Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: Stacy Lynn Carroll and a Confession

Today’s #MMGM is a tell-all (or at least tell-tale?) interview with the fabulous author Stacy Lynn Carroll.  She’s spreading the word about her brand new book, Frogs and Toads, which is second in her Princess Sisters series!
Int FrogsAndToadsCover
But, before we jump into the interview…I have a confession.  Yes, of the kind that makes everyone else feel a bit brighter.  When I was writing up my questions for Stacy I noted her last name and thought, ‘oh, I wonder if she’s any relation to Lewis Carroll?  Wow, that would be so cool if she was.’  About the time I finished typing up that questions I remembered that Lewis Carroll was the pen name of Charles Dodgson, so, no, Stacy is most likely not a descendent or long lost cousin.  Not even by marriage.

That moment of silliness aside, I think we came up with some great Q and As here, and have to say what a delight it was to have Stacy over on the blog!  So let’s get right to the questions.
Int Carroll Author Pic
SW: All your princess sisters have Disney names.  Growing up, were you a Disney princess kind of girl?  Who did you dress up as?
SLC: I loved all Disney movies growing up! Still do! But honestly, I was not a princess girl as much as you might think. My favorites were the animal movies. Like 101 Dalmatians, Oliver and Company, Aristocats, Jungle Book, etc. I was one of those little kids who crawled around on all fours barking, because I wanted to be a dog.

SW: Do you have sisters, or best friends amongst your girl cousins?  What’s your policy on sharing clothes with sisters/friends, and would your characters agree with you?
SLC: I have three older sisters, but few cousins my age. I actually babysat my cousins more than I was friends with any of them, that’s the age difference. I am the youngest of four girls (with two younger brothers) but my sisters were all 3+ years older than me, so clothes was never an issue. When my sisters were in middle school and high school, I was still in elementary school and didn’t care about clothes. Then by the time I did care, they were all graduated and moved out, so I would have had to drive a couple hours to “borrow” anything. I was blessed with all their hand-me-downs though.
I think the closeness of my characters, they would easily share clothes with one another. I can imagine one cousin could go into another’s house and borrow something from their closet even when they aren’t home, and none of them would mind. Except maybe Belle. Belle would be a little stingier with her things, but she would still share as long as she was given adequate notice.
(Very Odd Side Note–I, SW, am also the youngest of four girls with two younger brothers!  Weird, eh?)

SW: Frogs and Toads has a very dramatic sneak peak–and a mystery man of Hollywood.  Tell us who your favorite star is, and whether you ever fantasized about having a famous relative as a child.
SLC: My two favorite stars of Hollywood are Jennifer Lawrence and Anna Kendrick. They are both so funny, on and off screen! They are both incredibly good actresses, and seem really fun to be around as well as really genuine and down-to-earth. I would honestly love to be BFF’s with either of them!
As for a famous relative, when I was in middle school, I dreamt that I was adopted. My real parents died and left me with this nice family (my real family). But I had an older brother who was adopted by someone else. That older brother was Lance Bass (from NSYNC). He apparently spent half his life looking for me, then one day he knocked on my door and we were reunited. (And he hooked me up with his good friend, JC Chasez)Hubba! Hubba! The dream was so realistic, I honestly kept waiting for him to show up on my doorstep. You can imagine my disappointment when he never did.

SW: You’re hosting a ball with an unlimited budget.  Do you make it masquerade with feathered masks, or more of the glass-slipper style with old-world grace?
SLC: It would absolutely be a glass slipper ball! I would definitely rent a castle, cause that would just be awesome! Okay, thinking of a castle makes me think we would definitely have to play the worlds biggest game of hide-and-seek after the dance. Tangent over: All the women would wear huge ball gowns, the men would have to be in tuxes though cause lets face it, older dressy costumes for men were not super flattering. We’d have a string quartet, dance the waltz, have a huge buffet table of food, and the castle would be decorated with shimmering, sparkling lights.

SW: For some reason, when I think of Disney princesses I think first of their pets (they all seem to have an animal sidekick) and secondly of teatime-style treats.  No idea where that second one comes from.  Tell us your favorite exotic animal, and if you’d want it for a pet.  And secondly, if you walked into an upscale party with a full array of treats, what would you sample first?
SLC: A tiger! Jasmine was one of my favorite princesses. Not because I liked her more per se, but because she had a pet tiger! I always thought that would be an awesome pet! I mean, who is gonna mess with the girl with a tiger? I would raise it up from a tiny baby so she would adore me and be super nice and domesticated, but then would secretly eat all the people I didn’t like.
Whenever I go to an upscale place (almost never) the first thing I eat is shrimp. Shrimp cocktail and fancy just seem to go hand-in-hand. I love shrimp! Knowing me, I’d probably pile my plate way too high with just shrimp and all the truly upscale ritzy people would look down on me and call me “shrimp girl”, and I would remain obliviously happy in my little corner chowing down on shrimp all night.

That’s it for Stacy’s questions–wasn’t she a trooper?  Everything I threw at her, she hit right out of the park.  And since I know you’re all curious to know more about Stacy’s book, here’s a blurb for Frogs and Toads:

One kiss can change the future…for better or for worse.

Belle and her cousins have conquered their fears. Now as they navigate their way through the dating world, they start to see a “happily ever after” on the horizon. But when an unexpected school assignment forces them to examine their past, the Princess sisters realize they have a lot of questions about the fathers they’ve never met. Secrets are revealed, long lost family members are discovered, and now the girls must decide who belongs in their future and who should be kept in the past.

Many congrats to Stacy on her release!  Please leave any questions you have in the comments and I’m sure we can persuade Stacy to come by and answer them. 🙂

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