Elizabeth Lowham is a fantasy author and a 2024 Whitney Award Finalist. When I learned Liz writes fairy tale retellings, you better believe I showed up in her inbox like a hungry dragon: TRADE? A big perk of being an author is the ability to swap review copies. Lucky for me Liz was game. I devoured Astra Remade, Liz‘s genderbent retelling of Rapunzel. And I had so much fun getting to know Liz in this interview. Please note: This interview first appeared in my newsletter. If you enjoy early access to interviews like these, consider subscribing.
Amy: What is your favorite fairy tale and least favorite fairy tale?
Liz: My favorite has always been Beauty and the Beast. I love the idea of seeing past appearances and first impressions, growing to love someone for who they truly are.
Least favorite is probably Hansel and Gretel? That story always scared me as a kid. Like, if I find a gingerbread house in the forest, I should be able to bask in the wonder without everything turning into a horror movie, haha.
Amy: We are both members of Team Fairy Tale Retellings Forever, but why is retelling fairy tales important?
Liz: There’s always magic in writing, but there’s a special magic when you know a reader enters a story with certain expectations. (Let’s say: prince charming, ugly stepsisters, lost shoe, ball, etc.) You get to play with those expectations. Maybe the stepsisters are secretly nice or maybe prince charming can’t speak.
You and the reader start from this shared foundation of love for a story, and then you get to play with “what if” and enjoy mixing the familiar with the unexpected. I think fairy tales last because they’re an ongoing conversation across cultures, and there’s always more to say.
Amy: I have a theory that everyone has a book, not necessarily a favorite, that makes such an impression on them that it starts them on their journey to becoming an author. What book turned you into an author?
Liz: The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks. After I got into that series, I sat down and tried to write a book seriously for the first time. I’d written stories before that, which usually ended up as single, abandoned pages, but something about the world of Shannara clicked for me, and before I knew it, I was writing a story about an elf girl in a forest who finds a magic sword.
It was literally a direct ripoff of Shannara, and I still didn’t finish it in the end, but it got me writing in a way I’d never written before, and the next book I started–which wasn’t a direct ripoff–was the first book I ever finished.
Amy: Astra’s story starts with a wish. If a blue fairy appeared in your life, what would you wish for?
Liz: “I wish to have a stronger spine.” I would mean it metaphorically, like being bolder and braver in life, but the fairy would take it literally, and I’d become some kind of mutant Superman with a spine of steel. Chaos would ensue. It would be adventurous.
Amy: Dust is a talented woodcarver. Astra does impressive embroidery. The descriptions of both of their arts adds a lot of beauty and depth to your story. Do you have a passion for a craft outside of writing?
Liz: Yes, indeed! I like to sew. I don’t have the patience for embroidery, and I use a sewing machine, but I’ve made some adorable stuffed animals. I also love to draw.
Amy: I don’t want to give away any spoilers, so I’ll just say that there are points in your story where Dust is compared to a fox. If you were in a similar situation, what animal would you be compared to?
Liz: A bunny, I think. “Aww, she’s so small and overly fluffy. Look at her button nose. Also she makes weird squeaking sounds and runs away from everything.”
Amy: The story alternates between Astra’s POV, written in first person, and Dust’s POV, written in third. What inspired you to change from first to third when you alternated POVs?
Liz: Dust’s isolation colors his entire world. He feels removed from the outside world and even from his own emotions in a way, so I wanted readers to feel the same distance that Dust feels, and I did that by “stepping the camera back,” if you will. Astra, on the other hand, is very self-absorbed, so the viewpoint is as “zoomed in” as you can get. I liked the contrast it gave to the characters.
Amy: The fairy realm is an incredibly imaginative and colorful place, what were your influences and what is your approach when it comes to world building?
Liz: I wanted to go very Lewis Carroll on this–to make a world where the laws of physics don’t apply and we can meet random creatures at any turn. Mostly, I just wanted it to be fun and wild (and dangerous).
I have a terrible approach to world building, which is that I literally just make it up as I go along. I focus on characters, and whatever the characters need, I let the world fill in. Then, after the book is finished, I have to go back and fix all the messes I made until I wind up with some kind of cohesive world held together with bungee cables and bandaids.
Amy: The chemistry between Astra and Dust is so good and so fun; it’s obvious that you have an eye for romance. What are some of your favorite romantic couples in literature and pop culture?
Liz: Leslie Knope and Ben Wyatt, my favorite couple of all time, my heart of hearts. Lucifer Morningstar and Chloe Decker, because of the importance of vulnerability and growth in romance. Adam Boyce and Persephone Lancaster, from my favorite Beauty and the Beast retelling. Honorary medal to Daisy and Gatsby for when I want my pining heart shredded in my chest.
Amy: What’s your favorite type of cookie?
Liz: Snickerdoodle. It was the first cookie I ever learned to make, the first time I ever baked by myself, and it will never be dethroned.
Amy: An excellent choice! Thank you so much, Liz!
Liz: Thank you for doing this interview with me! It was super fun. 😀