Blog Tour. Danyelle is serializing her YA novel on her website. Here’s the blurb:

Sixteen-year-old Breena doesn’t want to leave the faerie queen’s court, and she doesn’t want a fairy godmother. But if she has to choose between the two, she’d leave the Faerie Realm over getting bossed about by a faerie with a pointed stick any day. Unfortunately, her attempt to evade her fairy godmother gives her growing pains in the form of fur, whiskers, and a tail.

Turning into a cat is the least of her worries, though, because the potion wasn’t meant to bring out her inner feline, it was meant to put her to sleep. Forever. If Breena wants to make it to her Happily Ever After, she’ll have to accept that sometimes having a fairy godmother makes all the difference in the world.

Sounds like a fun romp, indeed. But wait – there’s more: Danyelle is offering a FREE e-book to one of YOU. Leave a comment, and I’ll do a random drawing to see who wins. Good luck!

Now let’s take a moment and get to know a few of the main characters. There’s  the lovely princess, Breena. The handsome prince, Myles. A sweet goblin named Natter. And, oh yes – the fairy godmother herself: Narissa.

They agreed to join us for tea and answer a few questions about themselves. Let’s jump in, shall we?

Marlene: Thank you all for stopping by my blog. Delighted to have you.  Your Highness, if you’ll please see to your tail… it’s terribly close to the White Star tea pot, there. Thank you, dear.

I’ll just throw a question out, and you all feel free to answer as you will. First question: Have you ever regretted a wish you made? Why/what happened?

Myles: Yes, I have. Very recently, as a matter of fact. Thanks to a certain spell going wrong, I’ve been forbidden to work magic at court. And since this was the whole point of my coming to court, I found a way around this injunction. Little did I know it would involve evil, enchanted cats, a madwoman bent on conquering the world, and prince-sitting. If I had known about that last one, I might have made a very different wish. Of course, then the madwoman would have conquered the world, but what can you do?

Breena: The cats weren’t that bad.

Myles: Says the Cat Princess, herself.

Breena: *pointedly ignoring Myles* I’ve made a few wishes in my time, but the one I regret the most was using magic to try to escape my fairy godmother. If I had just stood up to the faeries in the first place, I wouldn’t have ended up with a tail and whiskers.

Nerissa: You might not have ended up with your prince either. Happily Ever Afters turn on delicate hinges.

As for me, I wouldn’t say regret. Not exactly. Although I will say that after I’ve helped each DID (Damsel in Distress), I always wish for a day or two of rest. The harder I wish, the faster some girl out there needs my help. But in this case, I have to say that I don’t regret making the wish—for a less boring, more thoughtful DID—because I certainly got what I wanted, and more. What I do regret is making that deal with the cats. If I hadn’t, I could have devoted more time to Breena’s Happily Ever After and less to chasing after a dragon that’s been missing for nearly a century. I’ve learned my lesson: never make deals with cats, because while things might turn out all right in the end, such bargains complicate everything that comes before.

Natter: I wish I had understood the potency of wish making, because the only wish I’ve truly made nearly undid the world. I only wished to have a bit of a heart and to be able to touch the sky. I had no idea my mistress had a wish as well—escape. But for all our differences, we are alike, my mistress and I. For once wished, neither of us deviate from the course that leads to our hearts desire. We latch our teeth in and never let go, even if all hope has failed us.

Marlene: *scooting a bit farther from Natter* That’s some powerful wishing. All right, second question: What is the one thing about yourself that you don’t want anyone ever to know? We won’t tell anyone – promise!

Breena: That once I would have given anything for the faeries to let me live in their garden again.

*Myles snorts*

Natter: That once I was so willing to please my mistress that I closed my eyes to what she was really doing. Heart and sky are precious things, but never so precious that it stops mattering if someone gets hurt.

Nerissa: If this ever leaves this place, I shall show you exactly what fairy godmothers are capable, and trust me, we can do so much more than make pretty ball gowns and turn vegetables into semi-reliable modes of transportation. Our expertise is in transformations, and our wands are very pointed.

*Marlene clears her throat and looks innocent*

Nerissa: But for me, as much as a certain Flaming Nuisance grates on my nerves, the world would be a much poorer place without Frax—dry, boring speeches that last for hour upon hour, and all.

Myles: *lowers his brow* That thanks to our “little adventure” I now have a very healthy wariness of cats in general. Not a phobia, mind you. I’m not *afraid* of cats, I just happen not to like being in the same room as them if I can help it. And with the spell Hald and I have concocted, I can *always* help it. I also do NOT have nightmares featuring grinning cats.

Marlene: O-kaaay. Last question: Name your price. Everyone has one, what is yours?

Nerissa: A true need and a thank you. Fairy Godmothering is a hard, thankless labor. The DIDs (Damsels in Disress) are all kindness and gratitude until they get stars in their eyes. After that, they don’t seem to notice anything that’s not Tall, Dark, and Handsome. So for me, a little thank you can go a long way.

Breena: My price? A kind word and a need to belong. That’s all it takes. It’s also something I’m working on, because I hate having chinks in my armor. All it takes is a single arrow . . .

Myles: *hangs head in mock shame* Magic will likely be my undoing. And that’s all I’m going to say on that count.

*Nerissa perks up and looks thoughtful*

Natter: The need to please anyone who’s shown me even the smallest sliver of kindness. Even now, it’s hard not to kindness at face value, but the other cats— *taps Nerissa on the shoulder* who would like to go back to not being cats—are doing their best to break me of this habit. They’re sort of appalled that such a thing even happens to a Dream Walker.

*Breena frowns* Tell them they need to behave. I’m sure the prince can send a suitable mage to deal with them if you need. 

*Myles shoots out of his chair* You know, there’s this very delicate potion I’m learning how to make, and I think I might have just heard an explosion. If you’ll excuse me.

Nerissa: Interesting . . . *taps her palm with her wand and smiles the warm, reassuring smile of a fairy godmother about to do something . . . interesting*

Marlene: *shooing them away* It’s obviously time to let you all get back to your important… business. Loved having you. It’s been a delight. 

Be sure to check out Danyelle’s website for the continued adventures of our guests in The Fairy Godmother Dilemma!

Danyelle Leafty writes MG and YA fantasy. In her spare time, she collects dragons, talking frogs, and fairy godmothers. She can be found discussing the art of turning one’s characters into various animals, painting with words, and the best ways to avoid getting eaten by dragons on her blog. Her serial novel THE FAIRY GODMOTHER DILEMMA can be found here. You can contact her here.