Today I’m excited to be part of the tour for Bandits and Ball Gowns, a fairytale retelling with a unique setting. She stopped by for an amazing interview, explaining the interesting title, the writing of this book, and how she juggles so many writing projects at once. Also, scroll down to enter a fairy tale charm bracelet!
Bandits and Ball Gowns
Christina Bauer
(Fairy Tales of the Magicorum, #5)
Published by: Monster House Books
Publication date: November 10th 2020
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult
One Prince Finds True Love … And Risks It All
Elle Cynder has fallen hard for Alec, the ‘prince’ of Le Charme Jewelers. Time for some happily in their ever after, right?
Not so much.
While the new couple shares joyful moments–and sizzling kisses–serious trouble is brewing. Elle’s evil stepmother, Marchesa, schemes with none other than Alec’s twisted father, Legend. Their plan? Destroy Elle and Alec, along with everything the young lovers hold dear, including Bry, Knox, and Wilhelm.
Another Royal Freezes His Heart … But For How Long?
As a prince of the dark fae, Jacoby focuses on one goal: avoid assassination. Marrying Elle would certainly aid in that cause, considering how she’s both a Cinderella life template and a powerful fae warden. Even better, Jacoby doesn’t truly love Elle. In court life, deep romantic attachments only mean certain death.
Then Jacoby notices Elle’s youngest stepsister, Agatha.
For the first time in his life, Jacoby’s cold heart warms with true affection. The elven prince struggles to ignore his feelings, but it might be a losing battle. And what would the prince’s newfound emotions mean for Elle and Alec? Could Jacoby really stand by and watch another’s true love be destroyed?
Buckle up for a wild ride as Cinderella’s time-honored story gets some all-new twists.
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An Interview with Christina Bauer
1- Bandits and Ball Gowns. That’s an exciting title. Can you explain a little more about it?
The book is about a girl named Elle who’s part of the Magicorum, meaning that she’s supernaturally forced to live by a fairy tale life template. Elle fights against that fate, however. She escapes evil stepfamily and supports herself as a jewel thief. In this book, I raise the question. Since Elle’s a jewel thief, is she really an Aladdin life template? If so, what does that mean? The novel goes on to explore the roles are we given, accept, or need to change.
- What kind of reader do you think will enjoy Bandits and Ball Gowns?
My readers range in age from 12 to 60, both men and women. It’s a broad spectrum. Folks who enjoy fantasy and out of the box stuff tend to dig my work.
- This novel is a fairy tale retelling. What’s your approach for retelling versus an original plot?
My Magicorum books are unique in that the main characters know they’re stuck in a fairy tale life template. As a result, I get to play around with they think will happen versus reality, such as the example I gave above about Aladdin versus Cinderella.
- Why do you think fairy tales are still so popular?
Our brains are wired to enjoy the fairy tale storytelling space as somewhere safe to play around with different ideas and life paths. It meets a different and more primal need than reality-based stuff.
- Who’s your favorite character in Bandits and Ball Gowns?
Oh, that’s tough to pick! It was really fun to write the character of Agatha. She’s stuck as the evil stepsister template to Elle’s Cinderella… and in this book, Agatha gets her world turned on its ass. It was super fun to watch her grow!
- Did anything unforeseen or unusual happen when writing Bandits and Ball Gowns?
The Aladdin idea was a nebulous one when I outlined the novel, but it certainly took on a life of its own when I really dug into the story.
- Could you name any book or other work that had an influence on this novel?
The original Disney movie versions of both Cinderella and Aladdin had a huge influence on me while writing BANDITS AND BALL GOWNS.
- Can you talk about the series Fairy Tales of Magicorum?
After this book, I plan to explore the hidden side of the Rapunzel fairy tale. There’s an epilogue at the end of BANDITS AND BALL GOWNS where I give a preview of this.
- What’s your secret to write so many books, in different worlds, so fast? How do you balance it all?
I do a ton of planning before I start to write a series. One key activity is that I map out at least five books before I start writing the first one. That way, I have all my ‘breadcrumbs’ set up and I can just punch forward with future titles and add some color. Each release is still a challenge, though. I have a saying: “open a doc and open a vein!”
Author Bio:
Christina Bauer knows how to tell stories about kick-ass women. In her best selling Angelbound series, the heroine is a part-demon girl who loves to fight in Purgatory’s Arena and falls in love with a part-angel prince. This young adult best seller has driven more than 500,000 ebook downloads and 9,000 reviews on Goodreads and retailers. The first three books in the series are now available as audiobooks on Audible and iTunes.
Bauer has also told the story of the Women’s March on Washington by leading PR efforts for the Massachusetts Chapter. Her pre-event press release—the only one sent out on a major wire service—resulted in more than 19,000 global impressions and redistribution by over 350 different media entities including the Associated Press.Christina graduated from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School with BA’s in English along with Television, Radio, and Film Production. She lives in Newton, MA with her husband, son, and semi-insane golden retriever, Ruby.
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