 So, here's something I never knew I would enjoy--writing "bad guys." When I started writing my fairy tale, I knew it had the EVIL stepmother and stepsister. Well, some retellings soften those characters, but most don't. So, I started down the road of having them be evil in my story too.
And y'all, I actually liked having those "scapegoats" to cause mischief and problems for my character. And to blame. In all my other books, my characters don't really have something like that. So, it was nice to have someone to point a finger at and make the bad guy. That being said, I didn't leave it that way.
0 Comments
 When you think of fairy tales, do you think of West Virginia. I'll be honest. Until I went there, I probably wouldn't have either.
My family visited some friends a couple years ago over Spring Break. As you can see in the picture, the trees hadn't even leafed out yet because it was so early in the year. But ... there was still this absolute beauty all around us everywhere we went and looked. West Virginia took my breath away. And inspired my Cinderella retelling. How?  In the original Cinderella tale, she was always dirty because of the housework and sleeping next to the fireplace. But I couldn't picture a modern-day Cinderella doing that. So, what to do?
Well, I don't know how artsy-crafty you are, but I've often commented that when my fingers are covered in paint, it's been a really good day. I almost never work on a project without ending up with something under my fingernails or smeared on the side of my hand. That could be a fun way to make Ella always have something on her fingers too.  How can you have a fairy godmother when there's no magic in the story? Well, you can't, really. But I had a lot of fun making a character who fit the spot anyway. Especially with a name like Fae--which is what the Irish call their faerie folk. ;) You know I love a good play on names.
Fae is the lifelong neighbor of Ella and is full of sass and spunk. She loves Ella like another mother and has been there for her as long as Ella can remember. While Ella relies on her, she also won't let herself fully give in to Fae's wishes to really care for her. Ella thinks she has to make it on her own. That means Fae has to get creative in her care. Which she does, of course.  One of the problems with setting my Cinderella retelling in the "real world" was that I didn't want a real prince. I wasn't going for royalty, but I wanted the guy to "feel" royal.
The first thing I did to achieve this was give him a princely name. Namely, Chaz Prince. Don't you love it? (I had way to much fun with names in this series.) He's the son of Kingsley Prince, owner of the Prince Art Gallery. He's handsome and kind and mostly in love with Ella from the moment that he sees her. Why? Because she avoids him! One of the many perks of being a content editor is getting to know the other authors--and reading their stories before anyone else gets to. With Teresa Wells, I also got to meet her in real life last November, at ScrivCon. She's such a sweet woman, and I was thrilled to be able to help her polish up her first novel. It's a great story and I can't wait for you to learn more about it and Teresa.   Congratulations on your first book, Teresa! What made you decide to write about crazy quilts?
Thank you, Amy! I’m thrilled to be here on your wonderful blog. I’ve always been fascinated by crazy quilts. I inherited a small one from my great-grandmother on my dad’s side, a woman I never met named Sarah Lora Martin Green (1870—1930). However, because of her crazy quilt, I have a glimpse into her life and what she held dear, proven by the names she stitched onto velvet, silk, and satin. This 3 x 3 crazy quilt contains the names of her husband, seven children, and one adopted nephew. Seven children! I’ve always wondered where she found the time to make one of these, since crazy quilts take time, precision, and a knowledge of fancy stitches. Not exactly the stuff of a harried housewife. I mean, I could barely keep up with three girls—but five boys and two girls? Wow. Sarah Green probably had lots of help (the hired variety), freeing her up for endless hours of embroidery. According to my research, crazy quilting was a rich woman’s hobby. So, just like my fictional Truitt family, my great-grandparents lived a very comfortable life. But hard times were just around the corner.  What first inspired me to write a Cinderella retelling? Well, it was a mix of things.
Dirty fingers after I did an art project. The beauty of West Virginia, along with all it's handmade crafts and artwork. Coal/charcoal. That's where my idea for Ella Renders came from. Just like the original Cinderella, she's always dirty, but instead of it being due to ashes and soot from the chimney, it's due to her love of drawing, especially with charcoal. Because her daddy worked in the coal business and it makes her feel closer to him. |
This is a place for me to tell you about what I'm writing, talk about the process or where some of my ideas came from, or even have other authors come in and talk about their books.
Categories
All
Authors I Love to Read (in no particular order)
Archives
January 2026
|
RSS Feed
