Welcome
Roy
Maurtisen to
‘Author
2 Author’
Blog
Chat.
Pinch Punch 1ST day of the month, no
return haha! :)
And of course Happy St David’s Day to all my fellow
Welsh peeps out there x
Thank you, Roy for stopping by, please make
yourself at home and we’ll begin.
Make my self at home? Thanks! Nice blog you have here… Love what you've done with the place! (Proceeds to refrigerator, rumages through last night's leftovers… finds some cold pizza and a soda… plops on the couch... kicks off the shoes... pops the feet up on the coffee table).
PMSL the fridge is like any place Roy, not free! I’ll
collect on your way out :)
Here's a little about Roy (Quoted from website)...
It was bound to happen, with pictures being worth
what they are in words, that a creative, successful award winning artist would
eventually entertain the idea of writing a novel. Roy's writing interests and a
love of fairy tales started at an early age with a dusty, 1941 hardcover
edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. But for this artist-
turned-writer, the saying "a picture is worth a thousand words"
wasn't enough. He had a story to be told, and it demanded to be written. His
first published novel, an epic fantasy fairytale adventure entitled Shards Of
The Glass Slipper: Queen Cinder was published in March 2012. Roy has also
somehow managed to have a successful career as a digital artist and graphic
designer, and also designs book covers and TV commercials. When he's not trying
to figure out how that happened, he enjoys photography, volleyball, SCUBA
diving, and traveling. But most of the time, he works on 3D artwork, writing
short stories for upcoming anthologies, and working on the follow up to Shards
Of The Glass Slipper.
In fact The Shards of The Slipper is the book we
are talking about today...
 |
| Cover |
Publisher
16/04/12 with Padwolf Publishing Inc, via Amazon
Media EU S.à r.l.
ASIN;
B007V538QA
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So Roy, tell me about Shards of the Glass Slippers?
It's a fairy tale epic fantasy adventure! Described as "Brothers Grim meets Lord of The Rings", an epic quest by an ensemble cast of fairy tale characters that have rallied together with the broken remains of Cinderella legendary glass slippers to save their kingdom from the tyrannical rule of the Queen Cinder, before a war with Queen Alice of Wonderland explodes. Underneath, it's really about the fall and redemption of Cinderella. I'd like to think the story stands apart from the recent surge of fairy tale popularity in TV and movies, comics and books, in that it's not a retelling of a single fairy tale, nor is there any modern day element, or a"self aware" type of Fairy tale character story.And both book series (LOTR BG) I loved!
So what
Genre is your work mainly? Do you tend to stay in the same vein or are you
hoping (if not already) to explore new ventures?
Epic fantasy, heavily influenced by the fact that I grew up playing A LOT of Dungeons & Dragons back in the day Lol I have two published short stories, one was a prequel story for Shards of The Glass slipper, entitled Syrenka, in the "Mermaids 13" anthology by Padwolf Publishing. But I had a chance to break out and write "Norman's Ark" in Apocalypse 13, which was a modern day story that was fun to write and did not include a single fairy tale character-which was nice for a change. But I'm still in fairy tale land for a bit.
Whoa man you’ve done allot of stuff!! And what
inspired you to write Shards of The Glass Slipper?
Dungeons & Dragons aside, I always loved fairy tales and Alice in Wonderland. It seems that fairy tales, with their princesses, magic and fantastical creatures and common themes, would be easy to weave a story that would include many, many fairy tale characters. (I have nearly two dozen fairy tale characters and references in Shards of The Glass Slipper) And for the most part the actual fairy tale only serves as a back story and point of reference for these characters. It was a chance to explore what happens after the fairy tale and how these characters grew up from it. It was interesting to sort of get into their heads a bit. I did a lot of research on fairy tales and their versions (No Disney here!) and drew from that. Then working that fairy tale back story into the plot of Shards of The Glass Slipper, how does Cinderella become the evil queen? I was able to connect several different fairy tales together in some surprising ways! But you'll have to read the story to find out the rest!
Lol I love that and absolutely genius hun. I did
similar acts myself, but nothing as creative as you I must say. But I’m a total
lover of fairy tale, an interesting concept and no doubt, what an absolute
adventuresome comprehension.
Right before i go on and won't stop lol who was the easiest character to write
and why? Hardest and why?
Part of the appeal with this story and genre is that there is already a built- in familiarity with the all of the character to exert. We all know who Snow White is, the little Mermaid and Little Red Riding Hood are. Probably the "hardest" to write is Goldenhair, she is sort of her own "force of nature". She's very out there and has her own language that she slips into... so getting into her head to write her scenes is a challenge some times. The easiest or most enjoyable is Queen Cinder's General, Lord Phyllo Dendroba, the Prince of Frogs. He started out as a very two dimensional bad guy, but the more I explored his character he began to grow and I would look forward to the scenes I got to write with him just to find out more. He became a very complex character and his role grew and changed over time, far beyond anything I had planned. It was very satisfying to see that happen.I’m a massive Queen lover, not just because I’m British but in general! But that really is some intense research you’ve done and quite like an ‘out of body experience’ but into a fairy tale character. I always wanted to be Aurora if I’m honest, the whole sleeping beauty thing was concept enough and sort of crossed over with snow white as we Lol
So this question is sort of out of date but we’ll
ask anyway lol ‘are your characters based on real people? People you may know
or TV/Movie stars?’
