The Princess and I--Author Interview and Review

Hello all! Today I'm here as a part of the blog tour for Rebekah Eddy's new books The Princess and I that releases on the 3rd! Yep, you read that right, we both have books releasing on the 3rd. ;) We've been pen-pals, friends, and now we've decided we should totally be book-release buddies!
Well, I'm sure you're not here to listen to me ramble. xD With further ado . . .

About the Book:

Megan is content with her life, despite her parents' death and her brother Malcolm's job that keeps him busy at the King's castle. But when she is offered the position as Princess Christine's lady-in-waiting, Megan is glad of the change in scenery and accepts it with the hope that she can spend more time with her brother. The promise from Malcolm of lessons in swordsmanship only adds to her enthusiasm.

However, helping keep an eye on the emotional and excitable young lady proves to be much harder than becoming her friend. As rumors of war circulate the castle, Megan strives to encourage her new friend even as she tries to settle the doubts and fears in her own heart when her responsibility in protecting the Princess is put to the test. Follow the unwanted adventure which serves to teach her that loyal friendship, true love, and God's amazing grace will always triumph over revenge, greed, and hate.

About the Author:

Rebekah grew up surrounded by family members who appreciated and read good literature. First, she fell in love with the stories her parents read aloud to her from the Bible and books like The Chronicles of Narnia, Great Expectations, The Hobbit, and Anne of Green Gables. After learning to read on her own, she discovered other fantastic books which helped to build her ever growing imagination.

She completed her first written work at the tender age of eight and now uses it to humble herself whenever the need arises. The story did serve to show her that God had given her a desire to write, however, and from that moment on Rebekah has never looked back or regretted picking up her pencil and becoming an author.
This eighteen-year-old homeschool graduate lives in rainy Western Washington and is currently working on receiving her BA in English in order to further her passion for creating worlds on paper.
My blog link: http://4rmeddy.blogspot.com/
My Google+ link: https://plus.google.com/u/0/101959924522864159924
My Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14228138.Rebekah_Eddy
My Pinterest link: https://www.pinterest.com/4rmeddy/

My Review:

4.5 stars

I should start out by saying that I'm not one to really enjoy fantasy of medieval stories. I also tend to like books written in 3rd person, rather than 1st. 

Well, this book was medieval fantasy and it was written in 1st person. However, I really enjoyed it! The faith message of the book was strong, which I appreciated. Also, the supporting characters were the BEST! Seriously, Steven and William were my favorite characters of the whole book! All the characters were really well done. 

Also, the setting and descriptions were as close to flawless as they can humanly be. ;) Rebekah did an amazing job showing the places the characters were, and I always felt like I was right there with them. 

The struggle between good and evil was also very well done. I so appreciated how there was no magic in the story! The motive behind the villain was very realistic, and it added a lot to the story. It also made him really, really dangerous. I don't EVER want to meet that guy on a dark night anywhere!

The only thing I didn't really enjoy . . . I have a hard time relating to main characters in 1st person, and so there were some times I felt like I didn't quite understand Meg. 

However, that's literally all I can think of, and I know most people won't be bothered by that at all! 

All in all it was a very sweet, poignant, beautiful story that I would highly recommend to any fantasy reader! Also, that cover is . . . amazing!!!

Author Interview: 

1.) Oftentimes, inspiration for a story strikes in the strangest ways, or the idea comes to us in the most unexpected of places. What first sparked the idea for The Princess and I? Where were you when you got that idea? 

Inspiration for "The Princess & I" came to me bit by bit over a long period of time. I've always loved Medieval England and the rich history and culture during that time (not to mention all the wonderful books written during that time period). I guess what FIRST sparked the idea for Megan was a mixture between Lucy Pevensie (from the Chronicles of Narnia) and Shasta (also from the Chronicles of Narnia). As for the plot idea...well, long story short, the first one ended up COMPLETELY different then the end result. It morphed so much during the writing process that you probably wouldn't recognize the story, excepting the names of the characters. 

Where was I when I first got the idea? I can't remember exactly, but it was probably sitting down in front of my computer, or at my desk with an open notebook in front of me. ;)  

2.) What is one thing (besides Christ and the Gospel) that you are passionate about and that makes its way into your writing?

Relationships between characters. I'm really not very good at plot structure...believe me when I say that I'm working hard at getting better at that...but characters are my strong point. I especially (as you can tell if you've read any of my writing) like the sibling relationships. I try to show people that it is totally possible to have good, solid relationships with siblings. Yes, you absolutely will get frustrated with the from time to time...but unlike friends, you're stuck with siblings for life. Make it worth it. 

3.) In a large family, it can be hard to find time to write, edit, and everything else that comes along with the writing process! How do you find, or make, time for this?

When I have free time, I use it. The most common time is between putting my younger siblings to bed and going to bed myself. But yes, it's hard some days. With my Dad as a pastor, Sunday's and Wednesday's are usually shot, and with starting college, there's even more stuff I have to work into the higher slots on my list of priorities. However, there's always time to do something writing related in a day. Maybe it's only ten minutes to half an hour...sometimes there's a break and I can get up to three hours in at a time. But...THERE IS ALWAYS TIME. No matter how busy life gets. :)