Friday, February 15, 2013

Princesses in the Making


Princesses in the Making
by Laurie Alice Eakes

Dressed in a silk bodice and velvet skirt, the princess strolled along the corridor of the palace, laughing and chattering with her ladies in waiting on their way to the dining hall, where. . .
Princess Grace of Monaco embodied every American girl's dream of commoner to royalty


Oh, wait, that was just me in cotton blouse and wool skirt meandering down the halls of my elementary school, giggling and chattering with my friends on our way to the cafeteria for another lunch of tuna sandwiches and apples where nothing would happen. But that wasn’t where my imagination took an ordinary day. With a flick of my mind, my ordinary clothes became luxurious garments, tile hallways marble corridors, a cafeteria full of shrieking girls and shouting boys metamorphosed into a great hall bursting with fine ladies and heroic knights.

And I was the princess.

Ehem, setting this egocentric thinking aside, this shy, bookish child in nerdy glasses needed something to boost her self confidence. The truth was, I was almost embarrassingly obedient to authority, bullies made me cry, and I was more likely than not to throw something at my elder sister when she made me mad, which was often. In my imagination, however,  I faced all dragons—adults—with aplomb, bullies with fortitude, and my older sister with dignity.

Somewhere along the way, I started writing stories, though many years passed before I tackled a novel. That first effort is still around, tucked into a sub, sub, sub folder on my computer somewhere likely to never see the light of day. The point is, I wrote it from start to finish and loved the process. My princesses were born.

Nothing I’ve written has included a princess, not even a royal princess as a secondary character, though Esther Cherrett in Choices of the Heart has rather been treated like a local princess until recently. She likely wouldn’t have the issues she endures during the story if she had been treated like an ordinary young woman.



Yet if my heroines were ordinary young women, they wouldn’t be ordinary. Instead, they are women seeking their place in the world within historical context from Clarissant, the perfumer who mustn’t let anyone know of her business or social scandal will ensue, to Tabitha, Phoebe, and Esther, the women in my midwife series fighting internal and external battles, to Cassandra, who wants to fly balloons in 1812 England.

From that shy little girl cocooning herself in stories of princesses in silk and velvet, an author emerges to share her tales of extraordinary ordinary women with you.

Choices of the Heart is my twelfth novel published and is the third book in The Midwives series from Revellbooks. 2012 presented the release of three novels, as well as two novellas in collections, and the acquisition of two Avalon books by Montlake, the publishing arm of Amazon, making them available on Kindle. Five more books and a novella are scheduled for release over the next two years.




21 comments:

  1. What a wonderful glimpse into your creative inspiration, Laurie Alice. I was bookish, too, in my school years. Thank the Lord for romantic escapes like yours--I am sure I would have collected all of your stories had I access to them back then. Your heroines always speak to my heart.
    Welcome to Christian Fiction Historical Society!

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  2. Sweet! I was the opposite, a tomboy through and through. And I much prefer the stories of ordinary women to those of princesses. :) Love your stories, so keep them coming!

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  3. I've especially enjoyed the midwife series. That's where I met you. What takes you months to write, I gobble one down in short time. Once I begin a book, I can't wait to see how the characters change their circumstances. Good job!

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  4. I love your introduction to yourself, Laurie Alice! Even in that you show your wonderful imagination. I was just looking over my shelves this morning and thinking about all of your titles. I love reading your books you put so much history into them and they are always entertaining. So glad you are a part of this blog!

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  5. I enjoyed reading your story. Thank you for writing it for us.

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  6. Thank you all for your kind words. I hadn't thought about the princess pretending for a long time, then it just popped into my head, and I had such a clear memory of walking down the hall of my primary school I could smell that special school smell, hear the kids around me, remember what I was wearing. . .

    That's what I try to do when I write--set myself in the scene.

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  7. I'm like Pegg, I can't ever remember a time when I wanted to be a princess. I was a tomboy and wanted to be a cowgirl. I kind of sort of got my wish when my folks bought my first horse. I had tons of fun riding it even though I lived in the city.

