Enchanted Blog Tour: Deleted Scene Video + Interview

Hi everyone, as part of Enchanted Blog Tour, I’m going to be posting a deleted scene from Alethea Kontis’ latest novel, Enchanted, and I’m going to be interviewing her afterwards.

Why was this scene deleted?

In the original draft of Enchanted, each chapter told from Sunday's point of view started out with an excerpt from her journal. I was introducing a whole new world with a cast of thousands, and it was important to me that the reader got to know everyone. Most of these entries were cut, however, because they slowed down the pace of the book and didn't directly affect the book's main motivation (to get Sunday and Rumbold together).

Why did you write this particular scene?

The towerhouse is one of the silent characters of this book. Before writing any scenes that took place here, I needed to sketch out a basic diagram of the place and decide who slept where--especially in the tower. Which of the sisters likes the tower? Which might not and why? In this scene Saturday imagines that a girl might have lived in this strange tower with no door Once Upon a Time...and, of course, we all know she's right.

Enchanted is a mix of everything. How did you manage to piece together different fairytales into one story? How did you start?

The idea for Enchanted began as a contest challenge in my writers group (Codex Writers). Our stories had to be inspired by at least one of four "seeds": "Fundevogel (The Foundling)," "The Princess and the Pea," the Irish legend of Cú Chulainn, and the nursery rhyme "There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe." I couldn't choose between them, so I chose them all...as well as all every other fairy tale and nursery rhyme that was suggested during the brainstorming session.

But the more I wrote and the more research I did into fairy tales, the more I saw themes and objects occur over and over in different tales. They just fit naturally together seamlessly in my mind as one Giant Story.

Out of all the characters in Enchanted, can you tell me which character were you most attached to? Why?

Wow. So hard to say. Right now the character I'm most attached to isn't even in Enchanted--she's in a short story called "The Unicorn Hunter" (from last year's Demons anthology) and will make a brief appearance in the sequel to Enchanted. I could tell you about her, but it's more fun if you read it for yourself. The publisher has graciously put the story online for free: http://www.scribd.com/doc/70431258/The-Unicorn-Hunter

Lastly, what is your favorite fairytale? Why? Is there a chance you'll do a retelling of it?

My favorite fairy tale has always been "The Goose Girl." For me, this fairy tale had the best story arc. I loved the clever king, and Conrad. I plan on using this one (along with a bit of "Rapunzel" and "The Seven Swans" and "East of the Sun, West of the Moon") in the third book in the series, which will be Friday's tale.

I also have an outline for a fantasy novel solely based on a "Goose Girl" retelling, but now that I'm going to write the storyline in Friday's book, I don't know if I can reuse it. Of course, that didn't stop Robin McKinley from writing Rose Daughter...so who knows?

About Enchanted:

It isn't easy being the rather overlooked and unhappy youngest sibling to sisters named for the other six days of the week. Sunday’s only comfort is writing stories, although what she writes has a terrible tendency to come true.

When Sunday meets an enchanted frog who asks about her stories, the two become friends. Soon that friendship deepens into something magical. One night Sunday kisses her frog goodbye and leaves, not realizing that her love has transformed him back into Rumbold, the crown prince of Arilland—and a man Sunday’s family despises.

The prince returns to his castle, intent on making Sunday fall in love with him as the man he is, not the frog he was. But Sunday is not so easy to woo. How can she feel such a strange, strong attraction for this prince she barely knows? And what twisted secrets lie hidden in his past - and hers?

If you haven’t read it yet, let me convince you with a fragment from my review:

Enchanted is an intriguing, bizarre and addicting tale of magic, love and secrets. Familiar and unpredictable at the same time, Enchanted is sprinkled with dark secrets and twists and turns that will surprise readers. I highly recommended this to fairytale and fantasy readers!