Please welcome Ishbelle Bee to The Qwillery as part of the 2015 Debut Author Challenge Interviews. The Singular & Extraordinary Tale of Mirror & Goliath will be published on June 30th (North American print) by Angry Robot Books and is already available in digital format.
TQ: When and why did you start writing?
Ishbelle: I have been writing stories, poetry and film scripts since I was a little girl. I found the ‘real’ world boring and I was disappointed there were no magicians flying about.
TQ: Are you a plotter of a pantser?
Ishbelle: Pantser. My prep work is a few pages of scribbles and then I start writing.
TQ: What is the most challenging thing for you about writing?
Ishbelle: I get bored very easily
TQ: Who are some of your literary influences? Favourite authors?
Ishbelle: Angela Carter, Philip K Dick, Terry Pratchett, Margaret Atwood and Lovecraft
TQ: Describe The Singular & Extraordinary Tale of Mirror & Goliath in 140 characters or less?
Ishbelle: (A very strange Victorian fairy tale) - A little girl is locked inside a grandfather clock. She is rescued by a policeman who becomes her supernatural guardian. The Lord of the Underworld orders his assassin/ son Mr Loveheart to hunt her down because he wants to eat her.
TQ: What inspired you to write The Singular & Extraordinary Tale of Mirror & Goliath? What appealed to you about writing a dark fairytale? Do you have any favorite fairytales?
Ishbelle: I am fascinated by fairy tales, as I am a huge fan of symbolism and fairy tales are stuffed full of them. My favourite fairy tale is BLUEBEARD. Nearly all fairy tales were originally very dark and have been sadly sanitized over the years.
TQ: Tell us something about The Singular & Extraordinary Tale of Mirror & Goliath that is not found in the book description.
Ishbelle: It explores a little of the mythology of the kidnaping of Persephone and her descent into the Underworld.
TQ: What inspired you to write The Singular & Extraordinary Tale of Mirror & Goliath?
Ishbelle: I wanted, initially to write a book about exorcisms and the idea of having a demon inside a child. The character of Goliath was going to be priest.
TQ: What sort of research did you do for The Singular & Extraordinary Tale of Mirror & Goliath?
Ishbelle: I read a lot of books on mythology and fairy tales, and also looked into Victorian Spiritualism.
TQ: Who was the easiest character to write and why? The hardest and why?
Ishbelle: The easiest was Mr Loveheart, whose madness is a joy to write. The hardest was perhaps Detective White, who, because he is neither quirky or deranged, actually makes it trickier for me. (I prefer narrative voices which are unbalanced)
TQ: Which question about The Singular & Extraordinary Tale of Mirror & Goliath do you wish someone would ask you? Ask it and answer it!
Ishbelle: The book seems to be obsessed with food and eating. WHY?
I am fascinated with cannibalism in fairy tales and mythology and this reoccurring theme appears in all my books
TQ: Give us two of your favorite non-spoilery lines from The Singular & Extraordinary Tale of Mirror & Goliath.
Ishbelle:
TQ: What’s next?
Ishbelle: Book 2 : The Contrary Tale of the Butterfly Girl is being published in August and features an insane collector of butterflies.
TQ: Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery!
Ishbelle: I have been writing stories, poetry and film scripts since I was a little girl. I found the ‘real’ world boring and I was disappointed there were no magicians flying about.
TQ: Are you a plotter of a pantser?
Ishbelle: Pantser. My prep work is a few pages of scribbles and then I start writing.
TQ: What is the most challenging thing for you about writing?
Ishbelle: I get bored very easily
TQ: Who are some of your literary influences? Favourite authors?
Ishbelle: Angela Carter, Philip K Dick, Terry Pratchett, Margaret Atwood and Lovecraft
TQ: Describe The Singular & Extraordinary Tale of Mirror & Goliath in 140 characters or less?
Ishbelle: (A very strange Victorian fairy tale) - A little girl is locked inside a grandfather clock. She is rescued by a policeman who becomes her supernatural guardian. The Lord of the Underworld orders his assassin/ son Mr Loveheart to hunt her down because he wants to eat her.
TQ: What inspired you to write The Singular & Extraordinary Tale of Mirror & Goliath? What appealed to you about writing a dark fairytale? Do you have any favorite fairytales?
Ishbelle: I am fascinated by fairy tales, as I am a huge fan of symbolism and fairy tales are stuffed full of them. My favourite fairy tale is BLUEBEARD. Nearly all fairy tales were originally very dark and have been sadly sanitized over the years.
TQ: Tell us something about The Singular & Extraordinary Tale of Mirror & Goliath that is not found in the book description.
Ishbelle: It explores a little of the mythology of the kidnaping of Persephone and her descent into the Underworld.
TQ: What inspired you to write The Singular & Extraordinary Tale of Mirror & Goliath?
Ishbelle: I wanted, initially to write a book about exorcisms and the idea of having a demon inside a child. The character of Goliath was going to be priest.
