Blog Tour: Eilis O'Neal Interview

Stopping by today is Eilis O'Neal, author of the soon-to-be-released novel, The False Princess!

1. The False Princess has gone through a couple of cover changes. Did you have any part in designing it? Are you satisfied with the final product?

I really love the final cover for The False Princess. The colors are so rich and deep, and I love that the only full face you see is the one in the locket. I think that makes it very mysterious. But I didn’t have any real part in designing it, which is probably a good thing, as I’m not very artistically inclined.

2. If you could stand in for any famous person or royalty who would you choose and why?

I’d be interested to stand in for the current Queen Elizabeth of England. I’ve always been fascinated with kings and queens, but a lot of my exposure to them is through novels and history. I’ve often wondered how it would feel to be a queen in modern times. Particularly since, as an American, the relationship of a modern queen to a country is something I don’t quite understand, and something I'm not sure can be fully explained to any outsider.

3. In what ways do you relate to Nalia/Sinda?

Sinda is, in a lot of ways, me as a teenager. I grew up knowing that I was pretty smart, that I had talents that were unique and useful, that I was a worthwhile person. But I had a hard time interacting with my peers—I was really shy and quiet. And that made me doubt myself sometimes, even though I knew in my head that I shouldn’t. Sinda suffers from a lot of those same issues. Luckily, I think both of us have managed to overcome a lot of them.

4. Your dogs have very unique names (Nemo and Zuul) can you elaborate on how they came to be?

Certainly. (I don’t have kids, so I’m always keen to talk about my dogs!) Nemo is named after the fish, because my husband and I went to see Finding Nemo on our first date. Zuul is named after the demon that possesses Sigourney Weaver in Ghostbusters. When we went to the pound to look for a dog, he was in a cage with a more playful puppy. We were paying attention to the other dog when Zuul he made this really deep, really weird noise to get our attention. Since he only weighed 6 pounds at the time, it startled us, and I blurted out that it was like hearing Zuul in the movie. And as soon as I said that, we knew we’d named him. That was it—we had to take him home. Oddly, he never made that noise again.

5. What is one place in the world you would love to travel to?

I would love to be able to travel around England, Scotland and Wales for an entire summer or longer. Spend enough time there that I wouldn’t feel rushed and could experience more than just the tourist spots, and visit all the places in books that I love.

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For more info on Eilis visit her website and be on the look out for my review of The False Princess soon!