Behind the Scenes with Author Soman Chainani on the Mermaid Spotting in A WORLD WITHOUT PRINCES!

Don't forget! 

Enter to win this book 

(or any other Splashy book of your choice)!

Check out the Splash into Summer Main Pages at 
A Backwards Story, and Mermaid Vision Books 
where you can access the schedule!
You can also go here to get involved!

In Case You Missed It: 

I previously reviewed THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL!
(And I'll be reviewing A WORLD WITHOUT PRINCES in September. You're in for a treat with this book!!!)

Soman Chainani has also stopped by Fairy Tale Fortnight twice to talk about both books. 
Here's his first interview. 
His second interview includes an exclusive deleted scene!

The first thing I did when I held my eagerly-awaited, long-anticipated copy of A WORLD WITHOUT PRINCES by Soman Chainani in my hands was...open it up. This book is too pretty not to touch and pet. It even has deckled edges! The first page I opened to...had a mermaid.

I kid you not.

It was absolutely the most fortuitous of days!

I opened to a beautiful two-page spread of portraits hanging in the school halls:

The very first image I saw on this page was the mermaid:

I asked author Soman Chainani to tell us a little bit about this mermaid's backstory! (We could, of course, assume that, being a school full of fairy tale creatures, she was The Little Mermaid, but all of these characters have a backstory!)

The story behind this mermaid is fantastic, and showcases how highly Soman regards his fans!

(It's better than I ever DREAMED it would be! I love all the thought between every portrait on that spread now!!!)

Take a peek:

Soman Chainani's 
Story Behind the Mermaid 
in
A WORLD WITHOUT PRINCES

For the mermaid, I invited fans to submit their favorite fairy tale characters for portraits, including a 'made-up' history for them. I chose the best ones and we made the portraits accordingly. For that mermaid, here was exactly what the fan submitted:

New comment on your post "Want Your Favorite Fairy Tale in Book #2? Here's Your Chance!"
 
Author: Emma 
CHARACTER NAME: Pandora of Lilacbeach
CHARACTER SCHOOL: Good
CHARACTER BEST KNOWN AS: The Little Mermaid
CHARACTER BEST KNOWN FOR: Dreaming her whole life of going up to the human world from the sea (she was a mermaid). One day she saved a prince, she fell in love with him and asked the sea witch to transform her mermaid tail into legs. The sea witch said she would but if by dawn on the 3rd day if the prince didn't declare his love for Pandora then she would be turned into sea foam and watch the tears of everyone who ever got hurt by the prince or the sea and when they cried she to would cry and then the more she cried the farther she drifted away from the prince, for still he had said he didn't love her and married someone else he was still her true love.
DESCRIPTION: (Mermaid form) Green shimmering tail, naturally red flowing hair, purple tank-top, sea green eyes, pink lips. (Human form) Naturally red hair, dirty grey dress, sea green eyes, pink lips.

Soman Chainani's first novel, THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL, debuted on the New York Times Bestseller List, has been on ABA's National Indie Bestseller List for 11 weeks, has been translated into languages across six continents, and will soon be a major motion picture from Universal Studios. 

The sequel, A WORLD WITHOUT PRINCES, debuted on the New York Times Bestseller List as well. Together, the first two books of the series have been on the print and extended NYT lists for a total of 17 weeks.

As a writer and film director, Soman's films have played at over 150 film festivals around the world, winning more than 30 jury and audience prizes, and his writing awards include honors from Big Bear Lake, New Draft, the CAPE Foundation, the Sun Valley Writer’s Fellowship, and the coveted Shasha Grant, awarded by a jury of international film executives. 

When he’s not telling stories or teaching in New York City, Soman is a die-hard tennis player who never lost a first-round match for ten years . . . until he started writing THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL. Now he loses all the time.

Check out Soman's website and follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr!
You can also take an epically awesome quiz to find out 
if you'll be accepted into the School For Good or the School For Evil!

 ~*~

A WORLD WITHOUT PRINCES by Soman Chainani

 Publication date: April 15, 2014

Publisher: HarperCollins

SUMMARY:

In the epic sequel to the New York Times bestselling novel, THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL, Sophie and Agatha are home, living out their Ever After. But life isn’t quite the fairy tale they expected. 

When Agatha secretly wishes she’d chosen a different happy ending, she reopens the gates to the School for Good and Evil. But the world she and Sophie once knew has changed. Witches and princesses, warlocks and princes are no longer enemies. New bonds are forming; old bonds are being shattered. But underneath this uneasy arrangement, a war is brewing and a dangerous enemy rises. 

As Agatha and Sophie battle to restore peace, an unexpected threat could destroy everything, and everyone, they love—and this time, it comes from within. 

Soman Chainani has created a spectacular world that Newbery Medal-winning author Ann M. Martin calls, “a fairy tale like no other, complete with romance, magic, and humor that will keep you turning pages until the end.”