The Mysterious Affair Of Rose Brier's Birthday...
!!!SPOILER ALERT!!! DO NOT READ THIS POST UNLESS YOU HAVE FINISHED THE BOOK!!!!
Q: In WR Rose is in the play on her birthday which I read on the BaN page was April 13. But, she is still working on a paper for a class in her first semester, after her birthday, and my understanding of college courses is that they are only 1 semester classes. So, I'm a little confused about that. Also, if Rose's birthday is in April, am I to understand that Rose was in a coma till sometime in the next year?
Q: i'm confused about the timeline of WR, i know her b-day is in the spring but i thought she went into the coma in the fall... am i wrong? please explain :)
confused in nebraska
We do seem to have a conundrum here. How indeed could Rose be in a coma for more than a year when she clearly has a birthday shortly before she goes into the coma and also clearly awakens in the spring?
The solution is ... um... well, I decided to change her birthday.
In 2004, I received the following question about my four main characters:
How old are they and when are their birthdays? - Aubrey, 10/21/04
And I responded:
The Denniston brothers and the Brier sisters are unusual in that they are both a year apart from each other, and consecutively. Thus at the end of Black as Night, Bear is 21, Fish is 20, Blanche is 19, and Rose is 18. If you really want to know their birthdays, they are:
Bear: Jan 31
Fish: Nov 2
Blanche: Feb 22 (president’s day)
Rose: April 13
I admit I pulled the birthdays out of the blue to answer Aubrey's question, without really considering how they would affect the timeline of the story. After all, up until that point, I hadn't ever shown any of them having a birthday.
But when I went to finish Waking Rose this past summer, I decided to pay homage to Tchaichowsky's ballet Sleeping Beauty, whose princess dances at a grand birthday ball with three princes she does not marry, shortly before her enchanted sleep. So I threw a party for Rose, literally, and was quite pleased with how the scene turned out. Only much later did I realize that I had inadvertantly contradicted my answer to Aubrey's question.
So, deciding that everything that was published in book form was canonical, and that everything published on the website was merely apocryphal, as it were, I decided to override what I had written in 2004 and change Rose's birthday to November 2 (I simply switched it with Fish's birthday).
I have yet to figure out if this causes any inconsistences with The Shadow of the Bear (I believe it might) or Black as Night.... but maybe the rest of you can tell you if it does faster than I can? :)
All I can say is, not every writer can boast of having fans who are as sharp, observant, and savvy as I can. Those of you who spotted the error (and so very quickly!) probably deserve to be awarded the Catholic Nancy Drew honorarium. (Shall I make an official award?)
Oh, like any good counterfeiter, I have now covered my tracks by changing the dates on the website to:
Bear: Jan 31
Fish: April 13
Blanche: Feb 22 (president’s day)
Rose: Nov 2
:)
Q: In WR Rose is in the play on her birthday which I read on the BaN page was April 13. But, she is still working on a paper for a class in her first semester, after her birthday, and my understanding of college courses is that they are only 1 semester classes. So, I'm a little confused about that. Also, if Rose's birthday is in April, am I to understand that Rose was in a coma till sometime in the next year?
Q: i'm confused about the timeline of WR, i know her b-day is in the spring but i thought she went into the coma in the fall... am i wrong? please explain :)
confused in nebraska
We do seem to have a conundrum here. How indeed could Rose be in a coma for more than a year when she clearly has a birthday shortly before she goes into the coma and also clearly awakens in the spring?
The solution is ... um... well, I decided to change her birthday.
In 2004, I received the following question about my four main characters:
How old are they and when are their birthdays? - Aubrey, 10/21/04
And I responded:
The Denniston brothers and the Brier sisters are unusual in that they are both a year apart from each other, and consecutively. Thus at the end of Black as Night, Bear is 21, Fish is 20, Blanche is 19, and Rose is 18. If you really want to know their birthdays, they are:
Bear: Jan 31
Fish: Nov 2
Blanche: Feb 22 (president’s day)
Rose: April 13
I admit I pulled the birthdays out of the blue to answer Aubrey's question, without really considering how they would affect the timeline of the story. After all, up until that point, I hadn't ever shown any of them having a birthday.
But when I went to finish Waking Rose this past summer, I decided to pay homage to Tchaichowsky's ballet Sleeping Beauty, whose princess dances at a grand birthday ball with three princes she does not marry, shortly before her enchanted sleep. So I threw a party for Rose, literally, and was quite pleased with how the scene turned out. Only much later did I realize that I had inadvertantly contradicted my answer to Aubrey's question.
So, deciding that everything that was published in book form was canonical, and that everything published on the website was merely apocryphal, as it were, I decided to override what I had written in 2004 and change Rose's birthday to November 2 (I simply switched it with Fish's birthday).
I have yet to figure out if this causes any inconsistences with The Shadow of the Bear (I believe it might) or Black as Night.... but maybe the rest of you can tell you if it does faster than I can? :)
All I can say is, not every writer can boast of having fans who are as sharp, observant, and savvy as I can. Those of you who spotted the error (and so very quickly!) probably deserve to be awarded the Catholic Nancy Drew honorarium. (Shall I make an official award?)
Oh, like any good counterfeiter, I have now covered my tracks by changing the dates on the website to:
Bear: Jan 31
Fish: April 13
Blanche: Feb 22 (president’s day)
Rose: Nov 2
:)
Comments
I just wanted to thank you so very much Ms. Doman, for writing such wonderful books that intice you to pay close attention to all the details.
