This past weekend, I discovered a new top-ten favorite movie: Blood and Chocolate, based on the book by Annette Curtis Klause. As I described it to my BFF Emily, it’s a werewolf Romeo and Juliet werewolf movie with a happier ending. So gonna have to pick up the book now.
It brought to light something that’s already been going on in my life; the construction of a “mythical creature” world. My agent is currently trying to find a publisher for my werewolf thriller series, and so we’ve been talking a lot about this. See, if you’re making up a whole new creature, hey, no problem, you make the rules. But, if you’re trying to write about a creature for which rules already exist, well, there’s where you run into a problem.
It brought to light something that’s already been going on in my life; the construction of a “mythical creature” world. My agent is currently trying to find a publisher for my werewolf thriller series, and so we’ve been talking a lot about this. See, if you’re making up a whole new creature, hey, no problem, you make the rules. But, if you’re trying to write about a creature for which rules already exist, well, there’s where you run into a problem.
Despite the fact that vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, witches, etc, don’t exist (well, maybe they do, but they’re not exactly documented), people still have expectations. Which gets kind of weird, because then you’re defending and trying to substantiate something that only exists in your head. Trust me, it can make you prone to headaches and excessive muttering.
This was made very clear to me while watching Blood and Chocolate. Very, very cool werewolves. But not my werewolves. And I don’t seem to be the only one with this problem, either; in every book I’ve ever read about werewolves, each author has their own version. Kelley Armstrong, Charlaine Harris, Alice Borchardt, Cassandra Clare…not a single version lines up neatly with the accepted fairytale version. That’s what we do as authors. Think inside the box? No, sir, we don’t need no steenkin’ box.
The only thing that comforts me is that, once upon a time, vampires weren’t sparkly…and then along came Stephanie Meyer, and the earth shook with lust for Edward. Hoo-ah.
This was made very clear to me while watching Blood and Chocolate. Very, very cool werewolves. But not my werewolves. And I don’t seem to be the only one with this problem, either; in every book I’ve ever read about werewolves, each author has their own version. Kelley Armstrong, Charlaine Harris, Alice Borchardt, Cassandra Clare…not a single version lines up neatly with the accepted fairytale version. That’s what we do as authors. Think inside the box? No, sir, we don’t need no steenkin’ box.
The only thing that comforts me is that, once upon a time, vampires weren’t sparkly…and then along came Stephanie Meyer, and the earth shook with lust for Edward. Hoo-ah.
But, just out of curiosity--what are your werewolves like? Or your vampires?
Beware the sound of crying children, watch out for the barmaids, and whatever you do, don't let the Pegasus spit on you.
Surviving Serendipity--SylvaniaMania.com
Beware the sound of crying children, watch out for the barmaids, and whatever you do, don't let the Pegasus spit on you.
Surviving Serendipity--SylvaniaMania.com
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2 comments:
Seth Green or Michael J. Fox are the only werewolves I will accept.
Hey Jackie! I can't remember if we ever talked over my werewolves but I know we discussed my vamps! I follow a Celtic line of the werewolves (created by Andraste, the goddess of the moon, to fight the Romans in the time of Celtic queen Boudicca!). My vamps are Romanian gypsies. So cool.
Btw, I have heard from friends that have read Blood and Chocolate that the movie had it all wrong. But hey, I never saw/read either version of the story.
TTYL
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