Author Guest Post: Alethea Kontis (Character Interview: Sunday Woodcutter)

Today, Alethea Kontis, author of the upcoming novel Enchanted, has stopped by Treasured Tales for Young Adults to share a character interview between a Troubadour (a medieval romantic poet) and Sunday, the heroine in Enchanted.

Welcome to Treasured Tales, Alethea. 😀

**********

~ Guest Post ~

An Interview With Sunday Woodcutter, Heroine of Enchanted

Troubadour: I’m here today with Sunday Woodcutter, seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, and youngest child of the infamous Woodcutter clan. Tell me, Sunday, what’s it like being Jack Woodcutter’s youngest sister?

Sunday: You’re kidding me, right? See here, if you’re looking for someone to tell you Jack Junior stories, I’m not your girl. He was cursed into being a dog before I was born. I’ve never even met him.

Troubadour: My apologies. But surely, the connection has still affected your life in some way?

Sunday: Well, sure. My father no longer wants anything to do with the royal family. My brothers and sisters and I constantly feel like we’re never good enough. And troubadours like you always come through town singing for their supper and looking for insights into my legendary brother. *glares* I hate sharing my food.

Troubadour: Indeed! Let’s move on. As seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, do you possess some magical abilities of your own?

Sunday: I don’t know that I’d call it an “ability” as much as a “knack,” really, like how everyone always does what Mama says. For me, the things I write tend to come true, and not in the usual way. Like, if I wrote down that this interview was over, you might die of a heart attack, or be called away because someone has discovered you’re the lost King of Tesora.

Troubadour: Oh, my! Let’s hope it’s the latter. Or better yet, just don’t write anything at all and we’ll see what happens.

Sunday: That’s what I’ve learned, the hard way. I still write down lots of stories, but only about things that have already happened. One can’t change the past. Or, at least, I can’t.

Troubadour: What’s one thing you really wish you hadn’t written?

Sunday: I tried to get out of going to market once. I got so sick with a fever that I almost died. It was really, really scary. After that, I stopped trying to make things happen by writing them in my journal.

Troubadour: Do your siblings have similar “knacks?”

Sunday: Monday was incredibly beautiful. I imagine she still is–I’ve never met her either. Tuesday was a dancer–she died when I was still a baby. Wednesday is kind of otherworldly and poetic. I haven’t decided if she misses things because she’s a complete airhead, or if she just sees so much that she’s always distracted. My sister Thursday is a pirate who rescues slaves being shipped to the Ogre Kingdom. Friday is an angel, the nicest person you will ever meet. My brother Peter is a Woodcutter like my father–sometimes I think he talks to the trees. And my brother Trix is…well, Trix is a mess and a troublemaker, but he’s my brother and I have to love him. Trix can also talk to animals.

Troubadour: And then there’s Jack Junior.

Sunday: Yup. But the world already knows more about him than I ever will.

Troubadour: That’s a pretty large family you have there.

Sunday: We manage. Jack, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday are gone now, so there’s room in the tower for all of us. Papa and Peter and Saturday work out in the Wood every day and don’t come home until supper. Friday’s always at the church helping out the orphans, and Wednesday’s always cooped up in her aerie with her books, so it’s usually just me and Trix underfoot. Some days it’s lonely, and some days it feels like you can’t breathe without tripping over another person.

Troubadour: What are some things you like to do?

Sunday: I like walking in the woods with Trix, and writing in my journal.

Troubadour: What are some things you hate doing?

Sunday: My chores. Our cow’s getting old and doesn’t like to be milked, and the chickens smell bad.

Troubadour: What do you look forward to in your life?

Sunday: I’m not really sure. I mean, I know I’ll live away from home one day, but I’m not quite sure how that’s going to happen, or where I think I’ll go. Saturday’s just looking for an excuse to leave, but who will help Mama and Papa when she does? Wednesday’s not even close to useful, and Friday and Peter can’t do it alone. And yet…sometimes when Trix and I are out wandering the woods I feel like my life is on the verge of something, I’m just not sure what. Maybe all those “great things” Papa swears I’m destined for. I’m sorry. I don’t think I can explain it better than that.

Troubadour: What scares you?

Sunday: Not being good enough. And I don’t mean in general, I mean compared to Jack. I worry about having a mediocre life. It’s supposed to be all “blithe, bonny, good, and gay.” That’s great, but if all I know is happiness, how will I know that I’m happy? Don’t things actually have to get bad before they get better? Not that I’m wishing for my life to be bad. Only a crazy person would wish that. Right?

Troubadour: I don’t think that’s crazy. It’s really an incredibly thoughtful answer. Thank you! Now, if you don’t mind, we have only a couple more questions from your fans.

Sunday: I have fans? You’re kidding, right?

Troubadour: Would I kid the baby sister of the infamous Jack Woodcutter? Of course not. First question from Alex in Maryland: “What’s your favorite color?”

Sunday: Blue for the sky. No…yellow for the sun. No, wait…green, for the Wood. Yes. Green is my favorite. My compliments to both Alex and Mary, the queen of her Land.

Troubadour: Thank you! I’ll pass that along. Now a slightly odd question from Anthony in Georgia: “Is there ever a day when mattresses are not on sale?”

Sunday: Only a day when the markets are closed! Ever since my eldest sister spent the night on a pea and married a prince, the feather mattress market has been booming. It seems like there are geese everywhere you look now. Please thank both Anthony and King George for their kind–if a little bizarre–interest in my family.

Troubadour: Thank you, Miss Woodcutter, for your time. Now, what time does your mother usually serve supper?

**********

Thank you for the guest post Alethea.

I love this interview; Sunday’s answers are fantastic. Isn’t the cover of Enchanted just gorgeous? Are you looking forward to learning more about Sunday and her family when Enchanted is released on the 26th May 2012?

~*~

Aunthor bio:

New York Times bestselling author Alethea Kontis is a princess, a goddess, a force of nature, and a mess. She’s known for screwing up the alphabet, scolding vampire hunters, turning garden gnomes into mad scientists, and making sense out of fairy tales.

Alethea is the co-author of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark-Hunter Companion, and penned the AlphaOops series of picture books.

Born in Burlington, Vermont, Alethea now lives in Northern Virginia with her Fairy Godfamily. She makes the best baklava you’ve ever tasted and sleeps with a teddy bear named Charlie.

~*~

More information about Enchanted and Alethea Kontis:

goodreads ~ website ~ twitter

~*~