Interview with Day Leitao for The Curse and the Prince
The Curse and the Prince (Kingdom of Curses and Shadows #2)
by Day Leitao
Release Date: January 14th, 2021
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Age: 15+
Synopsis:
Of course things didn’t go as planned at the Royal Games. When do things go as planned?
Now Zora is on the run, and has to join Griffin in order to retrieve a powerful magical artifact that might undo her valley’s curse. For the first time in her life, she has real hope for her people.
Problem is, for the second time in her life, she’s falling for someone she shouldn’t. Finding a hidden object is hard enough on its own, she could do without the heart palpitations and lack of air. And she could certainly focus better without the constant memory of his lips on hers, his arms around her, his touch, his feel... Gaah! See? How can she avoid pursuers and decipher enigmatic writings when her brain has been turned to mush? Painful, hopeless mush.
But the real trouble is that there’s more than one curse in the kingdom. And not enough objects or time to get rid of them all…
Can you briefly describe the KINGDOM OF CURSES AND SHADOWS series, its characters and what’s happening in THE CURSE AND THE PRINCE?
It’s a fun YA fantasy series with some influence from Minecraft. Zora is a 17-year old born and raised in an isolated part of the kingdom where shadow creatures spawn in the dark, even in small spaces. She leaves her valley to take part in the Royal Games. There, she meets three brothers; two princes and one king. In book 2, we get to know the characters a little better and Zora gets close to one of these brothers.
There’s some hate-to-love dynamics, and the books are in limited third person, with multiple point of views. There are four main characters in The Curse and the Prince, which is more than in book 1.
Could you describe the 2nd book with emojis?
I won’t describe the whole book this time. I’ll just leave a mood:
😳💦
Since writing the first book, has your favourite character in the series changed and why?
Last time I said my favorite character was Zora. I don’t think she changed much, but she now has to face the consequences of her actions. We also get to see a different side of her.
But I think my favorite character in this novel is a different one. There’s a new character here, called Riadne, and I had a lot of fun with her scenes.
How did the story for the 2nd novel occur to you? Did you find inspiration anywhere?
I knew how I wanted it to end and I had the beginning, so it was just a matter of figuring out how to get there. I think the inspiration comes mostly from unravelling the events of the first book.
If you could choose one song to describe this book, which one would it be?
I wouldn’t say it describes the book, but it still has some influence from Minecraft, so I guess I’ll leave this here:
What drink and place do you think will go with your book to have a perfect book date?
Drink: coconut water. Place: beach.
I’m not sure if it has anything to do with the book, but I really miss travelling. 😂
What would you say is the most difficult part of writing a book/a second novel?
Dealing with expectations. Some people loved the first book, then I was like: OMG, what if they hate this one? 😰
Then some readers wrote reviews clearly letting me know I should be ashamed of publishing that crap. I was like: OMG, if people hate book 1, why write book 2? 😩
I get why some writers don’t read reviews, but I still think it’s important to understand what readers like and dislike and even what kind of readers are enjoying your books and what kind of readers are not enjoying them.
My previous books didn’t get that much attention, and The Cup and the Prince got a barrage of love and a barrage of hate, which surprised me.
It sounds silly but I got stuck for a while. That’s why the book was finished so late. But it was a good learning experience. What I learned was that I had to trust the story and the characters and let them guide me, and that I had to ignore all external noise and just let the story flow. That was how I was able to finish The Curse and the Prince.
What’s next for you?
Book 3, the Dawn and the Prince is coming out in a few months. My goal was to have it out in April or May, but let’s see what happens.
I'm originally from Brazil but I've been living in Canada for over 10 years now. I have some influence from Brazilian writers and Brazilian culture, but I also read popular books in English. I watched some Anime as a kid, my favorite being Yamato. I'm a longtime Star Wars fan and I'm active in the fandom podcasting at Lords of the Sith as Denise.
I've always loved to write stories, and I like to always include romance, action and humor in my writing. I think stories can touch us deeply. I live in Montreal, Canada, with my son.
My books include the Ya fantasy series Portals to Whyland, and the sci-fi standalones The Sphere of Infinity and Star Spark.
Check out my blog for some news, updates, and nonsensical ramblings.
9 comments
Can't Wait!
ReplyDeleteLooks good
ReplyDeletePay no attention to that negativity. Your books are wonderful. They have brought me a lot of joy in very difficult times and that is not easy. Keep giving us your magic, we will continue to support you ♥
ReplyDeleteAw... Thanks!
DeleteI loved book 1 and I swear book 2 did it justice! Also, a few of the haters sound like they didn't even read/finish the book to me so 😂 Your cliffhangers are harsh but fab!
ReplyDeleteThese things are subjective, right? But it's true that some people are cranky.
DeleteThanks for sharing, sounds like a good book.
ReplyDeleteI think this is the escape I need right now!!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like an awesome fantasy read!
ReplyDelete