Interview with Elizabeth Helen (BONDED BY THORNS)
Elizabeth Helen is the combined pen-name of sister writing duo, Elizabeth and Helen. Elizabeth and Helen write fantasy romance, and love creating enchanting adventures for their characters. When they’re not writing, you can find them snuggling their cats, exploring their rainforest home, or rolling the dice for a game of Dungeons & Dragons.
Hi Elizabeth and Helen, welcome to the Fantasy Hive and our Women in SFF feature! Firstly, as a means of introduction, can you briefly describe Bonded by Thorns? What’s in store for our readers?
Hello! Thank you so much for having us! Bonded by Thorns is a why-choose Beauty and the Beast retelling with fae, magic, and lots of spice! It features an adorkable bookish heroine, Rosalina, who finds herself in the fae realm while searching for her missing father. She is trapped in an enchanted castle with four cursed fae princes: the grumpy Winter Prince, the mysterious Spring Prince, the flirtatious Summer Prince, and the sweet Autumn Prince. She also gets entangled with the villainous Prince of Thorns who holds secrets of his own. The only way for Rosalina to win her freedom is to break the curse upon the fae princes by finding their fated mates. As for what’s in store: adventure, humour, angst, and tons of romance!
Bonded by Thorns is a Beauty and the Beast retelling, so what drew you both to this fairytale?
We have always loved fairytales and stories about happily-ever-after. Beauty and the Beast has always been our favourite fairytale because we adore the theme of true love conquering all. When we decided we wanted to write a why-choose, we played around with many different ideas of what would fit. When we started discussing a fairytale retelling, Beauty and the Beast seemed perfect because there were so many different elements that would be fun to explore in a fae fantasy, such as the curse, fae bargains, and an enchanted castle.
Tell us a bit about your main character, Rosalina, who you both describe as Belle meets Evie from The Mummy. What kind of personality does she possess?
We absolutely love kick-ass, stabby, tough heroines – they’re some of our favourites to read about! But we’re nothing like that. We really wanted to write a heroine who was relatable, who the audience could see themselves in. Our goal was for Rosalina to feel like she could be someone walking down the street, or your best friend, or even yourself. One of the main themes explored in the Beasts of the Briar series is personal growth; the four main love interests have made a lot of mistakes and have a long way to go in the series. For this reason, we also wanted to depict Rosalina as someone who needs to find her courage and her own self worth. At her core, Rosalina is a compassionate, stubborn, tenacious individual who isn’t afraid to work hard for what she wants. She also loves to have fun, be silly, and embrace her quirks. In homage to the original Beauty, she’s curious and smart like Belle, and like Evie from The Mummy, she’s resourceful and will do anything for her family.
And your four princes? What can you tell us of them?
Our four cursed princes are each the High Ruler of one of the seasonal realms!
Keldarion is High Prince of the Winter Realm. With long, white-hair and a piercing blue gaze, Kel has been spurned in love before and he’s determined not to find his mate. Though a beautiful bookworm may make him change his mind…
Ezryn is High Prince of the Spring Realm. He always wears a helmet as only his fated mate is ever allowed to see his face. Mysterious and stern, Ez keeps the other princes in line.
Dayton is High Prince of the Summer Realm. A former gladiator, Dayton doesn’t believe there’s any problem he can’t fight, drink, or charm his way out of. Though he pretends to be free of any attachments, he has a soft spot for Farron.
Farron is High Prince of the Autumn Realm. Never without his reading glasses, Farron spends his days in the library, researching ways to break the curse, and pining over the Summer Prince. Kind-hearted and charming, Farron finds a kindred spirit in Rosalina.
How well do you think you’d fare in your fantasy world?
Not well at all! One sign of the goblins and we’d be running back through the rosebush, haha! Though, we’d do great in a fantasy world if it were like the Shire. Gardening, eating, reading books in trees … That sounds pretty nice!
Your book features spicy scenes, how did your family/friends react when they first read them?
We’ve been writing fantasy romance for such a long time, I don’t think anyone was overly surprised when it evolved to spice! Everyone has been super supportive, and it’s even encouraged many of them to read more in the genre!
What is it about the Romantasy genre that drew you in? What came first in your writing, the genre or the story?
Our first love was always Young Adult fantasy. We spent most of our career writing in this genre, though our favourite element of it was always the romance. As we got older, switching to writing adult fantasy romance felt like a natural progression. We both love tales of wonder, magic, and adventure. Adding in the elements of true love, personal struggle, and love persevering over all makes the stories even more interesting!
Did you create mood boards to help set the atmosphere of your story? If so, what did your mood board consist of?
We love gathering images into folders about the characters, the world, and the vibes of the story. Our favourite thing to do is to ‘fan-cast’ our characters as certain actors, and then look up TikTok edits of them. It’s fun to see your ‘character’ moving and smiling and speaking!
Which tropes in Romantasy do you enjoy writing and which do you avoid?
Our favourite trope of all time has to be ‘Who Did This To You?” There’s just something so fun about the sudden burst of protectiveness, especially if it’s delivered by a standoffish character! Another trope we love that can be a bit divisive is ‘Love At First Sight’. We love playing around with the idea that fate both can tie two people together but is also working to pull them apart. There’s no tropes we particularly avoid… for us, it’s more about what fits the story and characters!
Are there any other fairy tales you are drawn towards and would consider retelling in the future?
Oo, we’ve had ideas for everything from The Little Mermaid to Sleeping Beauty to Snow White. Not sure what’s next though!
How did you both find co-writing Bonded by Thorns together? Did you have any creative differences along the way?
We’ve been co-writing together since we were super small, so we’ve got a really great system down-pat now. We’ve had a lot of fun brainstorming the Briar world and creating the characters. Honestly, we never really have creative differences… if someone doesn’t like the direction something is going, we just tell the other person what the issue is, and we’re back on the same page!
Who are the most significant women in SFF who have shaped and influenced your work?
We absolutely fell in love with the world of whimsical fantasy after reading Diana Wynne Jones’ Howl’s Moving Castle. That book was influential in so many ways. I also think the rise of YA SFF, including dystopian fiction, such as Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games series shaped how we approached storytelling. Whenever I have writer’s block, I always pick up The Hunger Games and re-read the first chapter because it’s such a masterclass in storytelling. In addition, I feel like so many incredible women in YA SFF paved the way for the romantasy genre, such as Leigh Bardugo and Sabaa Tahir. We both consider The Ember in the Ashes to be one of our favorite books of all time.
Finally, what is the one thing you hope readers take away from your writing?
We hope Castletree is a place readers can escape to when they need to get away from reality, a place where magic is real, and love always prevails. We hope readers find kinship with Rosalina and the Princes and see that our past does not define us. Mostly, we hope the reader has fun adventuring in the Enchanted Vale!
Thank you so much for joining us for Women in SFF!
Thank you so much for having us!
Bonded by Thorns, Woven by Gold and Forged by Malice are all out today from Magpie. You can order them HERE
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