Sunday Rewind - Camille Griep, Author of Letters to Zell

The very first author interview I did was with Camille Griep.  This was a fabulous experience for 2 reasons:  1. I really liked both of her books, and 2. she's been a dear friend of mine for many years.  (Let's not talk about just HOW many years, OK?)  We did 2 episodes, one for each of her books.  In this post I'll be writing about her first novel, and you can find that episode here.

Interviewing a good friend is amazing, but before I sat down to read the books I had the terrifying thought of, "oh dear...what if I don't like them?"  I knew Camille was a good writer, but just what if?  What would I say?  "Wow, Cam...I really liked your use of...um...commas!"  Thankfully, I loved both books and could say so with no qualifications.

Here's the thing:  Camille can take a story that you already know, or are at least familiar with, and reimagine it to make you rethink the story or the characters.  Her first novel, Letters to Zell, did this with fairy tales.

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Everything is going according to story for CeCi (Cinderella), Bianca (Snow White), and Rory (Sleeping Beauty)—until the day that Zell (Rapunzel) decides to leave Grimmland and pursue her life. Now, Zell’s best friends are left to wonder whether their own passions are worth risking their predetermined “happily ever afters,” regardless of the consequences. CeCi wonders whether she should become a professional chef, sharp-tongued and quick-witted Bianca wants to escape an engagement to her platonic friend, and Rory will do anything to make her boorish husband love her. But as Bianca’s wedding approaches, can they escape their fates—and is there enough wine in all of the Realm to help them?

In this hilarious modern interpretation of the fairy-tale stories we all know and love, Letters to Zell explores what happens when women abandon the stories they didn’t write for themselves and go completely off script to follow their dreams. (Source)

The book is written in the form of letters that CeCi, Bianca, and Rory write to Zell after she moves away from them.  They aren't terribly happy with Zell's decision, but as they write to her about the daily happenings of their lives they each begin to realize that those lives might not be quite what they wanted or hoped for.  Each woman must face her own situation and figure out if it truly makes her happy.  We never hear directly from Zell but still get the gist of her story and

Genres:

• Fantasy
• Romance
• Women's Literature

What I loved:

• The way the book makes the fairy tale characters more real and gives the princesses agency in their own stories.
• The evolution of both the characters and their friendship.
• The humor, which tends toward snarky (in a good way, I promise!).

Who should read Letters to Zell:

• Anyone who loves fairy tales.
• Anyone who loves modern fairy tales.
• Anyone who has ever wondered, "but then what happened?" after the supposed happily ever after.
• Anyone who loves books that revolve around strong, female friendships.
• Anyone who has ever wanted to chuck it all and go start a unicorn farm.

Great quotes:

• "It's not the end of anything as long as we treat it like another beginning." -Ceci
• "Wouldn't we be better friends to one another, better lovers, better people if we all believed the best of ourselves, our friends, the future--at least every once in awhile?" -Ceci

Where you can find Camille online:

Website: http://camillegriep.wpengine.com

Twitter: @CamilleTheGriep

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