Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves - A Chat with Lisa Mantchev

MB: When did the first spark of idea to write this series of stories come to you?

LM: I was working on a short story at the time, and suddenly a character name (Beatrice Shakespeare Smith) popped into my head, along with the image of her fairy friends zipping around her head, connected to wires. At the time, I was writing only short stories, so this idea became a five thousand word piece entitled "All Her World's A Stage" that I then expanded to Eyes Like Stars.

MB: The series is a trio, correct? Do you start with a name or is the name a finishing touch that ties it altogether?

LM: It is indeed a trilogy. With ELS and Perchance To Dream, I had different working titles that eventually were dropped to better fit with the books' themes. With So Silver Bright (the third book), I had the title almost from the get-go.

MB: One of my favorite things about the books are your wonderful magical and very sophisticated language use - did any publishers give you a hard time and tell you that your language wouldn't work for teens?

LM: I'm not sure if the wordplay was as much a concern as the surrealism and the fact that it didn't fit into a marketing niche, honestly. We did hear a lot of "I don't know what I would do with this" from various houses.

MB: My second favorite thing about the books (and even more so in Perchance to Dream) is that Bertie has a strong independent streak that grows as she does. She wants to find out who she is more than she wants to fall into the arms of either one of the very cute boys who adore her. Was this conscious on your part?

LM: Conscious. I would have written her that way anyway, because it's in her personality, but I think it's slightly more pronounced as a reaction to some of the YA fiction I've read in the last few years... I don't want to hit anyone over the head with a Giant Message Hammer, but I think it's important for people to know themselves before they make giant decisions about love and life.

MB: Ariel has some of the best lines ever, was he a tough character to create or did he arrive full formed out of your imagination with a mind of his own?

LM: Ariel arrived as-is (butterflies, silk shirts, silver hair) but his voice is probably the hardest of all the characters for me, because half the time I'm not even sure what's he's thinking.

MB: Bertie grows up fast in Perchance to Dream, do you have an overall character arc you've kept in mind for her - and even for all of them - that you want them to arrive at in the end (obviously you can't give it away, but you can hint).

LM: I've known what Bertie's goals would be from the very beginning... the rest of the characters have been more fluid, thankfully, because they react to what she's doing or saying.

MB: One of the things I've realized from being in writers groups is that most people who want to be a published author are very naive about the fact that if published they will have to pitch in heavily with the marketing and public relations of the book -  but you seem to have taken up this mantle well. Was it an easy process or did you learn it over time?

LM: I've always done a lot of PR and marketing, from the time I was about seven or eight. I helped fundraise for my elementary school, I did promotions for local theater groups and my ballet class, then in high school I staged a production at the community playhouse and did all the newspaper interviews and radio spots... utilizing platforms like Facebook and Twitter and my blog are new outlets, but really the game is the same.

MB: How did you and your publisher Feiwel & Friends come together?

LM: We had two offers for the series when it went out on submission, and theirs was the better one by far. Plus I liked that they are a newer imprint, with lots of personal attention from the editors and high production values.

MB: You are quite active on Twitter - how did you decide which social media to focus on to promote your books?

LM: I started on MySpace, then expanded to Facebook and Twitter... they seemed to be the most popular and user-friendly at the time.

MB: You also have created different contests for readers - which has been your most successful?

LM: I think I got the most entries for the Shakespearean LOLCat contest all of which were EXTREMELY creative and funny.

MB: If Hollywood came calling for a live action version of the books would you consider it? Ever think of who could play Bertie? Or Ariel? Or Nate?

LM: I would certainly consider it (depending on the director and the production company, of course.)  For a long time, I've pictured Ellen Page as Bertie and Daniel Henney as Ariel... I have less of an idea about Nate, although Craig Horner from Legend of the Seeker comes pretty close!

To follow what's next for Beatrice and her boys go to www.theatre-illuminata.com.