Author Spotlight with Angie Grigaliunas

First off, introduce yourself and tell us a bit about you and your books!

Well, hi! I’m Angie Grigaliunas (grig-ah-LOO-nas). I’m a Christian and write gritty upper YA fantasy, dystopian, and fairy tale retellings (the books aren’t expressly Christian, but you’ll find themes). I have three books published (two in the main dystopian/fantasy series and then The Midnight Prince) and plans for more than I will probably ever be able to write. I think everything I’ve ever written has a redemption plot to it to some degree haha. I can’t help it. Beyond writing, I’m also an editor and have been dabbling in painting again. Oh, and candles! I make candles. My husband and I have been married for 12 years now, and we have a dog and 8 — yes, 8 :p — rescue cats. We live in Tennessee near the mountains. <3

Who or what inspired you to start writing?

The book is actually part of a multi-author series (standalone retellings focused on the princes/male leads of popular fairy tales), but I started another book in this world a couple years before I was asked to be part of the MAS. (Side note, in my main series, one of my character’s names is Masrekah, and I shorten his name to Mas, and every time I have seen MAS while we’ve been doing this series, I am thrown for a split second. …Anywho.)

I loved the premise of the series, and once I realized I could set my story in my fey world, I was beyond sold! It took a while to figure out the plot, but I knew early on that I wanted to do something different with Cinderella — it is one of those fairy tales that often goes a similar way, and I loved the idea of a second chance thing where the prince and Cinderella had been torn apart. Second chance romances can be hit or miss for a lot of people since it’s often the result of a miscommunication — and most people I talk with hate the miscommunication trope with a passion, haha — so I wanted to do something with a twist, where it isn’t really miscommunication that severed them even though it may seem that way at first.

You may have seen some images around where someone has paint on their hands/arms that kinda looks jagged or like tree branches…and with that image in my head (and my natural bent toward writing tormented, soldiery male leads haha), things began coming together.

What’s your biggest gripe in the fantasy genre these days? What do you wish authors would do more or less of?

Biggest gripe…I have a lot of gripes haha…hmm…

So probably THE biggest issue I have is with “spice” and “smut” in books — in the sense that nearly everything fantasy seems to have it anymore, like it’s required or expected (and you’re a weirdo for not writing or reading it — especially if you try to actively AVOID it; what are you, a prude?). Even YA books have graphic scenes in them. I SO wish there was a true NA category where the explicit stuff could be and that it would stay out of books meant for teens and with teen protagonists.

So, yeah, I wish authors would stop putting graphic sexual content in books meant for teens. Like, I get it — in real life, teens are gonna do what they’re gonna do (I have *opinions* but I won’t go into them here) — but there should be a “safe” category for teens to read and enjoy without being bombarded by explicit stuff (especially before they’re ready for it). I could be wrong/not remembering correctly, but I feel like when I was growing up, YA was much more reserved, with romantic stuff kept to just kissing or just fade to black at most. I personally don’t want to read spice or explicit scenes, so I avoid a lot, but even YA isn’t “safe” anymore. Nothing seems truly FOR teens — it seems written for the women my age who still love to read YA but who also want graphic stuff. Make your own category and let it BE a category. I am tired of having to cross examine every single book I’m remotely interested in — or somehow ask the author directly — before I pick it up. Blindside me with epic plot twists, not…body parts doing private things. (To be fair, my stuff is often too gritty and dark for young teens, but still!)

Rant over. 😛

Tell us something unique about your book/series that will make the reader immediately want to run and read it.

Numerous people who typically hate present tense have absolutely loved this book. So obviously, the book itself is magic, and I the author have magically tricked people into enjoying something they thought for sure they wouldn’t enjoy. *cackles* (Kirran’s magic is still cooler though, IMHO.)

Who was your favorite character to write about and why?

Kirran was incredibly fun to write. He is the grumpiest, broodiest, most damaged thing, yet he is SO sweet, and his relentless search for truth is just… He needs so many hugs.

Tell us about your favorite quote or scene in the book? (No spoilers!)

Umm…like everything in this book is spoilers beyond the premise haha! There is a particular scene where Kirran and Alia’s differences and unique strengths take center stage, and it’s so lovely to me.

I read this comment the other day on a YouTube video: “The best metaphor I can come up with for the heroic masculine vs the heroic feminine is that the heroic masculine is an Unstoppable Force, while the heroic feminine is an Immovable Object.”

This is Kirran and Alia SO much in the scene in question, and it’s just…ahh I love it.

Quick! Dinosaurs have found a portal through time and have come back to destroy humanity. Which of your characters are you picking to help defend you and why?

Totally Kirran. Dude has withering magic — which means he can turn people/living things to dust by touching them AND just by thinking about it. He’d be very helpful in this scenario.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever had to look up in the name of research?

And just like that, I’ve forgotten everything I’ve ever looked up in the name of book research… Um. … Before I decided I wanted to do Cinderella, I looked up some other fairy tales and…some fairy tales are WEIRD.

This or that: The stunningly attractive alpha jerk who you love to hate or the somehow sweet but also annoying overprotective “I will burn the world for you” psycho? (and tell us why)

Totally the latter. Stunningly attractive doesn’t mean much if he’s a jerkface. 😛 Annoying and overprotective psycho — these things can be toned down with time. A jerk is just a jerk. Haha!

What’s one book trope you just can’t get enough of, and what’s one that you absolutely despise?

Ahhh…I am a sucker for slowburn enemies to lovers — BUT emphasis on the slowburn. If it isn’t slow (a gradual growth from enemy to reluctant ally to friend to falling to totally fallen in love), I likely won’t enjoy it. Insta-love for me is just…nah. I know it can happen in real life — I have friends who have experienced it — but in a book, it removes so much of the tension for me.

What do you hope readers will take away from your stories?

Hope. Haha! Hope, resilience, courage…yes.

If you could choose to be one of your characters for a day, who would it be and why?

Okay so Kirran’s dad can control and create storms, and that would be epic, so… Eh, but he’s also kinda a butt, so, I don’t think I’d want to be him… *tries to think of someone else fun, but all my characters are quite traumatized* …I’ll go with Kirran’s dad haha. Making storms would be fun. Plus, he’s the king, so he has access to the amazing library in the palace and the halls of history, which…well, you’ll have to read the book. 😉 But it’s a fun, if kinda creepy, place haha.

You can turn one object in your household into a magical item. What would it be and what does it do?

Fridge — magically turns all food that goes into it into automatic, healthy meals. 😛 Just open the doors and voila! Ready to either eat cold or simply heat up.

You can have dinner with 3 literary characters of your choosing (your own or others). Who would it be and why?

Well, since all my characters would likely hurt me if I sat down with them…and my friends’ characters would also hurt me since I’ve encouraged torment for them too haha… Aragorn (LOTR) Edmund (Narnia) Ella (Ella Enchanted)

Where can readers find you?

https://www.angiesquill.com/ is the one-stop shop — books (on the “books” tab) and social media links (at the very bottom of every page) are on there!