The Sleeping Prince By Melinda Salisbury Blog Tour

We’re so excited to be a part of the tour for The Sleeping Prince! We adored The Sin-Eater’s Daughter and totally fangirl over Melinda Salisbury! We got the chance to ask her a few questions about the series, the upcoming release, and writing in general! BUT FIRST… A little about the book!

The Sleeping Prince: A Sin Eater's Daughter Novel by Melinda Salisbury
(Blog, Twitter, Goodreads)Also by this author: The Sin Eater's Daughter
Published by Scholastic Inc. on May 31st 2016
Genres: Action & Adventure, Adaptations, Fairy Tales & Folklore, Fantasy & Magic, General, Young Adult
Pages: 336

Ever since her brother Lief disappeared, Errin's life has gone from bad to worse. Not only must she care for her sick mother, she has to scrape together rent money by selling illegal herbal cures. But none of that compares to the threat of the vengeful Sleeping Prince whom the Queen just awoke from his enchanted sleep.

When her village is evacuated as part of the war against the Sleeping Prince, Errin is left desperate and homeless. The only person she can turn to is the mysterious Silas, a young man who buys deadly poisons from Errin, but won't reveal why he needs them. Silas promises to help her, but when he vanishes, Errin must journey across a kingdom on the brink of war to seek another way to save her mother and herself. But what she finds shatters everything she believed about her world, and with the Sleeping Prince drawing nearer, Errin must make a heartbreaking choice that could affect the whole kingdom.

Describe THE SLEEPING PRINCE in 5 words.

Goodbye To Happy Ever After

What was your inspiration for this series? What made you think you had to write this story?

I’m not a fan of being asked what inspired me, because I don’t know! I don’t have an easy answer, I didn’t write it in response to anything. It didn’t exist, and then it partially existed as a kind of random thought, and then when I poked that a bit it became a story. There is no neat answer to this question, I’m sorry. I had to write it because if I hasn’t it would have sent me insane. The characters were taking up so much of my headspace the easiest thing to do was to exorcise them into a story.

What was the hardest scene for you to write in THE SLEEPING PRINCE and why?

Emotionally, there is a scene at towards the end of the book where two characters, who have a strained relationship, have to try and find a way to work together. I (and one of the characters) did not want to do this. But the other character, and the story, made it vital. It was challenging. The scene that took the longest to write was one between Silas and Errin, midway through the book. At one point it was a very different scene, and I kept having to rework, and rework it, to get everything in, but not slow it down. Finally, my lovely editor told me to simply move part of it to another place, and it solved EVERYTHING.

Can you share (without spoilers) a line or section of THE SLEEPING PRINCE that is your favorite?

My favourite line is: “Needs more salt.”

Do you have any strange writing habits?

No! I mean, I could make one up if you like; something about only being able to write on a 100 year old mahogany desk in a room that points north with a jam jar of freesia on my desk at 4am, but in reality, the only thing I need to write is my laptop. I can and do write anywhere, pretty much any time. Book three of the Sin Eater series has so far been written in Venice, Manhattan, Rutherford New Jersey, my home, my friend’s homes, various cafes and pubs, libraries, planes, and trains. I’d be too scared to let myself develop a particular habit, in case one day I couldn’t access it, and that put a psychological block on my being able to work. I mean no disrespect to anyone who does have specific writing habits, but I’m not one of them.

What are you currently reading?

Chris Packham’s memoir Fingers In The Sparkle Jar. He’s a UK naturalist, and has been my idol since childhood. I got to meet him last week and it was incredible, he signed my book, and I thanked him for making my childhood such a magical place, and for making me aware of how important it is to take care of our planet.

Any advice for aspiring writers?

Yes. Mix it up. Walk home a different way, eavesdrop on conversations. Get deliberately lost. There are stories everywhere, waiting to be told, but if you keep doing the same stuff, you’re going to stop noticing them.

If you could live in any fantasy world, which one would it be?

The Harry Potter World.

What house would the sorting hat put you in?

Slytherin.

What’s next for you? Are you working on anything right now that you can tell us about?

I have just pitched my next proposed project to my agent, who loved it! So I’m starting to work on that

If I weren’t a writer I would be… A zoo keeper.

What one YA Novel do you wish you had when you were a teen?

The Grisha Trilogy. They’re like nothing else I’ve read before, or since. Alina is one of the most realistic YA heroines I’ve ever come across, and the story, and the world, and the politics are so in depth, and fleshed out. It really is a masterpiece, and Leigh’s work just keeps getting better and better. I need Crooked Kingdom like I need air. It’s my most anticipated novel this year.

Tell us 5 random facts about you.

The first time I ever went on a plane was to do a charity skydive

I used to be a ghost-hunter

Before I had my lip and tongue pierced, I could fire eat.

One of my hobbies is Urban Exploration

I have seen Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel eleven times at the cinema. Across six cities and in five different countries.

Favorites

Favorite Song (right now): I Forget Where We Were – Ben Howard

Favorite Book (right now): The Girl With Glass Feet – Ali Shaw

Favorite TV Show/Movie: Jurassic Park

Favorite Word: Magnificent

Favorite Color: All of the blues between Majorelle and Tiffany.

Favorite Curse Word: Fuck

Tour Schedule

Week One:

5/23/2016- Dark Faerie Tales– Interview

5/24/2016- Addicted Readers– Review

5/25/2016- Two Chicks on Books– Interview

5/26/2016- Once Upon a Twilight– Review

5/27/2016- Fiktshun– Guest Post

Week Two:

5/30/2016- My Friends Are Fiction– Review

5/31/2016- Adventures of a Book Junkie– Guest Post

6/1/2016- The Broke and the Bookish– Review

6/2/2016- Fiction Fare– Interview

6/3/2016- Mundie Moms– Review

About Melinda Salisbury

Melinda Salisbury lives by the sea, somewhere in the south of England. As a child she genuinely thought Roald Dahl’s Matilda was her biography, in part helped by her grandfather often mistakenly calling her Matilda, and the local library having a pretty cavalier attitude to the books she borrowed. Sadly she never manifested telekinetic powers. She likes to travel, and have adventures. She also likes medieval castles, non-medieval aquariums, Richard III, and all things Scandinavian The Sin Eater's Daughter is her first novel.

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