Musical inspiration

I watched The Sound of Music the other night. What a great movie. A little cheesy, yes, but good.

I'd never really thought about it before, but it also inspired a few scenes in Thorn of the Kingdom. Remember where Abby sneaks into the open ballroom and begins dancing with an imaginary partner? I doubt she would have if Julie Andrews hadn't first.

Actually, the ballroom at Tholly's palace isn't so far off from the one at the von Trapp Family villa. It's just bigger, of course, and with a bit more of the colors you'd find at Beast's castle.



It's strange to realize how all these little bits can get stirred up in one's mind and come out in different ways. It's not plagiarism. It's just how art works and has always worked. Ask Shakespeare.

The Ordinary Princess by M. M. Kaye

I decided to turn my attention to children's lit tonight and share with you some of my favorite books for kids and young adults. These are the ones that came from the "Books I'm not supposed to like anymore (but still do)" section of my old Poohba's Bibliotèque website.



The Ordinary Princess by M. M. Kaye can truly be called an upside-down fairy tale. There are certain rules and expectations about princesses: they must be blonde, slender, beautiful, and gentle - and poor Amy doesn't fit the bill. At her christening, Princess Amy's fairy godmother decided to proclaim her "ordinary," so instead of growing up like her six perfect older sisters, she turns into a freckled tomboy that no respectable prince wants to marry.

That suits Amy just fine. Being ordinary, she can run off and have adventures her sisters couldn't even dream of - and she winds up with the best husband in the end, just being herself.

I have to admit this book was one of my inspirations for Thorn of the Kingdom - though it's much funnier and more clever than anything I've ever written.

If you've ever read Kaye's The Far Pavilions you might be surprised to know she also wrote this children's book in such a completely different style. I hate this cover art, by the way, because it makes it look like Amy's about 5. She's actually a teenager through most of the story.

Inspiring Abby

Since I provided some thoughts about where the characters of Tholly and Pierre came from ages ago, I thought it was only fair to give you some insight into how the character of Abby developed.

My original concept of Thorn of the Kingdom was that it was a love story between Abby and Tholly. Even after that relationship ends, it's still the driving force of everything else that occurs. But, over time, I've come to see TOTK much more as "Abby's story." Tholly is an important part of it, but he isn't her whole life.

It may surprise you to know that I didn't originally intend to write TOTK from Abby's perspective. I thought the narrative would be mostly about her, but with a few chapters focusing on settings where she couldn't possibly be present. I didn't like writing first-person stories and hadn't attempted one in years.

However, just a page or two in, I knew something wasn't working. The third-person narration was lifeless. To save a story I knew I had to write, I took a deep breath and started writing it a different way. It's strange, once I made that critical decision, Abby's voice was just there. The more I wrote about her, the more I felt I knew her.

... And the rest is history.

In my writing notebook, I keep several pictures of Abby. I think this photo of Liv Tyler in Lord of the Rings captures Abby in a wistful mood. Perhaps this is how she looked when she met Tholly in the empty corridor the night of the grand ball, or perhaps she's in the midst of some philosophical debate with Pierre. The only thing wrong with it, is Liv doesn't have enough red in her hair.

And Tholly?

I don't have as good examples for Tholly as I do for Pierre. The closest I can come is this image, from Sir Frank Dicksee's painting of Romeo and Juliet:



That's him... except his face isn't showing.

Inspiration

If you're interested in how I came up with my characters. Well, mostly they evolved as I was writing them... None more than the character of Pierre, who was a total enigma to me when I began the section where he arrives into Abby's life in Thorn of the Kingdom. He revealed himself to me in layers, just as he did to Abby (whose character was a completely different story. As soon as I realized her story needed to be told from her perspective, her voice was just there.)

However, in recent trollings of YouTube, I rediscovered this Alanis Morissette video, which I remember really making an impression on me when it first came out. (I think I completely missed the point of the song, but that's okay.):



Keep a close eye on the guy on left side of the split-screen. (Yeah, I know it's the same guy on both. But he's not dressed up like the "knight in shining armor" on the right side.)

Pierre?

Well, yeah, a little bit.

Of course, my other big influence on his character was Michael Vartan's version of Lancelot in The Mists of Avalon TV movie.

(Thanks to Two Evil Monks for the photo.)