Friday, February 28, 2014

Flash Fiction Friday #1: Lights



They told her to follow the jars of light. And really, it should have been that easy.

But it was impossible to reach the end of the path when the lights wouldn't stop calling out to her. Like restless jewels - emerald and sapphires, rubies and amethysts - they were captives knocking on windows for help.

She could feel the ache behind each glow, each desperate to tell its tale.

She had always loved a good story.

The glass was cool to the touch, dewed with the night’s breath.

A gasp – and the meadow became a circus of spun light, consuming her. When she opened her eyes again, the air pinned her down with its icy grip. She was a fever, a self-consuming fire, a wild thing now trapped in glass.

Don't touch the jars, they said. Just follow them. And really, it should have been that easy.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

where to find inspiration when writing a Peter Pan retelling

So Epic Reads was pretty awesome in doing this:

Click on the image to see it in full-size!


Speaking of fairy-tale retellings, now that I'm writing a contemporary YA novel that's inspired by Peter Pan, I'm starting to appreciate this genre more.

I'm still partway through Fathomless by Jackson Pearce -

Let's take another minute to admire this gorgeous cover again.

And dammit now I need to own this lovely book. It's not so mind-blowing or insanely gorgeous that I want to put it in a shrine the way I want to for Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater





or the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy by Laini Taylor.

Shrine-worthy covers, no?


Fathomless may not induce this reaction:

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But it's original and riveting, and contains the magic of the original fairy tale with its own tinge of darkness and drama.

Dark and dramatic, with romance and high stakes, terrible beauty and the threat of losing one's humanity - just the way I like my YA fantasy novels! If - when - I write Indigo Tides, that is all I can hope for it to be.

But* a mermaid story is a novel for another time (Indigo Tides, wait for me!). Right now, Peter Pan is taking centre stage, so I'm looking for books that were inspired by the boy who wouldn't grow up. Scouring through Goodreads, I came up with 5 books to sink my teeth into while working on No Room in Neverland.

*That is one too many buts.

When someone mentions Peter Pan, you'd probably think of this:

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(Ah, Jeremy Sumpter. I had the hugest crush on him because of this movie!)

Or you might think of this:

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Or, in my case, you'd think of this:

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(That's my Thomas - from No Room in Neverland - by the way.)

And this:

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But I always thought Peter Pan was quite a sad story, not least because Peter and the Lost Boys were, well, lost. They might seem wild and carefree in Neverland, little kings and princes of their isolated domain, but they've never really known love, or had parents to guide them - they're just sort of cosseted in their insular world until the Darlings come along.

(That's definitely what I'm tapping on in my novel, only, as in most character-driven romance novels, both the main characters end up transforming each other, for better or worse.)

These modern retellings of the classic story are not just sad, but also pretty dark - YUM:


1. The Child Thief, by Brom


How gloriously dark and sinister does this look! A devilish version of the Disney classic where Peter Pan comes with a dark past of being raised by wolves and shuttles between the realms of faerie and man, where Peter leads a "savage tribe of lost and stolen children" and recruits a human boy to save Neverland from turning into a wasteland? Three words: sign me up.


2. Tiger Lily, by Jodi Lynn Anderson


I read Peaches back in 2005.



It was a sweet and - dare I say it - forgettable contemporary YA summer romance. But Tiger Lily looks a lot less run-of-the-mill, largely because it has an unexpected narrator: Tinkerbell!


(Except she's not called Tinkerbell here, but Tiger Lily.)

I've always viewed Tink as the antagonist, because she showed me that fairies weren't always nice (just like mermaids - those bitches in Peter Pan belonged in Mean Girls!) and were ruthless when it came to protecting the boy they loved.

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But I guess that might be why Anderson chose to write from her POV.


3. The Lost Girls, by Laurie Fox


I think this book might have been the cause of my Peter Pan obsession. I read it when I was in university, and have been searching EVERYWHERE for it in bookstores. I borrowed it from the library then, but it's not there anymore.

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(Ugh, don't you just hate when you can't find your favourite books in the library anymore?)

The Lost Girls is actually adult fiction, about three generations of Darling girls who continually fall for Peter Pan's charm. It's all family drama, secrets, estranged mothers and girls coming of age in a dysfunctional family - the sort of adult fiction I love. (Amazon provides a better description of the story than Goodreads, so go here to learn more!)


4. Finding Neverland (2004)


It's about J.M. Barrie's friendship with a family who inspired him to write the iconic novel. So good research, I suppose?


5. Peter Pan, acoustic cover by Silv3rT3ar


Ah, this song. I loved it the first time I heard the original version in Korean, and even more when I heard this version.

And then there's this:


Which is on Replay while I write Neverland. No kidding.

Yes, I believe I've got Peter Pan on the brain.




Monday, February 24, 2014

sun, sea, sky, and other happy things

Busy busy week ahead, not least because I'm aiming to write at least 30 more pages (7,500 words) for Neverland by the end of this month! So here's some photo-dumping* before I'm on my way.

*I kid: I don't dump them, I stick them here very nicely, just like how I used to colour neatly within the lines when I was little.**

**Snort.

Anyway, since our travel plans for this month fell through (Taiwan will be postponed to the end of next month instead) and Dad had the weekend off, we went looking for places that would satisfy our shutter cravings. And where better to snap some pretty pictures than at the beach? 




Hello, blue lovely. Thanks for making the weekend beautiful.


EVERYONE is happier at the beach.

The ground was a little parched due to the dry spell that's beset us since the start of the year. But look, blue skies!




Ah, the sea. I love it so painfully much I might just set my next story here. (Red December Skies doesn't count.)



Saturday's weather was glorious. The sky was blue with a vengeance, but the sea breeze kept the heat from encroaching.

Easties really have the loveliest view. (Easties, by the way, are those who live on the East Coast of the island. They are supremely smug - and understandably so - about the fact that they've got an unobstructed view of the sea, an entire boardwalk of cafes and quirky seaside joints, and near-immediate access to the beach. They are also supposedly more mellow than people living elsewhere on the island.)





After cycling, it was still too lovely to leave, so Dad and I just sat on the beach and talked. But we eventually left when dusk fell, with sand between our toes and sea salt in our hair.

Even the view on the way home was gorgeous. The weather was obviously showing off that day, doing little pirouettes in its tulle dress. Look what I can do! Look how pretty I can be!
  


You glorious, glorious day.

Sunday turned out to be just as serendipitous, with cool north-easterly winds and more cerulean skies. So after brunch, Dad and I played tourists for the day and went to Gardens by the Bay.




Dad and his giant chocolate ice-cream waffle




Enjoy the lovely weather while it lasts, guys, before the haze sets in!


On a different note, can you believe February is coming to an end already? How did that happen? Feels like I'm still spinning on the remnant excitement over New Year's. Still, it's not too late to make things happen! You still have 10 more months to make 2014 your best year yet! Get cracking and be amazing!***

***That's a lot of exclamation marks. Might need to tone down the chirpiness.

And since it's Monday (again, where did all that time go?!), keep happy with these mood-lifters!


Kos Island, Greece

Paper lanterns

I have a strange, sudden obsession with lamps and lanterns these days. Something to work into a story, perhaps?

Hello, little thing

And hello, pretty thing



I hope you find that magic in your week! ❤