eSpec Books interviews Diana Bastine, co-editor of Gaslight and Grimm: Steampunk Faerie Tales with Danielle Ackley-McPhail, http://tiny.cc/GandG.

eSB: What was your favorite faerie tale growing up and why?  

DB: All of them – I read every single collection of folk and fairy tales on my grade school library shelves….

eSB: What is your favorite faerie tale now and why? 

DB: Puss in Boots or Rumplestiltskin – because I love cats, and because I now associate Rumplestiltskin with Mr. Gold and Robert Carlyle.  (My favorite character from “Once Upon a Time.”)

eSB: What is your favorite faerie tale retelling…and why? 

DB: I actually loved “Frozen,” because it was sisters and they didn’t need any “handsome prince” to come and save them.  I also liked “Maleficent,” because I caught on to how “true love’s kiss” was going to work – and I loved that take on it!!

eSB: Tell us about your favorite non-European faerie tale. 

DB: I can’t remember the name of it, but there’s a Japanese tale involving a fox….

eSB: What classic tale would you say is required reading for faerie tale fans?  

DB: “The Pied Piper.”  (Yeah, I know, technically a poem, but it seems pretty much accepted as a faerie tale today.  And the moral of the story is so timeless….)

eSB: What modern tale would you say is required reading for faerie tale fans?  

DB: The graphic novel series “Fables”!!

eSB: What faerie tale did base your story on and what challenges did you face ’punking it up?  

DB: Rapunzel.  Which turned out to be a great choice, because I realized right away that the tower could so easily become an airship.  And the stolen plant could become a stolen clockwork toy….

eSB: Faerie tales are all the rage in TV and movies right now, do you have a favor and why? 

DB: I’ve only seen the first season of “Once Upon a Time” – I don’t have a TV – but I really enjoyed it.  I also loved “Maleficent” & “Frozen.”

eSB: What interested you in working on this project?  

DB: Is this where I get to say “’Cause it was my idea”?  Seriously, I love steampunk and I’ve always loved faerie tales, and I had this idea for “Rapunzel.”  When I mentioned it to Danielle, we were off and running….

eSB: Have you written/created anything other faerie tale retellings? Please tell us about it. 

DB: I have a series of YA fantasy novels which are due to be re-issued in 2016:  The Source, Shapeshifter, and Selkie.  The fourth volume is also due out in 2016 or 2017:  Gabriel’s Secret.  I also write a regular health-related blog in my “other life” as a health coach.

eSB: What are some of your own works readers can look for?  

DB: They can look for used copies of my YA novels, and keep an eye out for the re-issues and the newest addition.

eSB: What projects of your own do you have coming up?  

DB: I’m going to be publishing a Kindle version of a non-fiction book I’ve been working on, but it’s unrelated to steampunk, faerie tales or fantasy, and will be published under my “mundane” name.

SOCIAL MEDIA USER IDs

Facebook –  https://www.facebook.com/dianabastine/