What inspired your story?
The lack of female characters in a lot of traditional fantasy and fairy tales.
Did you always want to be a writer? If not what did you want to be?
Yes, I’ve been writing stories since I was a child. What made me want to be a writer was not the pleasure in creating stories, but seeing other people’s pleasure in reading my work. It really means something.
When did you first consider yourself a “writer”?
When I was admitted to a Creative Writing program. But really, I don’t think it’s a good thing. What makes a person a writer is writing and publishing. A Creative Writing program is a place where you can tell people you are a writer without ever trying to publish stuff. I’m not criticizing the program, just the fact that I think writing and publishing is what makes us writers.
What were your goals as an author and have any of them come true?
My goal is to write and publish at least 10 novels and to have some income from writing so that I have more time for writing. I will achieve this goal in 10 years or earlier.
Now that you have a feel for the publishing world, would you do anything different if you had to do it all over again?
I would have started writing for publishing earlier.
What genres do you normally write in?
Sci-Fi, fantasy, magic realism, YA.
Karina’s
Silver Shoes
Denise
Marques Leitao
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Publisher: Sparkly Wave
Date of Publication: September
18th, 2017
ISBN: 9781775063711
ASIN: B074T8RFWX
Number of pages: 250
Word Count: 70k
Tagline: She’s got the fate of a
kingdom in her hands—or rather, in her shoes.
Book Description:
When two princesses ask Karina to
go to Whyland, a kingdom in a parallel dimension, to destroy her fascinating
and potentially evil silver shoes, of course Karina accepts. Who would refuse a
free trip to an alternate world?
Advised by a wise master and threatened
by a beautiful stepmother, Karina goes on a journey with a princess to defeat a
powerful witch. But Whyland is nothing like she expected. Karina finds herself
stuck in a kingdom she doesn’t understand, with no clue on who to trust. Before
saving anyone, she’d better save herself—if she figures out how.
From
Brazilian / Canadian writer Denise Marques Leitao comes Karina’s Silver Shoes,
a teen parody of fantasy and fairy-tale tropes with many female characters,
friendships between girls and women, and some subtle romance.
If
you like to read about strong girls and women, you’ve found your book.
Excerpt
2
They seemed to
have forgotten Karina’s question, so she had to repeat it, “And… where are we
going?”
“Of course. You haven’t been told.” Odell
turned to Karina. “Those shoes were made by Lylah, and only her magic can destroy
them. You’ll have to go to her dwelling.”
“You mean the
really scary witch who seems really nice? The one who can’t have the shoes?”
“Yes,” Odell replied, a weird smile on his
face. “But all you’ll have to do is throw the shoes in her fire, and that can
be done very quickly.”
Karina thought
she had heard something like that somewhere. “Fire? You mean like the crater of
an active volcano in her land?”
Odell looked
puzzled. “That would be very hot—and dangerous. But no, it’s nothing like that,
it’s her fireplace. That’s where her magic is.”
Karina almost
face palmed herself. Of course a volcano crater would be incredibly hot. Now
where was she getting those ideas? The real plan sounded simpler. So Karina
would have to walk for days, break into a house, then destroy her precious
shoes. Now, why was she doing this again? Oh, wait, she was in a free trip to
an alternate world. And she liked walking.
Denise Marques Leitao was born
and raised in Brazil. When she’s not creating worlds and characters, she’s
discussing the meaning of the Universe with her son, writing unintellectual
poetry, podcasting about popular culture, or teaching. She lives in Montreal, Canada,
and has a Master’s in English Literature.
To learn more about Denise, get
news, bonus materials and preview chapters, visit http://denisemarquesleitao.com
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1 comment:
Thanks for having me here!
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