Monday, July 13, 2009

Smoke and “Ash”

Ash cover

Just to show you it’s not all hot girls in tank tops and lacy underthings (not that there is anything wrong with that, nothing at all), let’s talk books. And, to put a finer point on it, let’s talk one book. Let’s talk “Ash,” the first book by Malinda Lo. Many of you will remember Malinda as the former AfterEllen.com managing editor. She still writes the column Notes & Queeries and her vlog The Lo-Down will return next month. Malinda left the site last year to complete “Ash,” a lesbian retelling of Cinderella. Now it is set to come out in September. I’m about a third of the way through and can happily report that Malinda has created a lush, lavishly-descriptive universe that will immerse readers young and old.

Malinda has graciously agreed to giveaway two autographed advanced copies. But before you start clamoring for a copy, let’s find out a little more about the story.

A quick Q&A with Malinda about “Ash”

DS: Describe the story of “Ash.”
ML: In the most blatant of terms, it's a lesbian retelling of Cinderella.
Stepping back from that concept a bit, Ash is about a girl who is grieving the loss of her parents, who both die in quick succession when she's only 12 years old. That loss sends her into a deep, almost suicidal depression. The novel tells the story of Ash coming out of that depression and choosing to live. The fact that she falls in love with a woman, as opposed to a man, is almost secondary.

DS: Where did the idea come from?
ML: I chose to retell the story of Cinderella because as a kid, I loved reading Robin McKinley's retellings of fairy tales, and she never retold Cinderella. I wrote Ash because I wanted to read it.

DS: What was it about the Cinderella story that you thought was ripe for the retelling?
ML: I actually had no idea if it was ripe for retelling — I didn't choose it, so much as it chose me. It's always been my favorite fairy tale.

DS: Did you always want to bring gay storylines into your work?
ML: Funny you ask that, because the answer is no. The first draft of Ash was not gay at all — Ash initially fell in love with the prince. After I gave it to a friend to read, she pointed out that the prince was pretty boring. I looked at the story more closely and realized that Ash was actually falling in love with someone else, and that someone else was a woman — Kaisa, the King's Huntress.

DS: Was it hard, getting mainstream publishers to accept a lesbian storyline in young adult fiction? Was there any resistance?
ML: I haven't had any resistance at all. My agent was behind it 100% from the get-go, and we received offers from several publishers who were all very enthusiastic about the lesbian story line. My editor, honestly, encouraged me to intensify the romance between Ash and Kaisa.
What I find interesting is that my publisher, Little, Brown, isn't positioning the book as a lesbian book, really. If you read the cover copy, it's not even entirely clear that Ash falls in love with a woman. It's being positioned as a mainstream YA fantasy — even more so in the U.K. I just got the cover copy from my U.K. publisher, Hodder, and there's basically no hint that there's a same-sex romance in there.
I don't think they're trying to hide it, because they're very supportive of reaching out to LGBT readers. I just think they believe the gay part is mostly irrelevant.

DS: What do you hope readers, both young and old, take away from the book?
ML: I just hope they'll find an enjoyable story — that sounds really basic, but it's true. And since I didn't write Ash as a young adult novel (I just wrote it — the categorization came after it was finished), I do hope adults as well as teens pick it up.
Other than that, I must admit that I really hope lesbian/bi readers like Kaisa. Not that straight readers can't like her too! But I think she deserves to be crushed on. :)

DS: Are you working on your next one? What’s it about?
ML: Yes, I'm currently in the middle of revising my next novel, which is sort of a prequel to Ash. It takes place several hundreds of years before, but it's set in the same world, and it's about the first woman to become a King's Huntress. It's my version of a quest story, so there's a dangerous journey, powerful magic, ancient fairies, and romance — plus, of course, lesbians. Barring unforeseen circumstances, it should come out in fall 2010.

If you are interested in receiving a free copy of “Ash,” leave your email address in the comments section (spelled out if you’re worried about spammers) by noon Thursday PST. I will pick the two winners via my friend the random number generator and post them on Friday Monday. Find out more about “Ash” and Malinda at her website, www.malindalo.com. Happy reading.

NOTE: Unfortunately, this giveaway is limited to US and Canada residents. I believe it's for legal release reasons. But Malinda said she hopes to have another giveaway for all non-North Americans once the UK edition comes out. So please stay tuned and my apologies.