    I'm glad you get to write the stories of your heart now, and maybe some day, you'll write one about a princess.

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  8. I was a bit of a tomboy, too. Very divided wishes. I had a cap gun and loved to put on one of my mom's dresses, a straw hat, and run around "shooting" my friends.

    One day I'd be preening about in a pretty dress and hat, and the next sliding down a muddy hill in my jeans.

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  9. Hi Laurie Alice,

    Love, love your midwife series! Just finished "Choices of the Heart". Griff was a great hero! But I still think Rafe is my favorite!

    Cheers,
    Sue

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  10. Thank you, Sue. I think Rafe is my favorite, too, if an author can play favorites with her heroes. I wasn't sure I could get into Griff, since I've never written that type of hero, but in the end, I'd gotten a bit of a crush on him. LOL

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  11. Laurie, you a a child of the King, so I guess that qualifies you as a princess.

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  12. I was like you as a child although not so much a princess but I grew up on Enid Bylton and was forever wanting to climb the faraway tree and be there. I was bullied, I even through things (although mostly at the door or WALL) when mad with brother etc. Had a very active imagination but we differ in that I cant write and didn't write.

    I did start climbing trees from the age of 2. I also tried to get through my wardrobe to Narnia but didn't happen. I could get lost in a book and would fantasize about it for weeks.

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  13. Laurie Alice, I could have written those very words, embarrassingly obedient.... right down to the dreams of bravery as I faced dragons and caused knights to swoon.

    Thank you for sharing.

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  14. Hey Laurie! Great post. I love that photo of Princess Grace; she looks so beautiful. So glad you are a part of this blog!

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  15. Thank you all for stopping by. I'd never confessed this before.

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  16. Laurie Alice, another thing we have in common--I use to draw myself as a princess in a strapless gown in elementary school. I was fascinated with their lives which lead me to study English History and so on and so on. . .

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  17. Laurie, loved your post. Ah, Grace Kelly or Princess Grace of Monaco. A beautiful woman!
    I can remember as a child watching the wedding on our black and white set here in Philly. Grace was a Philadelphian and lived on the same street as relatives of mine. My aunt saw her frequently out and about. At a young age my imagination was very active and Grace Kelly was a heroine well into my 20's. Well, I did marry an Englishman and have lived there. And many of my dreams have come true.

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  18. Wonderful sharing Laurie. My princess imaginings were stories where the princess is living a commoner's life because she doesn't know her heritage. I look forward to the ides of March and your next post.

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  19. Hallo, Hallo Ms. Eakes!! :)

    I discovered this lovely blog a bit over an hour ago, and I am slowly going through reading everyone's introductions!! :) I was happy to find you here! I'm behind on my reading ques due to a cold that kicked around for a fortnight, but rest assured, I am just as eager to read the Carpenter's Inheritance as when it first arrived! I think I'll just disappear into my reading chair and not emerge until after the last blizzard that the Western and Northern states keep bracing to arrive! :) :)

    My own imagination landed me in a bit of trouble in school as well!! I always had a faraway look in my eyes, as quite frankly, there were a lot of 'boring moments' to tick off inbetween the 'bells'!! I hid it better in high school, as if you slouched {spelt?} down in your chair, you could get away with 'reading' a book rather than doing the 'class' assignment! I'd rather jaunt off somewhere in the Old West, launch myself into a Crichton or Grisham mystery, or escape into a romance! Laughs.

    Bullies were horrid! :( I never understood why they always felt they had to pick on everyone who was different! Sighs. I simply had to get used to standing my ground and became my own advocate at a young age. If I wasn't reading in class, I was writing in my notebooks,... character sketches, scenes, layouts of locales,... my imagination held my interest far more than the traditional classes that seemed to be on 'repeat cycle' from the year before! :O Laughs.

    Didn't you know!? Extraordinary ordinary women are the best to know!!! :) :)

    Blessings to you!! Cheers!!

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  20. Hi Laurie, so glad to see you on this loop. I enjoy your comments on the 19th Century Writers. I learn so much from you. Looking forward to reading your posts.

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