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Gabriel

Dollylocks — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:06:55 MDT

Dollylocks posted a photo

Gabriel - scarredGabriel_1.jpg

A very long time ago, probably when I first started writing these dark fairytale stories around ‘02, I had planned out a very lame take on the Rapunzel story (as I thankfully decided before I attempted to write it). It actually did not even involve a “young king” character, but instead the male lead was more of a nosey young man who got too deep into something that was none of his business. Anyway, when I had the idea to combine stories, this was the first story I went back to. I had decided that not all my characters were going to be the stars of their stories, (which I got from Anne in Nutcracker, I imagine) and this young man jumped out at me immediately. He was a sad character, covered with scars, blind, and miserable. The story of Rapunzel ruled the others, because I had seen the thorns, and I realized how many other stories dealt with thorns – and how many could be manipulated to. And so, my dear Gabriel was born, and he was the initial star. Gabriel was the first character I chose, and therefore he was meant to start as the main character while Diego and Hendrik were meant to be enjoyed from a distance. That worked for me for a while, but Gabriel evolved slowly, and he didn’t grow enough through the first book for him to keep his station out in front, which was quickly taken over by Cornelia. This beginning gave room for other characters to step up and get their due in turn. They’re all main protagonists equally, which is what I meant to happen in the end. Tidbit: Mark of Thorn was originally meant to be only one book. After a while of thinking through it (as I was writing Nutcracker Bleeds) I decided that there was just too much there, so I decided to flesh it out into several books. I decided on five. The five books in the series are meant to focus on each character in turn. While the other characters are present and involved, the individual books are designed to focus on one specific character out in front. Book of Scars is Gabriel’s, Book of Beauty is Cornelia’s, and so on. The fifth book is meant to conclude the quest, however it also shares in the backstory of a fifth character that has not yet been introduced.

Diego

Dollylocks — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:04:17 MDT

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Diego - Diegocopy.jpg

A few years ago, I was working out a Puss in Boots story, focusing on a humanoid Puss character. His name was Diego, but he was not the same sort of character that the real Diego turned out to be. He was a bit more serious and melancholy – perhaps a bit more like Gabriel’s character. He had a lot of prejudices against him because he was a demi-human. So, the demi-human/humanoid animal idea for the Mark of Thorn world came out of this story idea. Diego’s personality was partially inspired by the classic, clever and swashbuckling Puss in Boots, but also by Agatha Christie’s famous detective Hercule Poirot. I know that probably seems a bit odd, because Diego is not some fat little detective (if you know who Poirot is), but there are still many similarities. Hercule speaks French, and so does Diego. They are both extremely brilliant, but hide behind a foreign manner in order to dull that brilliance so that others cannot see. They both use that to their benefit, for others tend to overlook them beneath this guise. They are both very meticulous in the way they dress, and respect craftiness in other people. It was always my intention for Diego to have some sort of accent. I had mentioned in the first book that he seemed foreign, but didn’t use any sort of foreign words. In between Book of Scars and Book of Beauty, I decided that readers might not get Diego’s accent like I had originally imagined. So, when I started Book of Beauty, I decided to make him French. (Mostly because Spanish was ruled out by Shrek’s take on Puss in Boots, because his name is Spanish in origin.) Tidbit: I also played with the idea that Diego could speak many different languages, throwing out words in different languages on a whim, but decided in the end that that would be too complicated for readers to latch onto.

Hendrik

Dollylocks — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:02:06 MDT

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Hendrik - Hendrik.jpg

Most people, I suppose, assume that Hendrik is the Wolf from Red Riding Hood. I had started writing a twist on Red Riding Hood actually – several different times, several different versions. Nothing was ever right. Hendrik did not come from an old version, but after I had already picked Gabriel as a somewhat obscure character, and pulled Diego from an old version of a story, I dug in and decided to make the Wolf, a notorious villain character, one of the heroes (sort of). When I created Hendrik, he was supposed to be the Wolf/Big Bad Wolf from every story that has a wolf. And normally, what is the wolf doing? The Wolf, oftentimes, is a large ferocious character who, more often than not, torments others who tend, much of the time, to also be animals. Therefore, I decided that Hendrik should hate demi-humans, but not only hate them, but he should feel the overwhelming need to kill them. Tidbit: Hendrik became an alcoholic on his own. That wasn’t something I planned out. I’ve never made a character that drinks like Hendrik does, but every time I decided to write about him, he picked up a bottle. Of course, I had no hope of stopping him.

Cornelia

Dollylocks — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:00:00 MDT

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Cornelia - Corneliashaded.jpg

Cornelia was born from my need to have a female character in the main flow of things. She was the last of the main four to be created. I liked the idea of the three men attempting to get along together, but they needed a female influence – but I didn’t exactly expect that she would become their leader. Gabriel was my main focus in the beginning, but she was just so charismatic and demanding that she took the top position. I chose to pull her from Beauty and the Beast because I had wanted to twist that story. Beauty and the Beast is a great love story (and one of my favorite fairytales), but it also had the potential to be very dark. The reason I abstained from rewriting this story as a novel all its own was because many many people have rewritten it in so many different ways that I felt smothered. Not that I read any of them that I came across, but everyone has their own version of the classics. “Why would mine stand out from the others?” I wondered. “Why would mine be any better or different?” Here was my chance. The roses in this story could easily be related to my theme of thorns.

