Questions About Kateri and Alex's book
... Maybe I should hold off on this one, but I know some of you are asking questions in the other topics, so I thought I'd start a new one here. (What we really need is a message board, I guess!)
Just so we are clear, if and when all these interim books are written/published, the Fairy Tale Novel series will run this way:
1. The Shadow of the Bear
2. Black as Night
3. Interim book about Fish (no title as of yet)
4. Waking Rose
5. The Midnight Dancers
6. (I'm not sure if this book will take place before, after, or concurrent with The Midnight Dancers) Alex and Kateri's book.
... so of course, by this timeline, The Midnight Dancers would no longer be "Book 4." But you can call it that if you want: I know, this is all too confusing!
So fire away with any questions about Kateri and Alex's book. But since this book isn't even written yet (Fish's interim book is partially-written) I will warn you up front that I can't tell you very much. At all. Yet.
Just so we are clear, if and when all these interim books are written/published, the Fairy Tale Novel series will run this way:
1. The Shadow of the Bear
2. Black as Night
3. Interim book about Fish (no title as of yet)
4. Waking Rose
5. The Midnight Dancers
6. (I'm not sure if this book will take place before, after, or concurrent with The Midnight Dancers) Alex and Kateri's book.
... so of course, by this timeline, The Midnight Dancers would no longer be "Book 4." But you can call it that if you want: I know, this is all too confusing!
So fire away with any questions about Kateri and Alex's book. But since this book isn't even written yet (Fish's interim book is partially-written) I will warn you up front that I can't tell you very much. At all. Yet.
Comments
1. Is it a well-known fairy tale, or an obscure one?
2. *gruesome thrill* Is it Bluebeard!? (Hehehe)
3. Is it Rumpelstiltsken?
5. Is it Rapunzel? Kateri's got interesting hair.
6. Is it The Little Mermaid?
7. Little Red Riding Hood?
8. Is it The Princess and the Pea? I'd be interested in seeing that modernized. (Really, how can anyone feel a pea under 20 mattresses!?)
~Delaney
A: I would say that most of you have heard of it. It's not as obscure as "Snow White and Rose Red." IMHO.
Q2. *gruesome thrill* Is it Bluebeard!? (Hehehe)
A: No. (yuck!)
Q3. Is it Rumpelstiltsken?
A: No.
Q5. Is it Rapunzel? Kateri's got interesting hair.
A: No.
Q6: Is it The Little Mermaid?
A: No. I wonder how in the world you *could* modernize that one, without adding the fantasy of real mermaids...
Q7. Little Red Riding Hood?
A: Um, no.
Q8. Is it The Princess and the Pea? I'd be interested in seeing that modernized. (Really, how can anyone feel a pea under 20 mattresses!?)
A: So would I! I have thought about trying to do that one, but not for Alex and Kateri.
(or is any of those the Fish story?)
For either of the books.
Oh man! This is tough! I'll bet when you reveal what the story is, we'll all be so surprised we hadn't thought of it! :)
So it's not a Brothers Grimm tale, then? I think everybody's gone through all their well-known ones.
Has Disney made a movie out of it?
T&H
And Alex and Kateri's book is the "sequel" to "The Midnight Dancers" that you talked about in the Q. & A. section on The Waking Rose page, correct?
Aubrey H.
Alice in Wonderland?
Aladdin?
Beauty and the Beast?
Peter Pan?
Peter and the Wolf?
Is it from a tale by Hans Christian Anderson? An Aesop's fable? A Mother Goose tale?
Q: Has Disney made a movie out of it?
A: Hmmm ... sort of. They have made a movie whose characters reference this story (how's that for confusing?).
Q: Is it Beauty and the Beast? Cinderella?
Thumbelina? (he he)
The Wild Swans?
The Frog Prince?
A: No.
Q: Could Fish's book be The Frog Prince?
A: No.
Q: Pinocchio?
A: No.
