Meg Kassel’s latest novel is here and it’s a young adult fantasy novel titled Keeper of the Bees. We had the pleasure of sitting down with Meg to discuss her new book, writing, and more!
Keeper of the Bees has been described as a Beauty and The Beast retelling. Do you have any favourite versions of this fairy tale?:
Beauty by Robin McKinley, is my favourite. I found it at a library when I was in middle school. It was out of print then, but years later, I hunted down a used copy and I treasure it to this day. The first time I read it, I closed the cover and started it again. I still reread it every other year or so, and each time it’s like sinking into an armchair with a good friend. It’s straightforward, not deviating from the fairy tale, but the world building and personality infused into the characters makes me come back again and again.
How do you connect with your characters, to make them feel authentic?
Obviously, I’ve never been through what my supernatural characters have, but authenticity comes from inside, through experiences. Through living. I know what it’s like to feel elation and happiness; fury and hopelessness, and all the swill that floats in between. I’ve been in dark, dark holes, as most people have, and I’ve also known absurd levels of joy. In writing, all that can to be mined, filtered/interpreted through a character, and put on a page. It can be uncomfortable—it used to be very draining—but I’ve learned how to use memories and feelings in my writing without letting it take me for an emotional ride. I remember the reader has no idea what experiences I’m referencing from my own life to create the emotions in my characters.
Where did the story idea come from?
I kind of fell in love with my villain from my first book, and I wanted to see if I had the chops to make a villain into a hero. This book is the result of my selfish desire to hang out more with a Beekeeper and see what happened if one fell in love.
Do you have any writing rituals?
Green tea and chocolate. And music. I made a Pandora station, which, after five years, has distilled to near perfection. Also, not to be underestimated: a decent stretch of uninterrupted time.
What motivates your main character?
Dresden is a Beekeeper. These guys were villains from the first book, so I’m flipping the script on this one, and it was a challenge! He’s given up on ever breaking his curse, until he meet Essie, a teenage girl his bees want to sting. He pushes back on his curse and saves her, but he can never have predicted he would fall for her.
What character do you relate most to?
I can relate to both main characters, believe it or not. Dresden’s outsider mentality (reality) has always been something I’ve sat with, but most creative people have. I can also relate to Essie, the other main character in Keeper of the Bees. Although I don’t suffer from the Wickerton curse, I have always worked hard to keep grounded in reality. I sometimes struggle with small talk and practical matters of life. Also, I’m forgetful. I make lists and forget them. I have a little kid who can attest to this.
How many books did you write before becoming published?
Maybe 6 or 7? Maybe 8? I honestly don’t remember. I have a bunch of short stories that were awful. Many, MANY books that were started and abandoned because I began writing with an idea, but no story. I don’t do that anymore. There has to be a skeleton of story to build on before I put fingers to keyboard these days.
What are your non-writing passions?
I enjoy art, photographing nature, hiking the Maine woods. I’m learning to use the drum set in our basement. I love exercising with boxing gloves and a bag. I do yoga in the woods. I’m a member of my town’s community garden which raises vegetables for the local food pantry and of course, I still love to read.
Keeper of the Bees is now available to purchase at Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers. You can find out more about Keeper of the Bees on Entangled Publishing.
Have you read anything by Meg Kassel? Or will you be checking out her novels? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
KEEPER OF THE BEES is a tale of two teens who are both beautiful and beastly, and whose pasts are entangled in surprising and heartbreaking ways.
Dresden is cursed. His chest houses a hive of bees that he can’t stop from stinging people with psychosis-inducing venom. His face is a shifting montage of all the people who have died because of those stings. And he has been this way for centuries—since he was eighteen and magic flowed through his homeland, corrupting its people.
He follows harbingers of death, so at least his curse only affects those about to die anyway. But when he arrives in a Midwest town marked for death, he encounters Essie, a seventeen-year-old girl who suffers from debilitating delusions and hallucinations. His bees want to sting her on sight. But Essie doesn’t see a monster when she looks at Dresden.
Essie is fascinated and delighted by his changing features. Risking his own life, he holds back his bees and spares her. What starts out as a simple act of mercy ends up unraveling Dresden’s solitary life and Essie’s tormented one. Their impossible romance might even be powerful enough to unravel a centuries-old curse.
