Brandie June Interview - Gold Spun ~ JeanBookNerd

Photo Content from Brandie June

Brandie June spent most of her childhood onstage or reading, as both activities let her live in fantastic stories. She moved to Los Angeles to study acting at UCLA, and eventually branched out into costume design and playwriting. While she spends most of her free time writing, she will still take any excuse to play dress-up, especially if it involves wearing a crown. She happily promotes more stories as a marketing director for kids’ films and anime. When not writing or marketing, she can often be found doing aerial arts, playing board games, drinking too much espresso, and coming up with new art projects. She lives with her husband, two spoiled rescue pups, a spoiled cat, six fish tanks, and five bookshelves. You can find out more about her at www.brandiejune.com and follow her @brandiejune.

Publisher : Camcat Publishing, LLC (June 8, 2021)
Language : English
Hardcover : 368 pages
ISBN-10 : 0744301661
ISBN-13 : 978-0744301663

Praise for GOLD SPUN

"June shines in this retelling of Rumpelstiltskin . . . with memorable characters that will appeal to a broad range of fantasy readers." —SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL

Where were you born and where do you call home?
I was born in Arizona, but I moved a lot as a kid. In addition to Arizona, I lived in Massachusetts, Colorado, and New York. I moved to California to attend UCLA for college, and Los Angeles is my home now.

Tell us your most rewarding experience since being published.
Someone told me they read Gold Spun in one day because they couldn’t put it down. That made my heart smile!

What inspired you to pen your first novel?
I heard about NaNoWriMo (National Writing Month), which challenges people to write 50K words during the month of November. I decided to try it, mostly to see if I could. The first novel I wrote will probably never see the light of day, but it gave me the courage to write more novels.

Can you tell us when you started GOLD SPUN, how that came about?
Several years ago, I had the idea to write a short story based on Rumpelstiltskin, but to make him the hero. That story inspired Gold Spun.

What do you hope for readers to be thinking when they read your novel?
I want them to be so engrossed in the story that they lose track of time, because that is my favorite thing when I’m reading. I’d like them to speculate what will happen and what Nor will do, but hopefully find some surprises.

What was the most surprising thing you learned in creating Nor?
I really love creating morally gray characters. It’s my favorite thing! I discovered that she did not always make the best decisions, but I could root for her, because her motives are good, even when her actions aren’t. It was fun to see how she grew as a person over the course of the novel.

If you could introduce one of your characters to any character from another book,
who would it be and why?
I would introduce Nor to Jude Duarte from The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. Jude is a human trying to navigate a faerie court, and I imagine she and Nor would make a very cunning team. Plus, Nor needs to learn more about the faeries since she made a deal with one of them.

TEN FACTS ABOUT GOLD SPUN

1. While Gold Spun is the first novel I’m publishing, it’s the second novel I wrote.
2. In the original Rumpelstiltskin fairytale, the miller’s daughter doesn’t even have a name. I not only wanted to give her a name, but a lot of agency. She drives her story (for better or worse).
3. My spouse and I adopted our second puppy right after Gold Spun sold, so my spouse suggested naming the pup Nor, after the main character of Gold Spun.
4. The fay lands on the map are purposefully left mysterious to show that the humans don’t know much about the fay, which leads to their fear and prejudice against the faeries.
5. The audiobook narrator and I had a call to discuss how to pronounce the words I made up.
6. The world of Gold Spun is ruled by those with magic (if they are fay) or wealth (if they are human). I wanted my main character to have neither and have to rely on her wits to get by.
7. My working titles for this book was Straw Into Gold, which is how it’s still saved on my computer.
8. The prologue and epilogue are the only parts of the story that aren’t told from Nor’s point of view.
9. Unlike the original tale, the Rumpelstiltskin character is a handsome, mysterious faerie boy.
10. I wanted to focus a lot of the story after the point of ‘happily every after’ in the original, since I think that is where things get really interesting.

Why is storytelling so important for all of us?
Storytelling connects us to other humans and allows us to share experiences and history. Storytelling is how I understand experiences that are different from my own. Even though I write fiction, the emotions and feelings of my characters comes from a very true and honest place.

What is something you think everyone should do at least once in their lives?
Travel out of the country. The world is such a huge and diverse place, and the best way to understand that is to experience more of it.

Best date you've ever had?
When my husband and I were dating, he planned a surprise for me. He took me to a Barenaked Ladies concert, because BNL is my favorite band. We got lost and arrived late, and I’ll always remember running to our seats right as the band started their first song. That night I told my husband I loved him. He said, “That’s awesome.” Then told me he loved me.

If you had one day in your life to live over, which would you choose and why?
My wedding day because it was awesome. It would be fun to live it again. My husband joked that he wanted our theme to be ‘pool party.’ But then our wedding planner found out that we could rent a local water park after hours! We had the entire place to ourselves. We brought our dog, everyone changed into swimsuits, and my spouse and I went down the slide in full wedding attire to The Final Countdown.

Most memorable summer job?
When I was in high school, I wanted to do a summer acting program at UCLA. To raise some money for it, I started an afterschool art program for elementary school kids. I designed art projects for them and bought snacks. I didn’t make a lot of money from it, but it was a great experience.

What is one unique thing are you afraid of?
I hate germs. I have low level of OCD and a bit of a phobia of germs. I hate taking out the trash. Despite this, I’m not a super neat person. My desk is currently covered in papers, notes, and post-its.

What was the best memory you ever had as a writer?
A good friend and fellow writer read a draft of a novel I was working on. She immediately told me she loved it and it made her cry. Knowing that my story moved her so much was immensely gratifying.

First Heartbreak?
When I was in first grade, I had a ‘boyfriend’ named Andy. We used to go on long walks in the playground during recess. Unfortunately, I moved away and never saw him again.

What is your most memorable travel experience?
For my 30th birthday, I cashed out all my travel miles and took myself to NYC to see Neil Patrick Harris in Hedwig on Broadway. He was amazing! I love theatre and planned the entire trip around seeing as many shows as I could. I stayed for three days and saw five other shows, mostly by getting rush tickets.

Which would you choose, true love with a guarantee of a heart break or have never
loved before?
True love with a guarantee of a heart break. I want my life to be as full as possible, and that includes love, even if it means pain later on.

If Nor can’t spin gold, she can always spin lies.

When seventeen-year-old Nor rescues a captured faerie in the woods, he gifts her with a magical golden thread she can use to summon him for a favor. Instead, Nor uses it for a con—to convince villagers to buy straw that can be transformed into gold. Her trick works a little too well, attracting the suspicion of Prince Casper, who hates nobody more than a liar. Intent on punishing Nor, he demands that she spin a room of straw into gold and as her reward, he will marry her. Should she refuse or fail, the consequences will be dire.

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