Q: Could it be "Bearskin", "The Goose Girl","The Twelve Brothers" (a.k.a. The Seven Ravens, The Six Brothers, The Princess and the Seven Swans"),"True Bride", or "The Crystal Ball"?
A: No. Some of these are more obscure than this story.
Q: Is Alex and Kateri's book is the "sequel" to "The Midnight Dancers" that you talked about in the Q. & A. section on The Waking Rose page?
A: No, actually, it's not. I do have a sequel to The Midnight Dancers (about which I refuse to answer any questions), but the Alex and Kateri book is something separate.
Q: Toads and Diamonds?
Alice in Wonderland?
Aladdin?
Beauty and the Beast?
Peter Pan?
Peter and the Wolf?
A: No, No, close, no, no, no.
Q: Is it from a tale by Hans Christian Anderson? An Aesop's fable? A Mother Goose tale?
A: No, no, no.
A: Yes.
Q: And, do any of the four main characters of the first trilogy appear?
A: You know, I really don't know about this one. When I actually write more of it, I might have an answer...
If so, is it
Ali Babba and the Forty Thieves
Sinbad the Sailor
Or
The Three Calendars????????
A: Yes!
Q: If so, is it
Ali Babba and the Forty Thieves
???????
A: YES! Great job!
A: I don't know yet, but I'll keep them in mind! (remember, I haven't written this book yet!)
~Mae
A: I'm not sure. I *think* so...
The direct-to-video release Aladdin 3: Aladdin and the King of Thieves, which features the 40 thieves disrupting Aladdin's wedding. See on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Disney-Presents-Aladdin-King-Thieves/dp/B0007NY3A8/ref=pd_bbs_6/105-3034229-6714815?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1189644345&sr=8-6
A: I guess there would have to be, wouldn't there?
I'm so excited, Regina! And how wonderful that you are expecting!!! You and your little one will be in my prayers!!!
A: Anonymous, I want to smack you! (mainly for adding the word "again?") :)
No, by my troth, I can *promise* you there will be no drugs in this book ------- and *no* comas!
Actually, I don't think I will ever write another book about drugs or comas again!
I was tempted to tell you what the book will involve, but after that "again" maybe I'll just refuse to answer!
;)
I am kidding, of course. But it's not art theft either. I don't know how much more I can tell you, mainly because the book isn't written ... I'd hate to promise something and then write a completely different book.
(I can't be more specific till I write the book.)
:)
And I have no idea when this book will come out: I'll have a better idea once it's written. :)
~Mae
P.S. And I was relieved to hear Kateri didn't understand Shakespeare. Totally realistic, if you ask me! =)
In regards to the first comment about her- "she was annoying." Why is that? I didn't really see anything in her that was honestly "annoying", except from Dr. Prosser's point of view!(With those protests against the abortions and later to save the homeless guy. But hey, those were life-and-death issues.)She was bold and I guess some people could get annoyed with her, but her strength of character was necessary for her part, and for the story.
As for the other ones...
"She was mean." Mean? Mean?! You call the person who had to come and stop Fish (I luv Fish... no offense, Fish) from from further traumatizing Donna, MEAN??? (Sorry, I'd rather not use caps but I can't italicize.)I find it especially honorable with the fact that she worked hard at helping Donna, even though she suspected Donna may have played a role in [her best friend!] Rose's accident. It really made me think. Perhaps you just meant she was outspoken?
"She was boring." I really can't even try to figure out what that meant. She's from a huge inter-racial family that was totally into pro-life activism and who were, as Rose said, "outlaws." She organized protests against all that anti-life stuff. (I know I mentioned that before but it's pretty important.) She's fun, understanding, reasonable for the most part :) and good when trying to rescue a comatose person from a bunch of folks who want to use said comatose person for her organs.
