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K. L. Stewart's Dark Angels blog gives details into the characters, worlds, and inspirations related to all of the books in my Angels and Shadows series.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Finding Ruby in the Mountains

I would like to turn away for a moment from Angels and Shadows.  Instead, I want to share with you my most recent adventure.  I promised my daughter that I would write a book that she could help me with.  She's only nine, so as a parent, I feel that Angels and Shadows is too mature of a story for her to read.  I decided that I would write a book that would be for her and other girls her age who share her same interests.  I chose to expand upon a short story that I had started ages ago, when the two of us were playing school.

We had just gotten back from the Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina where we went gem mining.  She knew that ruby was her birthstone, and when she mined a ruby, she was ecstatic!  I wrote the short story soon after this trip, with her new ruby on my mind.  I decided to name the character Ruby, and give her the traits of my daughter, only she would be a fairy.  Her best friend would be a unicorn.  All little girls go crazy for unicorns!  I gave the unicorn the name of Sapphire.

She loved the short story, and it became the first chapter of what is now a completed (and daughter approved)  book.  My daughter really took it seriously that she was a co-author.  She took it so seriously that she became an editor!  She is learning how to properly structure sentences in school, and she was calling out all my misplaced commas and periods.  As a parent this was a great moment of pride.  As a writer, it was one of the best learning experiences that I've had in my whole career!  She changed the original plot, which was supposed to have rivaling groups of magical creatures, but it was too scary for her.  So, the Shadow Dancers were completely cut from the book.  They will just have to wait for a later time.  She's not ready to hear about them right now.  I replaced them with the trolls and the Cakelympics (what are Cakelympics, you ask?).  These are Olympic type games played by trolls using cakes and cake materials to replace normal things.  (For instance, instead of throwing a ball through a hoop for basketball, trolls throw cakes through hoops.)

This has been a great experience, and I can't wait to unveil this book!  As of now, the release date is the same day as the Author Event at the Jacksonville Mall, April 30th, 2011.  I'll keep adding updates as I get them, so keep checking!

2 comments:

  1. This is wonderful! What a great way to get her involved in the writing process! I love that she is so involved. I KNOW my kids would love to learn about the writing process and what goes into publishing a book. Jackson especially!

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  2. I'm glad that you like this idea. I think it's really given Victoria confidence, and a sense of personal achievement. Maybe Jackson could help me write a book for boys!

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