Not really lol. At most I drew some influence for Goldenhair from Leeloo in the Fifth Element, and Hamelin visually was inspired by Christopher Eccleston. I suppose you could draw some influence on the Rapunzel/General Snow White relationship a little bit from the Xena and Gabrielle relationship on the Xena TV series. But these are very minor comparisons.
Without giving anything away, what is/are your
favorite scene(s) in Shards of The Glass Slipper?
My favorite "Not giving away anything" scene is with Patience Muffet and her battle with a large spider. The scene not only emulates the "little miss muffet" nursery rhyme but it's a turning point for her character. It's her coming of age moment from a scared young girl to a brave young woman that confronts her frustration and fear.Lol awesome!
If Shards of The Glass Slipper had a theme song,
what would it be and why?
Funny you asked, because my book actually does have a theme song, a whole ALBUM as a matter of fact! A year or so prior to publication a Band from Virginia called Gene Pool Zombie contacted me over some unrelated artwork (I'm a digital graphic Artist as well as an author) I had on my website that they wanted to use for an album cover. We hit it off very well, and they were interested in my story. They were looking for inspiration for their next album and decided they would do a concept album based off of my novel! I gave them chapters and character information and worked with them over the course of the next 8 months as they wrote the lyrics and recorded 13 original songs (including a song I had written that appears in the story). Some of the styles were more ethereal and cinematic, while other songs were more rock influenced. They are professional studio musicians with decades of experience and had several prior studio albums released- so the quality was top notch. They worked with a professional mastering studio in Culver City California for the final mix (Hans DeKline who mastered for Crowded house and Lisa Loeb among many, many others). It was such a wonderful opportunity and I am eternally grateful to the band's members for their talent and generosity on the album entitled "Shards".
Seriously man you’re too cool for words!
Do you listen to music while you write your book,
if so ... what songs?
Film scores mostly. Back in my Dungeon & Dragons playing days we'd listen to film scores and music as background music during game nights and that carried through. Music that stays in the background so as to inspire and not distract. My "go to" background music is the Sneakers soundtrack by James Horner, and Legend by Tangerine Dream. and more recently How To train Your Dragon has a great score by James Powell. another recent Favorite is We Bought A Zoo by Jonsi.
We had this covo before because I’m totally into
film scores as well, helps allot with certain scenes I’m having to write!
Recently it’s Avatar for me lol
So, Roy! What’s up next for you?
With Shards of The Glass Slipper Book One: Queen Cinder complete, I'm up to my elbows working on Book Two: Queen Alice. I will be a guest author at Lunacon in Rye NY end of March and end of May I will be a guest author at Concarolinas in Charoleete North Carolina. Also In May I will be at book signing event at a Vinyard on Long Island, New York, other appearances are under consideration for the fall.
Whoa you got so much going on!! When I come to the
states we have to hook up, I’d love to pick your brain some more!!
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What inspired you to be a writer? Is there anything
in particular that spurred you on?
I don't consider myself a writer; I guess it's a form of denial. I've always been an artist… but in both cases, it's all about storytelling. Even in a painting there is a story being told. The role-playing games I grew up with were another form of storytelling, Role-playing games would lend itself to writing and art and such. So I've always had stories to tell, it's just the medium has shifted. Writing has taken me quite out of my comfort zone, but it's been a great experience to grow from. I recommend everyone leaves their comfort zone at least once and reach for something beyond themselves. The other inspiration is from talking with people that would always dream about writing a novel or doing something like that. But they would never do the work or the follow through, which is a shame because they have great stories and would be better writers than myself. So I thought to lead by example, if I could write a novel it would inspire them as well. The result was I ended up a published novel. So much for leading by example.
I’m in such an agreeable state Roy, I can’t find
words lol I mean I couldn’t agree more with you. I myself being believe I’m
more of an artist than just one label because of the many forms in which I
express myself. I am a girl gamer also Lol I love to paint, draw, I sing,
create my own music as well as write the music, I also love to dance, and of
course now I am an established Author. Each of these gifts tell a story in every-way.
Excellent description x
What’s came first the chicken or the egg?
A dinosaur.
PMSL
Can you now give a little background into your
writing: when did you start? What was your first piece? First published piece, tell
us about your general history…
Shards of The Glass Slipper is my first published work. I've written stories and things based off of the role playing games we'd play growing up and my friends and I have a rather extensive game world we've developed over the years. As an artist, I do commercial work for some companies in the New York area and my work has been in television commercials, in newspapers and magazines, shown in Times square. My personal artwork has been on display at various area fantasy conventions like Dragoncon in Atlanta, Georgia and I've won several awards at various related art shows. For my commercial work i've won several industry related awards. I'm professionally published as an illustrator in Chess Life magazine which has a subscription of over 80,000 members worldwide.
