Anne Elisabeth Stengl's Blog, page 26

VEILED ROSE Read-Along: Chapter 5, Part Two

Rose Red has a difficult decision to make in this chapter . . . but before we can dive in, I want to announce the winner of this week's giveaway! The name of our winner is:

Nathan Manning

Congratulations, Nathan! Please email me (aestengl@gmail.com) your mailing address, and I will be certain to get your prize out to you shortly.

A quick reminder to the rest of you as we head into this new week: If you need information on how to enter your name in the weekly giveaways, please check the November 30 post on the subject. Enlightenment will follow.

And ask your questions. I will answer them as soon as may be.

Now on with the story.

PART TWO
Chapter 5

Voices in her head: Rose Red must truly believe she is going mad, for she refuses to believe that the voices in her head are real. Of course we all know that if you think you are mad, that’s probably good reason right there to know that you’re not. Mad people don’t recognize their madness.

But Rose Red will not allow herself to consider this. She simply tells herself that the voice of the Dream, her Imaginary Friend, and even Beana are all simply her own imaginative fancies, brought on by her loneliness. They can’t possibly be real. No matter how dearly she loves or fears them, they can’t be real.

Or can they?

Leaving the Mountain: So Rose Red informs Beana that they must leave the mountain. And Beana nearly has a heart attack, poor goat! She seems almost to mimic the Dragon’s voice in her urgency to keep Rose Red hidden away. No wonder Rose Red is so confused as to who is her friend and who is her enemy . . . her friends and her enemies sound so much alike!

Veil snatched away: When the tree limb snags her veil and drags it off her face, Rose Red immediately crumples into a ball, hiding herself. Even in the middle of the forest. Even though there is no one but Beana to see her. She is so terrified of being seen, of being known, that such a little thing can undo her. Our strong, courageous Rose Red reduced to shuddering terror.

How many of us are like her, I wonder? How many of us live in fear that our true selves, our true faces, will be seen? How many of us hide the truth even from ourselves? Probably more than any of us likes to admit. Rose Red is a unique, individual character. But she is also a universal, an everyman.

The wood thrush’s song: Once more, the wood thrush sings, and his voice brings a certain clarity and peace, even to Rose Red’s troubled mind, even to Beana’s anxieties. I think Beana knew in that moment that she could no longer keep her charge hidden. Rose Red is growing up. No one is meant to hide away for an entire lifetime! She has to live, even if only for a little while. And it would be wrong for Beana to try to shield her.

So, though it is an unwelcome peace, Beana does suddenly feel peace at the prospect of letting her charge out of the little, protective circle she has made.

The name: But Beana does not want Rose Red to leave the mountain unprotected. So she gives her a name. A name readers of Heartlesswill recognize. A name we saw the goblin merchant, Torkom, hiss through jutting teeth when he encountered the Prince of Farthestshore. It’s a strange, harsh-sounding name in a language Rose Red does not know. Beana tells her, “I give it to you in your own tongue, darling, though you may not understand it.”

Eshkhan.

“Don’t be daft, Beana.” Rose Red, of course, doesn’t want to believe in this nonsense. She doesn’t want to believe that a name like that in a tongue she does not know can be of any use to her. She lives such a strange life, surrounded by weird imaginings (she believes), so she wants to depend on things she can know and touch, things she calls reality. She wants to depend on her own constitution.

And she wants to depend on Leo.

The Other: Yet another mention of the Other, whom Beana fears will call Rose Red in an irresistible voice. But Beana cannot hide the girl any longer. They will have to take the risk.

There’s a little hint as to the truth about Beana here too. “. . . many times she was tempted to stand upright, to shed all pretenses . . . She would not. No, by grace and good courage, Beana would continue as she had been all these years.”

There is a strong implication here that Beana is not really a goat. That she merely wears the outer form of a goat. And for now at least, she’ll stick to that shape.

A year and a day: And so her Dream realizes that Rose Red will go. But he warns her that she must return to him within a year and a day. Otherwise, he will come for her himself.

The “year and a day” motif is a familiar one in great literature. I think I first encountered it in the Arthurian poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, in which the titular Gawain accepts a challenge from a mysterious “Green Knight.” Gawain is told to strike the knight with his axe, but only if he is willing to take a return blow in a year and a day. Gawain beheads the knight with a single blow . . . and the knight proceeds to pick up his head and march from the door, reminding Gawain that he must receive the return at the appointed time.

It’s great reading!

So, in a little nod to Gawain and his quest, I gave my Rose Red a year and a day to return to the mountain. And if she does not . . . well. We’ll see what becomes of her then.

Questions on the text:

1. Why do you think the Dragon is so vehement that Rose Red must stay on the mountain? Why doesn’t he want her going down to Leo’s house?

2. Was Beana right or wrong to give in so quickly, knowing what she knows? Or should she have given in sooner for Rose Red’s sake?

3. Any favorite lines?

Q&A

Heather wants to know: "You seem to have this fascination with dreams. The topic of it has come up with the first three books. In Dragonwitch too, I believe. So why the fascination?" 

I don't know if I have a particular reason for my fascination with dreams. Once I  began the theme in Heartless (as inspired by the line "The Nightmare Life-in-Death was she" from Rime of the Ancient Mariner), it was such an interesting one, I wanted to keep exploring it. Dragonwitch deals with dreams in a big way, and Golden Daughter (book 7, coming 2014) is heavily involved in the dream world. In fact, we'll learn a whole lot more about it and its workings then. I had a lot of fun exploring the possibilities, and I've still only just scratched the surface of ideas.

But as for a reason for the fascination, I couldn't really give you one. But seriously, who doesn't find dreams fascinating?

Heather also wants to know: "Did the idea for the Faerie paths come from somewhere else or were they your in invention?"

As far as I know, they are my own invention. I may have been unconsciously inspired by something read way back when, but I cannot honestly recall anything very much like them now. And if I was inspired, it was unconsciously so. But I'm pretty sure they're my own.

Heather also asks: "Unicorns are generally nice in fiction. Why are they frightening in your books?"

Because unicorns are generally nice in fiction . . . so I thought, why not do something completely different!

Jemma wants to know: "Will Shadow hand be released in Autumn for me? Because I live in Australia which is in the southern hemisphere."

I'm afraid I don't actually know the answer to that question. Sorry! I'm never even entirely certain when my books will release in the States, things get switched up so often. I would imagine it'll be out by Autumn though. Have you gotten Dragonwitch over there yet?

Caitlyn wants to know: "Is there a 'literary nod' to The Hobbit (Tolkien) when the dwarves sang songs and Bilbo dreamed of adventure?"

Not that I know of, no. I don't remember every intentionally putting a literary nod to Tolkien in any of my books. Was there a particular passage that struck you this way? In my own reading of the chapter, I don't see a bit that makes me think of Tolkien. Though, as I have said, sometimes literary nods may be unconscious, so it's certainly not beyond the realm of possibility! (Sorry I missed this question before.)

Allison wants to know: "Why does the Prince so often take the form of an animal when protecting people?"

I think it's because, as an animal, his presence is less overt. If he appeared in the form of a man every time, his would be so much more dominating of a presence, less of an influential presence. So having him appear in animal form (specifically as the wood thrush in this book) is, I think, more symbolic of the influence of the Holy Spirits in the lives of people. A powerful influence, not necessarily an overt force (though, as necessary, he can be an overt force as well).

Also, it's a fairy tale. The animal forms are much more in keeping with the fairy tale mood and feel.


I think that's everyone's question, but please let me know if I missed you! I will try to keep up a little better this next week.

VEILED ROSE Read-Along: Chapter 4, Part Two

One more day to get your name entered in this week's giveaway! Be certain to check out the November 30 post for details. The more entries you do, the greater chance that you'll be picked a winner and receive a signed copy of Veiled Rose (along with various bookmarks and other swag).

But in the meanwhile, we have another chapter to cover.

PART TWOChapter 4
Given up? Picking up with Leo again at the beginning of this chapter, it’s hard not to think that he’s given up on finding Rose Red. Other than that one escapade out into the forest (initiated by Daylily), he doesn’t seem to be making any other effort. He’s happy to sit playing cards and chess with Daylily instead.

Is he truly falling for Daylily, her pretty face and her cold manner? Has he forgotten about the close friendship he shared with Rosie? Granted, that friendship lasted only for a summer, and that summer is now many years gone. But surely they shared a deeper connection than this behavior of his would imply!

I wonder if—as this scene seems to imply—Leo is actually a little bit afraid of finding Rose Red again. Because if he finds her, he will have to face all over again what he glimpsed in the pool inside the Wolf’s Head cave. Rose Red represents both things he loves and things he fears. And sometimes it’s easier not to love so that there’s no need to fear . . .

The specter: Leo is certainly not alone. Something is always near him, always watching him. Something he cannot see. Something that is, for the moment at least, keeping very quiet.

Something that wants him to choose his dream.

Play little girl: I think it’s kind of sweet that Daylily sees this summer at Hill House as an opportunity to be . . . well, honestly, to be her own age. Because she’s only sixteen. And in that culture, sixteen is an age to be courted and married, but it doesn’t mean she’s really grown up.

This time with Leo allows her to be herself a little bit more than she usually is. She still wears her dignified masks, but I bet she lets down her guard a little while playing chess and cards and relaxing at Hill House. And perhaps she continues to view Leo as nothing more than a prize to catch . . . but perhaps he’s starting to mean something more to her as well.

Perhaps he’s starting to mean a sort of freedom she never before considered possible. And that is an appealing prospect.

Daylily’s veils: Just as Daylily is not one to reveal her feelings, neither does the narrative give us too much on which to base our opinions of her. Nothing is told straight-out. Is she jealous of Rose Red? Is she merely irritated at Leo? Is she starting to form stronger feelings for him, or does she view him as a young idiot whom she must snare? Or possibly all at once!

But Daylily wears her veils and does not tell us. And the narrative refuses to tell us either, urging us to engage with the text and come to our own conclusions.

Foxbrush’s love letters: Oh, dear. Our poor, oil-haired, squint-eyed Foxbrush has gone and fallen in love with beautiful Lady Daylily . . . and he’s even writing her love letters! What a hopeless match that would be, particularly since Daylily completely scorns Leo’s foolish cousin.

Again, Foxbrush does not shine at all through Daylily’s eyes, no more than he does through Leo’s. Is it possible that there might ever be a perspective on Foxbrush that is more forgiving? Is it possible that there might be something worthwhile in this unprepossessing boy?

I say anything is possible . . .

“I saw her myself.” Again, I wonder if Rose Red wasn’t wearing her veil in that scene a few chapters back. I honestly don’t remember what I’d intended, but it never mentions that she is wearing the veil, so it’s quite possible that she wasn’t.

Which means Leo also knows exactly what Rose Red is hiding, even though we readers don’t.

