Origins Blogfest

http://dlcruisingaltitude.blogspot.com/2012/01/origins-blogfest.html

On Monday, February 13^th, you should post your own origin story.  Tell us all where your writing dreams began.

This is a modified version of my very first blog post "Do You Believe in Fairies?" It's shorter and has more pictures so hopefully no one gets bored. 

I have always enjoyed making up stories, but my serious interest in writing novels began as a homework assignment to write an eight page short story with a focus on visual and descriptive sensory imagery. Eight pages, because I was in the eighth grade. 

Comment wise, I am declaring "open season" on both the first page and the drawing.
EX: Better at inducing vomiting than ipecac.

Look familiar?

 Around page 6, I realized at the rate I was stringing my pulchritudinous purple prose together, it would be another hundred pages before I got around to the ending.

One year and about 60,000 words later, my “children’s book” was finished. Now all it needed was illustrations!

The next Sunday, I brought my colored pencils to church with me and began sketching. After the meeting, a woman wearing a purple cloak came and sat next to me, curious to see what I'd been drawing. I showed her my chicken-scratch-sketch of my main character, a fairy in a purple dress.

God certainly does work in mysterious ways, because the  woman in the purple cloak happened to love the color purple, fairies, and was a published author.

Jillian 2.0

She became my mentor and her encouragement is the reason I never stopped writing or trying to learn how to draw.

*BONUS*
Comments are "Open Season." Leave one and I'll do a drawing at midnight on the 19th where I will mail the winner my hardcover copy of either THE FAERIE PATH or if you like your fairy stories a bit darker WICKED LOVELY.

 I will ship international if the winner is outside the US. 

If you don't have your email posted on your blog's profile, please include it in your post.

SWEPT way into a court of magic and beauty, she discovers she is Tania, the lost princess of Faerie. Since Tania's mysterious disappearance five hundred years before, Faerie has been sunk in darkness and gloom. With her return, Faerie comes alive again as a land of winged children, glittering balls, and fantastic delights. But Tania can't forget Anita's world, or the boy she loved there.

Torn between two loves and between two worlds, Tania slowly remembers why she disappeared, and realizes that she is the only one who can stop a sinister plan that threatens the entire world of Faerie.

THE CLASH of ancient rules and modern expectations swirl together in this cool, urban 21st century faery tale. Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries. Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in the mortal world, and would blind her if they knew of her Sight. Rule #2: Don't speak to invisible faeries. Now faeries are stalking her. One of them, Keenan, who is equal parts terrifying and alluring, is trying to talk to her, asking questions Aislinn is afraid to answer. Rule #1: Don't ever attract their attention. But it's too late. Keenan is the Summer King and has sought his queen for nine centuries. Without her, summer itself will perish. He is determined that Aislinn will become the Summer Queen at any cost! Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working any more, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything.