Today we’re talking with Taryn Tyler, author of Snow Roses, a grim re-telling of Snow White:
Tell us a little about yourself.
I am a fantasy writer and literature enthusiast. I love tea and wine, myth, metaphysics, poetry, and nature. I probably have a clinical addiction to hats.
How did you get into writing?
I think I was about thirteen when I thought I was getting too old to play dress up and dolls and started writing the stories in my head down instead of acting them out. (Totally not true by the way. You’re never too old to play dress up. When you grow up it’s just called cosplay or theatre) My friends and I started publishing a monthly “newsletter” with each other’s stories in it which turned weekly within a year and the stories became longer and longer until they were sagas presented in serial format. I drafted my first novel that way. Not that I would ever show anyone the work I did when I was fifteen!
How did you come up with the idea for your story?
Most of my stories are based off of folklore or fairy tales because I believe that legends and mythology hold the most concentrated manifestation of the universal story of mankind. (Translation: I like old stories 🙂 )
I decided to write SNOW ROSES when I was reading the Grimm’s story of Snow White and Rose Red and decided I didn’t really like the ending. I wanted to re-imagine it with some of the darker elements of fairy tales from before the Grimm brothers and give Snow and Rose the ending they deserved.
Who are your favorite authors?
Lloyd Alexander, Patricia McKillip, C.S. Lewis, Terry Pratchett, Shakespeare, and John Keats.
If you could only recommend one book, which would it be?
Oooh. That’s hard.
Mara’s Tales by Gary D. Schmidt. It’s the saddest, most beautiful thing I’ve ever read.
*Bonus * What one person (living or dead) would you share a meal with? And why?
I would love to share a meal with mythologist Joseph Campbell if he were still alive. I would have so many questions for him about the mono-myth and archetypes and what myths I should read next.
Connect with Taryn!
Taryn Tyler on FB
on Goodreads