Bebo’s crown: That’s a new little slang phrase that Leo mutters there! I think Bebo was first mentioned at the beginning of Heartless, though I might be mistaken. I know her Flowing Gold was mentioned, so that’s an indirect reference to Queen Bebo anyway. It’s fun to see all the various mythologies I’d been developing for years before this novel too shape coming into play and giving the world just a little bit more depth and interest.

And, considering what happens to Leo in the next book, it’s fun to see him muttering phrases like this here. Heheheh.

Thrush Song: So many of you might not know what a wood thrush sounds like. In case you’re curious, here’s a link you can click to hear. When I drafted Heartless, there was a wood thrush that lived outside of my window, and I used to hear it sing every morning and afternoon. I had not planned to include a wood thrush in my story . . . not specifically. But the song of that bird wound its way into that novel and became one of the most important themes, not only in that book, but in the series as a whole.

A ghostly figure in the moonlight: And so Leo, compelled by some force he does not know or recognize, wanders into the graveyard one moonlit night and sees a strange apparition. Or, not so strange after all. Frightening, yes, but familiar.

Good Leo: I find myself warming to Leo in this scene. As frightening as Rose Red is, he puts out a hand and takes hers. He may be weak and he maybe immature. But he does love her, he does care about her. He shows more courage in this scene perhaps than we’ve ever before seen in him. Deep down inside, Leo does have a good heart.

“Then you didn’t see—” Again, the narrative doesn’t give us specifics. Is Rose Red referring to her Dream here? Or to herself?

One way or the other, Leo insists that there is no monster. (But we don’t know the importance of this insistence until his revelation at the very end of the book.)

Questions on the text:

1. So, Daylily’s perspective on Leo . . . is she jealous of Rose Red, the “goat girl”? Or is she simply frustrated that Leo isn’t giving her the proper attention? Depending on your perspective, your view of Daylily should be drastically altered one way or the other.

2. When Rose Red wonders if Leo saw something in the pool, do you think she was referring to the Dream or to herself? Or to something else entirely?

3. What were your favorite lines in this chapter?

VEILED ROSE Read-Along: Chapter 3, Part Two

I'm sure you already know but, just in case you are a new reader and don't know, I feel I must remind you . . . if you want details on how to enter the weekly giveaways for this read-along, please check the November 30 post. It should have all the info you'll need.

Also, for you e-readers out there . . . the Tales of Goldstone Wood are all being offered for enormous discounts on Kindle right now! Heartless is free, Veiled Rose, Moonblood, Starflower, and Dragonwitch are all being offered at 1.99, and my new novella, Goddess Tithe , is at .99. You should totally take advantage of this offer and tell your friends so they can too.


I also promise to answer any questions you leave in the comments as soon as I possibly can. I try to answer them the very next day, but sometimes they pile up. I got a bit behind this week due to sickness, but I believe I'm all caught up now! Let me know if I missed your question.

And now, back to our story.

PART TWOChapter 3
“You cannot be parted from me.” In this scene, we find Rose Red once more kneeling in her dreams before the pool of water and the strange Dream that lives therein. He insists that no one loves her as he does, that there is no friend so constant as he. He insists that Rose Red does not wish to parted from him. And perhaps, in a frightening sort of way, he’s right.

For the Dream represents much more than just a frightening image that haunts Rose Red’s subconscious. He is her loneliness and her depression personified. One of his names is the Death of Dreams. We see in him the destruction of everything Rose Red longs for.

So why would she not be able to bear being parted from him? Or is the Dream just lying?

I don’t think so. I think there is a strange, bitter truth in what he says. For when our dreams are destroyed, it can be very difficult to pick up and move on. So much easier—in a frightening way, so much safer—to stay in our familiar misery. To fellowship with our despair, even as we see Rose Red doing here. She loathes this Dream, and yet she does not leave him. Why not? Why would something so despicable maintain such a hold on her?

If we truly knew the answer to that question, how different all of our lives would be.

A Threat: The scene ends with a frightening threat. Although the Dragon lost the dice game to his sister and cannot take Leo for one of his own, he certainly has other tricks up his sleeve to make life miserable for our young hero. Perhaps not death. Perhaps a Death-in-Life . . .

The Thrush: We see the gentle offering of comfort from the wood thrush as the chapter progresses. But Rose Red refuses to be comforted. Perhaps she truly doesn’t believe he can comfort her. Or perhaps she really is clinging to the darkness of the Dream. The darkness of her despair.

Her grievances are many, and she seems almost to be accusing the thrush for all the evils in her life. The starvation. The loneliness. Her hidden face. And especially the loss of one she loves so dearly.

Rose Red’s short life has been bitter indeed. It’s difficult to blame her in this scene, though my heart aches for her to accept the comfort and love so near. But sometimes, it’s just so hard to be hopeful. Sometimes it’s so hard to hear that gentle Voice. I think many of us can relate to Rose Red’s despair, and it is difficult to sit in judgment on her.

Imagery: The image of our veiled Rose Red wafting through the little Hill House graveyard is both sad and eerie. It gave me a little bit of a shiver. A lonely sort of shiver. (Though the spider building a web in the mouth of the stone panther made me laugh.)

The Roses: An interesting little bit of foreshadowing for the upcoming Moonblood. Mousehand, while telling Rose Red the story of how he found her, mentions that, within a year of that night, all the roses in Southlands suffered a strange blight and vanished.

I don’t remember (and again, I don’t have my copy of Heartless on hand to reference), but did I mention something about roses or a lack thereof in Heartless as well? I think I did.

Under a bush: So we learn that Mousehand’s daughter was not his daughter at all. Our mysterious Rosie was discovered under a rose bush on a moonlit night. And a wood thrush sang her a lullaby.

“You were somethin’ different, Rosie,” Mousehand tells her. And she certainly was! Though we don’t actually know the full extent of it yet since we have not seen her face . . .

Faerie child: Mousehand tells Rosie that she is a “Faerie child.” Is he speaking figuratively? Or might this not be the honest-to-goodness truth? After all, she is extraordinarily strong, and she knows how to walk the strange, otherworldly paths of the Wood . . . not to mention her little disappearing act.

But why the veils?

I really loved, in this version of the book, playing up the secret of Rose Red’s face. It was so different from the original story (though the plots were quite similar), and it presented a number of challenges along the way. But the satisfaction of spinning a mystery was so worth any and all difficulties.

Another example of strength: We get another example of Rose Red’s great strength when we’re told that she carried Mousehand’s body all the way down to the gates of Hill House. That’s not something your typical young lady can do!

The Asha Lantern: In an attempt to comfort our comfortless Rose Red, Beana tells her what she knows (though she pretends she doesn’t know much) about what happens to a person after death. She speaks particularly of the Asha Lantern, which lights the way for some of those who pass into the Netherworld and walk Death’s Paths. She assures Rose Red that Mousehand found the lantern and, following its light, crossed the Final Water into the beautiful realms beyond. There, he waits for Rose Red on the Farthestshore.

This moment with Beana is pretty and sweet in and of itself. But it’s also important foreshadowing, so don’t forget it!

Those of you who’ve read Dragonwitchwill recognize this reference to the lantern as well. Not all who have held it and walked by its light have been numbered among the dead . . .

“I don’t pretend to be an expert.” Knowing Beana’s full backstory (as yet untold, but which should appear in another few novels—maybe book 10?), I keep snickering a bit at her demurrals in this scene. She certainly makes an extra effort to play dumb . . . but she’s not that good at it. I think most of us reading have a pretty good notion that Beana knows more than she’s letting on.

Another reference to the Other: I still feel a little bad that all of Beana’s urging and hints as to why Rose Red must say in up in the mountains doesn’t get fully explained in this book. Readers have to wait until Moonbloodto know that story. But I couldn’t notset up for it, so I went ahead and slipped some of these foreshadowings in place. Yes, I had some irked readers complaining about “unresolved storylines,” and I really couldn’t blame them . . . I could only hope they’d be curious enough to see if I actually did know what I was doing. It’s tough to be a new author sometimes, because readers don’t have a reason yet to trust you and your work. So thanks to all of you for sticking with me, even when there were unresolved storylines like this one to deal with! And hopefully Moonblood was (or will be, if you’re still new to the world) satisfying.

“I will finally have my vengeance.” The last little scene between the Dragon and his Sister delighted me . . . in a creepy sort of way. Lots of interesting foreshadowing yet again. For Moonblood, yes. But also, enormously, for Golden Daughter, which is the novel I just wrote this year. It’s crazy to me now, looking at Veiled Rose, to see all of the set up in place for book 7. And while writing book 2, book 7 seems like forever away! And now it’s drafted and will be going out to readers in not too very long (though specifics are still pending).

Anyway, we definitely see that the Dragon (or the Dream, as Rose Red knows him) has a vicious vendetta in the works. And Rose Red is caught up in the tangle of it.

Questions on the text:

1. Considering Mousehand’s story of how he found Rose Red, what do you think the secret she hides behind her veils might be? Is she really a Faerie child? If so, is she unnaturally beautiful or unnaturally hideous? (If you’ve already read the book, as most of you have, tell me what you thoughtat this point when you were reading.)

2. Are you frustrated by Rose Red’s dismissal of the wood thrush, or do you find yourself more sympathetic? Why or why not?

3. Any favorite lines?

Q&A:

Sarah wants to know: "How exactly did you decide which entity got which name between the Dream and his sister? It's always seemed to me that the names should be the other way around; the Dream should be Life-in-Death and the Lady should be Death-in-Life (mostly inspired by two things: falling prey to the Dream seems to mean dying, though still having a form of life, while a character who is held by the Lady is referred to as looking dead, in a way, though still being alive)."

The names came from Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and I based their personalities and roles (loosely) on the same themes Coleridge initiated. So, for instance, in the poem when Death and Life-in-Death role the dice and Life-in-Death wins, that means the Ancient Mariner of the title must go on living . . . but his is a hallow life-in-death, not a true life at all. If Death had won, the Mariner would have died.

I have added the dream/nightmare association with these characters as well. The Dragon--also called Death-in-Life or Destroyer of Dreams--is the one who takes the dreams of mortals and totally decimates them. He is all about destruction. The Lady Life-in-Death, by contrast, makes the dreams come true. Like her counterpart in Rime of the Ancient Mariner, she is all about continued life. But the payment for such a life is so great, that those who have their dreams come true are worse off than if they had died.

Hope that helps explain the two characters and their names to you!

Meredith wants to know: "In reading over these posts, I found where you said your publisher allowed you to write the blurbs for the back covers of all your books except Heartless. Would you have written Heartless' blurb any differently?"

Probably, yes. I've always found the back cover copy of Heartless to be a bit cheesy. It reads more like a romance book storyline than the fantasy adventure storyline I had in mind. I have never actually tried to write a back cover synopsis of Heartless, though, so I perhaps if I did, I would end up going the same direction! But I have definitely preferred being able to do my own back cover copies. I like to have a say in how the story is first presented to the reading public.

