K.M. Shea's Blog, page 68

A Cinderella update

Today I only have good news. First of all, I finished the first draft of Cinderella, and I’ve already dove into the editing process. I’m hoping to hand Cinderella off to my Editor (yes, she deserves the capitalization for what I put her through) sometime next week. Typically this means the release date is about 3-4 weeks away, so I’m hoping for a late June release date.

Secondly, the submissions for the NAME GAME are too fabulous, so I’m changing the rewards. The three Grand Prize Winners will still have their suggested names used in the sequel, but in addition to their real names appearing in the “About the Author” section of the book, I will also send each Grand Prize Winner a free e-copy (if that is a word??) of the sequel when the book is released. (I will use Amazon to make this transaction, so you will need a table or a Kindle app.)

In a second twist I am adding Honorable Mentions to the winning circle. Submitters who are Honorable Mentions will also be listed in My Life at the MBRC’s Sequel. (Sorry, I’m still working on a title that isn’t a major spoiler.) Submissions for the NAME GAME are open for another 3ish days. May 31st is the last day I’m accepting submissions, so get your names to me post-haste!

With that news, I’m going to get back to editing. Thank you for reading, Champions. Have a Wonderful Wednesday!

From the final frontier

Hello, Champions. I apologize for the off-date update, but I highly doubt I’m going to get a chance to update the blog this week. I wanted to reassure you that I am getting your wonderful submissions for The Name Game. (wow, you guys are a creative bunch!) What is keeping me from my blog and other various forms of social media is Cinderella. I want it finished this week. I’m close, really close. So I’m putting my nose to the grindstone with the intention of finishing it ASAP.

I will report in when it is finished. Until then, I will faithfully write. Thank you for the submissions and notes, Champions, and I will see you soon.

The Name Game

Cinderella is coming along fast. I hope to have it finished  next week or shortly after. Editing will probably take most of June since it gets passed back and forth between my Editor and me, so I’m hoping for a late June release.

In the meantime, I’m starting to gear up for the My Life at the MBRC as-of-yet unnamed sequel. I’ve been playing around with the plot and characters to try and get an idea of what the story will look like. I’ll be introducing a few new characters to help Morgan through her next adventure–don’t worry, her old crew is still around–and as I started to design them I had an awesome thought: I would like to have you guys name three of the new characters.

As a result, I’ve come up with another contest: The Name Game. The idea is simple. Look at the descriptions of what I’m searching for, and use the contact form in this post or in the above post to submit your entries. Important: You may submit an entry for each character. However, you can only submit one name per character. (This means you can submit to me a maximum of three names, one for each character.) REALLY Important: This contest will end May 31 2014.

I will select the names I feel best fit the character, and use them in the sequel. Winners and their suggested name will be mentioned in the “about the author” section of the book. If two people happen to submit the same name, and I select that name as the winning name, I will list them both.

I’m doing this because I feel like this sequel is our book. This is the sequel you guys wanted, and this is the story you voted for. I want to give you the chance to add your creative flair to Morgan’s story.

The characters are:

A male goblin: Goblin names tend to be Irish or British and are very proper/formal. (Example names are Logan or Hunter)
A fairy: Male or female. They are typically named after plants or the occasional animal. This particular fairy will be of the dumpy variety–like the ones that accompany Morgan on her museum field trip–NOT one of the pastels. (Example names are Violet or Oak)
A dwarf: Male or female. These names tend to be tough and guttural sounding when spoken out loud. When you say the name you should picture a person who is perfectly willing to smash you in the face. (Like Hildagr or Dimglash)

Helpful naming hints: Naming a character isn’t just about finding a cool name. When you look for names (trolling baby name websites and plant databases is a nice way to get your thoughts going) look to see what it means. You don’t want to give a goblin a name that means “soft and delicate,” even if it sounds awesome. Try to stick to names that give a similar feeling to the names I have suggested. (In other words, don’t submit “Katie” as your dwarf name entry.) When selecting a name, picture the character. I haven’t given you much information, but you can always re-read the chapter where Morgan visits the Chicago Goblin King to get a feel for goblins, or read the parts where Morgan address the dumpy fairies and compare their manners to the Pastels. You don’t want to give a dumpy fairy (the character you are naming) a super pretentious name.

