I am thrilled to have interviewed author Chantal Gadoury, who shared with us details of her writing life, her book ‘Until the Last Page‘, which was released on 6th August 2024, and answered a few fun questions. This post contains affiliate links.

Chantal Gadoury is a best selling fairytale-retelling and romance author, living in the beautiful countryside of Muncy, Pennsylvania with her mom.

When Chantal isn’t pursuing her next writing endeavor, she enjoys spending time with her loved ones, and taking long walks to the sounds of BTS. She is a TikTok enthusiast, loves all things Disney and loves a good, romantic K-Drama.

Chantal first started writing stories at the age of seven and continues that love of writing today. After graduating from Susquehanna University with a degree in Creative Writing, writing novels has become a dream come true.

It really started with Dustin and Suzy’s duet of “The Neverending Story” in Stranger Things. I’d just finished watching a K-Drama called W: Two Worlds in which a young woman is pulled into a manga, and falls for the main male lead. When I’d had the “The Neverending Story” song stuck in my head, I started to wonder what it would be like to read a book where a woman was instead, sucked into a book of fairytales. I thought about it so much that I started to plot out a story idea, and UNTIL THE LAST PAGE was born.

I did a lot of my planning in my head or in my composition notebook. Visually, I “plotted” the book in my pinterest board I’d created for my “fairytale WIP,” and started to carve out a soundtrack, in the hopes of creating a vibe that I could follow as I wrote.

I don’t really remember the exact moment when I’d finally titled the book, but I know it had taken me quite a bit to find the perfect one. I think I’d already written the first few chapters when I finally settled on “Until the Last Page” with the help of my Mom.

Josephine was given her name based purely on my love of Little Women, and I thought it was so clever to write about a girl who was named after a character in a story – who falls into a story. Aneurin was really a stand-in name I’d used – based on the man who inspired the character. I love the performance of Aneurin Barnard as Richard III in The White Queen and using his name temporarily just worked. That is, until it just stuck.

I did a lot of reading the traditional Grimm Brothers Fairytales; I wanted to make sure that I was honoring the way they’d originally written them. Of course, I watched a lot of Disney movies, and listened to so many classic Disney soundtracks. I googled “how to use a spinning wheel” (you know, I needed to learn how to accurately spin straw into gold) and “Sweeney Todd ovens” (it’s important to know if it’s witch-sized.)

Fairytale retellings, fantasy, and romance have always been my go-to genre. It’s a place that I enjoy spending my time and my imagination in. I’d say at this point, this genre has chosen me.

This story wasn’t something I just came up with and finished in a year. I started the outline in 2019, and shelved it a bit during covid. I think it was finally in 2021 that I finally revisited the story, and in 2022, I sat down and finished the rest of the book. My mom would jokingly say it’s taken me a lifetime to write this book, but we can call it ‘a few years.’

adventurous, romantic, and ribbiting

Writing. Writing is so hard. Making time to write. Feeling inspired to write. Being connected enough to what you’re writing to want to continue. And, all the self-doubt that comes with being a writer: does this sound dumb? Who is even going to want to read this? . . . Don’t even get me started on editing!

This is a cozy, fun read – it’s going to make you feel reconnected with fairy tales that you loved as a child. And it might even make you believe in magic again!

I did have a dog – a yorkie – named Taran. I dedicated my book to him when he died in March of 2024. Just as I say there, he will always be the prince of my heart.

I like to write only by listening to movie scores. I can’t listen to music with words at all – I find it way too distracting. It might be a quirk – but, I usually get my inspiration when I’m in the shower, and I have to race to my computer to write it down before I forget everything. Sometimes my showers are so quick because I have to write down the idea before I lose it.

I write in my room, mostly. I actually finished writing UNTIL THE LAST PAGE in the guest room of our house. My room was too cold to sleep in (until we started up the wood stove) – and I spent many nights staying up in the guest room, writing away!

I think the only option I’d have would be either a servant in a castle, or a guest to a glittering ball. (If I got to wear a beautiful ball gown, I wouldn’t be sad with that choice at all!)

“Whooo would have thought I’d be hooked until the last page?!”

A big thank you to Chantal Gadoury for sharing her writing life with us and for a wonderful interview.