Meredith also wants to know: "Regarding an earlier chapter of Veiled Rose: When Beana is contemplating "that Other." Does the unicorn wait just at the outskirts of Southlands incessantly? I mean, are the Wilderlands a place where Time is different? I just wondered if perhaps a later story might tell if the unicorn fulfilled other errands during the years he waited."

Since the Wilderlands are in a different Time, I kind of doubt the unicorn is always right there. It also moves very quickly, so I would imagine it could have been sent on other missions in the meanwhile if necessary. (Remember, later on in Veiled Rose, Lionheart has a glimpse of the Other, and he is all the way up in Parumvir at the time!)

However, since Time would mean so very little to creature such as the unicorn, I don't think it would matter to it at all if it did spend all of its time focused on this one task. And its master, King Vahe, is soooooo old as well, a few mortal years wouldn't make much difference to him. Good question, though!

Allison wants to know: "You mention that the Dragon and Lady Life-in-Death are anthropomorphic personifications. Would you consider Aethelbald one as well? And are there any others in your books? And since you have stressed several times that Aetheblad is not Christ, just a Christ-like figure... what exactly is he, to your story's world? Well-known? Understood and commended? Human? Faerie? Something else?"

No, Aethelbald is definitely a person, not an anthropomorphic personification. He isn't an act or an event or force of nature that has taken on personality.

Aethelbald is neither Faerie nor human, though when he enters the mortal world and takes the name "Aethelbald," he is wearing the form of a mortal (thus surprising and disgusting the Dragon, if you remember). He is the son of the King Beyond the Final Water, and he is the One who gave the Sun and the Moon the songs they sing which hold the worlds together (as will be seen in much more detail come Golden Daughter). The name Lumil Eliasul means Song Giver in my Faerie language--you can see a bit of a similarity in the names:

Lumé = Melody
Hymlumé = Harmony
Lumil = Song, but song in an all-encompassing sense. Not just one melody, but the combination of all melodies and harmonies to create the whole, like a complex symphony or many-part choral piece.

So the Lumil Eliasul is the Creator and sustainer of this world, but not worshipped like a god any more than we see Aslan "worshipped" in the Chronicles of Narnia . . . in fact, the only time we see Aslan worshipped, it is a false worship, a cultish religion based on a false view of Aslan. The same is true with the Lumil Eliasul . . . in an upcoming book, we will see a religion formed around the House of Lights and the Lumil Eliasul. But it is a manmade religion and, though begun with good intentions, swiftly becomes very false and very frightening.

The Lumil Eliasul relates to his people on a very different level than manmade religion. They are called into his service and they learn and grow in their love and trust of him. He, in turn, calls them brother, sister, Beloved. He speaks their True Names, and he Sings their Songs. He provides them with Paths through the worlds. They do not worship him as a "god." Overtime, they become devoted to him as the one Great Truth upon which all the worlds are founded. But this is a slow, developing knowledge, not something that any of my characters understand all at once.

The reader's view of the Lumil Eliasul will grow as the series continues. Golden Daughter will give an expanded view of him and his power such as we have not before seen. But he is not meant to be Christ. He is a type of Christ. He is an analogy. He is a picture. But he is not meant to be taken as the literal recreation.

Anyway, I hope that helps . . . a bit of a roundabout answer to your question, but I'm not quite sure how to answer more directly! Meredith's answer (back in the comments on December 10) was also very helpful, and I would recommend readers see what she has to say as well.

Therru Ghibli wants to know: "I noticed that when you said you enjoyed your villains, you only excluded the Duke of Shippening so I was wondering what your feelings on the Dragon and his Sister might be?"

I love the Dragon and his Sister! Or rather, I love writing about them. They are very different from all of my other villains for they are sooooo other, so unlike mortal men. The immortal villains such as Hri Sora and even the Wolf Lord are more relatable. But the Dragon and his Sister, as anthropomorphic personifications, are just so extremely different. Their thoughts, their goals, their motivations . . . also so unlike those of man. As the series has progressed, I have found them more and more interesting and terrifying. So yes, I definitely have a thing for them, though not in quite the same way as I have a thing for someone like Corgar or Hri Sora or the Baron of Middlecrescent.


And I think that's all the questions. Please let me know if I missed one of yours (and where it was posted), and I will hasten to catch it. See you tomorrow!

VEILED ROSE Read-Along: Chapter 2, Part Two

As per usual, if you need to double check how to enter your name in the weekly giveaways, please reference the November 30 post. And ask away those questions! It may take me a little bit to get them answered, but answer them I will.

So, do you think Leo and Daylily are going to hit it off and have a truly magical summer? Let us find out . . .

PART TWOChapter 2
Seal of a seated panther: There are a number of little hints and foreshadowings as to Leo’s true identity. Daylily’s reaction to the seal is one such hint. Obviously, she knows in a glance who that seal belongs to.

I don’t remember, did I mention the seal of the panther or the seated panther in Heartless? I don’t have my copy handy to reference it, and I’ll probably forget in another fifteen minutes, because my swamped life has been fraught with forgetfulness lately. LOL. But maybe one of you could check that for me! If I did, then this is much stronger foreshadowing in the context of the series. If I didn’t . . . eh. Oh well.

Daylily: Again, we have emphasized that the real Daylily does not reveal herself from behind the mask of her lovely face. She and Rose Red are interesting parallels of each other, both in their similarities and their differences.

In the original version of this novel, Daylily was much less interesting. She also started out with the name Rosebud, and it was Rose Red who was named Daylily! Funny how things change. I talked about that more on the Veiled Rose book page, so you can check it out if you’re interested.

Changing this character’s name to Daylily made a difference right away. I truly like then name Daylily (as opposed to Rosebud!), so that makes me more inclined to like the character. But still, in the original version, she was simply beautiful, spoiled, petty, and very typically the Other Woman. The Mean Girl.

But when I started writing this draft, I began to see whole new sides to Daylily. She is just as veiled as Rose Red. In many ways, she is just as unloved, more so even. For Rose Red has Beana and Mousehand. She has her Imaginary Friend.

But who truly loves Daylily? Who truly knowsDaylily?

These questions and the altered situation of sending Daylily up to Hill House—where she does not want to be—allowed me to open up the character far beyond the stereotyped Other Woman, turning her into, I think, one of the more complex and interesting characters in this book. Perhaps even in the series.

After all, it wasn’t long after writing Veiled Rose that the ideas for Shadow Handbegan to take shape in my heart . . .

We’ll go into much more about Daylily later. But in the meanwhile, I do want you Daylily-haters to read her with a little bit more of a sympathetic eye. What little things does she reveal about herself along the way that might make her more likable than we first realize?

The wolf cry: Daylily’s response to the howl of the wolf is, I think, one of the more telling moments about her character. Here is a young woman who has grown up in the city, living a privileged life of balls, assemblies, operas, and such elegance. But see how she reacts when, for the first time in her life, she hears the call of something wild.

She smiles.

Again, there is a lot of Daylily that is being suppressed. By her father, by society and its expectations . . . and by Daylily herself. But the truth is there down underneath.

Leo’s reaction: So, when Leo meets Daylily (or re-meets her, since they did know each other as children), we aren’t told a whole lot of his reaction. All we know is that he sees before him the prettiest girl he’s ever seen.

But the narrative doesn’t tell us what that means.

Is Leo one to bowled over by great beauty? He can’t be completely unsusceptible! Does he warm to Daylily right away? His greeting is certainly awkward and unprepossessing. But that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s disinterested . . . simply that he’s a teenager and not used to girls!

I think it’s an interesting little exchange, and I wonder now, as I read it, what Leo thought just in that moment. But I think it was a good idea not to say exactly. Because you know what? He probably didn’t know what he thought either! Though I’d be willing to bet he no longer thinks a summer with Daylily is going to be so dreadful after all.

Summer studies: Have to give Leo some credit . . . at least he’s tryingto pursue some of his summer studies this year. A sign of maturity perhaps? Perhaps not, but we’ll give him the credit anyway.

Foxbrush: We don’t get hardly any perspective from Foxbrush in this scene or subsequent scenes in which he features. But it’s pretty clear pretty early on that he’s quite smitten with Lady Daylily. Lady Daylily, he doesn’t even know he’s alive. Or if she does know, really doesn’t care.

Foxbrush is obnoxious, squint-eyed, and know-it-all. But still, you’ve got to feel at least a little sorry for him.

Shall we then? I do love Daylily in this scene where she’s suggesting they all go monster-hunting. You have to feel at least a little bad for her! While she’s the same age as Leo and Foxbrush, sixteen for a young lady in that day is very different from sixteen for a boy. She’s old enough to begin receiving attentions from elegant older men, to be viewed as marriageable and mature. But Leo an Foxbrush are definitely still boys.

I kind of enjoy watching Daylily managethe two of them so handily as she does. Her world and social circles have pushed her into maturity, and she’s accepted this much more gracefully than Leo or Foxbrush can. She is also a much stronger, more dominant personality than either of these boys, so she is quite able to arrange things to her satisfaction. Daylily might not be the nicest or friendliest person in the world, but she’s fun to watch in action.

And her line: “I am not some dainty flower. I can suffer a little dirt” is, I think, another revelatory moment for this character.

I’m sorry: I had completely forgotten about the moment when Leo, sitting alone beside the creek and thinking back upon a bygone summer, whispers, “I’m sorry for what I saw in the cave.” (p. 116)

Again, this is some interesting foreshadowing for later revelations! I don’t want to spoil it for any new readers, but those of you who have read it before should know what I mean. Because I don’t think Leo is apologizing for forcing Rose Red to take him there. He’s apologizing for what he saw. But how could he have had any control over what he saw?

After all, when you gaze in a pool, what do you expect to see besides your own reflection?

An awful silence: Another interesting moment I’d forgotten about, when that strange silence falls, and the cold creek water becomes suddenly hot. It doesn’t say exactly what happened there . . . but I wonder if something became aware of his presence in the mountains when he spoke his apology to Rose Red.

Something not very nice . . .

Birdsong: That strange silence vanishes into birdsong, however. And here we get a repeat of the lines we heard earlier when Rose Red also listened to a bird sing. “Beyond the Final Water Falling, The Songs of Spheres recalling . . .”

The Sphere Songs are an important element of this world and series, though they aren’t emphasized particularly in this novel. But nothing mentioned is unimportant, so it’s worthwhile to tuck such lines as these away in your memory for future consideration.

Oh, and by the way, if you’d like to here a pretty, instrumental version of this song, Goldstone Wood Imp Clara Darling has written a lovely piece. You can click here to listen to it.

Daylily’s observation: I think Daylily’s observation of Leo in this scene is particularly acute. She believes that he is, “one who would need to succeed at something.” Before Leo is going to become a man, he is going to have to find and fulfill some purpose. He’s not one who will simply grow into manliness and maturity. For Leo, manhood will mean a rite of passage (very like in the old days of Starflower, if you think about it).

