Author Interview with Chantal Gadoury
Today I’m interviewing Chantal Gadoury on my blog, author of fantasy romance / fairytale retelling / young adult “Allerleirauh”. Welcome to my blog!
When did you know you wanted to be an author?:
I’m not sure if there was ever a time I thought to myself and seriously said: “I want to be an author.” I think just publishing a book was something I wanted to do – since I was a kid. I don’t think I ever really correlated authorship with just having a book with my name on it. Subconsciously though, I’d say at a very young age I knew I wanted to be an author. As a teenager, I realized this and vocalized it. So much so that when I attended Susquehanna University, I changed my major from English to Creative Writing.
What inspired you to write Allerleirauh?:
A lot of things inspired me to write “Allerleirauh.” From childhood, it was a cartoon I had seen and loved. It was a story that stuck with me from that time, into adulthood. I wanted to write the story, because I hadn’t seen this story published before – I wanted to share this fairy tale with others. While wanting to share the story, I also wanted to send a message; what an opportunity to send a powerful one. At the time when I was revisiting an old manuscript I had written in college, I had been talking to someone I used to be friends with. We spoke about the difficult themes of “Allerleirauh” and she encouraged me to write a book, to help others who might have faced sexual abuse find their own inner strength.
What is your editing process like?:
I’m not even sure I can say I have a process. It’s more like procrastination. Sometimes while I’m in the middle of writing, I’ll stop and try to edit back, but a lot of the things, I’ll become discouraged and stop writing for a bit of time. With Allerleirauh, I stopped editing mid-way and just finished the story. Afterwards, I printed the manuscript and just started to edit each page, one by one. I even sent a copy to my Mom to look over (and my fiancé, Rob. Can’t forget him too.)
Who is your favorite character from your book?:
My favorite character from “Allerleirauh” would have to be Prince Klaus; He was so much fun to write. I think I took every ounce of what I thought a Prince Charming should be, with the influence of Kit from Cinderella and the Prince from The Coat of Many Colours (The cartoon version of “Allerleirauh,”) and a bit of other characters and writers I’ve interacted with from Tumblr. I loved how he believed in a greater good. He believed in love and while he knew he had a duty, he was driven by his heart and not the greed of gold and lands. He treated Aurelia with kindness, and as an equal (much like Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid). He is brave and true to his heart – and there are qualities about him that I wish I could see in every-day life. I would revisit his character again and again if I could.
Did you set any writing goals for 2016? If so, what are they?:
I haven’t set any writing goals per say, other than to start writing “From Me, To you.” It’s a new novel idea that I have – and I hope to realize sooner than later. It’s going to be a young adult novel about two people meeting each other, and having a relationship with each other. There’s going to be a few twists, that are really relevant to today’s generation. I’d like to use Music/Mixes (thus the title, From Me, To You) and photos.
If anything though, I’d really like to focus on “Allerleirauh” becoming successful. I’d like to be able to do more things, get out into the writing world – get out to readers!
Are you working on something now?:
Yes – “From Me, To You,” and a collection of poetry. I’d really love to tackle a book of poetry. If I could find the right fairy tale, I’d love to do what I did with “Allerleirauh,” to another!
About the Book
Title: Allerleirauh
Author: Chantal Gadoury
Genre: Fantasy Romance / Fairytale Retelling / Young Adult
Once Upon A Time…
A King makes a promise to his dying wife to marry only someone with her golden hair. The King finds his eyes are turned by his maturing daughter. Realizing her Father’s intentions, Princess Aurelia tries to trick her Father by requesting impossible gifts: Dresses created by the Sun, Moon and Stars and a Coat made of a Thousand furs. When she discovers his success, Aurelia decides to sacrifice her privileged life and escapes the Kingdom disguised in the cloak, and under a new name, “Allerleirauh.” Aurelia enters the Kingdom of Saarland der Licht where she is taken under the wing of the handsome Prince Klaus. Aurelia must face herself, her past and her fears in her journey of self discovery.
“Allerleirauh” is a Retelling of the Grimm Brothers’ Fairy Tale classic.
Author Bio
Chantal Gadoury is a young author who currently lives in Dover, Delaware with her two cats, Theo and Harper and her fiance, Robert. Originally from Muncy, PA, Chantal appreciates the beautiful mountains and enjoys visits back to see her family. She also loves anything Disney and has a reputation of beating anyone at a mean game of Disney trivia. When Chantal is not writing, she enjoys painting, watching British History Documentaries, drinking iced-coffee and spending time with loved ones. Chantal first started writing stories at the age of seven and continues on with that love of writing today. Graduating from Susquehanna University with a Creative Writing BA, writing novels has become a dream come true.
Links
Excerpts available on Wattpad