Book time! Character interview time! Exciting week of book releases time! The Frosted Roses stories are here!
Today I got the opportunity to interview Rose from Runaway Lyrics by C. O. Bonham. As I frequently do, I handed the actual interview job over to my pesky journalist character Charlotte. She’s got a nose for rumours and isn’t afraid of asking personal questions.
The scene: Charlotte is somewhere in the countryside. She barely begins looking around when she spots a young woman with reddish-blonde hair.
Hello, you’re Rose, right? Not Snow? I was told that you look similar, so I wanted to check that I’ve got the right twin.
Rose: Yes that’s right. I’m Rose. Thank you for checking. My sister, Snow, and I are identical twins and people never seem to be able to tell us apart.
I’m Charlotte and I’m a journalist. I’d just like to ask you a few questions for my speciality magazine. I promise this won’t be disclosed locally. Can you tell me a little about yourself? I understand that you grew up on this farm.
Rose: I’m not sure I’d call it a farm exactly. We have a few chickens and we grow enough fruits and vegetable that we only need to go into town once a week. I think this was originally a family estate. Mother inherited it from a great aunt or someone like that. Actually I think that’s where most of our money comes from. Here I am getting off topic, you asked about me. Yes I grew up here with my mother and sister and Roburt, our mechanical butler. It was a quiet, safe childhood. To sum it up in one word — boring.
You probably get this question a lot, but what’s it like having a twin?
Rose: It’s okay I actually like answering this question. Having a twin is only a burden when people A: think you are your sister, or B: don’t really care which of you they’re talking to. It’s annoying to think someone is your friend only to learn that they thought they were talking to the other twin. Being a twin is also frustrating when you are angry at your sister and all you can see in the mirror is her face staring at you.
What’s something that you particularly like, but Snow doesn’t?
Rose: It’s strange but Snow is the proper and practical one. She throws her hair up in a bun and is more comfortable in trousers. I love dressing up and putting effort into the way I look. Which I now realize is probably why I hate it when people can’t tell us apart.
I heard a rumour that you can do magic. Is that true?
Rose: Yes I and my sister are Lyrics. It means we are in tune with the world and can hear the literally music of creation. We can harness that song and shape it how we want.
Did you have to study to be able to use it?
Rose: Lyric magic is a natural talent. That said, those with the gift do need to be taught to control it. Children with the gift start using it at a young age. You can imagine the potential for harm when a child is able to wield nature itself. Lyrics go through years of music instruction. The music lessons teach technique as well as discipline. The structure of modern music also helps curbs the wildness of the magic and creates logical patterns for the Lyric to work with.
What style of music do you play? What’s your favourite instrument?
Rose: Any and all styles. I love all types of music. But if the question was what do I play the most? The answer would be ballads. My personal favorite is the one about Edmund Fitzgerald and how he drowned in the sea during a winter storm. It’s such a sad story and the tune is so haunting. The violin is my instrument of choice. It’s small portable and emotive. The guitar is my second favorite, again for its portability but also for the way it’s sound is naturally loud can carry to a large audience.
Now, I heard another rumour, that you’re friends with Prince Wickham. How did that happen? What exactly is the nature of your relationship? Is it true that the Prince resents his half-brother?
Rose: We certainly are friends. It all started last summer when the prince and his older brother literally showed up on our doorstep. They were injured and really needed help. As to the nature of the relationship–it’s complicated. You see it looks like my sister and his brother are going to be an item. And well, two royal brothers going out with twin sisters. It’s more pulp than the rumor mill needs right now. As for your second question, that is a fat no. Prince Wickham adores his older brother–half-brothers or not. He doesn’t resent him and Wickham also has no designs on the throne.
Moving on from that, it’s time for the three random questions.
What is something that never fails to make you laugh?
Rose: Puns. There is nothing better than a word joke. Unless it’s a music joke. Sadly, I don’t hear many music jokes. They always seem to fall flat.
I see what you did there with that pun.
What’s a food you vow never to eat?
Rose: Beans. I’ve heard them called the musical fruit. But that’s an instrument I do not enjoy playing.
If you inherited or won a million dollars, what’s the very first thing you would do with the money?
Rose: I should probably say something magnanimous like feed the poor and buy my mother a house. (We did kind of burn down the last one.) But if I was really free to spend the money as I wished, I would travel. I really want to see the world. I’ve spent so much time in the same house, going back and forth to the same small town. I need to see what else the world has to offer.
It sound like there’s quite a story about the house burning down. If I had a little more time I would ask you about that and about your mechanical butler. However, I must be off. Interdimensional travel and story meddlers wait for no woman. Thank you so much for talking with me, Rose. Farewell and safe travels, I wish you a perfectly ordinary life.
Well, that was very fun.
What one sister has, she must share with the other . . .
Snow loves music. She has spent her entire life learning, new instruments and memorizing new pieces, only to while away her life in a country manor with only her mother and twin sister as company. If only she could get out on her own and play in front of a real audience.
Rose loves magic. The things she can do with music would amaze her twin sister, but whenever she shows her, Snow quickly forgets as if the event had never happened. If only Rose could get out on her own and work some real magic.
When an airship crashes near their home, Snow’s magical abilities awaken. Together, the sisters must learn to use their magic, rescue a pair of cursed princes, and discover their own secrets.
Discover the magic of music in this retelling of Snow White and Rose Red.
Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0995BVZ4D
Add Book on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58518256-runaway-lyrics
Author Bio:
C.O. Bonham is the pen name for a commonly misspelled first name. She loves stories of all kinds, but really likes the ones that are weird, and outside the norm. A certified book geek, when she isn’t writing stories of her own, she is busy reading stories by others. A homeschool graduate with a degree in creative writing, her goal is to create stories that make people think, feel, and have fun.
Visit www.cobonham.com to read author interviews, book reviews, and to hear about what she’s working on next.
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For more Frosted Roses information including reviews of Runaway Lyrics and an interviw with C. O. Bonham, stop over at The Arista’s Directory of Retellings
Thank you for sharing about Rose and Runaway Lyrics today. Your interviewer asked brilliant questions. Rose had a great time answering them.