Please welcome Ruth Lauren to Tween You and Me!
About the book (from the publisher)
When Valor is arrested, she couldn’t be happier. Demidova’s prison for criminal children is exactly where she wants to be. Valor’s sister Sasha is already serving a life sentence for stealing from the royal family and Valor is going to help her escape . . . from the inside.
Never mind that no one has escaped in three hundred years. Valor has a plan and resources most could only dream about. But she didn't count on having to outsmart both the guards and her fellow prisoners. If Valor’s plan is to succeed, she’ll need to make unlikely allies. And if the plan fails, she and Sasha could end up with fates worse than prison.
Never mind that no one has escaped in three hundred years. Valor has a plan and resources most could only dream about. But she didn't count on having to outsmart both the guards and her fellow prisoners. If Valor’s plan is to succeed, she’ll need to make unlikely allies. And if the plan fails, she and Sasha could end up with fates worse than prison.
Q&A Questions
with Ruth Lauren
1. What was your favorite children's book growing up?
So many! Although I have to acknowledge that some of them have problematic aspects that I didn’t understand when I was a child. I loved Watership Down, The Secret Garden and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
2. The book has a wonderful theme of sisterhood. How were you inspired to write about Valor and Sasha?
The book was pitched as FROZEN meets PRISON BREAK . I wasn’t consciously thinking of Frozen when I wrote it, but I’d seen Prison Break and I wondered what that sort of story would be like if it was about two young sisters instead.
I’ve always been interested in sibling relationships, and more specifically in sisters, and I think there’s a reason so many middle grade stories (and young adult books) revolve around that relationship. I once read that a sibling relationship can be stronger, and harder to lose, than any other relationship, given that it’s often one that has been with you your whole life (literally so in the case of twins like Valor and Sasha). Most people will never know anyone else for the same amount of time as they know their sibling. That bond, whether it’s an incredibly close one or whether it’s much more complex (or both) will always be unique as perhaps the most enduring relationship in a lot of people’s lives.
This book is about girls and for girls (boys and everyone else welcome too!) and I wanted the sisters to inhabit a world where it would never occur to them that positions of power weren’t open or available to them. They don’t have to struggle or overcome to gain those positions and they see women in every role in the book—from ruler to doctor to prison guard to hunter. Why did I plan that? Because it’s something every child should see reflected in books and in the real world.
3. How has your teaching background help to shape your writing?
I think this particular book was more inspired by having a young daughter and wanting to write for her, but certainly teaching children to read and write and to love books fed into me wanting to write a fun and fast-paced adventure for kids.
4. How did you come out of your writing closet to share your work with others? What advice would you give to young people aspiring to become a published author?
I didn’t for quite a long time! At first I found it far easier to share my writing with strangers in online writing forums than I did with people I know. Now that my debut is about to release, I’m still finding it strange to speak to people about what I do.
The best advice I can give is read. Read everything. Read all the time. Then write. Write some more, and don’t give up, because perseverance is more important than pretty much anything else. Finish your work, find people whose opinions you trust (this can be hard!) and be prepared to take critique and use it to make your work better. Then repeat, repeat, repeat.
5. Prisoner of Ice and Snow has some rich world building. What inspired this fantasy world?
I wanted a very cold, snowy, frozen world where the elements themselves could cause problems for the characters and bleed through into every part of the planning Valor has to do to try to break her sister out of prison. I drew on elements of the Russian landscape and traditional clothing but I also wanted to create a matriarchal world where only women can rule and where they often have positions of power. The Russian inspired fantasy land part of the idea came soon after as I thought about where I could place the sisters to make their escape even more challenging.
6. If you could have dinner with any fictional character, who would it be?
Have you read Vic James’s GILDED CAGE yet? I’d love to meet Silyen Jardine. I think he’d be a fascinating/terrifying dinner date. Or Lila Bard from A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC. Or Karou from Laini Taylor’s DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE! Or Katsa from GRACELING! Ok, I will stop now.
Thank you for stopping by Lauren!
When I read this book, I ended up staying up all night to finish it. It is an exciting crossover book for both tweens and teens. Thanks to Bloomsbury Children’s Publishing, one lucky winner will win a copy of Prisoner of Ice and Snow!
Be sure to enter the drawing below. The contest is open to anyone in the United States or Canada.
Did you like hearing more about Ruth Lauren? Be sure to follow the rest of the blog tour!
Until next time,
-Pamela