[contact-form]

Run & Hide–It’s a Bad Poetry Day–ish

Today I’m really cranking out Cinderella, and I’ve used just about every word that I’ve got to do it. The good news is Cinderella is well over halfway finished, the bad news is I’m barely able to string words in a coherent sentence. So! :D Normally I would do a bad Poetry Day today, but I can’t choose a topic to make bad poetry about, so instead it’s bad artwork day. The following comic has been produced by yours truly.

So what is the moral of this…erm… picture? My work space is crowded, and I’m a few steps away from being a pig. (For the sake of ease of drawing, I simplified what is on my desk. Ahahah) ;) Until Wednesday, Champions!

Analyzing Swans

While doing research on the various “Brothers Turned Into Birds & Sister Rescues Them” tales (There are A LOT. You would think Disney would have tapped this market by now based on all the choices, but alas, their time has not yet come.) I found two general views that take a deeper look at what the story is about.

The first view says that stories like the Wild Swans are about sisters longing for their brothers to return from war. In some regions of the world–and in certain eras–it was occasionally practiced that a daughter would be her father’s heir. This was done because the sons were conscripted as soldiers, or willingly left as mercenaries. Their survival rate was not the best, and it was never guaranteed that the sons would decide to come back home even if they lived. As such, it was safer for the father to pass off his business/whatever to his daughter. Sounds pretty cool, right? Not quite. The downside is that the daughter was the heir, but as a result her father cared a great deal about whom she married. He exerted much more control over her life, in particularly in the realm of her marriage.

Keeping that in mind, some say the bird-brother tales represent the longing sisters have for their brothers to come home and become the heirs so they are freed from marital responsibility. The only thing that keeps this analysis from being commonly believed is that no one is certain if all the bird-brother stories were collected in regions and during times that this method was practiced.

The second, more widely believed school of thought is that the Wild Swans and the Six Swans (as well as their numerous incarnates) are about family love and sacrifice. There is a remarkable lack of jealousy among the siblings (and jealousy is something fairy tales commonly use, particularly between family members) and, in fact, the heroine’s relationship with her brothers is the only relationship that is never compromised. Her husband nearly lets her be torched and allows people to accuse her of witchcraft. (He defends her once or twice, but in the end he lets it happen.) The people in her husband’s kingdom think she’s weird and don’t try to befriend her, and her Father marries the witch that turns her brothers into swans. The heroine’s brothers are the only characters who are consistently on her side. They save her from being burned at the stake, and they defend her after they are human and can speak again.

Secondly, the heroine puts saving her brothers before everything. Talking to her husband, clearing her name, saving herself, and in some stories she even has kids (kids–more than one!) all take a back seat to freeing her brothers. Some critics use these facts to say the story is supposed to illustrate how important it is for families (or at least siblings) to stick together and help each other out in difficult times.

Another hting I found interesting is that the Bird-Brother type stories are one of the few kinds of fairy tales where the heroine actually does something. Not to hate on Cinderella or Snow White, but the Wild Swan heroine has no help. She performs a difficult task on her own to free her brothers. It had nothing to do with romantic love and everything to do with family ties. This fact really played into my version of the story, as you can see the strong ties between Elise and her foster-brothers. It was also why I was unwilling to tie Elise to Prince Toril. Elise is one of the few–if not the only–females who saves someone, she didn’t deserve to be stuck with a husband that nearly allows her to be killed.

I find it interesting to research what fairy tales reveal about our history and culture. Anyway! Champions, I hope you have a great weekend and I will see you next week.

Wild Differences

On Friday we took a look at the original fairy tales I based The Wild Swans on, so today I want to talk about the major ways I departed from the traditional stories. Here is the list:

