Map of Lorindar and Surrounding Lands – I drew this one myself. Much to my surprise, DAW liked it enough that they’ll be including it in The Mermaid’s Madness. I guess that makes me a professional mapmaker now, eh?
Who was that strange pixie? – I needed an inebriated pixie for one scene in Stepsister. The following paragraph, from the bottom of page 64, is a tribute to my favorite erratic flier. Click the link if you need a hint.
A yellow pixie flew out of the tunnel. His flight was erratic, looping and spinning in every direction. He nearly collided with Talia before flittering past. He muttered an apology, but the words were too fast for Danielle to make out. He sounded like a hiccupping sparrow.
Snow White, Version 1.0 – For anyone who wants to see how Snow’s character started out in the very earliest draft of The Stepsister Scheme.
Stub the Cat – Stub is the ship’s cat in The Mermaid’s Madness. He’s a spunky little guy, despite missing a leg. As it happens, I own a three-legged cat as well. Pod is more punk than spunk, but he was the basis for Stub. Pod was born with four legs, but leg #4 was a twisted mess and had to be removed when he was still a kitten. (My officemate at the time pointed out that it always looked like he was flipping you off.) As you can see from the picture on the right, he’s doing pretty well for himself these days.
Suggested Reading:
- The Annotated Snow White
- Cinderella/Aschenputtel
- The Annotated Sleeping Beauty
- Sun, Moon, and Talia, by Giambattista Basile
- The Crystal Casket (the source for Snow White’s name)
- The Little Mermaid, by Hans Christian Anderson