Dandelions In The Garden

[Charlie]

Have questions about characters, plot, research, ideas, thoughts...? Want to know what the heck I was thinking? I'll do my best to explain.

[Chrissie]

Hi Charlie, I simply have to know if the Lavender Lady and Elizabeth's Aunt Klara really existed...... I am guessing that I will hear more from the Lavender Lady - but that I do not want to know. I am only on page 352! Also, were you able to visit the castles that Elizabeth stayed in? Both them and the Hungarian landscapes are so dramatically and beautifully described. Knowing what is fact and what is fiction is important to me. Maybe then I can tell myself that this guilty pleasure I experience while reading also encompasses learning! Hah, not only am I having a really great time, but look I am learning too!

[Charlie]

The Lavender Lady is in book 2 so I don't want to say too much. It is believed a woman in her situation perhaps existed, but I was unable to verify a name. To stay with the 'garden' theme, I called her the Lavender Lady. I'm a big fan of Lavender. I have it in my personal gardens, and dried in my car. To me, lavender is calming, healing and reminds me of motherhood and home.

Aunt Klara was very real and the details are true right down to her dress and bisexual exploits. I actually had to 'tone' her down a bit in an effort to not overshadow Elizabeth. She could be a story all by herself!

I did wonder about adding author notes, but I really wanted readers to question what was real and/or fiction. I didn't want to take away from the fun, questioning or give anything away. I was afraid it might lessen the 'shock and awe,' which is part of the experience. I know how I felt when I first read about Elizabeth.

[Chrissie]

Huh, I have lavender in my garden too.

So Aunt Klara was real! I cannot tell from your writing what is fiction and what is fact...... That is a compliment! God I laughed so hard after the boar hunt episode. It is easier to get close to Amara than Elizabeth, but that is not so surprising. And some of the stunts these two girls pull, well their youth shines through. When Amara speaks as an older woman, when she is writing the book, while her personality remains the same she has become more mature, perhaps "wiser" or just more experienced. I feel her personality is well portrayed at both times in her life. She is the same but mellowed.

[Charlie]

I've been told the second book is even better. Two of my favorite chapters are in the second half of the series.

[Chrissie]

Charlie, I am page 402, after someone has just been saved...... OK, this is a bit unbelievable, but also very tongue in cheek. I am laughing so hard!!!! It doesn't have to be believable. It is just marvelous becuase it is so fantastic. Any reader's skepticism is blatantly scoffed at by Amara who says you can believe what ever you want.... Very cleverly done. A fun romp! I don't think I have given anything away. You have to have read the book to follow what I am saying!

[Charlie]

Hopefully, it makes you wonder if Amara is a credible narrator. It brings into question what do you want to believe, what should we believe and who should we believe. If this tale was written in an academic book we would likely accept it as truth. Is it possible to give Amara the same credibility? After all, she was there right?

[Chrissie]

T o tell you the truth I just laughed myself silly! Now you have me thinking......I have no answer - not yet!

The main thing is, as I see it, I am enjoying myself!

[Jo]

Hey Charlie. I will kick myself if it turns out that this info was revealed in the book, or the blurb, and I was just too numbskulled to absorb and remember it, but why is the book called Dandelions in the Garden?

[Tara]

This group is a great idea. I'm now in the 80s of Dandelions.. I so far am absolutely charmed by the narrative style. I find Amara a very honest person. She doesn't hide her flaws. I have just read the "finger breaking" episode and I'm not the least repulsed.. Elizabeth is simply DOING what we all fantasize about.. I can't tell you the number of times I fantasize about say... running my drill motor thru a co worker's eyeball. LOL

Anyway, I too, am curious about the title. I'm wondering if it has to do with a week growing among flowers? Or am I way off here?

[Chrissie]

Tara, I have noted somewhere that I had the same idea as you, that Elizabeth and Amara are the weeds.

[Tara]

I didn't see that.. I would think Elizabeth is a weed. Amara is pretty nice, at least in the historical parts. Elizabeth.. she has some issues but I can see where they are coming from.. Being neglected as a child, forced to give up something precious to you(trying not to spoil anything for others here), forced to marry against your will and then knocked around.. well.. It's no wonder she is the way she is.

[Chrissie]

I think both Elizabeth and Amara are weeds, in the sense that neither were the way women were suppose to be! Dandelions are in fact pretty but NOT ACCEPTED in many lawns. How many kids haven't picked dandelions b/c they are so pretty and wonderful, but social norm insist they are weeds. Left alone, dandelions spread so easily! Did society want the views of these two girls spreading like wild fire? NO!

But hej let's not get TOO analytical here. I cannot stand that when people analyze art!!! YUCK!

I do not think Elizabeth is JUST a result of her experiences. I believe she was born with a temper. Amara in fact points thisq out very early in the book. Both girls were simply born different. Amara got knocked around too by life, and yet she reacted differently. Also they definitely DID influenc each other. The heredity factor is supported by the fact that Elizabeth is a descendent of Vlad Tepes.

[Tara]

Very true about the weeds thing. You are right.. In 1600s society, they BOTH would be called weeds. LOL

You know what.. I was a bit put off at first by how modern the book feels, but I'm very hooked now. Haven't been able to put it down.