Brida: Brida’s presence wasn’t encroaching, but the mere fact she was there made a big difference. She provided companionship, a voice, and protection for Elise. It is unlikely that Elise, mute and untrained for combat, would have been able to thrive without Brida. I wanted to bring a touch of reality to the fairy tale, so I knew I either had to get Elise some help, or allow her to get attacked. Being that Elise had to face Clotilde, the Verglas King, and break the curse, I decided she had been put through enough and brought Brida into the story.
Kicking Clotilde Out: The original fairy tales leave the heroine and her brothers happily in the kingdom of her husband. That didn’t sit right with me. Why would such a kick-butt heroine free her brothers, but abandon her country to a witch’s clutches? (Furthermore, why would her brothers do that?) Since the day I started plotting out The Wild Swans I knew I wanted to have a big confrontation between Elise and Clotilde. I gave Elise her magic-canceling-abilities because I decided it was important that she be the one to confront Clotilde.
No Romance For the Foreign Prince: The original fairy tales have the heroine fall in love with the prince/king who drags her from the pond to his Kingdom. This didn’t appeal to me. First off, how well could he know her? She was never able to talk or voice her opinion–and it is unlikely that he would have listened to her even if he did. The fairy tales specifically state that the man takes her back without giving her an option. Plus it is made unfailingly obvious that the prince/king loves her for her great beauty. I was nice to Toril and wrote him as a character that  admired Elise’s sacrifice and wished for someone who would do such a thing for him, instead of making him merely shallow.
Falk and Rune: in a continuation of number 3, I made Elise’s love interests her foster-brothers. Why? Because they actually did things for her (both in the original fairy tales and in my version) and strove to keep her safe. As far as I’m concerned, they deserved her more than the guy who ignores her wishes and admires only her beauty.
Gerhart Keeps his Arms: The final departure from the original fairy tale is that Gerhart, the youngest brother, turns completely human instead of having one arm remain a swan wing. I debated about this for a long time before I decided against it. My adaptation is about love conquering hate, and it seemed unfair that for all of Elise’s love Gerhart would still have a bit of the curse on him.

As a final bit of side info, in the original story it is a fairy queen appears before the heroine and explains to her how she can break her brothers’ curse. I replaced her with Angelique because, well, Angelique has a way of popping up everywhere…for a reason.

Thanks for reading, Champions. I will write to you again on Wednesday!

Origins

Just like Beauty and the Beast, The Wild Swans is based on a fairy tale. The difference, though, is that I pulled material and content from several similar/identical fairy tales instead of basing it off one as I did in Beauty and the Beast.

The fairy tales I used were: The Wild swans, The Six Swans, and The Seven Ravens. I drew most heavily from The Wild Swans and The Six Swans–which are almost completely identical although the number of brothers the heroine has varies. (In the Wild Swans she has eleven. In the Six Swans she has six.) The Six Swans was first recorded by the Brothers Grimm, where as The Wild Swans was recorded by Hans Christian Andersen.  The Six Swans is considered a German fairy tale, and The Wild Swans is Dutch.

Both stories star a princess who makes shirts out of a nasty, prickly plant to free her brothers from a curse placed on them by their wicked step mother. Both stories also involve a king from another country stumbling on the princess, falling in love with her, and taking her home.  In both stories the princess marries the king, but the one to accuse her of witch-craft differs. In the Six Swans it is the king’s evil mother, in The Wild Swans it is an archbishop. Finally, in both stories the climax is when the princess is almost burned at the stake but finishes the shirts in time to free her brothers just as her husband tries to free her. In both stories the youngest brother is left with a swan wing because the princess didn’t have enough time to finish the last sleeve of his shirt. After that everyone lives happily ever after in the kingdom of the Princess’s husband.

(It was to my chagrin that both stories ended there. I didn’t understand why the brothers didn’t head back home and free their country–I can’t imagine a queen who is so jealous that she turns her step-sons into birds would be a benevolent, much less just, ruler.)

The Seven Ravens follows a similar pattern (Girl finishes impossible task to break the curse on her brothers) but the big thing I took from that story was the seven brothers. Eleven brothers was going to be too many characters, but when I first tried for six brothers someone was missing. After I read The Seven Ravens I knew I had to create one more brother: Erick.

When crafting the settings and surroundings, I more closely alined Elise’s story with The Six Swans since Arcainia’s culture is German based. Just like Elle and Severin’s Loire is French to honor the original Beauty and the Beast fairy tale, Arcainia is German to honor The Six Swans. The character names, the things they eat, even the organization of the army all have medieval German influences.

Next week we’ll take a look at some of the things I did differently from the original fairy tales. Until then, Champions, enjoy your weekend!

Two Endings?