I can't wait for The Midnight Dancers! Joanna F.
Will you post Rachael and her sisters birthdays? And Paul's? Oh, and will anyone ever have a birthday on March 20th, (The first day of spring?)
Happy All Saints Day!
A beautiful story, with pages untold.
With breath-taking adventures, your life will abound,
There are more sorrows, and joys, yet to be found.
On this day, the start of a new year,
I wish you happiness, joy, peace, and cheer.
May the angels and saints, smile on you this day,
And Our dear Lord bless you, in every way.
Happy Birthday Rose!
Q: Will you post Rachael and her sisters birthdays? And Paul's? Oh, and will anyone ever have a birthday on March 20th, (The first day of spring?)
I doubt I'll be posting any birthdays unless they figure in the plot, seeing as I've gotten into trouble that way. There is *one* birthday in the Midnight Dancers, but it's not Rachel's, and it's not Paul's.
God Bless!
Ps. Do I get the award????
A.H.
P.S. Lady Rose, that was a beutiful birthday rhyme! Did you make that up or did you find it somewhere? Either way, very sweet!
-GKC lover
I am glad you liked it!
God Bless!
Oh, and, Regina, this question's for you: did someone in your family write Bear's poem, the response to "Nothing Gold Can Stay"? I thought I saw in the copyright page that it was written by a somebody Smiedicke? (I know I miss-spelled that; sorry!) I was just wondering if that was one of your realatives or maybe your husband? (I thought I recalled the last name before, and, as your real name isn't posted, always wondered....) Just wondering!
It was a gorgeous poem, by the way.
My other question was about the part where Blanche is listening to Bear and Fish talking on the prom adventure night. Fish says something like "Do you still think this guy is a figment of my imagination?" (Probably misquoted it - sorry.)
So now I'm confused. Who did break into the Foster's home? I thought Bear and Fish were already acquainted with Mr. Freet at this point.
I also had another question: I cam across a poet named Stephen Foster. Is this just a coincidence, or did you name your character after him?
One last thing: My friend just read The Shadow of the Bear yesterday and she thought it was amazing. I had first told her about the books back in April, so I'm so happy she FINALLY read the first one.
I had always pronounced Blanche and Rose's last name as bri-er. It was only after listening to the radio drama that I realized it was actually pronounced Breer. I'm glad I know the correct pronunciation but I can't stop myself from using the old one just the same. :)
A: In the words of Dilbert's boss, I award you this award!
Q: Is the birthday in the Midnight Dancers the youngest daughter's?
A: No. I don't know if an eleven-year-old counts as a 'child character?' To me, they seem older.
Q: There's another 'mysterious affair' I'm wondering about. After 'Black as Night' was published, you were asked who owned the apartment that Bear and Fish lived in during the first two books. You replied that you couldn't answer that until the next book was published. Well, I'm still as mystified as ever. - GKC Lover
A: I believe I can clear that up for you now. As I said in Black as Night, the apartment belonged to Bear and Fish's father.
After their parents separated, the boys shared that apartment with their mother. When Mrs. Denniston died, the ownership of the apartment passed into the hands of Mr. Denniston. However, he didn't change either the decor (though no doubt Elaine wanted to) OR the locks, so the boys could sneak into the apartment occasionally. (Though they only did so in cases of grave emergency - such as on the night of the prom.)
The reason I was so coy about answering this question before Black as Night was published was because at one point during the writing process, the apartment was owned by Elaine (and at one point, it was even owned by Elaine's daughter Jane). Those of you who found and opened the secret door on the Black as Night website know the story of the fourteen different drafts of Black as Night - and you can see how the apartment might have figured in those drafts. For those of you who haven't found that secret door, I think it's still there, waiting to be found!
Good question!
Q: i have kind of a silly question... how do you pronounce rose and blanche's last name?
A: Not a silly question at all. Mae is correct: "Brier" is pronounced "Breer," which I believe is the correct German pronnunciation (the family is German-Irish).
Q: My other question was about the part where Blanche is listening to Bear and Fish talking on the prom adventure night. Fish says something like "Do you still think this guy is a figment of my imagination?" (Probably misquoted it - sorry.)
So now I'm confused. Who did break into the Foster's home? I thought Bear and Fish were already acquainted with Mr. Freet at this point.
A: It was Mr. Freet. The brothers were acquainted with Mr. Freet at the time of the robbery, but they had no idea that he was behind either the robbery or the murder of Fr. Raymond.
I believe that they started investigating the murder with the idea that perhaps a drug gang was involved: but later started thinking (especially because of Fr. Raymond's behavior the night before his murder: see the audio drama for details!) that the murder was the act of one person, whose motivation was not drug money, but the vessels that Fr. Raymond collected and cared for.
The audio drama actually muddles this point: at one point in the audio drama, it is Bear who is convinced that they are searching for one man, a man who is after the vessels. In the book, it's clearly Fish who has this idea. So there are some slight discrepancies still.
Q: I also had another question: I came across a poet named Stephen Foster. Is this just a coincidence, or did you name your character after him?
A: If you mean the American songwriter Stephen Foster, then no, there's no coincidence! :) YOu may be the first person to notice this! (Though in the original book Stephen's name is Stevenson.)
I think we can fix the date errors in Black as Night fairly soon... one of the perks of print-on-demand.
So now in the lastest edition of Shadow when Fish and Rose are waiting to be let out of Mr. Freet's cellar, Rose says, "I'm seventeen." instead of sixteen.
-- Author's Husband