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| http://dlcruisingaltitude.blogspot.com/2012/01/origins-blogfest.html |
On Monday, February 13th, you should post your own origin story. Tell us all where your writing dreams began.
This is a modified version of my very first blog post “Do You Believe in Fairies?” It’s shorter and has more pictures so hopefully no one gets bored.
I have always enjoyed making up stories, but my serious interest in writing novels began as a homework assignment to write an eight page short story with a focus on visual and descriptive sensory imagery. Eight pages, because I was in the eighth grade.
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Comment wise, I am declaring “open season” on both the first page and the drawing.
EX: Better at inducing vomiting than ipecac. |
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| Look familiar? |
Around page 6, I realized at the rate I was stringing my pulchritudinous purple prose together, it would be another hundred pages before I got around to the ending.
One year and about 60,000 words later, my “children’s book” was finished. Now all it needed was illustrations!
The next Sunday, I brought my colored pencils to church with me and began sketching. After the meeting, a woman wearing a purple cloak came and sat next to me, curious to see what I’d been drawing. I showed her my chicken-scratch-sketch of my main character, a fairy in a purple dress.
God certainly does work in mysterious ways, because the woman in the purple cloak happened to love the color purple, fairies, and was a published author.
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| Jillian 2.0 |
She became my mentor and her encouragement is the reason I never stopped writing or trying to learn how to draw.
*BONUS*
Comments are “Open Season.” Leave one and I’ll do a drawing at midnight on the 19th where I will mail the winner my hardcover copy of either THE FAERIE PATH or if you like your fairy stories a bit darker WICKED LOVELY.
I will ship international if the winner is outside the US.
If you don’t have your email posted on your blog’s profile, please include it in your post.
SWEPT way into a court of magic and beauty, she discovers she is Tania, the lost princess of Faerie. Since Tania’s mysterious disappearance five hundred years before, Faerie has been sunk in darkness and gloom. With her return, Faerie comes alive again as a land of winged children, glittering balls, and fantastic delights. But Tania can’t forget Anita’s world, or the boy she loved there.
Torn between two loves and between two worlds, Tania slowly remembers why she disappeared, and realizes that she is the only one who can stop a sinister plan that threatens the entire world of Faerie.
THE CLASH of ancient rules and modern expectations swirl together in this cool, urban 21st century faery tale. Rule #3: Don’t stare at invisible faeries. Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in the mortal world, and would blind her if they knew of her Sight. Rule #2: Don’t speak to invisible faeries. Now faeries are stalking her. One of them, Keenan, who is equal parts terrifying and alluring, is trying to talk to her, asking questions Aislinn is afraid to answer. Rule #1: Don’t ever attract their attention. But it’s too late. Keenan is the Summer King and has sought his queen for nine centuries. Without her, summer itself will perish. He is determined that Aislinn will become the Summer Queen at any cost! Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working any more, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything.
What a wonderful story! And I think that the writer with the purple cloak is wonderful. How many people spend the time to encourage a child?! That's great!
email: c.marie.keller (at) gmail (dot) com
Talk about serendipity! How wonderful that a published author sat beside you that day, and that she cared enough to mentor you. Nice to meet you. Count me in as your newest follower. (Fun blogfest!)
af4fo (at) aol (dot) com
oh man, how awesome is it that she just happened to also be a published author? Very serendipitous
Beautiful! It is too weird that the lady in purple sat next to you to see your work. It was meant to be. 🙂
Now that was a total blessing that woman sat next to you!
That truly is amazing how you met your mentor!!! I think there are a lot of us that love purple and fairies (me! Me! me!) but not so many of us that also happened to be published – and show up at just the right time! Love your illustration too and as for the Barbie, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!
I love the cover and the blurb for the Faery Path. I'm also a new follower. My post is at how my writing dream began
What a great story! I love fairies and the color purple too!
Wow, what a wonderful thing that an author with an eye for talent sat next to you — and not a grumpy lady who'd give you the stink eye for drawing during church! (In my Italian-American community, I would surely have gotten the latter — and had some rosary beads shaken at me, to boot!)
That's so cool that she sat next to you…wearing that purple cloak!
What a cool origin story!! Thanks for stopping by my blog 🙂
Following along!
That was one lucky meeting! Clearly it was meant to be. But…a 60,000 word children's story? That is thinking big 🙂
It is indeed a fabulous origin story. And I believe there are no coincidences. You two were meant to meet. Thanks for a great entry, Roland
You just happened to meet a published author who became your mentor? That's amazing!
How special was it to have a mentor! So many aspiring writers would soil their shorts for a chance like that! Good for you!! And thanks for sharing that ORIGIN story with us.
A bit tough to get to 212 people in one day, so I'm sorry for the late Origins blogfest visit. It's such a great feeling to have a mentor like that–and how lucky you must feel. I know I feel blessed to have found mine. 🙂
your newest follower,
Nutschell
http://www.thewritingnut.com
God places people in our path and us in their paths and its awesome to watch him work like that. And thanks for the reminder to put an email address on my blog! And thanks for stopping by Lydia's blog today and saying hello.
Just popped back for a second look, and noticed that photo looks like the fountains at the end of the sunken garden at Butchart Gardens. Am I right? I can't be certain because I was thrown off by the bushes in the foreground, but I know there's a lower path which I've not been down to for years.
Just keep on doing your story!:)