So everyone seems to have enjoyed reading Wild Swans, but what’s really got people talking is the two endings bit where you can choose which guy Elise ends up with. I’ve gotten quite a few messages from people who both liked it or didn’t like it, and I have gotten a lot of pleads for me to voice who I was cheering for.

Before I dive into that, I want to explain why I did it. It’s mostly because I hate love triangles. No, seriously. I hate love triangles. Not only do I find that they rarely happen outside of high school (When was the last time you ran into a 26 year-old guy who confided to you that he and one of his buddies love the same girl? Or have you ever run into a woman in her 40′s who has two handsome men pursuing her?) but it also irks me is that I always end up cheering for the losing side! No joke, I don’t know if it’s just bad luck or what, but if there is a book with a love triangle I always end up picking the guy that the girl does not fall in love with.

It drives me CRAZY!! Whhhhhhy? Why is it that the guy I pick never gets the girl!?! Being that I am apparently bad at picking the “proper” hero/romantic interest, I had a very bad feeling about how The Wild Swans was going to go down. Typically I don’t give readers the choice because, as I mentioned, I don’t like love triangles and I am reluctant to put them in a book, so everyone cheers for the obvious love interest. But I knew The Wild Swans needed the two princes dueling for Elise’s love to make the book more interesting, and I had serious worries that everyone would be upset with me for matching Elise with the “wrong guy.”

I’ll come out and say it: I am a Rune fangirl. As I wrote the book Falk totally grew on me so much so that if I hadn’t been planning the two endings I think I would have had a mid-life crisis and would have quit writing and moved to the hills to become a hermit. But as I was planning out characters and such I knew I wanted Elise to end up with Rune… but I had a feeling most readers would cheer for Falk. Falk tries harder, after all. Being loving comes easily to Rune, not so with Falk. Plus there’s something endearing about his poor communication skills and clumsy compliments.

What was I to do? I adored Rune, but I didn’t want to throw Falk and 3/4 of the readers who probably ship Elise x Falk out the door. The two endings solved this problem. Also, I will admit I wanted to use the brothers to drive home a point: Elise was happy with either man.

A lot of times Fairy Tales portray romance as “You have ONE true love in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD!” To which I would like to say: “If that is true, we’re screwed because if one person marries the wrong person we’re all thrown off track forever.” What I’m trying to say is that love is a choice. Whoever Elise decided she loved would become the one person she should spend the rest of her life with. I know the thought is a little upsetting considering fairy tales are a genre that center around the true love thing, but some trees are meant to be shaken.

That, and just once I wanted to reward all of the people who, like me, pick the losing side every time. Where’s the losing side of the love triangle now? Buwahahah!

Having said all of this, I doubt I will repeat this experiment in the future. I really want to avoid love triangles. I’m all for making a little tension, but I don’t like breaking the spirit of the poor guy who gets left out. It makes me feel bad. :(

The Wild Swans

The Wild Swans is up and available for purchase! I am really excited to hear what you have to say about it, Champions, especially the ending! As usual I’m forcing myself to wait two days to give you a chance to read it before I start spouting off book facts and background info. (So PLEASE READ FAST!!!)

Cinderella is coming along, I daresay I almost have a fourth of it written. Beyond that, the weather is crummy and Perfect Dog has displaced me from my bathroom. She has declared it   her snooze zone and gives me a dirty look whenever I turn on the light in there.

I really hope you enjoy Wild Swans, and I’m anxious to hear what you have to say about it. Until Wednesday, take care, Champions!

Release the Swans!

Princess Ahira is still free today and tomorrow, but the big thing I’m excited about today is that The Wild Swans ‘s launch date is this coming Monday. Hurrah! The Wild Swans is a tale of adventure, magic, a stubborn princess, and her wonderful foster-brothers who are turned into beautiful, friendly swans.

Okay, so maybe the brothers aren’t so nice as swans. Anyway, In celebration of the April 28 release date, I’m posting the first scene of the book. Click the link to expand the post and read the whole thing. I hope you enjoy it, and thank you for reading.

 

“One of your underlings made a mistake, Dewdrop. The royal fields yielded a higher income in wheat than what is recorded.”

The use of a sardonic nickname and the know-it-all tone Falk adopted as he stabbed his finger at the recorded accounts set Elise on edge.

