As much as I loved reading princess stories when I was young, I found it frustrating whenever the answer to all the lady’s problems was to marry a prince. And while finding the love of a good-hearted man is appealing (and wonderful if you find him), it shouldn’t be the ultimate and final goal for young ladies, nor should they expect marriage to resolve all of their problems. Right?

I decided to write a different type of princess story, one where the heroine discovers the importance of character growth and the beauty of selflessness and kindness.

In 2005, while pregnant with my first son, I began writing a picture book manuscript titled, Perdita the Prodigal Princess. After reading the story, my critique group asked me to expand on it as they felt there was potential for it to be longer and more fully developed.  I had no intention of writing anything other than a picture book, but heeded their advice and began efforts toward a chapter book. 

After presenting this ‘chapter book’ revision to my critique group, they strongly recommended I go deeper with the story and characters.

Okay, I admit, I was miffed. That’s not what I wanted to hear from them. But I decided I’d give it a shot to write a middle grade novel, and go deeper with character development and subplots.  The more I wrote, the more I realized how much I love writing for middle grade. 

Two-thirds into writing this princess novel, I needed a break and focused on other writing projects.

In 2019, I pulled out my ‘princess’ manuscript from years ago with the intention of completing it. Finally. However, after looking at the word count, I realized it is WAY too long for a middle grade novel and it’s not even finished yet!  That’s when it occurred to me that I could split it into three books to create a trilogy.

I went through the manuscript and carved it into three sections, then created a new ending for book one. It’s now in the process of getting critiqued while I work on polishing and revising book two.  Woot!! 

Tentative titles for the Clash of Crowns Series:

• Amethyst Ball (book one)
• Ring of Promise (book two)
• Crowning Moment (book three)

My goal is to have the manuscript for book three completed and polished by the end of 2021. I’ll keep you posted on my progress!