But if Leo never achieves this success, this goal, he will never become the man he could be. These are huge stakes for one young boy.

I remember writing this story and basing this character off of young men I knew at the time (though I won’t mention names!). Sweet boys who, I thought, had the potential to truly become something more. But who, if they did not set their sights on a goal and strive until they accomplished it, would really never be anything but sweet boys. Which is a shame and a waste. For a boy never proves to himself that he is a man, how can he ever truly be a man?

Womanly wiles: I think Daylily is trying to put some womanly wiles over on our Leo in this scene. She’s not terribly overt, but notice that she does put a hand on his. And she’s much friendlier here than we’ve seen her before.

But are these just womanly wiles? Might she not be attempting something like real friendship? After all, as soon as she learns the name of Leo’s friend—and realizes that it’s a girl he’s looking for—her attitude changes rather abruptly. She might even be (dare I say it?) a bit jealous . . .

But it’s very hard to read Daylily. She doesn’t share of herself, not even to herself. And she’s certainly not about to make things easy on her readers.

Question on the Text:

1. What do you think Daylily’s reaction to the wolf’s howl signifies? What might it reveal about her character? And why does her good woman shudder?

2. Why do you think that sudden silence fell and the creek water became hot when Leo whispered his apology? And why did it vanish suddenly when the bird sang?

3. So, do you think Daylily was flirting with Leo according to her father’s Plan . . . or was she really trying to be friendly? And what does her abrupt reaction to Rose Red’s name mean? Jealousy? Or something else?

4. Any favorite lines?

VEILED ROSE Read-Along: Chapter 1, Part Two

Wow, we've already finished Part One! That went by fast. But there's still a lot of book left to go, so I won't get all teary-eyed and nostalgic just yet.

Be certain to check out the November 30 post for details on how to get your name entered in the weekly giveaways. And feel free to ask me any questions that come to mind, and I will answer them as promptly as I may!

Now, plunging into Part Two . . .

PART TWOChapter 1 The Baron and Daylily: Two of my favorite characters in this book. In fact, two of my favorite characters in this series, which is odd considering they are both acting the role of pseudo “villains” in this particular novel . . . and later novels too, for that matter.

But you see (The Duke of Shippening from Heartlessaside), I have a thing for my villains. I try, as much as possible, to see the story from each villain’s point of view, and to realize that, from their perspectives at least, they are the heroes.

The Baron of Middlecrescent is a particularly unappealing person in his coldhearted drive to achieve his own ends. But ultimately, his ends are the good of Southlands . . . which becomes even more apparent and frightening come Shadow Hand. But I don’t want to give spoilers, so you’ll have to wait on that one.

Daylily is, I think, the more interesting of these two. While many readers perceive her as the typical Bad Girl and the Other Woman to Rose Red in this story, I personally find her much more sympathetic. And I think if we read carefully what is said about her and the few things she reveals about herself, she becomes far more dynamic than a typical Other Woman character.

Dynamic enough to merit her own story even . . . 

But let’s dive into the text and see that for ourselves.

The Plan: All right, one thing that should give everyone a littlebit of sympathy for Daylily right away is the fact that, from the time she was two years old, her father had a Plan mapped out for her life, a vision for how he can use her—only a daughter—to accomplish his purpose.

Daylily’s coloring: Daylily is a redhead with curly hair and blue eyes. I don’t usually bother with specific physical descriptions. I like the let my characters become distinct personalities with distinct motivations entirely aside from their physical appearance so that that readers form their own mental pictures as they read. (You’ll notice that I never gave Princess Una an eye-color in Heartless. And my editors begged me to give her a hair color, so I relented on that quite late in the drafting process! I’ve become more lenient on physical descriptions since, but they’re a bit of a pet peeve of mine. Too many authors define their characters by looks.)

Anyway, Daylily is presented right away as red-headed and blue-eyed, which is not a normal narrative choice for yours truly. However, I decided to go with this presentation because it’s actually a foreshadowing . . . a foreshadowing that those of you who have read Dragonwitchmight be able to guess . . . and which will be come much clearer in Shadow Hand.

Also, I do think it’s interesting to note that other people define Daylily by her beauty. Even the narrator (me) presents her right off the bat as a lovely, eye-catching young woman. If this is how the narrator defines her, how many other people do as well?

And thus, one has to wonder, how many people know the real Daylily behind her beautiful mask?

Veiled Rose is a novel full of veils. And Rosie is not the only person wearing them.

The Baroness: Can I just say that I love her? She was such a random character, appearing unexpectedly in this story as I drafted it (I write by an outline, but there’s always room for surprising twists along the way!). She only has a small role in this book, but I find her hilarious, particularly when thrown in contrast against the baron.

And she goes on to have quite a big role in the upcoming Shadow Hand, so don’t dismiss her!

Impressions: This chapter is full of quite a few first impressions, many of them false. Our first impression of Daylily is quite a strong one (again, Mean Girl/OtherWoman, perhaps?). But is that the truth? Our first impression of the Baroness is not entirely accurate either (though just how inaccurate won’t become apparent until a later book!).

And even Daylily’s stated impression of Leo is not quite the truth. She declares him a “blessed idiot” and insists that she “could never love him.” Is this the truth? After all, the last impression she had of Leo, he was only ten years old . . .

Starflower: Leo’s mother is named Starflower. She is named after the nation’s most famous heroine, Maid Starflower, who features in the legend of the Wolf Lord previously mentioned. Those of you who have read my novel Starflowerare familiar with the original bearer of that name.

I wonder if it’s possible to get two women more different than these two Starflowers?

“Have a pleasant summer, darling.” I know she’s a bit conniving. I know she’s a controlling.

But don’t some of you wish that Leo had inherited just a bit more of his mother’s strength?

Because, scary though she is, she’s got some backbone and some smarts. Not that Leo is unintelligent. He’s quite a smart young man. But he doesn’t have that kind of backbone . . . and if he had, things might have turned out differently for him . . .

“Pretty, flouncy, chattery things.” Leo’s impression of all the eligible young ladies at court is not exactly flattering. And reallydoesn’t match up with what we have seen of Lady Daylily so far! I think our Leo might be in for a bit of a shock . . .

The Geestly Knout! I’d forgotten than this silly little rhyme made an appearance in this novel. This was a rhyme I wrote for an assignment back in college days when I took a class on poetry. The point was to write a Lewis Carol-esque poem. And I am a huge fan of Lewis Carol (I know, not everyone gets him . . . but his work tickles my fancy!), so I really enjoyed this exercise.

For those of you who haven’t read it, the full poem may be found in Heartless. It’s pretty silly. But all of the words are honest-to-goodness English.

Tell me what you want: The Lady of Dreams, who won the dice game for Leo’s soul, has not forgotten him. In fact, she is hard at work in his spirit, wooing him with the promise of dreams come true. But what is Leo’s dream? Truly? He doesn’t even know who he is anymore. He hasn’t since he left Hill House five years ago . . .

Questions on the Text:

1. For those of you who have read Starflower . . .what do you make of the difference between the original Starflower and Leo’s mother? How are they similar, do you think? How are they different? How does the contrast of those two very different women serve to emphasize the character of Leo’s mother?

2. For those who are feeling daring, try to translate the “Gheestly Knout” poem! (And no, it doesn’t make a lot of sense when translated.)

3.  Any favorite lines?

Q&A: I'm afraid I'm a bit sick this week, so it might take me a little while to catch up on the questions. But keep asking them, and I'll be sure to get to them by the end of the week!

VEILED ROSE Read-Along: Chapter 9

Don't forget, if you need information on how to enter your name for the weekly giveaways, just check the November 30 post for details. And if you have any questions, leave them in the comments, and I will do my utmost to answer them tomorrow . . . by the end of the week at the latest.

Things are really getting exciting in the story right now, so let's hurry back into the action.

PART ONEChapter 9
"He did not see me." That night, Rose Red’s mysterious Dream tells her that he does not believe Leo saw him in the pool. Even though we have only encountered the Dream in the pool, and it’s a good bet that Rose Red mayhave brought Leo to the cave with the intent of showing him the Dream. Or maybe not. Perhaps she intended to show him exactly what he saw . . .
 
But whatever it was, Leo did not see the Dream. However, the Dream saw Leo.
 
Corporeal Body: The Dream tells Rose Red that he wishes he had a “corporeal body.” So it would appear that he exists primarily in Dreams.
 
This is one of those little details that I have since explored more deeply . . . specifically in Book 7, Golden Daughter. It’s funny to me now how these little tidbits and ideas would sneak into these earlier books without me particularly noticing at the time. But they would haunt the darker corners of my imagination until finally taking on a much bigger, stronger, more dynamic shape that begged exploration. This idea of the Dream in his incorporeal form was one such tidbit.
 
But for now, we have only his little hints. And, of course, the hope that he will show up in a corporeal form very soon . . .
 
The world of dreams: So Rose Red’s Dream passes through the realm of dreams, moving from one dream to the next, deeper and deeper. Until at last he comes to the place where dreams come true and cease to be dreams.
 
Reading this passage gave me chills as well. For again, this is something I have explored a little bit more in the book I just wrote, Book 7. In fact, this even gave me an idea for a little tweak I want to do to that manuscript . . . though I won’t say what just now for fear of spoilers!
 
The Lady of Dreams Realized: She is the Dragon’s other half. The flipside to his coin. Dark where he light, light where he is dark. The Life-in-Death to his Death-in-Life. But they are one and the same.
 
They are also enemies.

The idea for this character—and, in fact, for this whole strange little scene—stems from my first reading of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner. I know I shared this last year concerning a similar scene in Heartless, but for those new followers, here it is again . . . the line from the poem that inspired the Lady of Dreams.

Are those her ribs through which the sun
Did peer, as through a grate?
And is that Woman all her crew?
Is that a Death? and are there two?
Is Death that Woman's mate?

Her lips were red, her looks were free,
Her locks were yellow as gold:
Her skin was as white as leprosy,
The Nightmare Life-in-Death was she,
Who thicks man's blood with cold.

The naked hulk alongside came
And the twain were casting dice;
`The game is done! I've won! I've won!'
Quoth she, and whistles thrice.

Obviously, I didn’t base her lookson the description here. Nor did I make her Death’s mate, for to me that was not close enough of a relationship. No, she had to be his sister. And, since these are immortal beings—no. Let me stop there. They aren’t immortal beings. Immortal beings, in my world at least, still have a beginning set in Time, and though they don’t age and die, they live a progressive span of years, growing and changing.

This Lady and her Dark Brother do not. For they aren’t really immortal beings, as such. They are anthropomorphic personifications. (How’s that for a mouthful?) They are ideas given personality and character and motivation. They are Death and Worse Than Death. And, as the histories of my world progress, they become stronger and manifest themselves in both the Faerie and the mortal world.