The Beauty

Dollylocks — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:57:25 MDT

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The Beauty - corworkingcopy.jpg

Cornelia was intended to be the perfect woman. Since I pulled her from Beauty and the Beast, a tale which is able to make her the most beautiful and desirable woman in the world, I thought I could get away with it. Some people had a problem with her being so perfect (meaning as beautiful as she was strong and intelligent), but I think others were able to accept it well enough. As time went on, Cornelia proved that she’s not as perfect and stable on the inside as most people thought, which makes room for other characters to step up and take a bit of charge as things progressively get worse. Cornelia isn’t perfect, especially when it comes to fighting and decision making. She may be able to outsmart a man or monster in a fight, but she’s definitely not stronger than one, as some heroic women often are in stories. It’s not surprising that she often finds herself in trouble when working alone, and even before meeting Hendrik, Diego, and Gabriel, she had other men around to help her out (Glenn and Blue). She may be bold, tough, and determined, but still she’s just a woman – not to say that she can’t still kick ass. Tidbit: Yes, despite her trouble with him, Hendrik is probably the best thing she ever bought.

Hendrik and the Wolf

Dollylocks — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:52:23 MDT

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Hendrik and the Wolf - Hendrik2.jpg

Hendrik is a half demi-human, and it’s possible that he’s the only one of his odd breed. For reasons unknown to even Hendrik himself, instead of being born with a wolf’s ears and tail, (from his demi-human father) he can instead transform from a full-flesh human to a true demi-human at will. As far as anyone knows, his hatred for demi-humans goes back to his father, but the exact reasons are unknown. When I designed Hendrik, he was meant to fit in with the group, but not to blend. He was never meant to be a nice guy. He’s big, he’s bad, and he’s mean, but of course, there are traits about him that make him human, and very much different from the monster inside him. His relationships with the other characters are sometimes strange. Hendrik hates Diego and wishes to kill him, and yet he holds off – but don’t think for a moment that he’s not serious about it. Hendrik wants Cornelia (don’t confuse that with love) and so he considers any other man’s attempts at her as an injustice and an insult – except for Gabriel. He knows good and well that Cornelia is interested in Gabriel, and has even seen them act affectionately, but yet Hendrik is completely neutral toward the blind man, and one might even go so far as to say he actually likes him. In Book of Scars, Hendrik scared himself a bit when he became more animal than man in his wolf form. Concerned about letting that happen again, he swore off transformation for a few days in order to tame himself. However, do not think that Hendrik and the Wolf are not one and the same. They are the same man, sharing the same knowledge and desire, but the Wolf is simply a more powerful, less restrained side. Tidbit: Hendrik is, without contest, Lani’s favorite character.

Diego and Gabriel

Dollylocks — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:46:52 MDT

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Diego and Gabriel - DiegoandGabriel3.gif

This is the first half of a picture I made of the entire group. It was originally meant to be a chart illustrating the height of the characters in comparison to one another. They weren’t going to be serious drawings, but simple little sketches instead, but I drew Diego so adorably that I thought I’d try the rest. It was going well, but I messed up the scale, and most of their legs just did not turn out to be the right length in the end. So, I cut it up and here is the first piece. Diego is the smallest and shortest of the characters, standing at 5 feet, 6 inches (without his hat). Demi-humans come in a wide range of sizes, and certainly are not limited to the average heights of humans. Gabriel stands at a height of 5’10, (without counting his mess of hair). Gabriel is 20 years old and was born as royalty in Charidin, which is the land of the Northern King (out of four large kingdoms, of course). Diego’s age and origins, however, are unknown – for now, a least.

Gabriel and Cornelia Sing-Song

Dollylocks — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:16:18 MDT

Dollylocks posted a photo

Gabriel and Cornelia Sing-Song - sillypic.jpg

This is just a silly doodle I did while I was bored, but I thought I’d use it as an excuse to post up more info. Within the larger plot of Mark of Thorn, there are still several burning questions, mostly dealing with the relationships among the characters. Why is Diego so set on being Gabriel’s friend? Will Hendrik finally kill Diego, or change his mind? But there are other questions beyond that – more important ones. Does Gabriel feel for Cornelia like she feels for him, and will they ever be together? Does Hendrik care more about Cornelia than he thinks? And does Cornelia even know how she truly feels about either of them? Of course, only time will tell what happens within the group, but the social interactions between the characters are as important to Mark of Thorn as the main plot itself. Which brings up another question: In the end, could Narestra ever do to these souls what they can do to themselves – and each other? More stuff: Lani Lenore likes to listen to music quietly when she writes and loudly when she’s brainstorming. Different sorts of music is good for different sequences, and she often makes playlists for her stories. Lani had comprised two Mark of Thorn playlists, but the first one is listened to quite a bit more, and contains 12.6 hours of music. The artists most listened to are Nightwish, Within Temptation, Emilie Autumn, and the score of The Witcher. Lani will gladly let you in on a short list of some of those songs if you ask her.