NOTE II: Entries are now closed. The winner will be announced on Monday. Thanks so much for your interest!

294 comments:

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Unknown said...

karlee dot d dot miller at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

ridley587 at yahoo dot com

Amber said...

thesunontherise at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

tm02 underscore kk at yahoo dot com

congrats to melinda!

Lauren said...

yay!

landers35@gmail.com

I'm in California so it would be a quick ship!

Unknown said...

goth dot music dot lover at gmail dot com

Can't wait to read the book, even if i don't get a free copy. I'll probably buy it for a christmas present if I can find it anywhere.

KT said...

ktkinssm at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

close dot call at live dot com

and thank you

Anonymous said...

sounds like a great read!

FOBlove86 at hot mail dot com

Looking for my Lost Life said...

sammi.bliss at gmail dot com

Jennifer said...

lesbefriendssantafe at yahoo

Anonymous said...

anna416 at missouristate dot edu

Can't not get in on this one :-)

Anonymous said...

sarah (dot) k (dot) stegner (at) gmail (dot) com

Anonymous said...

I went to high school with malinda and can't wait to read her first book!

marci dot fulton at gmail dot com

DAx said...

jadzia seven six two seven at msn dot com


Thank you! You never fail to make me smile!

Stephanie said...

ASH sounds so aewesome! I really can't wait to read this! I'll be crossing my fingers.lol

beagle407@yahoo.com

Lampshade said...

MCLAMP02@gwise.louisville.edu

Betsey said...

betsey5025 at yahoo dot com

Betsey said...

betsey5025 at yahoo dot com

Joy said...

BOOKS are my thing!

It sounds like a really great story, I would love to read it (whether I get this copy or not)

jickypie [a] gmail [dot] com

thanks :)

PS. I live in Canada

Anonymous said...

Can't wait until this book comes out! I've been waiting to get my hands on a copy ever since I heard about it months ago.

idelwild at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

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"h"
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"1"
"1"
"1"
"8"
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"sbcglobal"
"."
"net"

JenLew said...

Her story looks incredibly interesting to read. Good Luck to everyone participating in the drawing!

J l e w s e r at gmail dot com

pdubeu said...

ahhh! i can't wait to read it!!

p dot dub dot e dot u at gmail dot com

Maggie said...

mkeenanb at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

badandy4987 at yahoo dot com

Anonymous said...

shmgrant at gmail dot com

:D

Nowhere Girl said...

Weee... Cant wait for it to come out if i dont get it :))


gabrielle_farfan AT hot mail DOT com

its a US adress

(L)DS

Unknown said...

I always knew cinderella was gay, ever since ever after... Danielle and Jacqueline were totally gay for each other.

mmdele @ gmail .com

Anonymous said...

kingisafink at gmail dot com

Dee said...

astrogirl4490 [at] gmail [dot] com

Wendy said...

Oh Em Gee! I would LOVE it! My teen daughter is bi and would also love it!!!

lupansgirl at g mail dot com

Please, please, please!

Wolf said...

slayredrakon at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

Interesting, pls get me in the running..... meow2402 @ yahoo dot com. Thank you very much!!!

Anonymous said...

usually a lurker, but a copy of Ash sure would help me combat the sleepless days and nights of a newborn baby....but no pressure.
love your blog. almost lost it when you were moving and there were no new posts.
*molly*teru@earth*link.net*
(minus the asterisks)

Nox said...

@Linster:
Hah, you get that, someone else gets the book, I'd have to think you got the better deal. =P

Helen To said...

Hope I win..!

helen . to @ gmail.com

~Remula

plasticcalifornia said...

sounds intriguing, can't wait to read it!

plasticcalifornia @ gmail . com

Chach said...

Can't wait to read the book.
chach97@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

happykewlgirl at aol dot com

This book looks great!

tangoastor said...

Yay!

I'm throwing my hat in the ring.

tangoastor at gmail dot com

Maggie said...

Sounds awesome!

a_booke_worm at yahoo dot com

and yes "booke" is spelled wrong.

sonia said...

soniafangster

at

gmail

dot com

Anonymous said...

sass_angel@yahoo.com

*crosses fingers...and toes*

Anonymous said...

clockwatcher22 @gmaildotcom

Unknown said...

edheldim at google dot com

I love fairy tale retellings!

Whit said...

I love Malinda Lo, and this book sounds intriguing, to say the least.