It’s pretty high concept stuff. Honestly, it works better not to think too hard about it. I doubt very much Coleridge did.

Oh, notice that Colerdige called her “The Nightmare.” That went a long way toward inspiring me with this theme of Dreams as well . . .

The Game: There is some binding or agreement between these two that the Dragon finds confining and the Lady seems to enjoy. And so, a laColeridge, they play dice for the souls of men. In this case, the soul of Leo specifically.

And, just like in Coleridge, the Lady Life-in-Death, upon viewing the results, declares, “The game is done. I’ve won.”

His skin white as . . .: You notice I made the Dragon’s skin “white as leprosy,” yet another nod to Coleridge. He gave that description to the Lady. I chose instead to make her skin “black and still as a petrified tree.” But that’s no reason not to slip in a literary nod along the way!

The princess, Beloved of your Enemy: A couple of interesting things going on here. For one thing, readers of Heartless will notice a reference to Princess Una. Apparently, the Dragon and his Sister have rolled the dice for that princess’s soul, and the Dragon won . . . and yet, somehow, he has not managed to find her.

Perhaps these two “fates” can roll the dice all they like, and yet ultimately they have no real power over the lives of men . . .

Also, we learn here that the Dragon is not omniscient. He doesn’t know who the “princess” is. The Beloved of his Enemy. He is on a hunt to find her . . . and he believes Rose Red is she. He claims she is being guarded by one of his Enemy’s knights (I wonder who that might be???) and that she is being protected from “Arpiar.” Thus we have our first real hint as to Rose Red’s background . . . though, sadly, it doesn’t mean much to the uninitiated. Allow me simply to say, don’t forget that name . . . Arpiar. It’s important.

The other interesting thing to note, I think, is the fact that the Lady refers to the “Beloved of yourEnemy.” For some reason she is excluding herself from this contention. Hmmmm . . . I wonder why?

Actually, I don’t wonder why. Because of something in Book 7. Sigh. I need to get that book out so I can talk about it! LOL. (Should have an announcement about that soon . . . The wheels of publication turn slooooowly.)

Questions on the Text:

1. So if, as I have postulated, the Dragon and the Lady are really two parts of the same entity, why do you think they antagonize one another? And why do you think the Dragon is obviously more irked than his sister at the need to roll the dice for Leo’s life?

2. On a similar vein, why do you think the Lady refers to the “Beloved of your Enemy,” but doesn’t include herself in that equation?

3. Any favorite lines?

Q&A

Allison wants to know: "Veils are certainly a prevalent theme in 'Veiled Rose'! So far I've spotted Rosie, who hides her appearance, Leo, who lies to himself, and Beana, who seems to be only a goat. Are there any other veils that I've missed that are important to the story? And when you use veil imagery, do you mean in a positive, negative, or neutral context? Do you view them as protective, deceptive, or both?"

Veils have been my favorite literary symbol for many years. I wrote several papers about veils as a symbol in college (most notably an exploration of veils as used symbolically in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Marble Faun). So when the first ideas for Veiled Rose came to me, I was very excited to start using them as a symbol in my own work.

I like to think of my use of veils in the context of 2 Corinthians 3:18 passage: "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit."

Veils are both a protection and a prevention in this context. They protect from overwhelming truth and glory, but they also separate those who wear them from knowing that truth and glory. I see Rose Red, wearing her veils, as protecting those around her from the ugliness of her face . . . but, while she wears it, she is also prevented from embracing the truth of her purpose. She cannot be whole so long as she is veiled. But she does not dare remove the veil.

The theme of veils is brought to its conclusion in Moonblood when Rose Red's real veil is removed. Not the one she wears in this book, but another, much deeper, much more vital veil. And then her true face is finally seen as it never actually is in Veiled Rose.

Veils can be used in deceptive contexts as well, of course. Vahe's veils (again, in Moonblood) are extremely deceptive, but they are also protective (we will learn more about them and more about Vahe's motivation in a later book).

Daylily is another character in Veiled Rose who could be said to wear veils. She rarely shows her true self from behind the protective outer personal she presents. In many ways, Daylily is more veiled than Rose Red . . . more trapped in her role. But I'll delve into that theme more later.

Stacy C. wants to know: "While we're on the topic of authorial intent, do you ever write something that you didn't really consider having a big/important meaning, and then hear back from readers that they really liked how that particular thing meant so much to the story? I've heard a few authors comment on how often that happens to them, so I figured I'd ask."

Upon occasion, yes. Though I admit, I can't think of an example off the top of my head! I've had more trouble with people taking things I've written in a completely wrong direction, which can get frustrating sometimes. People will take aspects of the stories and--thinking that everything must have an allegorical connection--twist it to fit theological ideas or themes I never intended at all. But that's just the nature of writing allegorical fairy tales. They are allegorical . . . but they are also fairy tales!

Caitlyn wants to know: "Is there a "literary nod" to The Chronicles of Prydain (Lloyd Alexander)? Leo kind of reminds me of Taran in the fact that he wants to be a hero."

Good question . . . and this answer contains SPOILERS!

Leo is kind of my anti-Taran, actually. He would like to be a Taran type of hero . . . He would love to see himself as the unlikely assistant pig keeper who gets propelled into an exciting quest, discovers a magic sword, saves a pretty girl, rescues the kingdom and, after a couple of bumps and turns along the way, eventually discovers he is the rightful heir to the kingdom.

Leo shares Taran's desire to become a hero. But other than that, Leo is almost Taran's exact opposite. He starts out the crown prince, but loses his crown forever. He starts out winning the heart of the pretty girl, but loses her forever as well. He starts out with a dear friend whom he betrays. He sets forth on his epic quest (several, actually) and fails.

Leo's is not a story of an unlikely hero ascending into greatness. His is the story of a young man with tremendous potential and too much pride falling into deep humiliation. And only there, at his most humiliated point, can he begin to grow. Only there can he begin to become the man he was always meant to be.

I tend to find Taran-type heroes bit dime-a-dozen. They're fun to read about, but they're not heroes I find particularly interesting to write. So I purposefully did something different with Leo. (Though I do enjoy Lloyd Alexander's books and the Prydain novels!)

Caitlyn also wants to know: "Also have you seen the movies Whisper of the Heart and its sequel The Cat Returns by director Hayao Miyazaki, since you like cats?"

I have seen The Cat Returns, which I loved, but I have not yet seen Whisper of the Heart. I understand it's quite good, though, and hope to see it eventually! (I also loved Howl's Moving Castle and Spirited Away. And Ponyo!)

Jemma wants to know: "Umm this has nothing to do with Veiled Rose:( What were you symbolizing when Una got married? To me it doesn't seem to fit."

I'm going to assume you mean the idea of a Christ-figure getting married; that the trouble was actually the idea of Aethelbald getting married, not Una. If I'm wrong, do correct me!

The whole story of Heartless is an allegorized interpretation of the biblical theme, "The Bride of Christ." (Revelation 19:7-9 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”)

In the above verse, we see the church compared to a Bride, prepared for the coming of her groom, who is the Lamb.

Una is a representation of the church. The name "Una" has been symbolically used in that context before. Edmund Spenser wrote about a Princess Una in his epic poem Faerie Queen, who also represented the church and who was also rescued from a dragon, (the Dragon Errour, another allegorical allusion). That Princess Una was an idealized version of the church--beautiful, brave, and serene in the face of struggle. The name Una means "Only" or "One," and therefore is used to represent the One Church or Unified Church.

My Una is a view of the struggling church--wayward and stubborn, pursuing things of this world, forgetting her First Love (or, in my story, her first suitor). She is an undeserving bride. Even as so many of our modern churches--caught up either in worldliness or legalism, equally dreadful sins--pursue unholy goals and forget the all-important love of grace of Christ.

So my Una--representing both the church universally and you and me specifically--is pursued by Prince Aethelbald, who is a Christ-figure in this story. She rejects him, scorns him, flees from him, but he always pursues, and he must win her in the end. Because he has chosen to love her, despite her unworthiness.

Obviously, if I'm going to write an allegory about the Bride of the Christ and set it in a fairy tale setting, the story must end with a wedding!

People do sometimes have trouble with the idea of a Christ-figure getting married. I would counter that with the gentle reminder that Prince Aethelbald is not Christ. He is a fictional character used to represent aspects of our Lord and Savior. But he is not intended to be our Lord and Savior.

Hope that helps!

Jemma also wants to know: "Just wondering, can I make a pack of cards of your series?"

Absolutely! And I'd love to see them if you wanted to take pictures. :)

Heather wants to know: "What gave you the idea for the Paths?"

Do you know, I actually have no idea. I'm sure it came from somewhere, but I truly don't know where! I remember the first time I used a Faerie Path was in an early draft of Heartless, when the Dragon had King Fidel carted down from his fortress in the mountains, back to Oriana Palace. I was just writing along, and suddenly they were on this magical Path, and it was really interesting, and I liked it . . . even though that scene got edited out of the final draft. I think. (Now I'm not sure . . . did I take that scene out, imps, or am I remembering that wrong?)

Anyway, after that I began playing around with them more and more, particularly in Veiled Rose. And now they are one of the hallmarks of my series, an interesting little bit of enchantment that I cannot imagine not being in the stories!

But I seriously don't know where the idea came from.

Allison wants to know: "Will most of your future stories take place in new lands, or can we expect the bulk to be set in relatively familiar countries?"

There're going to be some new locations. Golden Daughter is set almost entirely within the Noorhitam Empire or nations surrounding. And the book after that will be back to Parumvir, but it will be Parumvir during such a unique period of history that it will hardly feel the same--very little like the North Country of Dragonwitch or the Parumvir of Una's day in Heartless. And there will be some new Faerie demesnes introduced over time as well. I've got tentative plans for a novel set in Aja (a small nation between Parumvir and Noorhitam), and I've dabbled around with some ideas for stories set in some of the island kingdoms out beyond the Continent.

It's such an ongoing, growing sort of series, I really couldn't say exactly where it will end up! But after Golden Daughter, we'll be primarily in Parumvir for a couple of books at least.

Caitlyn wants to know: "In the last chapter, it said the Wood laughed at him while he was on that Path. How did the laugh begin?"

I'm not entirely certain how to answer this. The Wood is implied to be sentient--though not a form of sentience that mortals would understand. So how the laugh began is really not a question I know how to answer. The laugh probably doesn't even sound like what we would think of as a laugh. How would a forest laugh?

An interesting question, though . . .

Caitlyn also wants to know: "Also, are there names for each of these Paths in particular?"

