The Infant Novel
I make frequent references to the YA (young adult) fantasy novel I’m working on, so I thought it would be a good idea to have this page to answer some potential questions.
(Feel free to mention any other questions you think I should answer here).
Q: What’s it called?
A: The Lady and the Lindorm. (Think “Beauty and the Beast.” It’s a fair start.)
Q: When did you start writing this story?
A: November 1, 2006 (My first NaNoWriMo). I got my 50,000 words in the 30 days. Look at October or November 2006 if you want more of the story.
Q: What’s the novel about?
A: An unwed teenage mother disenchants a beast who is actually a prince, but her happily ever after disintegrates when a quest calls him away and she is left to face new monsters alone.
Quite a number of traditional folktale elements are wrapped up in this story, and you can check them out if you feel so inclined.
Q: Where did the idea come from?
A: From a folktale called King Lindorm. (That link is to the first of several versions I’ve read).
Q: How close is the novel to the original story?
A: It’s changed quite a bit. There is still a monstrous snake demanding a bride– because he’s not supposed to be a snake– but several new and important characters have emerged that weren’t in the original story.
Also, I couldn’t see a modern audience getting the ‘selling his soul’ element that makes one character the focus of perpetual abuse, so I transformed the hordes of hell into a mass of minor djinn, which confirmed the story’s position as fantasy. You know, in case there was any question.
Q: What’s your favorite part?
A: Creating dialogue. Sharp dialogue his always my favorite element in books and movies, so I can’t help loving and creating my own– even if it’s only in the way a 6-year-old pirouettes in her ballerina fantasies.
Q: Where are you at right now?
A: Best way to find out is to look at my Developing Novel category. That is a fairly current record of activity. I’ve found I have a habit of “detoxing” after a chunk of work by blogging about what I did.
If you comb back through those you’re likely to find excerpts or quotes to give you a taste of what I’m working on.
Q: I have high expectations after reading so much on your blog.
A: That’s not a question. 
Please keep in mind that I am a wife and mother first, and 2 (or 12) years in the making says less about the novel’s complexity and/or depth than the one who is writing it.
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For more information of (possible) interest you may like the post where I interviewed myself about writing.
