Hi, everyone! Today I'm happy to present an interview with Jamie Lilac, the author of Bellegarde, which releases in July!
Would you please describe your book, Bellegarde, in seven words?
Seven words to describe Bellegarde would be: enchanting, romantic, feminist, heartwarming, rose-perfumed, sugarcoated, princesscore!
What was the inspiration for the book?
The inspiration for Bellegarde came from my obsession with late 90’s/early 2000s era rom-coms paired with my love for modern twists on historical time periods, such as Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette and Shonda Rhimes’ take on Bridgerton. From there, I decided that I wanted to bring the vibrant bubblegum, glitter, and quintessential high school hierarchy of films like She’s All That, Clueless, Bring It On, and Never Been Kissed to a historical time period. I wanted to really play around in that world and create the history I’d like to see rather than a true reflection of the times. I wanted to see Marie Antoinette in a Selkie dress with a vanity full of Glossier. I wanted a misfit boy with cotton-candy colored hair living on a houseboat on the Seine. I wanted to see two teen girls falling in love in a French chateau. BELLEGARDE reimagines She’s All That in 18th-century France, with the baker’s daughter, Evie Clément, being the target of second-born son Beau Bellegarde’s plan to win a bet for his inheritance. Most of all, though, this book was written at the height of the pandemic, and my hope is that, as it did for me, it serves as a joyful, comforting escape for readers.
Random Question! What’s your favorite flower?
Bluebells are my favorite! Any kind of bellflower, really. If it looks like it would grow in a cottage garden or be something fairies make their homes in, I love it.
What’s one piece of advice you would give aspiring authors?
Consume all different forms of media—novels, plays, films, etc.—focus on what they do well, and what they don’t do so well, and begin to uncover not only your own strengths and weaknesses, but also what kind of stories you want to tell, what stories you want to see in the world, and how your unique perspective can bring them to life. Advice I wish I’d discovered earlier on is that, if one of your goals is to have your work traditionally published, always keep in mind that this is a business. Write the stories you are passionate about, that only you can write, while having a firm grasp on the fact that agents and editors are going to want to see where your book fits within the market. It’s a balance!
What are some books you’re looking forward to reading in 2023? And if you’ve already read some ‘23 books, would you like to mention them?
There are so many! I’m most looking forward to reading Heather Fawcett’s “Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries”, Talia Hibbert’s “Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute”, Zeba Shahnaz’s “Midnight Strikes”, Jen St. Jude’s “If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come”, Pascale Lacelle’s “Curious Tides”, Liselle Sambury's "Delicious Monsters", Roshani Chokshi’s “The Last Tale of the Flower Bride”, Robby Weber's "I Like Me Better", and the newest in Stephanie Garber’s “Once Upon a Broken Heart” series. A few 2023 books I’ve read and could gush over all day are Ellen O’Clover’s “Seven Percent of Ro Devereux”, Elle Gonzalez Rose’s “Caught in a Bad Fauxmance”, and Ivelisse Housman’s “Unseelie”. I’m currently reading Mackenzie Reed’s “The Rosewood Hunt” and it’s one of those that I am trying to pace myself on rather than devouring it in a day because I just love the world and characters so much that I want to stay in it as long as possible!
Author Bio: Jamie Lilac earned a B.A. in English Literature and a M.Ed. in English Education. She works in environmental education. As an author, she is interested in writing about romantic cool girls, and spinning stories filled with love, magic, mythology, & secrets. When she isn't writing, you can find her playing with her two dogs (Banks & Reese), planting flowers, reading fairytales, & watching 90's movies. Bellegarde is her debut novel.
Here Are A Few Links:
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for taking the time to comment!
It makes me smile! : )