“You are correct, brother. However, the recorded number is the gross profit. The number is derived after paying the farmers, subtracting the cost of seed, and so on. Also, I’m afraid if there is a mistake in the agricultural accounts, you have me to blame as I was the only member of the Treasury Department to work on them,” Elise said.

As if she would inflict Falk on any of her subordinates. Hah!

Falk leaned back in his chair. “I am not your brother, Sweetling.”

“I apologize, Prince Falk,” Elise said as she fixed a smile on her face, wished Falk would go away, and forced her head down so she could continue copy-editing the Gold Army accounts.

Elise loved her job as head of the Treasury Department. She loved numbers and finances. They always behaved as expected, and if something was wrong, the mistake could be traced. Furthermore, her position spoke volumes of the trust King Henrik placed in her. He might not love her enough to adopt her—only to claim her as the royal family’s foster child—but he had so much faith in her that he charged her with building and distributing Arcainia’s wealth.

However, on the days Prince Falk, one of her foster brothers, chose to visit her office to discuss the Agriculture Department’s accounts, Elise wished King Henrik had trusted someone else with the task.

“How long did it take you to complete the Agriculture Department’s audit?” Falk asked, turning a page.

“I can’t say I took note of it. May I inquire why the length of time would make a difference?” Elise asked.

“Don’t worry your pretty, little head, Fawn. I was only attempting to make polite conversation.”

Elise very much doubted this, but she let the matter go. “Of course.”

One of Elise’s secretaries stood in the open doorway and tapped on the wall to announce her presence “Fürstin,” she said, drawing Elise’s attention. For some reason beyond her understanding, Elise’s subordinates went through extraordinary efforts to use old titles of nobility whenever one of her foster brothers was around. Elise’s title of Fürstin was commonly translated to princess, but beyond signifying she was a child of royalty, it also meant she was the head of her family. As the royal family hadn’t adopted her, this meant she outranked all but her eldest foster brother, the crown prince.

“Fürstin,” the secretary repeated. “The Kronprinz is—,”

“I can announce myself, thank you. Elise, that bloated pig has gone too far. Hello, Falk,” Steffen, the crown prince, said as he edged his way into Elise’s office.

Elise folded her hands in her lap. “Who is a bloated pig?”

Steffen ran a hand through his hair, mussing it. The gesture gave away his frustration. Typically Steffen looked as perfect as the portrait of him that hung in the main gallery. Every piece of his blonde hair was always settled in place; his uniform was never crooked; and his eyes crinkled with the slight, perpetual smile he constantly wore. Now, his eyes were uncharacteristically narrowed as he snapped, “The prince of Loire.”

“Which prince?” Elise asked.

“The legitimate one. His father has asked us to give you over in marriage to that empty-headed buffoon.”

“Fürstin,” the secretary, who still hovered at the doorway, said. “Would you like me to call for refreshments?”

“Yes, please. Thank you, Gretta,” Elise said, rearranging her papers.

The secretary bobbed a curtsey and disappeared from view.

“Aren’t you offended?” Steffen asked, striking Elise’s desk with a rolled up paper.

“The buffoon to which you are referring is the heir to the throne of a country that is three to four times as large as our beloved Arcainia. No, I cannot say I am the least bit offended,” Elise said.

Falk, the stark opposite of his brother in resemblance and temperament, raised his eyebrows and said nothing.

“Aren’t you even surprised?” Steffen asked.

“From whom the offer originates, yes. As far as Loire knows, we are nothing but a small, powerless neighbor. It is unanticipated that Loire’s King would choose Prince Lucien’s bride—the future queen of Loire—to come from such a place,” Elise said, making a tally mark on some parchment. “Not to mention you hired an assassin guild to kill one of the princes. Even though the plan failed, they must know we financed the attempt. If they do not have proof right now, I imagine they will shortly—those Rangers the Loire princes play around with are just as good as Mikk’s sneaks.”

“But that is all that surprises you? I was shocked to receive the offer at all,” Steffen said, looking around for a chair. He stared at Falk, who was sitting in the only free chair in the room, perched near Elise.

Falk stared back at Steffen and made a shooing motion.

Steffen rolled his eyes and found a chair under a precariously balanced stack of books, which he set on the ground before making himself comfortable.

