Swinging by today is M.J. Putney, the author of the fantastic Dark Mirror! If you haven't already read Dark Mirror, check out the excerpt from a few days ago and enter the giveaway that was posted yesterday!
Lady Victoria Mansfield, youngest daughter of the earl and countess of Fairmount, is destined for a charmed life. Soon she will be presented during the London season, where she can choose a mate worthy of her status.
Yet Tory has a shameful secret—a secret so powerful that, if exposed, it could strip her of her position and disgrace her family forever. Tory’s blood is tainted... by magic.
When a shocking accident forces Tory to demonstrate her despised skill, the secret she’s fought so hard to hide is revealed for all to see. She is immediately exiled to Lackland Abbey, a reform school for young men and women in her position. There she will learn to suppress her deplorable talents and maybe, if she’s one of the lucky ones, be able to return to society.
But Tory’s life is about to change forever. All that she’s ever known or considered important will be challenged. What lies ahead is only the beginning of a strange and wonderful journey into a world where destiny and magic come together, where true love and friendship find her, and where courage and strength of character are the only things that determine a young girl’s worth.
Just click read more to check out the interview! We talk about NY, Natalie Portman, and the worst movies ever.
Nicole: Welcome to WORD, MJ! You grew up in upstate New York! I'm a NY girl myself, though I'm downstate. What was your favorite part about living there?
M.J. Putney: When you’re a kid, the only world you know seems utterly natural. Looking back, I see how I benefited by the down to earth values of the farming community where I grew up. People were pretty tolerant, they helped where help was needed, and character mattered more than riches, maybe because there weren’t any rich people around. I think of Western New York as a kind of cross between New England Yankee and well grounded Midwesterner.
N: Who would you cast as Tory?
MJP: Hmmm, maybe Natalie Portman as a teen, before she became a crazed ballerina. Or maybe a dark-haired Dakota Fanning? Must think about this more!
N: I adore Natalie Portman! Maybe we can reverse time... If you could use magic like it's in Dark Mirror, how would you use it?
MJP: Tory can do some pretty cool things, but I don’t know that I’d have much use for flying (floating!) ability. Elspeth’s healing ability would be a tremendous gift if it could be used for people who can’t be helped by conventional medicine. Being a weather mage would also be useful and fun.
I’m tempted by the idea of being an enchantress, able to charm people into doing what I want, but I’m sure I’d abuse the power! Since I love to travel, it would be terrific to be able to transport myself wherever I want. Venice for the weekend! Leopard watching in Africa! Visit a rainforest in Queensland! Only I’d want to do it without the fierce side effects the Irregulars experience traveling through the mirror.
N: I'd love to be able to control the elements myself. What's the best worst movie you've ever seen?
MJP: Oooh, tough one! I remember a friend telling me how bad the movie First Knight was, and how she and her friends had laughed at its awfulness. I was too cowardly to tell her that I loved it. I mean, Sean Connery, Richard Gere, Julia Ormond, a romantic plot that made sense out of how Guinevere could love two different men in very different ways, all taking place in a cool steampunk version of Camelot! What’s not to like?!!!
N: If you REALLY want to see a bad movie, check out Troll 2. If you could visit any other planet - real or fictional - what planet would it be and why?
MJP: Perhaps Lois McMaster Bujold’s Barrayar. If I was really lucky, maybe I could meet Miles Vorkosigan, one of the most amazing heroes in sff, in person!