Firstly, whoever discovered Nutella has my vote for president.
Ok. enough with my rant.
Since
I hadn't written anything in my blog so far, I had to start with
something. It's like that first line you struggle to write in your book,
essay, or poem. As much as you want to write it down, you feel hesitant
about it since once your commit to it there is not coming back.
Ok. Zip with the philosophy.
I
wish that my blog will reflect me as a person, not as a writer or
musician. Hopefully, I won't be dragged into trying to promote and talk
about my books. This blog is intended for me to communicate with others
who like the things I like. The writing comes second or third after
being a human lost soul who loves all kinds of art to keep alive and
have fun.
A week ago, I was able to add the synopsis
and lovely ( at least to me ) cover on goodreads. Finally, the release
date will be on October 30th. Will Snow White Sorrow be a good companion
for Helloween? I guess so. That's going to be for readers to decide.
Luckily, I have started to have comments on the book and lots of people who claim they want to read it, which is just amazing.
The
synopsis, as far as written until now ( I might change little things )
does explain what the book is about. There is just much much more that
can't be explained or it will ruin the book. It kind of explain the
first third of the book.
Since I don't want to give out
much about the book, I thought explaining how the idea came to mind and
what influenced me is the best way to elaborate on the subject.
Here we go:
As
much as we all love books, it's rare when the subject is original and
totally new. And that's what I wanted to write when I started the Grimm
Diaries. No matter how silly and too fantastic the plot sounds, I was in
mood for stepping into a new territory. One I can claim no one has
written like it before.
After a lot of researching and
reading and brainstorming, I came up with four ideas that I believed I
haven't read about in novels before. Tarara! Proud of my little brain.
I
googled and went to the library and asked my friends to find that three
of them were actually super original which was amazing. Only they were
so original, I was afraid to write. Imagine yourself coming up with
something like Bram Stoker's Dracula, hence inventing the vampire genre,
( well a couple of writer's did it before him too ) It was too scary
for me. So I thought I'd stick with the fourth idea:
What if Snow White was a vampire?
What a silly -- but original -- idea ? I thought to myself.
With
all the vampire craze in the past years, I don't think I have ever read
that before. So i researched if someone has ever thought about it.
the
firs thing that I came upon at the time is the upcoming movie: Snow
White and the Hunstman. Although I was impressed by the Evil Queen's
part when I saw it in the trailer played by Charlize Theron, I though,
nah, that's not it. I am looking for a better twist, something really
original.
Then I cam about a short story called Snow,
Glass, Apples. A short and precise masterpiece that deserves an Oscar by
the one and only master of imagination Neil Gaiman. Even though he is
one of my all time favorite writers, this little gem of a story slipped
away somehow. I picked it up and started to read it, imagining that my
fourth original plot is dead and gone. How am I going to write on a
subject that Neil Gaiman wrote about. How dare I?
But
after I read Gaiman's masterpiece, I thought something was missing (
with all due respects, I wouldn't compare myself to authors of such
caliber )
But what was missing?
Two things:
1) the
books needed to be longer, much longer. It had to be a series. An epic
series. How come you come upon such a twist and just stop at about 5,000
words? I needed to know Snow White's real name, I wanted to feel her,
now her, and the evil queen too. If there was one thing I didn't like
about fairy tales, it's that there never mention real names and
description. In the original scripts of fairy tales. You never know the
evil queen's real name or motives. You never understand where teh kind,
the father really is, what's prince Charming's name and back story.
Details like these make masterpieces.
2) And this what really
started the Grimm Diaries. How did the idea come to Gaiman's mind? Where
in the subconscious would come up with Snow White being a vampire? Is
there a historical significance to it? A hint that makes the idea
plausible?
The only way for me to write a book about
Snow White being a vampire ( after it was already done before ) was to
find something to back my story up. Something to connect the threads, so
it's not just a twist, but to make it a POSSIBLE twist.
So
I did my research. And I have to say, if you used your imagination like
I humble and hypothetically tried, you'd see that the possibility that
Snow White is a Vampire is not that far fetched.
My
references and researches are not based on rocket science. Simply on the
original scripts of fairy tales and the origins they were collected
from. If you read the scripts with a keen eye and a Gaimanesque
imagination, you;d read between the lines, discovering that fairy tales
are not at all how Disney presented them to us. In fact, fairy tales are
so much darker and deeper, and literally more and more entertaining.
This
is when the idea cemented itself in my offbeat brain. I am going to
tell a story about the REAL FAIRY TALES, using historical evidence and
scripture, and common sense to back it up.
Not that The
Grimm Diaries is a research/debate type series like the Davinci Code. I
am into that at all. I am all into fun, fantasy, young adult, and
paranormal romance. All I did is create a world -- which in my case, is
the world of dreams like in movies like Inception and Paprika -- to bind
things together. And I cared of the characters and the adventure type. I
wanted the quest for covering the books to be a Harry Potter-like
adventure. Not that I claim I am s good as any of the honorable movies
and books I have mentioned. I am such a humble writer, playing with a
crazy idea that I would love to read myself in a book.
So not to make this blog overly long, I will explain more and more about the Grimm Diaries, and many other influences.
Lastly,
I'll give you a hint of what to expect other than me trying to write a
fun adventure. Did you ever wonder who the Evil Queen is? Who was it in
the mirror talking to her? Who Snow White father's is? Why the dwarves
preserved Snow White in a glass coffin? Why the queen asked the huntsmen
to come back with Snow White's heart and liver? Why liver? ( in case
you wonder, yes, she did ask for this in the original story? Why did the
Brother's Grimm alternate the script on of the Snow White story -- fact
-- one time mentioning the queen to be her mother and then claiming she
is her step mother, and more.
Also why would a fairy tale book
aimed with children start with a mother pricking her finger and relating
blood to the birth of her own child?
Mmmm....
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