Re-told

I read a lot of mythology and folk lore. I read a lot of books based off of mythology. I also like to watch movies and series based off of mythology.

Something that happens quite frequently when I am partaking in the second of these two activities is an indignant exclamation of "That's not how it happens!"

Alas, when others are in the room at said times they will then ask me about "the original", the "true" story, the "golden mean", the "master copy".

Oops.

I am then left explaining to them how folk lore any mythology doesn't actually have an original. All stories in these categories --and I do mean all --have developed over time in many different manifestations. There is no original unless the original is the universal consciousness of mankind. Even the oldest manuscripts we have of the oldest stories are already re-tellings of re-tellings. The story of what it is to be human has been told and will be told into infinity.

This is generally received with blank looks or a roll of the eyes at which point I wonder if I ought to have left out the bits about collective consciousness and infinity and stuck to the facts about the manuscripts.

Regardless, there is no original or "true" version of any myth or folk tale. Each individual version of each individual story is its own truth. Yes, it is rooted in all the versions that have come before it, but it is its own story in its own moment. It is reborn. It is retold.

This leads me back to my indignant exclamation of "That's not how it happens!" No, it isn't. Not in the older version I have already read. But this is a new version. It is going to take on a life of its own.

That isn't to say that one version can't hold a truth that I resonate with more strongly. One story can feel "more right" for me but that doesn't mean that it will be more authentic than the one that comes after.

Perhaps what I ought to exclaim is "I prefer the older version!" or "This retelling uses the same devices to explore a completely different metaphor that I find much less relate-able!"

Weekend Writing Wariors #3

Hello again. I hope you have all had a fantastic week and are enjoying browsing through the gems of Weekend Writing Warriors. Or if you aren't enjoying them yet I hope you will check them out now. There are samples of a lot of great writing.

Here's a 3rd snippet from my upcoming YA Dark Fantasy SNOW ROSES.


The cry sounded again. It was closer now. Hidden only by the thin cottage walls. I should have been moving away from the scream but somehow I couldn't. Not when it had felt so much like a cry wrenched from my own soul.
I stopped when I reached the cottage door. It was open, creaking back and forth on its hinges. A thick darkness loomed inside.


And in case you wanted a little context for that, here is the summery for SNOW ROSES.


Snow locks herself in her chamber when her Papa dies. As the days pass it grows harder and harder to tell the difference between grief and nightmares. She is sad but she is also afraid. Afraid of her stepmother, the queen Lucille. Afraid of memories she wishes she didn't have.

One night an attempt is made on Snow's life and she is forced into the dangers of a haunted wood where she can no longer hide from the truth.


Rose never asked who she was. She never wondered how she had come to live with the village spinster or why her guardian seemed to be afraid of laughter and bright colors. She was content to do her work, looking forward to the nights her Gran would come to visit.

Until the night her Gran didn't come. Until the night Rose stepped out of her safe, predictable village into a dark wood full of ghosts and monsters to look for her.


Snow and Rose meet each other in the wood. With no where else left to go they create a haven for themselves, learning to protect each other from the dangers. But the queen Lucille has powers far beyond their grasp and is used to getting what she wants. It will take something much more mysterious than secrets and much more powerful than magic to defeat her.

Snow Roses Summery

Snow locks herself in her chamber when her Papa, the king, dies. As the days pass it grows harder and harder to tell the difference between grief and nightmares. She is sad but she is also afraid. Afraid of her stepmother, Lucille. Afraid of the things she wishes she didn't know.

Until the night she can no longer hide from the truth. An attempt on her life forces Snow out into the dangers of a haunted wood.


Rose never asked who she was. She never wondered how she had come to live with the village spinster or why her guardian seemed to be afraid of laughter and bright colors. She was content to do her work, looking forward to the nights her Gran would come to visit.

Until the night her Gran didn't come. Until the night Rose stepped out of her safe, predictable village into a dark wood full of ghosts and monsters to look for her.


With no where else left to go Snow and Rose create a haven for themselves in the wood, learning to protect each other from the dangers. But the queen Lucille has powers far beyond their grasp and is used to getting what she wants. It will take something much more mysterious than secrets and much more powerful than magic to defeat her.




Let me know what you think! And if you would like a copy of the bookmark pictured above leave a comment with your address and I will send it to you!

Weekend Writing Warriors

Here is another snippet of my upcoming book Snow Roses. I hope you enjoy it along with the rest of the Weekend Writing Warriors excerpts.

It might be worth mentioning that the "I" in this snippet is a different narrator than before.

There. I'd done it. I'd stepped out of the village. Farther from home than I'd ever been before. Farther than any of the villagers had gone.
Any of the live ones that is.
I moved forward. The jitters fluttering through my chest dissolved as I turned the constant steps, one after the other, into a kind of rhythmic dance. My fingers and nose turned numb with cold.