Follow the White Rabbit Review, Author Interview, and Giveaway!

An entire week dedicated to re-tellings of Lewis Carroll's Classic story: 

Alice in Wonderland

Follow the White Rabbit

By Kellie Sheridan

Source: LibraryThing – I received this book in exchange for an honest review. I received no compensation.
Published by: May 21st 2013 by Patchwork Press

Edition: eARC
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Purchase: Amazon/Barnes & Noble

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Rating: 4/5

Synopsis via Goodreads:

For centuries, Wonderland thrived as the domain of beautiful bedlam and unapologetic madness. It was a place like no other. All it took was one girl slipping in through the cracks of the universe to start chaos spiraling toward order. In the 150 years since Alice’s visit, the realm has become tainted—almost normal. Rabbits in waistcoats and playing card minions are little more than creatures of myth, and Wonderland is literally falling to pieces.

For Gwen, Rose, and Lucky, Wonderland is home, and yet they know little of its former glory. When the Alice prophecy resurfaces, they’ll have one chance to use Wonderland’s own legends to bring a little mayhem back into their reality. For she who controls Alice controls the fate of Wonderland.

The most important aspect to note about this book is that it is actually a novella.  It is only about 100 pages! I think knowing that part really helped me to enjoy the book.  Most reviews I have read about it have given it a lower rating due the story being too short, well it is a novella! I hated that it was so short because I was immediately left wanting more.  That is my usual feeling after reading a great novella.

The novella follows three different perspectives plus Alice eventually!  Four perspectives was a bit confusing at first but it got easier as the book went on!  I love this type of writing because you get to know so much more about the story.



 This book is a definite must read if you love Alice in Wonderland retellings.  I think it offers a really unique take on the retelling and is different than most Alice retellings. I love Kellie's take on the characters!  The white rabbit is no longer an animal!  The mad hatter is no longer a crazy and manic type of character. Alice is also not your usual Alice.  

Since it's a novella, I am going to keep the review short and sweet.  Have more questions, just comment below!

Author Interview:

Q: Why an Alice in Wonderland retelling?
A: Who doesn’t love Alice in Wonderland?! Okay, a lot of people, but I am not one of them. But what I love more than the original story is all of the ways it has been interpreted since. There are just so many fantastic adaptations out there, and I love (almost) all of them. I always knew I’d eventually want to add my own ideas to the pool, but it was once I saw the artwork that is now on the series’ covers that I knew what I wanted to do with Wonderland—take it somewhere a little more modern, make the main characters all incredible women. The rest of the story just evolved from there.

Q: If you were a character in your Follow the White Rabbit story who would you be?
A: I liked to think that if I were running around in modern day Wonderland and were to play a role in Alice’s journey, that I would be The Mad Hatter. In the world I’ve created, she’s the one who both seeks out knowledge and tries to bring everyone else together. There’s a lot of value in that. Plus, the tea party is going to be a lot of fun!

Q: Do you ever picture your family or friends when you are writing a character?
A:So far, no one I know has really fit into either of the worlds I’ve created (Wonderland and a zombie apocalypse), but I’m sure when the moment calls for it, everyone I’m close to will eventually serve as inspiration for a character, or I’ll start borrowing anecdotes from their lives. Actually, earlier this week, my younger sister was in a pretty bad accident. She was incredibly lucky, and walked away from it but that night had a huge impact on my entire family and I can see a lot of that emotion coming out in my writing at some point.

Q: Which of your series was easier to write?
A: The Hitchhiker Strain, all the way. Even putting my own spin on things, the zombie apocalypse has pre-determined rules that everyone more or less follows, and even if you vary from those, you’re still establishing your own rules that you need to write within. In Wonderland, there are really no rules. Sometimes that means you can write yourself into a corner and than take a ridiculous route to get your characters to safety, and it works, but you also have to pick through a million different possibilities to get there. It has also been trickier to outline and plot for my three main characters, plus Alice, and have all of their lives intersect like they’re supposed to.

Q: If you could work with any author who would it be?
A: I would love to work with any of my top five—Bishop, Briggs, Vincent and Vaughn. And Richelle Mead, whose name doesn’t quite fit with the other four. For most of these authors, it was their urban fantasy series that I feel in love with, rather than YA, but there is still no question I could learn a lot from any of these women.

Q: What do you consider to be your best accomplishment?
A: So far, I’d actually say Patchwork Press. My writing partner and I started up a small “author-powered publisher” for independent authors. Writing and publishing can be a very solitary experience, so we started up Patchwork Press to combine the freedom of indie publishing with the benefits of traditional publishing. We all still make the final decisions about our own titles, but we also have a team of people backing us up, who can can call on for advise and who believe in what we’re doing. It has been fantastic so far!

Q: How many hours a day do you write?
A: Not enough. This summer was supposed to be all about writing, and I haven’t done nearly enough. Life just kept making other plans. Right now, I usually write 500-2000 words, two or three days a week. I’m hoping to get up to 1000+ words, six days a week.

Q: Do you have any MUST HAVE snacks or drinks for when you are in writing mode?
A: For me, it’s all about the tea. I am a David’s Tea addict. I’ve never been much of a caffeine person, but when your options for black tea are “Red Velvet Cake” and “Toasted Marshmellow”, it’s impossible to say no.

Q: What suggestions do you have for new authors?
A: Believe you can do it. The publishing industry is changing, and there are a lot of new doors opening up. If you’re willing to put in the work, you can absolutely live your dreams.

Q: What fun things have you been doing this summer?
A: The highlight of this summer for me was definitely my trip to New York for BEA! I met so many fantastic people and it was just wonderful. I also spent a week at my family’s cottage, catching up on reading. And well, writing... which is always fun!

Look for Book Two in Beautiful Madness Next Month! 

                                                 

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