[Chrissie]

Tara, cool we are both on-line. I know, the modern dialogue seems wrong, BUT tyou get so close to these girls and it represents how they think. When they talk to others they are are much more staid and proper. Elizabeth is demanding and authoritative. Amara is polite and demure. When they are together they just jab like you and me. This book is simply fun. Why it works, I don't know, but I totally enjoyed myself from start to finish. I WISH it had been complete, not two books!!!! Impossible to stop after one book!

[Charlie]

Yes, I chose the title for the above reasons. Gardens were an expression of balance, economy, status, style and nobility. Flower variety was fashionable. I saw the characters of Elizabeth and Amara as weeds within their particular society. Like some weeds, they were beautiful and resilient. I thought about how hard I work in my own garden to keep certain fragile flowers alive. Some are so sensitive to water, drought, heat, cold ect. It seems weeds root and grow everywhere regardless of the harsh environment. Look what it takes to kill a weed! I have this vivid memory of sitting in a park and noticing that a bunch of dandelions were literally thriving from a crack in the concrete. I remember wondering, "How?" I can barely keep my plants alive with great soil, water, plant food and protection. Here, these weeds are growing in the middle of the inner city in cement!

I believe we tend to talk formal in social situations, but among friends, even back then, people still expressed themselves with a personal tone. I considered Elizabeth's and Amara's exposure to proper social roles and behavior. What influences or lack of influence did they have? Who was there to teach them this 'formal' way of speech and life? It is noted that Elizabeth offended King Rudolph and many societal figures at court because of her 'brazen' language and behavior. Her 'informality' was offensive and many thought her language crude, or in a sense inexcusably 'modern.'

[Chrissie]

Charlie, but I also loved how Lorant and Francis got a kick out of the spunkiness of Amara and Elizabeth! To them the girls were not weeds.

I am guessing that both Lorant and the Quintet did not really exist. Am I correct? Francis' reknown position as a knight WAS true, right?

BTW, i liked how you explained the interruption between the two books as the hiatus in the story. I don't want to say much more; I might wreck it for others who haven't completed the first book.

[Charlie]

The Black Quintet was real. Francis was called the 'Black Lord' and was the leader of the group. His movements/places through time and activities are closely related to history. Palffy was Francis right hand man in real life. Amara, the Lavender Lady, and Lorant are fictional. Everyone else I believe that has been introduced is real/traceable and reasonably assumed to either be related or have interacted (crossed paths) with Elizabeth during this time. Yes, Lorenzo Bende (and the estate) did get her pregnant and really existed too. His family lived basically at a neighboring estate. However, shortly thereafter he seems to completely disappear. I assume he was shipped away. In addition, Kate is real, as well as George and John Drugeth.

[Chrissie]

Thank you, Charlie! I wanted the Lavender Lady to be real......

[Jo]

Thanks Chrissie and Tara for your input about dandelions as weeds, and of course Charlie for confirming it. I guess it reveals my lack of a gardener's viewpoint, or perhaps that I've never grown up (!), but I've never thought of dandelions as weeds. All the gardeners are now thinking "Keep him away from my garden!"

Fascinating, Charlie, to find who were real people and who were creations of your imagination. Amara is a great 'device' to make the story feel real and personal.

I'm curious. Did you decide to write a book about the 'real vampires', having heard a snippet of info, perhaps about Elizabeth or Vlad, and then researched it to be able to write the book? Or did you research Elizabeth (or Vlad) for some other reason and then think what a great book it would make? And when, in that process, did Amara materialise in your imagination?

[Charlie]

I'd never heard of Elizabeth before stumbling across her in a most evil women in history book. I had just finished the "Historian," and because of the Vlad Tepes connection I began 'thinking.' The creation of Amara came from my decision of perspective. I needed a character with intimate knowledge and who could span the time line, but I did not want to tell the story from Elizabeth's point of view.

[Chrissie]

Charlie, you might like The Bridge on the Drina. Ignore the drivel on the book page description. It is better than The Three-Arched Bridge, and they are different rivers. The first author got a nobel prize. I liked The Historian best for its depiction of the cities and countries. It is the Historian and The Bridge on the Drina that got me onto the subject of Vlad Tepes.

[Jo]

Charlie wrote: "...Amara came from my decision of perspective. I needed a character with intimate knowledge and who could span the time line, but I did not want to tell the story from Elizabeth's point of view."

And an excellent perspective it is :)

Amara really makes the story, not only as an interesting character but also in her role as a literary device!

[Chrissie]

Charlie and Jo, I agree completely about how well Amara fits into the story. She really helps the reader know Elizabeth's thoughts. Furthermore she is a delightful woman. Her and Draco are totally marvelous! Humor is important to fit into a book, even if the prime subject is morbid. I loved the mixture of laughs and shivers!

[Charlie]

Recently, an old school friend sent me an email saying how she could 'hear' me in Amara. The 'older' Amara is a mash-up of my mother and grandmother (certain traits) that drive me a bit nuts but make me laugh at the same time. Does this mean I'm turning into my mother/grandmother. Or, that I am more like them than I realized. Too funny!

I may have to take a poll. "Who am I more like, Elizabeth or Amara?" I'd be curious to see what friends and family have to say!

[Chrissie]

All I know is that it is good when author's own experiences get blended with their characters. The character become alive! That is what has happened in this book. :0)