Bursting Box Publishing

A large part of the plot of my “Dreaming Beauty” plays on the fact that Sleeping Beauty was asleep for a very long time and the “good fairy gave her most agreeable dreams,” making me wonder, “What did she dream about?”

This could have been answered in countless different ways, but I chose to play with the idea of her dreaming about modern England. Why?
Because it’s where my heart is.

I grew up with stories about my mom living in England for 18 months and always dreamed of going there myself. There came a point during my university years where I realized, if I wanted to visit England so badly, I needed to make it happen.

So, I signed up for a Study Abroad during the Summer of 2012 (totally oblivious to the Summer Olympics and Queen Elizabeth II’s Jubilee year).

I found that writing in a journal once a week wasn’t enough to express everything during that short summer, but I kept record of my adventures through my pictures. I took an average of 100 pictures per day. Here are some of the places that inspired Emer’s journey in “Dreaming Beauty.”

Boscastle and Tintagel

We hiked along the coast between Boscastle and Tintagel, and I found the views absolutely stunning. Considering that Emer had never seen the ocean before, I thought it was the perfect place to welcome her to England.

St. Michael’s Mount

Visiting St. Michael’s Mount felt like visiting a fairytale. With markers for The Giant’s Heart and The Giant’s Well, turrets and gardens that seemed out of this world, I knew I needed to include it in a fairytale retelling.

Notice the Dr. Suess-ish looking plant? That’s the one I used for Emer’s experiment to grow to the sky.

Stonehenge

I’ve actually been to Stonehenge twice as I went there in 2012 then again with my husband in 2017. I love the mysteries about the iconic monument and thought they’d be the perfect setting for Emer to try her magic.

The Seaver’s Townhouse

Based on the London Center where I lived with 40 other students for 6 weeks.
In an effort to convince a bunch of university students to respect the place, one of our professors said, “The fireplace is worth more than my house.”
My bed was on the 5th floor (top) with a window exit to the roof, where I felt like Peter Pan had already whisked me away to this magical place. That’s where I based Caden’s nursery.

Kew Gardens

I returned to Kew Gardens in 2017 to share the beauties with my husband. With Emer’s love and magical powers with plants, I knew she needed to visit this reservation of plants.

London

Oh, London. I didn’t leave my heart there. It’s always been there, and I just visit it when I get the chance. I knew Emer needed to visit the city and explore its mashup of cultures.

There are many more places in the British Ilses where I wish Emer could have visited (such as Oxford, Cambridge, Land’s End, Bath, Stourhead Gardens, The Eden Project, Dover, and Edinburgh to name a few…).

For “Fairest and the Frog,” I knew that I needed to explore more of England by showing off Warwick Castle and the beautiful Lake District (I could die happily there).

One of the other places I visited twice included Hanover Court (home of the Tudors) as my main influence and inspiration for Ruezdad Castle (from “Don’t Marry the Cursed: Haunted Romance #2”).