And on the other comments... she WAS realistic. Believe me, there are people like her in the world! I know several people who really remind me of her. She wasn't especially "deep" or "complex", but so what? A character doesn't have to have a painfully dark past, a disturbingly strong sense of intuition, or similar stuff to be interesting. She WAS inspiring. I wanted to go out and be courageous and stand up for my beliefs like her. (Yeah that sounded SO horribly corny...but I think you get what I'm saying?:)
So what's really wrong with Kateri? Yeah, she's... different, with the thread-wrapped braids, strong opinion, and total outspokenness and all. But she seemed at times almost the most realistic of the characters.
In conclusion, I'm not trying to convince you to like her alot. I just think it might be better if you considered her merits a little more.
And I've got a question, with the book about Kateri and Alex, will other people from Kateri's fmaily be in this story? Like, they were meantioned in Waking Rose, but that was about it if you know what i mean? I was just wondering if we would get to know the whole of Kateri's family?
Thanks for the responses, they were very reasonable.
I think part of the reason I don't like Kateri is because to me she was too cliche. I found her boring in that she was a typical character. The headstrong leader who always stood up for other people (Which is a VERY good thing, though, don't get me wrong!) and she would speak her mind, and rush into dangerous situations and all that...... just so un-original! She was like the typical Catholic feminist!
As for her being "different" I actually thought that the only interesting and "different" things about her were the wrapped braids and her Polish/Vietnamese heritage. And those were also the only two things about her that I liked!
Now, I don't mean that people have to have dark pasts or be "DEEP" to be realistic. But Kateri was like the girl that everyone writes about, but doesn't really exist. I mean, I know people who are SIMILAR Kateri, but I've never met ANYone who were more than similar to her.
I think it was compassionate and brave of her to take Donna "under her wing," and it was definitely the right thing to do, but again, that's the act of the typical headstrong heroine. It was predictable, and a kind act, (And, DEFINITELY a difficult thing to do for Kateri!) but to me, it's mystifying and rather annoying that she went out of her way for Donna, but Rose, who was supposedly her good friend, was treated vaguely and somewhat indifferently until she went into a coma.
But, yea....................
SO those are my views!
The day I read "Waking Rose" was the day before I went and participated in a large pro-life march, known as the Jericho March (based on Joshua 6) and when I read that Kateri was involved with the pro-life movement, too, I thought, "Wow, is this neat, that I am reading about a girl who isn't afraid to stand up for life, the day before I and thousands of other people are about to do the same."
The Jericho March was only part of a long and ongoing prayer battle against the proposed Planned Parenthood facility here in Aroura, IL. And it has had great results! Planned Parenthood has so far denied the permit they need to open thier clinic, which is supposedly the LARGEST IN THE UNITED STATES. Ijust thought that it was no coincidence that I read Regina Doman's book, the day before the march. And I have to say, there are a lot of great people like Kateri who have been leading this spiritual battle.
So I just wanted to say that Kateri really insipred me, and to ask for everyone's prayers for this pro-life battle.
God Bless!
Yeah my favorite thing about Kateri is her pro-life activism.
I'm gonna basically give up on trying to convince the person who didn't like Kateri, except for a couple things. She is NOT a feminist. (Meaning the modern liberal term of course.) Feminists, by the above definition, are never pro-life. And that's what she's all about. Pro life.
I'm a little surprised about the "rushing into dangerous situations" thingy. Rose would do that! (i.e. The Shadow of the Bear :)
And about Donna, well, she needed the help! That was one emotionally distraught individual. Rose wasn't suffering from that stuff, so I guess she could manage on her own two feet.
Just to make a few points:
TPWHK (The Person Who Hates Kateri) wrote: I found her boring in that she was a typical character. The headstrong leader who always stood up for other people ...... just so un-original!
.... Kateri was like the girl that everyone writes about, but doesn't really exist.
I respond:
I think this is so *interesting* because it comfirms something I've suspected for a while: that girl readers are getting weary of the headstrong girl heroine who always has the answers, who is smart, fearless, etc. There's a reason why I made Blanche a main character, because I've always found weaker persons more interesting heroines.
