Today we talk about The Stone of Power, a book by Weronika Madryas published with our publishing house Europe Books.
Europe Books had the pleasure of interviewing the author, Weronika Madryas, to get to know her
better, where she found the inspiration to write her fairytale The Stone of Power, as well as what is
her fairytale of all times.
Below you can find our interview. Take a seat and enjoy your reading!!!
- Where did you find the inspiration to write your fairy tale?
The idea developed slowly. Firstly, over many years, the community of immortals developed in my imagination. These include the main characters of my forest tales: forest wotsits, flutterbyes, fleurettes, trudgers and chanters, as well as the town-dwellers – the urban wotsits. After so many years, I sometimes recognise a wotsit or flutterby in someone. It always pleases me when it happens, because from the very start I wanted my characters to have human virtues and foibles. Once they were fixed in my imagination, I decided to entangle them in a larger adventure. I wanted them to leave their cosy homes, their cocoons, dens and treeholes, their flower cups, cracks in the floor, and to go on a journey. And seeing they needed to travel, their had to be a purpose for the trip. It couldn’t be an easy goal, it had to be something challenging, demanding courage, determination, common sense, imagination and loyalty to their companions. So, step by step, the idea for the first book of the Stone of Power, titled The Little Ones Search for the Blue Needle. The Stone from the title has magical powers and whoever has it can rule the world. That makes it the object of desire of the cunning and cruel sorcerer Rufon, aided and abetted by the merciless Ice Queen. Once I’d finished the tale, I set about writing the next one. In the end, I reached the end of the fourth book and had the feeling that I’d finished writing the story of the Stone of Power.
- Who is the ideal reader of your fairy tales and what would you like to hear from them?
Who do I write for? Well, above all, for children and young people, but also for those adults who enjoy returning to fairy tales. I’d love them to tell me that the Stone of Power was an interesting tale that they couldn’t put dow. I was told just such a thing last week. I’ll tell you about it. In October, my story The Tale of the Tooth Fairy and Mr Coin was published by ARTI. I dedicated it to several friends who all have children. It’s a fairy tale for really little children, so it’s read by the parents, just before bedtime. So when my friend said his three-year-old boy wouldn’t let him stop and insisted he read the whole story, it was really lovely to hear. That’s what i’d love to hear from my readers. And if they added that they found something of value in the Stone of Power, I’d be delighted. I don’t think it’s vain for a writer to have such ambitions. It’s a confirmation that their work has some meaning and value. A book, like a painting or a pretty tune, can capture your attention, move you and linger in your memory. I wish my readers experience happy moments through my books, accompanied by emotion, joy, a little bit of anxiety and curiosity about what might happen next.
- What are the messages you would like to convey with your book?
I’ve always considered that life isn’t just about the goal, but it’s also about the journey. Today, I would add company to that. My work reflects my beliefs. In the Stone of Power we find sense both in the journey that needs to be made to achieve the goal, as well as in the companions on that journey. In order to stop evil, the Blue Needle must be retrieved from the top of the Needle Tree. The tree grows at the end of a path, winding along a precipice that separates the dark part of the world from the bright and sunny side. My heroes set off on an adventure-filled journey for the needle, during which they meet the devious Lizardly, as well as the brave Eagle Lord and his valiant knights. The journey is a test of their friendship, loyalty and determination in achieving their goal and their faith in the rightness of their convictions. It’s a test they all pass with flying colours. I try to create worlds where good ultimately prevails. I also hope that my readers will be convinced that it’s always worth fighting for a just cause and not to be deterred by the vagaries of fate. I believe that true failure belongs to he who doesn’t try.
- What is your favorite fairy tale of all times and why?
From my childhood, I remember the tales of Hans Christian Andersen. I still have the collection published in 1980 with illustrations by J.M. Szancer. My favourite fairy tale is The Steadfast Tin Soldier. I was moved by the deeds of the one-legged hero with a sensitive and bold heart. In that discovered, as a little girl, much of that which I try to write about today. I was fascinated by the journey in the newspaper boat, the meeting with the rat, being swallowed by the enormous fish, and so with the whole extraordinariness of the path he had to cross to return home and find what mattered to him most of all. The ending saddened me, but the transformation of the soldier into a heart was startling and out of the ordinary. Today, I discover new meanings in the tale and that’s something I love about such stories. I also gladly return to The Teapot, the Daisy and Thumbelina. Another revelation to me was the stories of Charles Dickens, especially The Cricket on the Hearth and A Christmas Carol. I also read Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi and the Wizard of Oz by Lyman Frank Baum. Not too long ago I also read a beautiful novel called the Grey House by Katarzyna Szestak, who won the Piórko [Quill] literary contest in 2015.
- Are you working on new writing projects that you can tell us about?
I am working on some new tales. Most probably the Enchanted Violin Case will come out in 2025. It’s a tale about a young violinist who inherits a special gift from his teacher of a violin case. It turns out that the case houses an unusual guest who gives the young musician some important advice. At the same time, I’m also trying to find the funding to publish a fairy tale about friendship titled The Droplet for the patients of Przylądek Nadzieja – Ponadregionalny Centrum Onkologii Dziecięcej [the Cape of Good Hope – Supra-regional Children’s Cancer Centre] in Wrocław. My literary dream is to publish further parts of the Stone of Power: volume 2, Sanesa, the true daughter of the Forest Chanter, volume 3, The Wolf King and volume 4 The Tales of Ernest the Forest Wotsit. This is the continuation of the story which I’ve been telling you about today and which I hope you will read. The desire to possess the Stone of Power continues and doesn’t disappear with the end of the first part. New characters appear, humans, a dragon, witches, as well as power hungry wolves. I hope to be able to tell you in future about the challenges faced by our intrepid heroes from the The Little Ones Search for the Blue Needle. I am sure this will happen and you will be able to follow the further adventures of my tale.
Europe Books thanks the author, Weronika Madryas, once again for taking the time and answering our questions. We are really pleased to have walked alongside her on the editorial path that led to the publication of her book The Stone of Power. We wish her the best of luck for her future works.
To you, my readers, may this book let you to remember the goals you want to achieve in your life, but more importantly to remember the journey you are taking to achieve those goals and especially with whom you are doing it and who/what else you would like to be surrounded by. It is also extremely important to remember to never give up even in the face of difficulties that constantly arise. Keep up believing!
So, my dear reader, all I have to say is to enjoy your reading!
Your editor!