Not really. They belong to certain people, so they would be referred to by the name of the king or queen to whom they belong. The Dragon's Paths are simply called the Dragon's Paths. There are Paths that belong to Queen Bebo (though I'm not sure there are any mentioned that belong to King Iubdan. Though he is king, I think Bebo is generally considered to be the more powerful ruler of that domain). And, of course, there are Paths that belong to the Lumil Eliasul or Farthestshore. But I don't believe they have individual names otherwise . . . at least, none that I have ever discovered!


Great questions as always, dear readers!

FIVE GLASS SLIPPERS: Status Update

Dear imps and creative writers various . . . I'm interrupting the Veiled Rose read-along briefly (today's post on chapter 8 can still be found below) with a quick announcement for the Five Glass Slippers Creative Writing Contest.

The deadline is quickly approaching, and I have lots of stories pouring in. So I want to remind those of you still working hard at your stories that you need to get your submission forms to me before December 31st. Even if you are writing on your story right up until the last day of the deadline, the submission forms need to be on my desk in advance.

As long as your submission form is postmarked on or before December 31st, I will still receive your stories on the condition that as soon as I email you your signed copy of the form and ask you to send me your manuscript, you send it within 24 hours. No waiting to tweak it into the first weeks of January. Anything that isn't sent into me right away will (sadly!) have to be disqualified in order to maintain fairness to all of the writers participating.

So get those forms to me ASAP, and have your stories ready to go! I am very eager to read them. All of the submissions have been quite wonderful, and I continue to be tremendously impressed by each new story coming in. The editors at Rooglewood Press are going to have a crazy time trying to narrow it down just five winners!

P.S. If you are a blogger, please share this update on your blog. Also, facebookers, please share on facebook as well. And Twitter/Tweeters! I want to be sure the word gets out to all of the competitors, and I, of course, don't know who all of them are. So if you would help me get the word out, I would be much obliged.

How is your story coming along? Already sent it? Getting ready to send it? Beta-readers looking it over?

VEILED ROSE Read-Along: Chapter 8

Things are starting to get tense for our Leo and Rose Red . . . but before we get started, let me quickly remind you that if you are wondering how to get your name entered in the weekly drawing, please check out the November 30 post. It will enlighten you.

And now, back to our story . . .

PART ONEChapter 8The cave: Once more, Rose Red leads Leo by strange Paths up to the wolf’s head cave. There’s a strong implication that she leads him outside of his own world, though it’s never overtly stated. He cannot even find rocks to support himself against, but must cling to Bloodbiter’s Wrath and allow Rose Red to guide him. Again, an interesting moment of dependence in our bold Leo . . . 

What a tale this would be: Leo is all about being part of the legends and stories of his own nation. He wants the heroes of old to be real, and he wants to take his place among them. This desire is a good one, a strong motivation in a young heart.

But Leo has other motivations and desires equally strong. Such as the desire to impress Foxbrush. The desire to be perceivedas a hero is just as strong as the desire to actually be a hero. Possibly stronger.

A reflected glimpse: So Leo has his first glimpse of the monster. And what he sees makes him furiously angry . . . but the text doesn’t tell us what he saw exactly. It says he saw the monster . . . and he tells us he saw a reflection of his own “fool face.” But what is not being revealed here?

Here is another instance where, by not giving away all information, I hoped to encourage the reader to engage with the text. Many readers get frustrated these days if everything is not neatly spoon-fed them. But there are still readers out there who like a challenge. Who like to be given little puzzle-pieces which they have to try to fit together. And even then, the puzzles pieces don’t necessarily form the same picture for everyone.

I try not to be obscure when I write, because obscurity implies lack of control. But I do like to withhold my hand now and then. To make readers work for it. This scene is one such instance.

Though, of course, if you stick with the book, I believe that later on Leo does tell us more specifically what he saw that night.

As though the Black Dogs themselves pursued him: I believe this is the first mention of the Black Dogs in the whole Goldstone Wood series, though they are an important pair. Foreshadowing!

Returning Home: And so, though the summer is not yet quite over, Leo is to be sent home early for staying out late. He seems strangely uncaring in the passages telling of arrangements, etc. What about that close friendship? Does he truly value it so little?

Or did what he see in the pool have an altering affect on him? I don’t think he will ever fully recover from that vision, whatever it was. At least, not for a long time . . . 

Foxbrush, at last: After a summer of curiosity over Leo’s doings, I think Foxbrush couldn’t stand it anymore. My speculation is, knowing that his cousin was about to leave and probably never return, Foxbrush figured that this was his last chance to find out what Leo has been up to. So, when Leo stepped out to seek Rose Red, Foxbrush, in a surprisingly intrepid moment (for him), decided to follow.

And so he glimpses Rose Red.

I half wonder, while reading this scene, if Rose Red might not have been wearing her veil. (Again, I really don’t remember what I originally intended. Have I mentioned the entire drafting of this novel is a complete blur in my memory?) It doesn’t say that she was veiled. And Foxbrush’s reaction to her might imply that she wasn’t. That Leo was talking to her face to face. It’s possible that what Leo saw in the pool was Rose Red’s reflection . . . so she didn’t bother to hide her face from him in this scene.

But, the reader doesn’t know for sure! And neither do we know for certain what Foxbrush and Leo saw that day either. Perhaps Foxbrush simply saw the veiled girl and thought that frightening enough.

I simply doubt it . . .

You’re bewitched: And here we see the beginning of a rumor that will go on to haunt Leo for many, many years to come . . . all the way into the next novel, with disastrous consequences.

Questions on the Text:

1. The text says that Leo saw the monster when he looked into the pool. He says he saw only a reflection. What do you think this means? What did he truly see?

2. On a similar note, what do you think Foxbrush saw?

3. Any favorite lines?

Q&A is going to have to wait until tomorrow . . . I'm taking a bit of a break for Sunday evening! But I'll catch up on all of your awesome questions on Tuesday.

VEILED ROSE Read-Along: Chapter 7

And the first week is over, dear imps! I have tallied up the names for the drawing, shuffled them using Random.com, and the winner of a signed copy of Veiled Rose is . . . .

SARAH

(Do please note this specific spelling, since I believe there is a Sarah and a Sara participating in the read-along. This time it was Sarah. Maybe next week, Sara!)

Congratulations, Sarah! Please email me (aestengl@gmail.com) your mailing address so that I can send you your winnings. And if there are two Sarah's and I'm not aware of it, feel free to both send me your addresses, and I'll send both of you a price since I have no way to tell you apart in this drawing . . . :)

For the rest of you, if you want to make certain your name is entered in the giveaway this next week, please check out the November 30 post which explains how that may be done. And in the meanwhile, we're moving in the story . . .

PART ONEChapter 7
The monster: So do you think Leo ever lost faith in the monster’s existence? He seems pretty shaken up about the postmaster’s boy and his reaction to whatever he saw. I wonder if Leo, during the months of play with Rose Red ceased to believe in the monster or simply forgot about it? Or maybe he just pretended to forget about it. Because then it wouldn’t matter that he’d given up his hunt so easily.

But there’s not pretending anymore. The monster is real. And I think Leo has begun to suspect something about it . . . 

Mistress Redbird: Foxbrush says that Mistress Redbird would “toss that cat out in a cyclone.” I don’t think I like Mistress Redbird very much.

Mousehand: Leo goes to Mousehand for answers. Again, I wonder if Leo already suspects the truth behind the Mountain Monster rumors.

But Mousehand’s answer is far more truthful still. “Boy, if you ain’t figured out by now that there ain’t no monster on this mountain save that which you brought yourself, you’re a greater fool than you look.”

Poor Leo. And yet, Mousehand’s insight into the workings of Leo’s heart is pretty sharp. Particularly in light of all that is to come . . .

He wondered about Rose Red: Oddly enough, I don’t remember my “authorial intent” (if you’ll pardon the English Major term here). I don’t remember, as I read Leo’s thoughts and wonderings about Rose Red and whether or not she is safe from the monster, if I really meant for those to be Leo’s thoughts. But I don’t think so. Even reading it now, I suspect, I strongly suspect, that whatever he might be thinking on the surface, deep down inside, he has a much darker suspicion. He’s spent a whole summer with that girl. He knows both how wonderful and how strange she is. He knows how strong she is. He knows that he hasn’t once seen her face.

I think, as I’m reading these paragraphs of Leo’s hunting for Rose Red, that this is yet another case of Leo lying to himself, trying to convince himself that he is something he’s not, that the world is something it is not. Even trying to convince himself that he believes something he does not.

It wasn’t the same forest: This is another part of the story I had forgotten about writing! Really, it’s quite fun for me to revisit this book, because so much of it has slipped from my memory. Not the major events, of course, and not the bits that tie directly into other books. But some of these extra little vignettes seem all new to me.

So Leo, inadvertently, has stepped into the Wood Between.

Of course, he doesn’t know that. And of course, the new reader probably doesn’t either, so I do apologize if I’m spoiling anything for you!

But this is no mortal forest. This is the Wood Between in one of the more frightening, more nightmarish aspects we’ve ever seen it. This is a dark part of the Wood, and I suspect the Path he is on belongs to a dark entity. Perhaps even to the Dragon, the evil Dream haunting Rose Red’s subconscious mind.

One thing about the Wood Between (for those of you who don’t know) is that it doesn’t rest within the normal, mortal flow of Time. A certain amount of Time does exist in the Wood, but it’s not linear, and it’s not consistent. Therefore, I wonder if, while Leo wandered lost in that dark Wood, some of the figures he saw were actually glimpses of a different time? The wolf for instance . . . might that not be the Wolf Lord right out of his own history? Might he, while Wood-wandering, have stepped back into an older, wilder Southlands from back when the Wolf Lord still roamed those mountains?

Or is it just a ghostly image? Nothing more than a fearsome image conjured up by his terrified imagination?

And what about the fiery figure Leo spies ahead of him. Could it be that he caught a glimpse of the dreadful Dragonwitch in her human form? Or is some Faerie being leading him down this dark path?

Since I didn’t write anything definite, it is open to readerly interpretation!

Rose Red arrives: Funny, though it’s Leo who sets out with all that determination, it’s Rose Red who must save him, and not he her. Foreshadowing . . . .

Show me: And so, at the end of this chapter, Leo decides he needs to face the monster “like a real hero, and . . . and see what happens.” Will he be able to bear what he finds up in the secret cave?

Questions on the Text:

1. In English lit. classes, there is always a lot of talk about “authorial intent” vs. “reader interpretation.” Which is true? Is the author’s intentional purpose in a text the only truth a text can contain? Or is the reader’s interpretation of the text equally true, even if it contradicts the authorial intent? As an author, I am all about the authorial intent . . . but there are times when I leave passages a little more open-ended with the hope of stimulating more reader interaction with the text.

And, in light of this, what do you think happened to Leo while he was lost in the Wood Between? What do you think he saw? The real Wolf Lord or just a Faerie wolf or something else? What about the fiery figure? Could it be that he glimpsed the Dragonwitch? Or some strange, fey dancer? Do you think it was just visions or illusions given him by the Dragon? Do you think he was seeing the past, the present, or even the future?

