Interview Roberta Olsen Major

by

Jane Toombs

 

1. What impelled you toward the idea of basing young adult fantasies on fairy tales?

I have always loved fairy tales, folklore, mythology, but the girls in the stories were often portrayed as passive little damsels in distress. My inner child is sixteen and she is assertive, courageous, funny, and doesn't wait around for someone else to rescue her--unlike the real me when I was sixteen!--so it seemed natural to write about these admirable young ladies who are anything but perfect but still deserve, as everyone does, to work out their own version of "happily ever after"

The first draft of the first book in the series was written while I was in college--as a challenge to a creative writing teacher who was anti-magic, anti-fantasy, anti-fairy tale.

This second book came about when I began weaving several story threads from different tales together. I do a lot of storytelling in schools, and have written several plays for children--and I always have the most fun when I am over-lapping stories.

Dwarves, for example, pop up in several fairy tales--and they tie several story threads together in the Royal Pains series.

2. When you finish your Royal Pains Series of young adult books, do you have any plans to incorporate myths into future books?

Actually, there are a few mythological elements in the planned fourth book of the series, but no, I hadn't thought of relying strictly on myth for thematic material for a future series.

3. What is your favorite fairly tale and why?

I have always loved "Beauty and the Beast"--the real tale, as opposed to the Disney version (though I confess to enjoying the Disney version as well!) because Beauty learns to love the Beast despite his beastly appearance.

But I am also quite fascinated by the dozens and dozens of versions of Cinderella that have surfaced from cultures around the world. Having spent time in Germany as a child, I am also partial to the Grimm tales--which are, in their original versions, often quite gruesome. The Jack tales are great fun, too.

Can you tell I'm having a hard time zeroing in on a favorite?

I'm probably LEAST fond of the Snow White story--which is funny, since the protagonist of THE SEVENTH DWARF is the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming.

4. What relevance do you believe the themes incorporated in fairy tales have for young adults today?

I'm old-fashioned in some regards. I think there's a cautionary nature to some of the tales, and I like the idea that goodness is rewarded while evil is punished--even though, in today's society, that's not always the way it works.

With my Royal Pains girls, things are tweaked. Traditional roles are turned on their heads. As often as not, it's the damsel doing the proactive stuff instead of sitting around wringing her hands in distress.

Going back to the source material, though, has deeper meaning. I find it remarkable that there are so many Cinderellas all over the world—Native American, Egyptian, Persian, Russian, German, Spanish, Italian, Mexican, Vietnamese, Chinese, French--and each of these stories emerged, completely independent of the others, as an outgrowth of the culture and tradition of the country of origin.

I think this says a lot about us as members of the human family. Despite surface differences, there is something in the core of our very nature that is alike. We all have something basic in our roots that leads to a story of a good, but wronged young girl, aided by some sort of magic personage, who is given special clothing and eventually triumphs over bitter circumstances to embrace happiness.

Good stuff!

5. What was the first story you recall writing when you were young?

First grade. A snowflake fell out of the sky and landed on somebody's collar and had an amazing journey before melting into a water droplet.

6. What is your favorite reading genre or sub-genre and why?

My reading taste is very eclectic and it depends ENTIRELY on what mood I am in. I love contemporary YA fiction, Suzanne Brockmann's women's fiction, Anne Perry's Victorian mysteries. I reread THE LORD OF THE RINGS over the holidays and was haunted for weeks thereafter. I'm an unabashed Harry Potter fan. Shakespeare! Books about people's accounts of their own death and near-death experiences. Children's non-fiction. I'm a book junkie. I have a library card and I know how to use it!

7. Who is your favorite fantasy author and why?

It used to be Robin McKinley. She wrote TWO wonderful takes on the Beauty and the Beast tale. But she meanders a little more than I have the patience for these days.

So I think at the moment it would have to be Orson Scott Card. His omnipresent theme of the struggle between good and evil is very compelling to me. THE LOST BOYS is one of the most gripping contemporary fantasys I have ever read. It's like Stephen King with a conscience.

8. Is Royal Pains I your first published book?

No, my first published book is BOUND, a historical set in Texas in the 1850s. It is NOT a book for young audiences. It's "earthy".

9. Why did you choose Wings ePress to publish your series?

I knew the Executive Editor, Lorraine Stephens. In fact, she was my editor for BOUND. I trusted her, and I liked the "author-friendly" feel of the company--and I felt that Wings would be a good place for some slightly off-beat stories of gutsy young ladies working out their own destinies.

10. Do you feel those who reviewed your books understood what you meant to do?

For the most part, yes. There are always people who want things to proceed in a predictable way--which none of the Royal Pains books do--but the humor, irreverent tone, and strong female characters have struck a chord in readers of all ages.

The toughest reviewers--or at least the ones that made my palms sweat the most--were the kids in a 5th grade class to whom I read THE PRINCE IN THE FLOWER BED (the first book in the series) over the course of a couple of weeks at the first of the year. But that was the most gratifying review as well, because they always wanted me to stay and read more, they laughed in all the right places, and they wanted to know when the next one would be in print--and would I come back and read that one too?

So, though there are some adults who don't "get it", the young--and young at heart!--do! And that's who the Royal Pains books are for anyway!