Happy Tuesday! May is right around the corner which means TBF will be here very soon! I chatted with Dhonielle Clayton, the co-author of Tiny Pretty Things and author of The Belles. Take a look:
Miranda Reads: You have a new book coming out called The Belles. What is it about? What can we expect from it?
Dhonielle Clayton: I pitch the book as Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies meets Marie Antoinette’s court in a world where everyone is born looking degenerative, but there are women who can change you down to your bones for a price. You can expect that not everything that glitters in the world of Orléans is gold, and is most likely rotten to the core.
Miranda Reads: What was the inspiration behind The Belles?
Dhonielle Clayton: When I was a pimply, puffy-haired preteen in the mid-1990s, I overheard a conversation at my local suburban mall between several men about their respective girlfriends’ bodies. They were thumbing through a popular magazine as they discussed how much better their girlfriends might look if they had longer and leaner legs, bigger breasts, different hair textures, a more slender frame, softer skin, etc, and comparing then to the celebrity women voted the most beautiful women in the world that year. This conversation broke something deep down inside of me and made me ask a lot of questions: Why didn’t I look like the girls in those magazines? Were there ways I could achieve those looks? Was there a way to be the most beautiful woman in the world? All of this anxiety lead to the creation of the world of Orléans – a place where one could change yourself down to your bones – your skin color, your hair color, your hair texture, your body shape, your facial structure. I wanted to work out that obsession that my pre-teen self had, and let’s face it still my adult self: What would I do if I could change myself completely? How far would I go? How ugly could it get, and why? Is there a way to be the most beautiful person in the world?
Miranda Reads: Last book that made you laugh?
Dhonielle Clayton: Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi
Miranda Reads: What is your favorite snack or drink to have when you write?
Dhonielle Clayton: Popcorn and hot chocolate (but not together)
Miranda Reads: Which TBF Author are you most excited to meet this year?
Dhonielle Clayton: Margaret Peterson Haddix
Thank you so much, Dhonielle! We can't wait to meet you soon!
You can purchase Dhonielle's books at Barnes and Noble or Amazon (Be sure to use Amazon Smile and make the Greater Rochester Teen Book Festival your charitable organization) or check out her books at your local library!
That's all for today! Be sure to check out the blog again for more author interviews, book reviews, and fun posts!
Miranda
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