It’s  my pleasure to have Gretchen from THE MAGIC MIRROR AND THE SEVENTH DWARF as my guest today (along with her author, Tia Nevitt). Before we launch into the interview, here’s the story:

Prince Richard is cursed. Enslaved to a magic mirror, he must truthfully answer the evil queen when she uses it to call on him. To keep from betraying innocents, Richard wanders the countryside and avoids people.

All her life, Gretchen has been teased for being small. When she hears of a hidden farm populated by little people like her, she sets out to find it – and is welcomed by the mostly male inhabitants. Lars in particular woos her with his gentle kindness and quiet strength.

Danger looms when Gretchen meets a runaway princess and offers her shelter at the Little Farm. Wandering nearby, Richard instantly falls in love with the beautiful princess, and is later compelled to tell the queen that she is not the fairest of them all. Enraged, the queen vows to find them and destroy them.

If either Gretchen or Richard are to have their happy endings, they must team up to break the mirror’s spell before the queen kills them all….

So, with all that being said, Gretchen, what’s your most distinguishing characteristic?

Well, I’m a dwarf. There really aren’t many of us. Before I left home, I had never met another person like myself. Other than that, I have blonde hair that most women envy, and I keep my figure trim—harder than you might think on such a short frame. I have a difficult time with running, and I tend to fall over easily. Which, of course sometimes people like to push me over because for some reason, it strikes people as funny to see me fall.

But then I heard about the dwarf farm, and I just had to see it for myself.

What was your life like growing up?

I grew up in a rambling old farmhouse and my favorite part of every day was getting up before anyone else and heading downstairs to milk the cow. The animals are pretty noisy, but other than that, it is the most peaceful time of the day, and I think I have a way with cows. My oldest brother and his family lived there because he is to inherit the farm one day, and I loved all my nieces and nephews.

But outside my family … well … being a dwarf maiden means you do not experience what most other young maidens experience. No one wants to dance with you or court you, and sometimes children throw stones at you. Most children like me now, but when I was younger, I guess I was just too strange. One distant cousin I used to watch as a teen remained my friend—his name is Fritz. Sometimes I used to think he got nervous about our friendship, as if I expected to marry him one day.

But no. He was not right for me. He’s way too tall.

Before the action in the book, what were your plans/hopes for the future?

Well, most young ladies want to marry, and I am no different. What other option is there for me, other than to remain with my parents until they die, and then become a burden on my oldest brother? I was not raised into any other way of life, as some women are. But I had never even been seriously kissed, and no one wanted to dance with me because the sight of a man all bent over to hold my hands was just too ridiculous.

So I wanted to find another man like me. I had no idea where to look. I had not heard that dwarfs tend to congregate in royal courts, where they become a source of comedy. But I would not have liked that, anyway.

What is your major skill or talent?

Well, like I said, I’m really good at milking cows. Most other animals like me as well. And children relate well to me.

If you had to pick another career, what would it be?

Other than Farm Girl? Is Farm Wife a valid answer? No? Well, I don’t know what else I can be. My other options might be Nun at a convent, where I suppose any woman is welcome. Or a Prostitute, where I suppose I’d at least be a novelty. I hear Spinsters can make good money, or Weavers or Seamstresses, but women in such occupations tend to get accused of witchery, and I’m afraid my dwarfish status already makes me prone to such accusations.

Who are your closest friends?

Well I never expected to befriend a princess, not to mention such a beautiful one. I tended to think all beautiful women were the same—selfish and superior. Princess Angelika—or Ange—had just spent the night limping through the forest after escaping her uncle, who—too put it politely—had been overcome by her beauty. I suppose I felt sorry for her. Plus she’s just so fun—she can make me laugh like no one else.

And I must mention Frau Marta, who not only was my landlady (I paid secret rent to her since she really had no work for me to do at the farm), but my mentor and friend. She was mentor to both Ange and me, and I hope to see both again someday.

Who do you love?

Why my own dear Lars. Who I met, of course, at the … but I should leave the telling of that to the story, shouldn’t I? He is my own sweet Nibelung (another thing you’ll have to read about in the story) and I am his fairest of all. Could it be any more perfect than that?

And a little about Tia, the Author:

Not even a stint in the military as an aircraft mechanic could erase Tia Nevitt’s love of fairy tales. To this day, she loves to read (and write) books that take her to another place, or another time, or both. She also dabbles in calligraphy, violin, piano and songwriting. Tia has worked on an assembly line, as a computer programmer, a technical writer and a business analyst. She lives in the southeast with her husband and daughter.

Tia’s novella, The Sevenfold Spell, won the 2012 EPIC ebook award for Fantasy.

• Website – http://www.tianevitt.com
• Blog – http://www.tianevitt.com/weblog
• Twitter – http://twitter.com/tianevitt

Buy Links for the Book:

Carina Press   Amazon