Elise cleared her throat after the interchange was over. “You think I am unmarriageable, Steffen? Or do you doubt anyone would want to marry the foster daughter of the King of Arcainia?”

“That’s not it at all. You’re a princess all the way through,” Steffen said, his lips reforming into the usual smile. “I merely think it is a little early for you to marry.”

Elise went back to her accounts. “I am 18, nearly 19. It is the right age for suitors to express interest,” she said, copying down numbers.

“You are ready to be married, then?”

“It is not so much that I am ready, but more that I cannot avoid the duty much longer. I have told Father as much.”

“You’ve spoken to Father about marriage?” Falk asked, straightening up in his chair.

“Briefly. I told him I would never forgive him if he married me off to someone poor.”

Steffen stared. “Why? You are not one to demand luxuries.”

“Indeed. But the north wall of the castle needs repairing, and it’s going to be costly. My suitor could pay for it as the bride price,” Elise said, dipping her quill into an inkwell of tar black ink. She paused. “Loire is a very rich country.”

“No,” Steffen said.

“No,” Falk repeated.

“I’ve already sent a refusal. It’s probably a ploy. Some of Mikk’s undercover men heard more rumors of Prince Lucien’s warmongering. He’s still set on coming after us,” Steffen continued.

“And?”

“And what?”

“So what was the purpose of storming my office to inform me of this development? Since you have already sent a refusal on my behalf, I don’t have much to do with the matter,” Elise said.

“I wanted someone to complain to,” Steffen said.

“Gabrielle wouldn’t hear you out?” Falk asked, referring to Steffen’s wife, Princess Gabrielle.

“Gabi is gone for the day, and she took her dratted cat with her. Good riddance,” Steffen said. “So you would seriously consider marriage? Not to the Loire Pig Prince of course, but to a suitable candidate?”

Elise was spared from replying as her secretary, Gretta, arrived with the tea.

“Your refreshments, Fürstin,” Gretta said, setting a tray laden with a three-person tea set and various treats on an end table another secretary brought in.

“Thank you, Gretta,” Elise smiled.

The secretary gave Elise a dimpled smile before she left.

“Well?” Steffen asked.

Elise stood and set about serving tea, pouring it with elegance and poise. “I am a princess, Steffen. It is my duty as a member of this family—foster child or not—to marry for the betterment of our country. I have never shrunk away from my duties before, and I do not intend to start doing so now.”

“That’s our Perfect Princess,” Steffen said, repeating the court’s pet name for Elise.

“If you say so. Tea?”

“No, thank you. So, do you have anyone in mind for marriage?” Steffen asked.

Elise paused. “Perhaps,” she said, deliberately looking to her the door of her office. It opened into the Treasury Department’s headquarters, and directly across the hall from the Treasury Department was the Commerce Department. Mertein—the young noble who was casually courting her—worked there.

“Hm. Should have guessed. I must be going; I have a somewhat urgent correspondence I must see to,” Steffen said as he rocked to his feet. “But you two enjoy.”

“Were you pleasant when you refused the Loire Crown Prince?” Falk asked as he took the tea cup Elise offered him.

“Goodness, no,” Steffen said.

“Excellent,” Falk said.

“Be careful when playing with Loire, Steffen. That second prince is dangerous,” Elise said, pouring a cup of tea for herself.

“Prince Severin? He’s not a beast anymore, did you hear? He went off and fell in love with a merchant’s daughter. Broke the curse right off him.”

“Yes that’s why he’s even more dangerous now.”

“I agree. Take care, sister.”

“You as well, brother,” Elise watched Steffen leave with a fond smile. He was the only member of the royal family who had encouraged her from the day she was taken in as a foster child to refer to him as brother.

She loved him for his acceptance.

“I believe I found another error in my department’s accounts, Dove.”

Elise steeled herself to keep a grimace off her face. Steffen’s acceptance was more than she could say for some of her other foster brothers.

“Yes, Falk. Where is it?”

“Here. We grew several acres more of alfalfa hay than what is recorded. I apologize, but it might take me more than one day to finish inspecting these numbers.”

“Of course.”

“I will have to intrude upon you while I do so, of course. The Treasury Department records things differently than we do in the Agriculture Department.”

That would be just her luck. Elise bit her tongue to keep from snarling. “Of course,” she pleasantly said.