What an accomplishment tho’ for sure.
Do you have any favorite books or authors?
I grew up reading comic books and Steven King, Calvin and Hobbes, Bloom County, the Far side, Alice in Wonderland, Dr. Suess, and Douglas Adams, I enjoyed the Dragonlance series, Carl Sagan and Peter David. I don't have as much time to read anything these days ( Read why in the next question…)
Are you working on anything else besides this?
Besides my day job as a graphic artist and TV commercial producer and painting my living room?{laughs} Well after my publisher, Padwolf Publishing (a small press) accepted my novel eventually I developed a relationship with them that I now serve as their art director so I will work on book covers and book interior layouts for them as well as their website. My personal projects are taking the Dungeons & Dragons game world my friends and I developed over the years and releasing that in some form. And I'm working on another project called “Hell Games", which may be a hybrid novel series and Role-playing game. It's in the early stages but it's a bit of a mash up theme on gaming and science fiction that sort of takes place in Hell. That's in early development and I can't say much more about it at this stage.
Don’t wanna design me some covers do you lol Just
kidding :)
could you give us a few words to people who
haven’t yet read Shards Of The Glass Slipper, sell your work ;)
Despite the plethora of fairy tale movies that are coming out and there will be more coming out over the next few years… Hollywood is just getting started… and the popularity of such televisions shows as Grimm and Once Upon a Time, My novel still stands as unique in the Fairy tale genre, with plenty of twists and turns and reinterpretations that will keep things interesting for any fan of fairy tales; I know it's not going to be everyone's cup of tea. It's a fun read of epic fantasy, I can say it does not have any vampires or high school romances or snarky first person narrative. I know that stuff is popular, but I wanted to write a story that I wanted You are welcome to come along for the ride! It's a story I worked hard on, and a goal I set- for no one other than myself, and proudly I can say i've accomplished so much more and I can share it with the world. Also the kindle edition contains some of the artwork I've created along the way. so you should buy it just for that. And while you are reading it you should listen to the companion album "Shards" by Gene Pool Zombie!
I’ll see you in Hollywood my friend :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Shards of The Slipper...
Book
Blurb;
Note:
Kindle Edition includes artwork by author/artist Roy Mauritsen
One Last Chance To
Save Happily Ever After! Can a group of heroes, including Goldenhair, Red
Riding Hood, and Rapunzel, help General Snow White and her dwarven resistance
fighters defeat the tyrannical Queen Cinderella? And will they succeed before a
war with Wonderland destroys everything? Their only hope to stop Cinderella's
quest for power lies with a young girl named Patience Muffet. She carries the
fabled shards of Cinderella's glass slippers, as well as the dark secret of who
murdered the last of the fairy godmothers. Roy A.Mauritsen's fantasy adventure
fairy tale epic begins with Shards of the Glass Slipper: Queen Cinder.
Reviews;
"Roy Mauritsen's Shards Of The Glass Slipper
is a fun, unique, and entertaining twist on fairy tales you've come to love,
but watch out--you've never seen Snow White, Cinderella, Goldilocks, and a host
of other fairy tale legends quite like this before. Mauritsen breathes new life
into the classic fairy tales, and provides an extraordinary and invigorating
take on fables I thought I knew well. Don't miss this groundbreaking work,
which is sure to be enjoyed by young and old for years to come." -Edward
J. McFadden III, author of Deconstructing Tolkien and The Black Death of
Babylon
"....A worthy writer with real talent AND a unique vision, a combination rare and important." -Janet Morris, Hugo nominated author of Beyond Sanctuary & The Sacred Band.
"....A worthy writer with real talent AND a unique vision, a combination rare and important." -Janet Morris, Hugo nominated author of Beyond Sanctuary & The Sacred Band.
"Fantastic...
A Magnificent Epic!" -Sarah Beth Durst, author of Into The Wild
& Drink, Slay, Love
"The Brothers Grimm meets Lord of the Rings." -Patrick Thomas, author of The Murphy's Lore series
"Roy Mauritsen's enchanting epic comes at a time when fairy tales are back in the forefront of our collective imagination. If you've missed the stone halls and warm fireplaces of Happily Ever After then look no further." -Darin Kennedy, author
"The Brothers Grimm meets Lord of the Rings." -Patrick Thomas, author of The Murphy's Lore series
"Roy Mauritsen's enchanting epic comes at a time when fairy tales are back in the forefront of our collective imagination. If you've missed the stone halls and warm fireplaces of Happily Ever After then look no further." -Darin Kennedy, author
Check
out more from Roy Here.
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If
you wanna follow Roy, here are some of his known Whereabouts and Links;
booktrailer #1
booktrailer #2
Keywords;
shards+of+the+glass+slipper
Publishers (Padwolf)
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Well
there you have it people, help me thank, Roy for coming today, it's truely
amazing to meet such an accomplished guy such as yourself. Please come again
sometime, maybe when you wanna share something else, you're more than welcome.
Thank you! Well Done!
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