2. Any favorite lines?

Q&A

Heather wants to know: "A lot of modern media portrays dreams as being always good and something to strive for. They say to follow your heart and such. Which isn't always right. I was wondering what gave you the idea for the Lady of Dreams Realized since it seems to be in opposition to the culture. Or to Disney at least. :)"

I'm not going to give you the long answer here since I'm pretty sure I discuss this in some depth in an upcoming answer. But I'll say that the first ideas for it came to me when I was about seventeen and reading The Rime of the Ancient Mariner for the first time. Coleridge wrote these lines:

Her lips were red, her looks were free,
Her locks were yellow as gold:
The nightmare Life-in-Death was she,
Who thicks man's blood with cold.

The Rime and various speculations on this particular passage and character eventually led to the visions of Death and Life-in-Death and their subsequent effects on dreams as seen in this series. But, as I said, there will be more on that later . . . .

Caitlyn wants to know . . . some questions that I cannot seem to find. Would you mind sending them to me again, Caitlyn? I'm sorry, but I'm just not seeing them . . . :(

Anna wants to know: "When did Goldstone Wood begin to form in your mind? How?"

That is an ENORMOUS question to which I don't have a very clear answer . . . but I'll take a stab at it!

I believe the first ideas that eventually turned into Goldstone Wood came to me when I was 14. I was toying around with a very different project at the time, but that project included a short young man (and secret king) named Florian (Flory by his friends) and a couple of other characters who recently found their way into Dragonwitch . . . though in very different forms than their originals! The original King Florian was loosely inspired by King Charles I of England, though you would never guess it to look at the two stories now! But at 14, I read a history book depicting some details about that king's sad life and reign, and I found him strange sympathetic. He had a lisp and was quite short, a surprisingly shy and retiring man (who probably should have stayed that way rather than insisting on the Divine Right of Kings and Absolute Sovereignty, which ended up getting him killed). He also had a sweet, quiet young wife who adored him and who mourned his death for the rest of her life. It was such a sad story, but what intrigued me most was the idea of the short, lisping king who still made a play for absolute power.

Obviously, I ended up taking the character and storyline of King Florien a very different direction. But, looking back, I would say that was one of my first inspirations for a story that ended up becoming Goldstone Wood.

The rest of the series started coming together when I was sixteen and seventeen. It started out as a series of notes about an interconnected set of Faerie worlds over the course of a long history. I penned out short versions of various stories set in that history and then began playing around with connections among those stories--a massively simplified version of the series as it is today, really. The Dragonwitch cropped up as an early character, and the Wolf Lord. Eanrin was an important character in these stories, though he didn't take cat form at the time. His first major role was in a ballad I wrote called The Ballad of the Flowing Gold, which tells the story of Lady Gleamdren being kidnaped by the Dragonwitch (though I never did finish it).

Anyway, all of the ideas were fun, and I enjoyed the various short stories and novellas, but couldn't see going anywhere with them seriously. Until Heartless came along. Heartless was the first novel I wrote set in this exciting world. And once it came into being, everything else began to fall into logical place, to expand, to take on importance. Heartless is the cornerstone of the series.

There's a rambling answer for you, but I'm afraid there isn't a better one! LOL.

Anna also wants to know: "How long have you been writing? Have you always been a storyteller?"

Pretty much, yes. My mother started writing novels when I was quite young, so I grew up watching her do it and always thought that's what I wanted to do as well. I wrote my first "novel" when I was about six or seven (it was approximately 3 pages long). When I was nine I wrote a longer, eight-chapter epic about a kitten (surprise!) who wanted a girl of his own, and all his various adventures on his way to getting this dream-come-true. I wrote my first fantasy when I was twelve, also about a cat--this time a magical, wish-granting cat whom all the baddies wanted to use for nefarious purposes. It was pretty silly, but it sold me on the fantasy genre!

Anna also asks: "How many books until Rose Red's book? I'm DYING for SOMEONE (no spoilers!) to realize how amazing and adorable she is. :)"

I think we all are dying for that someone to grow up and realize certain things, me included! But, sadly, it's going to be a while before I'll be getting to that book, at least according to my current plan. According to my quick mental tally, it will probably be something like 6 books from now. (Wow, that looks scary when I write it out!) Sorry about that, everyone. But I hope and pray that you will enjoy all of the other stories along the way so much, it won't matter too much. The Rose Red story is still only in its beginning stages in my head and will need a few years to develop into a full-fledged story. But the initial ideas I'm toying with are pretty exciting . . . :)

Anna wants to know: "What are Book 8 and 9 about? You've briefly mentioned them and I'm so curious! :)"

Well, I can't give away spoilers, but . . .

Book 8 is about a man named Sunan, a princess named Amaranda, a bloke whose real name is Abundiantus--though he goes by a different name through much of the book--an amnesiac albino who may be a Faerie, a mad king, an angry queen, and a young lady who wears scarlet, has golden hair, likes poetry, sometimes assumes cat shape, and who seems strangely familiar to one Dame Imraldera . . . The story deals largely with a civil war, a magical poisoning, enslaved Faeries, and lots of dragons.

Book 9 is about Oeric and Vahe . . . and a certain Lady of Aiven.

Anna also asks: "Why did you choose to make HEARTLESS your debut novel? I mean, since most of your other novels take place before the Dragon was killed, why did you decide to put the story of how the Dragon was defeated first?"

Oh, I think I partially answered this one up above . . . But I'll embellish the point here.

I think the reason Heartless works as the debut is that it is the central story in the series. A reader wrote to me recently and used this example, which I think explains it well--It's like how the story of Christ's death and resurrection is the center of our history. You can start with just that story, and it's profound by itself. But then you begin to expand out from there--both before and after--and see it in its context, and you realize how much more profound of a story it was.

I think Heartless works that way to a certain extent. It's a good story just by itself, a strong entry point to the series. But then you expand out, both before and after, and see it in its context, and suddenly Heartless means so much more.

It's an unusual place to start a series, I know. But the fact is, I feel that God gave me that story at that specific time. And once that story was in place, everything else--all the other stories that had been a bit vague and foundationless--made sense. It wasn't really my plan or intention. It was God's plan and God's intention. I simply try to be a willing servant along the way.

Nathan wants to know: "You mentioned how Heartless started off as just a short story - when did you decide you wanted to explore the Goldstone Woods world more and write more stories within the setting?"

I had always wanted to write Goldstone Wood stories, and the world had been partially invented long before Heartless came into being. Heartless was simply the first Goldstone Wood story that worked as a novel . . . and it taught me how to write full-length novels, which I hadn't done before (or not since I was a kid, anyway). Up until then, all the Goldstone Wood tales had been short stories, poems (even some epic poetry!), and novellas . . . and some, like the story of the Dragonwitch, were just notes! Starflower was a short story written for a college creative writing class, etc.

So really, Heartless was the newcomer to the game. But Heartless provided me with the necessary experience and the doorway into the world itself so that the other stories suddenly worked for me on a larger scale as I had always hoped they would.

Great questions, everyone! Challenging and interesting.

VEILED ROSE Read-Along: Chapter 6

We're coming up on the end of the first week already. That was fast! If you want to make certain your name is entered in the weekly name-drawing, check out the November 30 post for instructions. I'll be picking our first winner tomorrow and post the name!

But for now, we have a chapter to read.

PART ONEChapter 6
Bald Mountain: Did you notice the reference to Bald Mountain? Those of you who have read Starflower should remember that name. It is taken from Mussorgsky’s amazing orchestral piece, “Night on Bald Mountain”. This piece of music provided the initial inspiration for the story of the Dragonwitch’s fall from the heavens, the loss of her wings, and the burning of the mountain. In Starflower, I set the Place of the Teeth on the slopes of Bald Mountain.

In the original short stories dealing with the Dragonwitch, Bald Mountain featured more prominently than it does in the novels . . . but it’s still fun to see it mentioned here and there, even in these earlier novels of the series.

“He has not seen your true face”: Part of the drama of this first scene in Chapter 6 is the fact that Rose Red is not wearing her veil. The Dream can see her, and he says that she is lovely . . . but we don’t get to see her. We only see how she reacts to the Dream, and we see that she doesn’t believe him. This, along with the Dream’s persistence in calling her “princess” heightens up the tension surrounding our enigmatic Rose Red.

In the original version of this novel, as I have said elsewhere, Rose Red’s appearance was no secret. We readers were in on it. The only secret was her past, and the mystery of why the Dragon kept referring to her as “princess.” But in this version, I decided that the story could use that extra dose of drama, and chose to hide her face throughout. Is she the beautiful princess? Is she the disfigured goat girl?

Or is she both?

The Lake of Endless Blackness: Notice how Rose Red mentions that she and Leo sail ships on the Lake of Endless Blackness. Their simple games come back around later on . . .

And note also another mention of the Dragonwitch! She was a presence in these novels quite some time before the actual Dragonwitchstory released this summer.

Bloodbiter’s Wrath: I do enjoy the various names Leo gives to things! His heroic beanpole, for instance. He may not be an artist (note the stick-bugs), but he certainly has a creative imagination.

“I’m going to be a jester”: In this scene, we finally learn what Leo’s greatest desire is. We’ve known for some time now that Rose Red just wants a friend. But Leo . . . he wants to pursue the merry, care-free jester’s life, entertaining crowds with his antics, never feeling any pressures or responsibilities beyond making people laugh. This isn’t a tremendous surprise to any of us, given his wild performance of the Legend of Ashiun. He definitely has a showman’s spirit.

Is this Leo’s true desire, however? After all, he also wants to be a hero. But how can he be both at once?

And so the major dichotomy of Leo’s heart is revealed in this scene of childish banter.

Songs of Eanrin: Heheh, we’re also introduced to Leo’s keendistaste for the famous Bard Eanrin and his popular songs and ballads. Watch for that theme . . . it will continue to be developed over the next book or two!

All the kings of the Continent and all the emperor’s of the East! Leo certainly has some ambition where his jesterly dream is concerned. But will he ever sing for kings and emperors? Well, wait and see . . .

Swallowed Fire: In Leo’s description of the Duke of Shippening’s jester, he mentions how that jester swallowed fire. This was a little nod that I made to the original draft of Veiled Rose. In that draft, I had Leo and Rose Red meet under very different circumstances. She was in the barn, visiting Beana, and Leo sneaked in at the same time to practice fire-eating—which he had never done before and certainly was notpermitted to do! I had a lot of fun with that scene. But, alas, there was no way to fit it into this version.

I do have it posted on the Veiled Rose blog page, for those curious to see it. The writing is a bit rough, but it’s pretty funny, I think, so you might enjoy it.

“As if that were possible”: Even as he confides his secret wish to Rose Red, Leo sadly knows that this dream is not to be. He is born into a different role as yet unrevealed.