(no spaces) 5 over 4

at

gmail

dot

com

R said...

rachel mathews at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

I can't wait to read this book! Yay! :)
~Breezy

breezysea23 at hotmail dot com

Bookviper said...

Sounds absolutely wonderful.

bookviper at gmail dot com

Jasmine said...

smuggie at hotmail dot com

Unknown said...

cparga at gmail dot com

thanks!

k.canary said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
canary said...

oh man! yes.

rabidtruths@gmail.com

Unknown said...

Love to read this book.

christine_melimelo@yahoo.ca

Anonymous said...

i can't wait to read it...
kssteelmanallen
at
gmail
dot
com

J. N. said...

monkeyhead6290 at aol dot com

marya said...

maryamd 86 [at] hotmail [dot] com

Anonymous said...

This book sounds wonderful!

intuitionfaery at aol dot com

wingstodust said...

lying _ innocence AT yahoo . ca

pyewacket said...

I have been looking forward to this book ever since the first mention about it on AE!

pyewacket88 at gmail dot com

Michael Pomerantz said...

Oh, this sounds lovely.

chiefquimby540 @ yahoo . com

Anonymous said...

Yay! Lesbo lit! Not enough good stuff out there.

Fivecupcake-at-gmail-com

Unknown said...

So excited to read it!

scronquist at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

coolfyah at yahoo dot com
Thanks!!

DirtyJeepDog said...

I read Gregory Maguire's retelling of Cinderella "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister". I love to take a look at fairy tales from a different perspective. I can't wait to read this one.

dirtyjeepdog @ hotmail.com

Anonymous said...

zoopie_99_mouse at yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

t*r*i*c*k*s*t*3*r*g*@*gmail*dot*com

Jaclyn said...

Way excited for this book!

blue_goozidan
at
hotmail
dot
com

Unknown said...

aydinweaver at gmail dot com

TrueTor said...

i've been anxiously awaiting Ash since first hearing about it on After Ellen. i'm so glad it's going to be available soon!!

truetor @ yahoo . com

Anonymous said...

kristymccray [at] hotmail [dot] com

Anonymous said...

pickle002 at hotmail dot com

I love your articles btw. Read them every morning before starting my day, makes it more enjoyable

JLSeagull said...

knottem at yahoo dot com

Codie said...

fullmeta_212@yahoo.com

Codie said...

typo! my bad.

fullmetal_212@yahoo.com

hale said...

Congratulations to Ms. Lo on her fine accomplishment. It is hard to find good romance so I look forward to her retelling.

hale210
at gmail
dot com

Charlotte said...

could always use more summer reading!

ceruleanbug at gmail dot com

Krista said...

I'm so excited for this book!

musetta.marie @ gmail.com

Anonymous said...

driftintothesong at gmail dot com

thanks!

Julie said...

Oooooh! Want it!

lenore.ragamuffin @ gmail.com

Shasta said...

I've been looking forward to Ash ever since I first "heard" Malinda mention it. So excited!
hey shasta at shaw dot ca

Jenna said...

I am so excited for Ash, and I would love to be entered to win a copy. I've loved Malinda's writing since way back in her Afterellen days, and can't wait to check out her first novel.

Jenna

jennapomme@yahoo.com

T-Bell said...

dr am a stace [at] g mail [dot] com

(no spaces)

!!!!

Anonymous said...

n i mh y e a [at] g m ai l [do t] [c o m]

no spaces.

Anonymous said...

Sounds awesome. So glad publishers are accepting!

sargasso17 (at) gmail (dot) com

Anonymous said...

mvpatenaude at gmail dot com

c. simpkins said...

looks great!

quitecaro at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

Counting down the days...

cr25ow at hotmail dot com

dizzabeth said...

would love a copy!

brynncole @ gmail.com

Anonymous said...

lstrid at hotmail dot com

Looks like a good book...

Liana said...

Awesome!

b_r_guitar@yahoo.com

Rosirah said...

OMG! I <3 Robin McKinley and read her blog, and when I read the words "re-telling of Cinderella," I immediately thought of her! Also, a friend of mine worked at Little Brown until very recently. It's a sign!

Email is jma405 at nyu dot edu.

Woohoo! Even if I don't win, I'll have to find this when it comes out.

anna said...

This sounds like a super interesting book.

annagenoese at gmail dot com

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