Tuesday, June 17, 2014

June Crusade: Bonnie Rose

Oh, boy, is my Little Writer upset with me. 

So, I'm sure most of you will recognize the Five Glass Slippers Cinderella short story contest Anne Elizabeth Stengl and Rooglewood Press hosted last year. Yes, and our dear own Rachel Heffington won a place in that collection with her The Windy Side of Care. I'm raw-ther excited to read it.

Well, this year's contest is called Five Enchanted Roses and it's all about fairy tales based on... you guessed it: Beauty and the Beast. 

"Now, now, Kiri," my Little Writer told me, "you've too much to do without beginning another story. You're working on Secret of the Hazel Tree, and you just foolishly jumped into the June Crusade. There's no way you can take on a Beauty and the Beast story right now, and I won't even mention how it's your favorite fairy tale."

I made my counterattack. "But a Beauty and the Beast story could count for one of my plot bunnies! I could kill two birds with one stone!"

My Little Writer was not impressed. But I won. 

Ladies and gents, just so you know from the start, I have absolutely no idea how this story is going to turn out. Secret of the Hazel Tree was meant to be my entry for the Five Glass Slippers contest, and yet I finished it four months too late and 180,000 words too long. Yeah... the rules stipulate that your story must be between 5,000-20,000 words, and I am not known for short stories. Squeezing everything I want in the story into a mere 20K is going to be difficult. Pray for me. Will this story ever see the light of the contest? I haven't the foggiest.

What's my Beauty and the Beast retelling? Chewing on it, I've got lots of plans for a medieval/fantasy type retelling, but everyone and their brother will be doing that route for the contest. I wanted something fresh. Besides, I tend to flesh out my fantasy far too much for 20K. *cue Pooh Bear* Think, think, think. 

What do I love? What could make Beauty and the Beast real but unique? And then it came to me.

What about pirates?

...

Pirates, it is.


Bonnie Rose is only my temporary title, as I'm not entirely pleased with it. I might be changing that sometime in the future. We'll see. But please don't expect some gushy, pirate, passionate romance story, because this is far from it. I abhor that drippy type of book, and I've resolved never to write something like that. No, this is about adventure, betrayal, and the meaning of true beauty.

Blurb: 
Bonnie Rose Allaway loves the simple things – her family, the sea, and the roses that remind of her deceased mother. When a chance comes to leave their homeland of Scotland and seek a better life, Bonnie's family eagerly moves to Virginia. Though still poor, they are content with their lot. And the overseas trade promises them even greater things – so much so that Irving Allaway promises his daughters the gift of their choice when his big investment comes in at Charleston. Bonnie, of course, asks for a rose.

Of course, that is until Mr. Allaway's ships were lost to the brutality of pirates. With no fortune to claim, Bonnie's father is devastated, but he still tries to bring back what he promised. How little anyone knows how Bonnie's gift will change their lives forever.


Captain Henry Kerr is called “the Beast” for good reason; his reputation spreads throughout the Caribbean before him, and no man wishes to stand in his way. The Black Thorn is his pride of the seas, and it is his path to freedom, riches, and whatever he may want – save for the one thing for which he yearns more than anything else. For years, he has seen nothing but the sharp, ugly thorns in the world. It may take a young, Scottish girl to help him find beauty in the roses.

And if you've seen this post, then you've already read the first chapter. Yes, I was mean to post it without the slightest explanation, but I was too excited to think straight and I wanted to share it with you all.

God bless!

20 comments:

  1. OH MY.... SQUEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    If there's one thing you should know about me, it's that Beauty and the Beast my absolute favourite story. My jam. No question about it.

    Must enter this contest! But I am not exactly known for my short stories, either. But I will look into this. Hopefully I can fit in writing a short story with my plot bunnies.

    But I LOVE your spin on the story! It sounds very intriguing! If you want someone to look over / edit / give criticism on your story before you enter it in the contest, I would LOVE to have a peek. I've already done editing for friends before. Please please please please.... ;)

    - Anna @ alyiannabaggins@gmail.com

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    1. Thanks, Anna! Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorites, so I'm excited to get into this! Ooh, yes! I'd love to see a story from you, too!

      And yes, I'll keep your offer in mind. It'll be a while before I'm done with my end of things, but I'll definitely want criticisms. :D

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  2. Oh, Kiri! Oh, Kiri! This is wonderful!

    And, I've used three exclamation points already. Sorry about that.

    Seriously, though, I am definitely looking forward to reading this. I like your idea.