The Postmaster’s Boy: Do you know, I’d half forgotten about this scene with the postmaster’s boy and the ambush? It gave me a chuckle. Interesting to see a little bit more of the societal workings of Southlands too, which is obviously advanced enough than an actual postmaster exists. Yet another clue (among MANY) that these stories are not set in a pseudo-Medieval setting, as many reviewers have mistakenly intimated.

“You asked for it.” In light of Leo’s response—the text says that he snapped at her “as though she’d really spoken”—do you think Beana actually didsay this line? I wonder if maybe she did. And maybe Leo actually did hear it, but it utterly refused to fit into his realm of understanding and perception, so he simply ignored it. Interesting speculation . . .

“What’s alger-bruh?” Oh, dear sweet Rosie! You don’t need to know, trust me . . . 

Actually, for all I made fun algebra in this story—making it Foxbrush’s hobby and Leo’s dread—I kind of enjoyed it. In high school not so much; I found it a bit dull there. But in college, algebra ended up being one of my favorite classes for a semester. I even, for a very, verybrief space in my life, got to where I could do long-ish algebra equations in my head just for the fun of it! Sadly, mine is very much a use-it-or-lose-it type of brain, so I have forgotten absolutely everything I learned. Sigh . . . Still, it was a gloriously mathematical semester.

Thus, again, I don’t think I quite agree with Leo’s opinion of his cousin. I don’t think Foxbrush is quite as loathsome as this text would paint him to appear. Remember, not all narrators (even omniscient ones) are entirely trustworthy.

Postmaster’s Boy’s dialect: In light of the boy’s manner of speech, Rosie sounds pretty posh, I must say. I suppose Beana probably had a culturing influence, goat though she is . . .

Hinting: Here we get another hint as to Leo’s actual position in society and role in this story (and series).

In the original summary of the book that went all round the Internets (before the novel released), it gave away that Leo was the—oops. Don’t want to say in case you’re new. Anyway, it gave away who and what he was. And I BEGGED my publisher to take it down and to allow me to redo the description. Thus the summary on the back of Veiled Rose—and the backs of all my subsequent novels—is my own work, unlike Heartless’s back cover summary, which was given me by my publisher. Can you tell a difference in the style of those back cover descriptions?

The monster! The monster! The chapter ends with the postmaster’s boy seeing something that terrifies him out of his wits. What could he have seen???? Read on tomorrow to find out . . .

Questions on the Text:

1. Do you find it intriguing or frustrating not being able to see Rose Red’s face? Do you think you like her better, less, or about the same as if you knew what she looked like?

2. While Rose Red’s face is not shown, she is in some ways still strongly defined by her appearance—or lack thereof! The veils she constantly wears are as much a part of her character as her uncultured dialect, her spunk, her courage, and her deep need for a true friend. For you novelists out there, how often do you define characters by their appearances? What would happen to your current protagonist if you took away what he/she looked like and had only the voice, personality, desires, and choices with which to work? How would that affect the way you approached the character and their story?

3. Why do you think Rose Red reacted so strongly to Leo’s suggestion that she might be a princess one day?

4. Without giving away spoilers for possible new readers . . . how many of you had guessed who/what Leo was by this point in the story? How many of you were surprised later on to learn?

5. Any favorite lines?

Q&A

Heather wants to know: "What gave you the idea for the Dragon's kiss?"

Actually, it was pretty spontaneous idea. Heartless was originally just a little short story I wrote for my old college blog (click here to see it). I invented it as I went and since it was quite short didn't really know where it was going.

But I stopped after I came to the point where the Dragon kissed the princess. It surprised me as much as anyone. I knew she was going to be transformed, but I didn't know about the kiss until it happened. And it was so intriguing, so symbolic . . . and it stimulated such a response in my blog readership of the time that I had to stop writing the short story and go write the novel instead!

In retrospect, I wonder if it might have been unconsciously inspired by vampire lore. Vampire bites are sometimes referred to as "kisses," and vampires transform mortals into beings like themselves. I'm not much of a one for vampire literature (I liked Dracula, and that's the only vampire book I've enjoyed . . . and it made me lightheaded with all the blood!). But vampire lore is pretty common throughout literature, and I wouldn't be surprised if there was some unconscious influence. But I didn't think about that until much later . . .

Heather also wants to know: "Will the Lady of Dreams Realized appear more often in the books to come? Will she ever be the main villain for a book?"

Absolutely! We are going to learn a little more about her in Book 7, Golden Daughter, and she is going to be a primary force of evil in the book I am about to write this coming year, Untitled Book 8. She won't be the only villain in that book . . . some other characters who have been referenced in early novels get major villainous roles as well. But she will be the big motivating force. She will continue to be a terror throughout the series, long after the Dragon is dead too.

Allison wants to know: "I don't believe that Foxbrush's father is ever mentioned in Veiled Rose. Do you think that his reclusiveness, his timidity, and his animosity towards his cousin might have something to do with his lack of a father figure? (Or, if I just blew over every reference to his father, if his father has a particular trait that encouraged these?)"

That's a good (and insightful) question! Foxbrush's father is not present at all in Veiled Rose, indeed is never so much as mentioned (I'm pretty sure he's dead by this time in Veiled Rose). However, come Shadow Hand we are going to learn a few, a very few choice bits of information concerning Foxbrush's father which will, I think, shed a great deal of light on Foxbrush's character.

And yes, I think his lack of a father figure has very much influenced Foxbrush's attitude and behavior toward Lionheart. I also think there is a strong sense of "unfairness," in Foxbrush's perspective--he sees Lionheart as this slacker who, despite not caring or trying, gets to be crown prince, gets to marry the girl, gets everything he wants. Without trying. While Foxbrush works so hard, is the darling of his queenly aunt, does everything he's supposed to . . . for nothing. Not even respect. This unfairness is hard for Foxbrush to take, more so as Veiled Rose continues to develop.

But it's all in the subtext. There isn't much overtly told about Foxbrush and his mental processes here in Veiled Rose, even less in Moonblood.

Sarah wants to know: "People hate Una? Seriously? How? She's one of my favorite characters!"

Yup. Una generates a lot of hatred from readers. I think Meredith makes a good point when she suggests it might be a "mirror image" situation. People don't like those who are most like themselves. Una is far from the ideal heroine preferred in modern fiction. She's no Katniss, nor is she a Bella Swan. She neither solves all her own problems, nor does she have a super hot guy who solves them for her. She is spoiled (she is princess after all!), selfish, and makes many foolish mistakes along the way. And she ultimately (and this is the clincher with most people, I think) cannot save herself. Una is a character who must be brought to the point of deepest humiliation before she can grow . . . and not everyone enjoys watching that process.

I personally love Una and always will. But back when I used to read my reviews, I got so scarred by the horrible things people said about her--and, subsequently, about me--that I really haven't been able to think about writing her again. But someday maybe. Now that I'm (for the most part) not reading my reviews!

Ruth (hi, Ruth! I think you're a new name to me, and I'm always excited to "meet" new folks! Welcome to the read-along) wants to know: "How does Beana get her name?"

That's a good question. I gave her the name "Beana" because that was the name of the only goat I have ever personally known--though she was Sabrina and called "Bina" for short. Beana sounded like something someone would call a goat in Southands. Like "Bean" with an "a" on the end--though some people have thought it was pronounced Bee-Anna (my two editors had a bet going over which name was correct . . . which makes me smile!).

As far as the story goes . . . if I take Beana's real name--which is still a secret--and twist it around a little bit in my brain, I think it's possible that a baby Rose Red might have said "Beana" in an attempt to say the real name. It's not that close, but perhaps close enough maybe?

Otherwise, I think it's just like Monster/Eanrin. He has one name with his mortal children and another that's his real name.

Allison also wants to know: "Since the Dragon, one of the main series protagonists, is dead, will the bulk of your future work take place before Heartless, when he is still alive, or after, with new antagonists?"

The bulk stories will take place before Heartless, telling of all the various events that lead up to Heartless and, therefore, putting Heartless in its proper context at the last. So by the time the series is finished, Heartless should be an even more exciting reading experience for the fans than it was when it was a book alone.

But, that being said, there are plenty of stories to come taking place after Heartless. The overarching villain of those will probably be the Dragon's sister--who really, as will be discussed in an upcoming chapter--is the Dragon himself in a way. It's complicated. You'll see what I mean.

There are lots of other exciting villains to come as well. Those stories won't be lacking for drama!

And Allison also asks: "Would you consider the immortals in your stories to be more or less inclined to selfishness, pride, and general malevolence than the humans because of their immortality?"

I think it depends on the immortal in question. And I think a lot of it has to do with the Faerie Queen or King of the particular demesne from which the immortal stems. Queen Bebo (and King Iubdan to a lesser extent) exerts a tremendous influence over her people. So does King Vahe over his (and Queen Vartera, who is mentioned in Draognwitch, but whom we won't meet until Book 9).

I also think a lot of the perceived malevolence from some of the Faeries (such as those you will encounter come Shadow Hand) really isn't overt malevolence so much as sheer otherness. They are not mortal, so they don't really understand mortals. Their ways and beliefs and values are not bound up by Time, and they are not concerned with the shortness of their lives. Thus they are dangerous because they don't see things the way mortals see things.

ChuMana (from Starflower) is a good example of this. Is she really bad? Or is she just simply so different from mortals with such completely different values that she appears to be bad?

Judith (hi, Judith! I think you might be new too. Welcome to Goldstone Wood!) wants to know: "Back in chapter 1 how did Leanbear see Rose Red's face if she never takes off her veil?"

I'm not sure if Leanbear actually did see her face. Since he claims she looks like a demon, that might imply that he did, but it isn't necessarily true. He might have just glimpsed her covered in her veils and let his imagination fill in the rest. There are a lot of rumors about her all over this mountain, and he may have convinced himself he saw something he didn't . . .

Heather (you'll notice I have no system to how these names are appearing here. Sorry!) would like to know: "Out of curiosity, are you planning on doing these kind of read alongs with your other books?"

Quite possibly! I like the Christmas read-along tradition, and as long as time permits, I probably will keep doing it. Christmas is generally a between-books month for me on the writing front. And I probably keep going in order to (so Moonblood next year!).

Heather also asks: "Is Beana based off of someone you know? Or any of the other characters in this book?"

Beana is not particularly based off of any one person. She just came into her own as I wrote her. Thinking back, I can't recall any specific inspiration for her personality, though I'm sure she's made up of bits and pieces of various people I know.

Rose Red is loosely based off of someone I know (though I won't mention names for fear of embarrassing anyone!). And Leo is based off of both a young man I knew a while back and off of my brothers (particularly the middle brother).


Great questions, everyone! If I missed yours, please do let me know, and I will be sure to catch it tomorrow. And feel free to discuss and speculate to your hearts' content in the comments! Your opinion on all these various topics is interesting and valuable.