Cate: Anastasia's here to party with us!Anastasia,
please tell us a little bit about yourself.
Anastasia: Hello! I’m Anastasia Vitsky, called Ana by those who know
me. I also go by Cookie Queen, Wooden Spoon Lady, and occasionally answer to
“Yes, my queen.” It’s a long story! I write erotic F/F fiction, although I am
branching out to sweeter and non-erotic F/F fiction.
Cate: Yes, my queen! Lol Love it. What do you love most about
Halloween?
Anastasia: Spank or Treat! This year, I hosted the third annual
gathering of authors who share mini stories or excerpts of upcoming works. We
offer free reads, invite readers for fun and games, and offer a slew of prizes.
While Spank or Treat fun is over, readers can join the next event for Ana’s
Advent Calendar. Visit my blog for more details.
Cate: Fun! Do you have a favorite memory of a Halloween past?
Anastasia: Trying to sit down for dinner on Halloween and having to get
up every five minutes to answer the door for trick-or-treaters. Why don’t kids
come around these days? I miss handing out candy.
Cate: None come to my house either, but we live in the boonies. Have
you ever had an unusual experience you couldn’t explain?
Anastasia: Probably when I was sleep deprived! As to paranormal
experiences, not so much.
Cate: What frightens you the most?
Anastasia: Disney movies. Scary movies. Dr. Who. What can I say? I’m a scaredy cat.
Cate: Me too. Ever gone on a ghost tour? Or ghost hunting on your own?
Anastasia: shivers See above answer.
Cate: Any favorite Halloween recipes you’d care to share?
Anastasia: Strangely, I don’t! I love to cook and bake (hence the
nickname “Cookie Queen,” but I don’t have any special Halloween recipes. I’ll
have to ponder that. I will be making chocolate chip cookies to hand out to
friend’s children, though.
Cate: Tell us about your latest release, and where readers can find it
online.
Anastasia: Taliasman is a
retelling of the Grimm fairy tale “Our Lady’s Child.” No, I had never heard of
it, either. The original is a crazy combination of Bluebeard, Rapunzel, and
other assorted stories. The Virgin Mary (no, I’m not kidding) brings a baby (in
some versions, a three-year-old child) to heaven to raise.
In my version, Queen Vina rescues the nineteen-year-old Talia, daughter
of a construction worker who has never been wanted by anyone before. If you
like stories of love, longing, and happily ever after, you’ll enjoy Taliasman.
Cate: Care to share a blurb or excerpt?
Anastasia:
Taliasman blurb:
Born to a
destitute woodworker who wanted a son to carry on the family business, Talia
grew up with one phrase on her lips: “If I had been born a boy.” If she had
been born a boy, she would have been cherished, supported, and launched into
the world with her father’s legacy. As only a worthless girl, she toils all day
long to earn her handful of inferior grain.
Far away in the heavenly palace, Queen Vina receives a mysterious coin necklace from Nicodemus, teller of stories. Compelled by the throbbing heartbeat, she scours the earth to come across Talia, enslaved to a family who never wanted her. Rather than admit her motives, Vina purchases the girl with a sack full of gold. Furious, betrayed, and homesick, Talia endeavors to share her misery with the entire palace. Vina, afraid to confess her love, allows herself to become trapped in the role of brutal slave owner.
Talia, bred to expect nothing but misery, faces the first choice of her life. Will she accept love, even if it comes from an unlikely source? Or will she reject the one who offers her everything?
A Beyond Fairytales Adaptation of Our Lady’s Child
Far away in the heavenly palace, Queen Vina receives a mysterious coin necklace from Nicodemus, teller of stories. Compelled by the throbbing heartbeat, she scours the earth to come across Talia, enslaved to a family who never wanted her. Rather than admit her motives, Vina purchases the girl with a sack full of gold. Furious, betrayed, and homesick, Talia endeavors to share her misery with the entire palace. Vina, afraid to confess her love, allows herself to become trapped in the role of brutal slave owner.
Talia, bred to expect nothing but misery, faces the first choice of her life. Will she accept love, even if it comes from an unlikely source? Or will she reject the one who offers her everything?
A Beyond Fairytales Adaptation of Our Lady’s Child
Taliasman excerpt:
If I had been born
a boy, I would have followed in my father’s footsteps to become a tradesman.
Because I was a girl, he sold me instead.
“No,” Vina corrects
me when I bring up the story, which is not often. She doesn’t like the facts,
and I dislike her pretty lies. “Your mother agonized whether to let you go, but
she knew you would be better off here. She wanted to give you a better life.”
I would call Vina
on her mistruths, but she claims I still reason as a child. All of my protests
to the contrary serve to prove her right, at least in her mind. Only when I
agree with her does she admit I am a full-grown adult.
“You’re happy with
me, aren’t you?” Vina makes me sit next to her at the formal dinners she hosts
most nights, and she dresses me in rich silks with real lace. If I tell her
“no,” she sends me to my room as punishment for my petulance. If I resist, she
gives me one of her lessons in obedience. Some are painful, some pleasurable,
and all serve to narrow my world and make me focus on her. How could I not,
when she owns me?
“No,” Vina corrects
me when I call her my owner. “I set you free, and I gave you the life you never
could have had otherwise.”
When I turned
nineteen, no one wanted to marry me. My mother fussed with my “hope chest,” if
it could be called that, and arranged the one cotton handkerchief as if it
could attract a suitor.
“Let me stay with
you,” I entreated, and I won. I always did. The house needed new walls, and I
wielded the power tools.
“You’ve turned her
into such a tomboy no one will want her,” Mother chided Father, and the truth
stung. I could have cared for my parents into their old age, but they wanted me
gone.
Where to buy Taliasman:
Cate: What inspired you to write about the theme?
Anastasia: I
gave an interview to Decadent, my publisher, that says it best. We need
stories about women and girls that teach us about our own worth.
Cate: Anastasia has a giveaway for you lucky peeps!
Anastasia: I will select one random commenter OR the best comment to
win an Anastasia Vitsky goody bag. If you live outside the US, I will
substitute a comparable gift certificate to your local online bookstore.
Author bio:
Cookie queen, wooden spoon lady, and champion of carbs, Anastasia
Vitsky specializes in F/F erotic fiction. She hates shoes and is allergic to
leather. When not writing about women who live spankily ever after, she
coordinates reader and author events such as Spank or Treat, Love Spanks, and
Sci Spanks. Her favorite event is Ana’s
Advent Calendar, a month-long celebration of books, community, and making a
difference.
She is too afraid to watch Dr.
Who, but she adores The Good Wife and
anything with Audrey Hepburn. In her next life, she will learn how to make the
perfect pie crust.
Where to find out more about Anastasia Vitsky and her books:
Cate: Thanks for partying with us, Anastasia! Happy Halloween!
