Book Title: The Severed Thread
Author: Leslie Vedder
Release Date: February 7, 2023
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Fairytale Retelling, LGBTQ+
Today is my stop on the Severed Thread tour with TBR and Beyond Tours and I am so excited that I got to do an interview with Leslie Vedder. I loved the Bone Spindle when I read it last year, and I cannot wait to devour the Severed Thread!
Synopsis:
Which threads of fate will hold—and which will break?
Clever, bookish Fi and her brash, ax-wielding partner Shane are back in this action packed sequel to the bestselling The Bone Spindle, the gender-flipped Sleeping Beauty retelling, perfect for fans of Sorcery of Thorns and The Cruel Prince.
Fi has awakened the sleeping prince, but the battle for Andar is far from over. The Spindle Witch, the Witch Hunters, and Fi’s own Butterfly Curse all stand between them and happily ever after.
Shane has her partner’s back. But she’s in for the fight of her life against Red, the right hand of the Spindle Witch who she’s also, foolishly, hellbent on saving.
Briar Rose would do anything to restore his kingdom. But there’s a darkness creeping inside him—a sinister bond to the Spindle Witch he can’t escape.
All hopes of restoring Andar rest on deciphering a mysterious book code, finding the hidden city of the last Witches, and uncovering a secret lost for centuries—one that just might hold the key to the Spindle Witch’s defeat. If they can all survive that long…
Set in a world of twisted fairytales, The Severed Thread combines lost ruins, ride-or-die friendships, and heart-pounding romance.
Interview:
Can you tell us a bit about your writing process for the Severed Thread? Was it similar or different to the Bone Spindle?
I wrote The Bone Spindle all at once and generally in chronological order. I’m very much a plotter, and I was mostly able to follow my road map for the first book. With The Severed Thread, I kept jumping ahead to write some of the most important scenes, which was lovely, but then the anticipation of actually getting there killed me!
Were there any perspectives or beliefs you tried to challenge with the Bone Spindle and the Severed Thread?
I think that destiny can be a really powerful force in fantasy, and I wanted to engage with what that would mean for my characters on a personal level. If you found out you had a great destiny to save a kingdom, that wouldn’t automatically make you a hero. And it was really important to me that Fi and Shane have agency and determination and not feel like they were pawns in their own story.
The characters of The Severed Thread all confront the idea of fate in one way or another—some of them fight against their fates, and some choose to embrace them. Ultimately each of them confront the choice of who they want to be, and realize that fate can’t make you brave, or strong, or right. Being a real hero is always a choice.
Who was your favorite character to write about? Are there any you relate to the most?
Shane is the character of my heart. I always adore the heroes with the devil-may-care attitude, who run headlong into danger. Shane is unapologetically herself at every moment, and that would have meant a lot to me when I was a teen and really unsure of myself. But I am definitely a bit more like Fi, better with books than people.
What, to you, are the most important elements of good writing?
There’s definitely no one right way to approach writing, but for me, my first love will always be characters! And I think I relate most to characters with flaws. I love Fi, who’s a bit prickly and so slow to trust, and Shane, who can pick a fight with anything and wouldn’t know tact if it jumped up and bit her! Digging into their flaws, the ways they bash their heads together and the ways they click, is what made writing The Severed Thread so fun for me.
If you could tell your younger writing-self anything, what would it be?
One of my favorite pieces of writing advice I ever got is: the only thing you can’t edit is a blank page. This is absolutely true for me! When I was younger, I would often get so hung up on getting something right the first time, I wouldn’t get anywhere. Young Leslie, editing is your best friend!
Is there anything you can tell us about what comes next on your writing journey?
I’m currently working on the final book of The Bone Spindle trilogy, and I am so excited for everything that’s in store for Fi and Shane and the crew! No spoilers, but I’ve been waiting forever to bring home the truth about the Butterfly Curse!
Beyond that, I am a fantasy lover through and through, and I definitely have more fairytale retellings I’d love to write!
Book Links:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53254083-the-severed-thread
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0593325850/
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-severed-thread-leslie-vedder/1141448876
Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/The-Severed-Thread-Leslie-Vedder/9780593325858
Indigo: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-severed-thread/9780593325858-item.htmlIndie
Bound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780593325858
About the Author:
Leslie Vedder (she/her) is a queer ace author who loves fairytale retellings with girl adventurers and heroes! She grew up on fantasy books, anime, fanfiction and the Lord of the Rings movies, and met her true love in high school choir. She graduated from San Francisco State University with a B.A. in creative writing and currently lives in Colorado with her wife and two spoiled house cats.
When she’s not reading or writing, you can find her watching anime and sci-fi shows, walking in the woods and pretending they’re enchanted forests, or playing old video games. She always collects all the Skulltulas in Zelda and all the Dalmation puppies in Kingdom Hearts.
Her debut YA novel THE BONE SPINDLE (Penguin/Razorbill) was an indie bestseller. The sequel THE SEVERED THREAD comes out Feb 7, 2023. Find her online at http://leslievedder.com/
Author Links:
Author Website: https://www.leslievedder.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/leslievedder
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leslie.vedder/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20233777.Leslie_Vedder
Tour Schedule:
Check out my last blog post: Cair (ARC Review)