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    1. Do be warned, my dear Kathryn, this is not going to be the same as SotHT, so do not get your hopes up. You can't squish the Grimm Dickens into 20K. *le sigh* But I'm glad you're excited. I hope I can live somewhat up to your expectations. :)

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  3. Girrrrl you just about gave me a heart attack when I saw your title! I'm working on my B&B retelling as well....and it's set in Scotland and my character's name is Bonnie. *knocks head on desk* However, other than that, our stories are nothing alike...I love the pirate spin. I want to read it :)

    heehee. Beauty and the Beast *and* pirates. That is a splendiferous combination. It even makes me forgive you for nearly causing me to keel over from a heart attack ;)

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    1. What???? Two Scottish Bonnies??? Well, well, well... great minds think alike! ;) Set in Scotland, eh? Do post about yours because I WANT TO KNOW MORE! :D

      And my sincerest apologies for giving you a heart attack. I shall endeavor never to do so again. Of course... I make no promises. *winks*

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    2. haha. I was thinking of doing a post on it, but so many things are up in the air about the plot I wanted to wait until things were a bit more set in stone. I might at least post the title sometime, though :)

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  4. Blogger ate my last comment... grrrr.

    KIRI, THIS SOUNDS BRILLIANT!!!! Beauty and the Beast was one of my favorite Disney fairytales when I was little and the fairytale will always have a special place in my heart. I don't think I'll be entering the contest, but I'm definitely looking forward to what you come up with!!

    Three cheers for Bonnie Rose!!

    (BTW, I'm nearing the end of SotHT and LOVING IT.)

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    1. Aw, thanks, Melody! I'm really having fun with this! I'm not sure yet if I'll get it into the contest (it all depends on how closely I can stick to the word limit -- grrrr on that), but I'm loving this story too much now to stop. So I have to finish it. Besides, it's a good chance for me to challenge myself in the word count arena... which, for me, is good. Don't worry -- I'll probably rope you into my list of criticizers before all's said and done. :D

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  5. Yes. Yes, yes:D

    This sounds so terrifical!!! I'll be praying for guidance!

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  6. So cool! I hope you post snippets! I'm also writing a story for this. Good luck with your story!

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    1. Thank you, Anna! I'm hoping to post more snippets soon! Ooh -- what's your story about? I just love BatB!

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    2. Pretty much like the REAL story of BatB with hints of the Disney movie and The Phantom of the Opera. :) I might be posting snippets, soon. Who knows? ;)

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  7. Exciting!!!!!! I hope it works for you!!

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    1. Thanks, Jack! This is going to be quite different for me than writing SotHT, but I'm loving it too much to care! :)

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  8. KIRI. I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS. Not only because Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairytale but because, um, PIRATES? And together? MY BRAIN MIGHT EXPLODE FROM OVER EXCITEMENT. This is amazing!

    And the other reason I'm excited is because I'm planning on going for the contest as well! :D So if you want to be partners in crime in this terrifying endeavor, then I'm all for helping you out with your story and vise versa.

    I'm kind of nervous though because, like you, short stories and I don't get on. I seem incapable of writing them, but I'm going to try my hardest because I really want to take part in this amazing contest.

    But anyways, your twist on B&B sounds AMAZING and I'm super excited for you! :D Will definitely be praying for guidance in all your endeavors.

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    1. You're writing one, too? *pumps fist* POST, LAURI! Pweeeeease?? With cherries on top?? I need to know about this. YES!! Partners in crime. LOVE IT! At this point, I think I've got all of my characters/plot points/settings figured out (ha - I did almost three hours' worth of research yesterday on pirates, ships, and sailing), but I'll definitely want feedback when I'm done writing it.

      I KNOW! Short stories are such a headache!! How can they ask this of us, Lauri? How can they? *faints dramatically onto the couch* Oh, my poor nerves are disheveled just thinking about it! But we'll survive. I'm sure we will. :)

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    2. YES I AM! :D Although technically I haven't started it yet. I'm trying to finish my current WIP and then hopefully start it sometime in July. I'm also still working on the plot, it seems to just want to get more and more complicated and I hope to goodness I can fit all these ideas under the 20k mark. :-/ That's wonderful you already have so much plotted! And I admire your dedication to research. Researching is...not my favorite thing.

      Since it's for a contest I kind of don't want to give TOO much away of my idea, so I don't know if I'll post much about it. But I certainly will be seeking your input once it's all said and done if you'd be willing! And I'll be so happy to help you with anything you need. ^_^

      I just do not know! It's a tragedy of tragedies. How can you put a limit on our writerly passions? *pulls up another couch to faint dramatically on*

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  9. Sounds super good! I had intentions of also entering the contest, but decided against it for multiple reasons. One being the fact that I also cannot manage to write short stories...I have my story started and coming along well, but it's over the word-limit by a lot and still not finished. :D Ah well. I love writing it.
    Again, marvelous sounding story!

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