Don't worry, I'm still going to make Kateri a main character in her own book -- but I thought this was definitely an *interesting* observation.
Oh, and btw, I would have to say that Kateri *is* a Catholic feminist. She actually called herself one in a former draft. You *can* be a feminist and be pro-life -- check out feministsforlife.org. I used to have a bumper sticker on my car that read "Real Feminists Don't Kill Babies." So I appreciate Elizabeth's defense of me and Kateri, but I'd have to say that actually, there *are* pro-life feminists. Lots of them.
TPWHK wrote:
To me, it's mystifying and rather annoying that she went out of her way for Donna, but Rose, who was supposedly her good friend, was treated vaguely and somewhat indifferently until she went into a coma.
I respond:
You can understand this better if you remember the relationship between Rose and Kateri is this: they are friends because they grew up together. This, in my experience, leads to a particular kind of friendship. Rose and Kateri are very different, and Kateri has a hard time understanding and sympathizing with Rose. If they had met in a large high school, they would never have become friends. But because they met in a small Catholic homeschooling group in a small town and their moms did everything together, Kateri and Rose became friends since they were just thrown together so much that they got to know one another so very well.
So Kateri does pretty much take Rose for granted, the way you can take your siblings for granted. And she gets impatient with Rose's quirks. But there's no question of her loyalty to Rose, which is fierce and deep-rooted. And when Rose needs her, Kateri is the sort of person who will rise to the challenge.
You'll notice that Kateri and Fish actually have a lot in common this way: their relationship to Rose is pretty similar. They also understand each other pretty well, once they get passed their initial animosity.
So Kateri is supposed to be modeling a very specific type of friendship with Rose. It's not accidental that her relationship is so offhand. I hope that explains some things.
Oh yeah I've heard of the Feminists for Life (they're cool!). Sorry, I was trying to point out that she wasn't a feminist in the "empowered; Dr. Prosser" sense.
Now that you put it that way, I think I really agree about how we're getting tired of the headstrong heroine. Lots of the library books I've taken out as of late have had the typical tough female protagonist- yes, they get annoying!!! I mean, they're usually good at defending themselves but it's always disappointing when they're paired up with a wimpy guy who is nothing compared to Bear and Fish... :)
There has been a tremendous response and, Praise God, we were able to stop the clinic from opening for two whole weeks. HOWEVER, just yesterday the mayor of Aurora buckled and gave PP the permit they want (but can't actually legally have), so they opened this morning. But the pro-lifers are far from finished with the fight... prayer is needed more now than ever, from warriors around the country (or beyond as well!). Pro-Life Action League is pursuing yet more legal avenues to help close the clinic, and believe that with enough prayer, they can actually do so. So, everyone, please keep the prayers pouring forth!
Grace and peace,
Claire
and this isn't a guy writing this. i think we need more stories with real heros, that are played by guys :)
God Bless you ALL.
Kateri was like the girl that everyone writes about, but doesn't really exist.
I respond:
Again, I can understand why you wrote this. I think that Kateri would have been a stereotype if she had also been stunningly beautiful on top of her other qualities. *That* is what I would have found annoying.
Actually, Kateri Kovach is pretty plain - did anyone notice the absence of words like "pretty" or "cute" in any of her character descriptions? She's short, a bit stocky, round-faced, and fairly ordinary-looking, actually). But she obviously doesn't let her lack of "looks" hold her back.
And as for her not existing -- I just have to say that I have been privileged to meet girls like Kateri before. Kateri's not based on any one person, but she's sort of a composite of lots of different girls and women I've known - some incredibly brave and breathtakingly gutsy - who work in the pro-life movement.
I can understand, TPWHK, if you haven't ever met any of them. Though there are some at the high school level, the ones I knew were all in college. They actually did do things like jump into medical dumpsters to find unborn babies to bury and chain themselves to hospital beds of comatose patients who were being starved to death -- as well as leading weekly prayer vigils in front of clinics and hospitals. They were and are incredibly smart and brave women, firmly and intelligently committed to nonviolence and peaceful change despite the fact that some of them had been manhandled by police and pro-death escorts. The character of Kateri is an homage to them.
