The Glass Spare by Lauren DeStefano ~ Author Q&A

A banished princess.
A deadly curse.
A kingdom at war.

Wil Heidle, the only daughter of the king of the world’s wealthiest nation, has grown up in the shadows. Kept hidden from the world in order to serve as a spy for her father—whose obsession with building his empire is causing a war—Wil wants nothing more than to explore the world beyond her kingdom, if only her father would give her the chance.

Until one night Wil is attacked, and she discovers a dangerous secret. Her touch turns people into gemstone. At first Wil is horrified—but as she tests its limits, she’s drawn more and more to the strange and volatile ability. When it leads to tragedy, Wil is forced to face the destructive power within her and finally leave her home to seek the truth and a cure.

But finding the key to her redemption puts her in the path of a cursed prince who has his own ideas for what to do with her power.

With a world on the brink of war and a power of ultimate destruction, can Wil find a way to help the kingdom that’s turned its back on her, or will she betray her past and her family forever?

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Author Q&A

Val had the opportunity to ask Lauren DeStefano some questions!!

1. I adore the cover of The Glass Spare. Does it reflect the story inside? 

To me, it does. As much as Wil has a wanderer's heart, she still loves her castle and her kingdom. Her whole world is in there. When her curse takes over, it encompasses everything she holds precious to her.
2. Wilhelmina Heidle is quite the name. How did you come up with Wil as a character? 

Wil was the product of many many MANY rewrites. It took several rounds for me to understand just how strong she was, and how much she stands to lose when her curse shows up.
3. I'm intrigued by the fact that this story is about a fourth child. I assume she wouldn't have been hidden away if she were the first born, or am I wrong? 

It's hard to imagine Wil as the heir to the kingdom because her identity is so entwined with the fact that she's the youngest. Her oldest sibling is the family's golden child and Wil envies him even as she sees how much of a burden it is. Before she meets her curse, she thinks that her oldest brother has more freedom than she does, but she learns that there was a lot of power and freedom in being the child nobody noticed. Every child in her family has some purpose to their father, and hers was that she could make herself go unnoticed.

4. Tell me something about Wil that we don't learn in the book. 

I'll tell you something that even Wil doesn't know, which is that she is secretly her father's favorite child. More on this in book 2...

About the author...

Lauren DeStefano was born in New Haven, Connecticut and has never traveled far from the east coast. She received a BA in English from Albertus Magnus College, and has been writing since childhood. She made her authorial debut by writing on the back of children's menus at restaurants and filling up the notepads in her mom's purse. Her very first manuscript was written on a yellow legal pad with red pen, and it was about a haunted shed that ate small children.

Now that she is all grown up (for the most part), she writes fiction for young adults. Her failed career aspirations include: world's worst receptionist, coffee house barista, sympathetic tax collector, and English tutor. When she isn't writing, she's screaming obscenities at her Nintendo DS, freaking her cats out with the laser pen, or rescuing thrift store finds and reconstructing them into killer new outfits.

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