The time it was about The Remnant Chronicles {3}

I feel like it’s safe to say that everyone is aware of my undying love and affection for Mary Pearson and her amazing kissing scenes books.  And of course I couldn’t wait to have my special Mary day during the read along posts.

I’ve already had her on the blog for the standard interview, so I came up with some different questions. Now, let’s welcome Mary!

1. Please give the elevator pitch for the series.

Princess Lia runs away on her wedding day, refusing to marry a prince she has never met. She begins a new anonymous life in a distant village where she gets work as a tavern maid. When two mysterious young men arrive in the village and she serves them at the tavern, she is unaware that one is the angry prince she jilted, and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Over time she begins to fall in love with one of them—but who? The prince or the assassin? Just like Lia, the reader doesn’t know who is who either.

Deception abounds on many levels throughout all three novels, and as events turn Lia must master deception if she is to survive.

2. Why do you love Lia and why should we root for her?

Because Lia doesn’t settle.  She values herself and others enough, not to settle for less than she or they deserve, even when it brings considerable risk to herself.

3. What Hogwarts houses would Lia, Kaden, and Rafe be sorted into?

Lia –  Ravenclaw (Because of her wit, her competitive spirit, and her determination to learn the truth.)

Rafe –  Gryffindor (Because of his bravery and daring. And there is that lion crest.)

Kaden – Hufflepuff (Because he is fiercely loyal, and though he has no family, he wants one. He needs to be loved.)

4. What is the weirdest thing you googled while doing research?

The topic wasn’t exactly weird—I researched endurance horse back riding so I could determine how long it would take Lia to go from Morrighan to Venda, but in the process I discovered the true story of two boys Louis and Temple Abernathy, who in 1911 rode their horses, alone, from New York to San Francisco in 62 days! And get this: They were eleven and seven years old at the time. Reality is every bit as fantastical as fantasy. It made Lia’s four month journey across a vast wild continent seem tame.

5. Of the entire series, what was your favorite scene to write?

Impossible! There were several in each book. In the first book, I loved the scene about halfway through where Lia learns who someone is. Oh boy, that was fun to write! I also loved writing the grave-digging scene (sob!) and then “the scene” (no spoilers!) at the end where someone shows up and Lia starts putting it together.

In the second book, I unexpectedly loved writing a scene toward the end where Lia lays into Griz, reading him his rights up one side and down the other. Her tirade took me by surprise. I lifted a virtual fist to the air as she ranted. The things she said really encapsulated the whole of her quest and I think could almost be called a mission statement for all three books.

In the last book there were several I loved writing because I had waited so long to write them! Several made me cry, but there’s an epic argument scene that I had a lot of fun with, and of course the final scene which–choke—well, I can’t say much—but it gave me shivers as I wrote it and it felt so right which made it one of my favorite scenes ever to write.

6. Were there any scenes that had to be cut that you wish could have stayed?

I often play whole scenes out in my head before I write them down. In The Heart of Betrayal there was a scene I wrote in my head in some detail where the Komizar locks Lia up in a tower and nearly starves her to death so she could know what it truly meant to be Vendan—and to teach her a lesson about his power.  It had some great visuals in it too, of the ruinous city. But timeline wise when I got to that point in the story, it didn’t fit so I didn’t include it, and character-wise, I think the Komizar starving Lia might have made Kaden and Rafe come undone or blow their cover sooner than I wanted them to.

Speed {ish} Round:

1. You can only read one book for the rest of  your life.  What is it?

I knew you were cruel. I’ve changed my answer about five times now, and think I will settle on something unusual—an encyclopedia volume. Any one will do. When I was a young child, our home library was limited, but we had two sets of encyclopedias.  I used to go grab a volume, lay it in my lap and open to any random page and begin reading. From there I would dream myself into new worlds, and imagine. Whether it was an entry on leaf biology or an overview of a distant nation I had never heard of before, I would first become absorbed in the facts, and from there my mind wandered into what ifs.  Great beginnings for stories.

2. Who is your favorite book boyfriend and book BFF?

Too many favorite BBFs to name one—Mal, Beast, Akiva, Arin, Khalid, Gen—and many more. But for BFF, Charley from Nil comes immediately to mind. That girl knows how to get out of trouble and keep a sense of humor about it. We all need a girlfriend like her.

3. If you could have tea party with any 3 characters, who would you invite?

Bilbo, Frodo, and Samwise, because who can do tea and treats better than a hobbit? And you never know, some interesting guests might stop by.

4. What is your go-to guilty pleasure thing to eat?

Chips and guacamole. Omigosh, don’t even get me started. (Do hobbits like chips and guac? I’m sure the California hobbits must.)

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Mary E. Pearson is the award-winning author of The Jenna Fox Chronicles, The Miles Between, A Room on Lorelei, and Scribbler of Dreams.

She writes full-time from her home office in California where she lives with her husband and two golden retrievers.

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Huge thanks to Mary for taking the time!! Make sure you’re checking out her website, following her on Twitter, liking her Facebook page, and adding all of her books to your Goodreads TBR shelf.

Don’t forget that there will be a Twitter chat and a Heart of Betrayal trivia game on the 27th at 9pm EST.  I’m in charge of the trivia and I’m having a lot of fun getting my questions together.  I hope you can join us.

For more details about the 3 month TRC extravaganza + a giveaway, go to the original post!