And to those of you in Aurora: we are praying! More power to you all!
We are all praying that PP will be shut down in Aurora. It is wonderful that people are fighting this as strongly as they are. Keep it up.
I liked Kateri, even though I can fully sympathize with several of the points made by TPWHK. I read a lot of books every year, a high number of which are fantasy/ adventure. The strong/ sufficient, smart, and superiorly talented heroine is as hackneyed and trite a figure as the weak, fainting, and emotional/ irrational feminine stereotypes of the victorian/ early 20th century. It is utterly refreshing to see realistic girl characters being written. Blanche is (for most) the weakest character written to date, but she has her own strengths that counterbalance her lack of physical strength and her natural temerity. Also, she doesn't just give in to her weaknesses, but struggles to overcome them. Rose is a much more independent and sufficient character, but that can be just as much of a problem for her. (Coma? Mr. Freet?) Kateri is the most outspoken and brash of all the young women that have been introduced thus far, but that only makes me look forward to how that will impact her story and what direction it will take her.
I really found it interesting that Regina compared Fish and Kateri's relationship with Rose like she did. I had not thought of that before, so thank you for pointing that out. I really love when you can see some of the author's insights into their stories and characters.
Lastly, will Alex and Kateri's story be told from both of their points of view, as in your two previous books?
I'll be praying about the Aurora clinic to close.
Well a big THANKS to everyone who has given me their opinion! (Even the people who don't agree with me). It's so interesting to hear different opinions and "the other side of the story."
To Mrs. Doman: Your post on October 1st in response to mine was FABULOUS! It seems you understood EXACTLY what I meant when I was discussing Kateri's "negative points." THANK you for writing that response, I see a couple of your views now on why you wrote Kateri the way you did.
I also have to say that, I admit, Blanche is my favorite character. I simply loved the way you turned such a character into a fascinating and realistic heroine. She was different in every way, yet so real.
And it's interesting, now that you mention it, that Kateri is not supposed to be beautiful and everything. I actually picture her as quite tall (maybe 5'10"), athletic, and possessing a rather fierce Native American type beauty.
Thank you, everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!
P.S. I don't care even if your next book IS about Kateri, I will buy it anyway!
P.P.S. I am just very sad that the Bear, Blanche, Fish, and Rose trilogy is over. I really loved those characters and the books!
- GKC lover
About sports - well, martial arts *is* a sport, you know. :) I personally don't care for football, basketball, but that's just my own prejudice and short-sightedness. In the Midnight Dancers, there is a basketball lover. And I don't consider sports bad or anything - I just don't happen to care for them. That's all.
In John Paul 2 High, whose characters I was heavily involved with, the main character is an athlete, and right now there's a sports-loving girl who appears in Book 4, so rest assured that my personal disinclination for sports does not mean I'll never feature a main character (even a girl!) who loves them!
GO BEARS!
(Okay, okay, so I only like football because my cousins play it... and it is the ONLY sport where I have even the faintest idea what is going on.)
GO BEARS!
P.S. I also wanted to say that I am in the same boat as TPWHK. I really like what she stands for, but I still don't really like her. The thing I found most intersting about her is that she is part Polish. That really cought my eye because I'm Polish. :)
A: I hadn't thought about it, but I'll have to consider that!
A: I hadn't thought about it, but I'll have to consider that!
I actually have a book in the till that I haven't ever blogged about that features a heroine who is not artistic at all. But I'm not going to say more about that now.
BTW one thing I hope to never do is to feature a main character who is a writer, like me. That just seems weird and sort of vain.
Like those movies about "ordinary" people (played by Hollywood stars) who at the end of the movie end up happily ever after and guess what? Working in Hollywood becoming "actors!" Too strange!