TQ: What sort of research did you do for The Singular & Extraordinary Tale of Mirror & Goliath?
Ishbelle: I read a lot of books on mythology and fairy tales, and also looked into Victorian Spiritualism.
TQ: Who was the easiest character to write and why? The hardest and why?
Ishbelle: The easiest was Mr Loveheart, whose madness is a joy to write. The hardest was perhaps Detective White, who, because he is neither quirky or deranged, actually makes it trickier for me. (I prefer narrative voices which are unbalanced)
TQ: Which question about The Singular & Extraordinary Tale of Mirror & Goliath do you wish someone would ask you? Ask it and answer it!
Ishbelle: The book seems to be obsessed with food and eating. WHY?
I am fascinated with cannibalism in fairy tales and mythology and this reoccurring theme appears in all my books
TQ: Give us two of your favorite non-spoilery lines from The Singular & Extraordinary Tale of Mirror & Goliath.
Ishbelle:
“… I’ve witnessed some horrible things in my life. Musical Theatre! Frightened the buggery out of me.” ( Rufus Hazard )
“ Sometimes I think I am a strange key. Swallow me and I will unlock every door inside of you.” (Loveheart)
TQ: What’s next?
Ishbelle: Book 2 : The Contrary Tale of the Butterfly Girl is being published in August and features an insane collector of butterflies.
TQ: Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery!
The Singular & Extraordinary Tale of Mirror & Goliath
From the Peculiar Adventures of John Loveheart, Esq., Volume 1
Angry Robot Books, June 30, 2015 (North America Print)
June 2, 2015 (eBook)
June 4, 2015 (UK Print)
Trade Paperback and eBook, 336 pages
From the Peculiar Adventures of John Loveheart, Esq., Volume 1
Angry Robot Books, June 30, 2015 (North America Print)
June 2, 2015 (eBook)
June 4, 2015 (UK Print)
Trade Paperback and eBook, 336 pages
1888. A little girl called Mirror and her extraordinary shape-shifting guardian Goliath Honeyflower are washed up on the shores of Victorian England. Something has been wrong with Mirror since the day her grandfather locked her inside a mysterious clock that was painted all over with ladybirds. Mirror does not know what she is, but she knows she is no longer human.
John Loveheart, meanwhile, was not born wicked. But after the sinister death of his parents, he was taken by Mr Fingers, the demon lord of the underworld. Some say he is mad. John would be inclined to agree.
Now Mr Fingers is determined to find the little girl called Mirror, whose flesh he intends to eat, and whose soul is the key to his eternal reign. And John Loveheart has been called by his otherworldly father to help him track Mirror down…
An extraordinary dark fairytale for adults, for fans of Catherine Valente and Neil Gaiman.
File Under: Fantasy [ Shapes Shifting / Inside the Clock / A Tasty Little Girl / 12 Dancing Princesses ]
The Contrary Tale of the Butterfly Girl
From the Peculiar Adventures of John Loveheart, Esq., Volume2
Angry Robot Books, August 4, 2015 (North America Print and eBook)
August 6, 2015 (UK Print)
Trade Paperback and eBook
From the Peculiar Adventures of John Loveheart, Esq., Volume2
Angry Robot Books, August 4, 2015 (North America Print and eBook)
August 6, 2015 (UK Print)
Trade Paperback and eBook
A dark and twisted Victorian melodrama, like Alice in Wonderland goes to Hell, from the author of The Singular & Extraordinary Tale of Mirror & Goliath.
Two orphans, Pedrock and Boo Boo, are sent to live in the sinister village of Darkwound. There they meet and befriend the magical and dangerous Mr Loveheart and his neighbour, Professor Hummingbird, a recluse who collects rare butterflies. Little do they know that Professor Hummingbird has attracted the wrath of a demon named Mr Angelcakes.
One night, Mr Angelcakes visits Boo Boo and carves a butterfly onto her back. Boo Boo starts to metamorphose into a butterfly/human hybrid, and is kidnapped by Professor Hummingbird. When Mr Loveheart attempts to rescue her with the aid of Detective White and Constable Walnut, they too are turned into butterflies.
Caught between Professor Hummingbird and the demon Angelcakes, Loveheart finds himself entangled in a web much wider and darker than he could have imagined, and a plot that leads him right to the Prime Minister and even Queen Victoria herself …
File Under: Fantasy [ Closing the Net / Heads in the Trees / The Angel-Eater / Prime Minister’s Questions ]
About Ishbelle
Ishbelle Bee writes horror and loves fairy-tales, the Victorian period (especially top hats!) and cake tents at village fêtes (she believes serial killers usually opt for the Victoria Sponge).
She currently lives in Edinburgh. She doesn’t own a rescue cat, but if she did his name would be Mr Pickles.
Twitter @ishbellebee
She currently lives in Edinburgh. She doesn’t own a rescue cat, but if she did his name would be Mr Pickles.
Twitter @ishbellebee
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