2nd Sunday Savors: Characters

Characters: dictionary.com definition:

char·ac·ter/ˈkariktər/

Noun:

The mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual. The distinctive nature of something.

I remember the day clear as if it were this morning. I was riding the MAX home listening to Depeche Mode"s It's No Good.  I closed my eyes and was taken to a moonlight meadow in the Fagarasi Mountains were a gypsy witch and a vampire stood together. He loved her so much because she was his beloved incarnate. She felt attracted to him as well, but held back. From there stemmed my first novel, Six Roses. I went home and wrote the first draft in about 3 months. Then I rewrote it changing her age from 16 to 18. But that draft didn't feel right either so I rewrote the entire novel, now making her an adult. With each evolution, the story became better. Yet there was something missing and I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

So I rewrote the story taking a new spin on things. What if the girl who wrote Six Roses, discovered this world was real when the characters she created came into her life, and caused all sorts of mischief? Thus became my second novel The Vampire Novelist. I received lots of interest for this one, but because my writing wasn't quite up to par it was rejected each time. I loved this story and the character I created, but something lacked.

Last November, I participated in NaNoWriMo and I rewrote the original story AGAIN. 4th time now. This round I changed the plot completely, but kept the main & supporting characters. I did add a new character, a handsome young Orthodox priest. That's when the worst possible thing happened.

My gypsy witch fell in love with him.

I was so shocked I almost stopped writing the damn story. This couldn't be happening. She's supposed to be with vampire. They are soul mates! I screamed. I cried. I drank lots of whiskey. I couldn't sleep. And finally I accepted the inevitable. She was going to be with priest and there was nothing I could do about it.

That was in November. In early February as I was completing Editpalooza, it hit me harder than a speed train. My characters had taken a life of their own. They had become three dimensional beings. (All in my head, of course.) Here I was trying to force two people together who weren't meant to be lovers in this incarnation of her soul and it took five rewrites (if you count the spin off novel) for me to figure this out.

 Dude, writing is HARD! FRUSTRATING! DEMANDING! Can drive a person to alcoholism. But it's also so rewarding. Best part: you're never alone. I have my characters living with me 24/7 telling me what they think or making snide remarks about my choice in fashion some days. It gets noisy at times, but we're just one big happy family. When I try to abandon or ignore them, they sing this song:

Thanks for stopping by and reading my ramblings.

2nd Sunday Savors: Research

Poenari Citadel, Romania

Due to the popularity of my Dracula's Castle post last spring I decided to add a Part 2. When I visited my motherland two years ago, I had planned on doing research for my first vampire novel. I didn't think I would be able to make to Poenari, but luck smiled on me. Sit back and travel with me through my little adventure to the castle of the fabled undead Count.

First I wanted to see what it would be like to hike to the top as my heroine did in my book. Armed with my camera and water bottle, I climbed the 1400 steps. Just as I was about to turn around because the steps seemed to never end this is what came into view.

Of course I couldn't turn around now! I practically sprinted up the remainder 100 steps leaving my poor cousin huffing and puffing to keep up.  This is what you see when you enter the citadel.

This "corridor" leads to the central tower there you can take a peek of the side of the fortress.

The view is looking east towards the south tower. As you can see above stone and red brick make up the wall. The lower section of the wall made of grey rock is the original wall. The brick lay is a result form the restoration attempt done more recently.

The south tower and possibly the place from which Dracula's first wife leaped from during the Turkish invasion. 

 Looking down from the south tower at the Arges River. It's pretty far down there. Chance of survival-pretty much non-existent.  The road next to the river leads to a large dam, hydro-electric station, and a gorgeous mountain lake.

 

 This walkway is where the north wall once stood and leads to the main square tower. Several earthquakes and centuries of neglect caused the wall to collapse down the side of the cliff the citadel is perched on.

 Looking down at the bottom of the tower. You can see  where the wooden beams crossed. A documentary I watched regarding this fortress mentioned the floor once stood there forming a perfect holding cell for prisoners. They would lower their captives down into the dark dungeon with no chances of them getting out. 

Here is Lake Vidraru which feeds the Arges River. The peaks you see beyond are the Fagaras Mountains and the homeland of my vampires. Those mountians are full of legends and myths, but I'm developing my own because I can. It's the beauty of writing fiction and fantasy.

Research is very valuable to writing. From research you gain inspiration for your work. I write in first person most of the time so it's very important for me to experience some of the things my character would. I have to see how things feel, taste, sound, and look like. Of course there are things I can't experience first hand.

When I went to Smart Chicks Tour, author Jennifer Barnes' advice (and I paraphrase): If you have a choice between trying something new or writing, do the new thing.

Excellent advice. New experiences supply you with an arsenal of interesting things to spice up your novel.

Thanks for reading. Next week 3rd Sunday Sweets. I've been reading lots of fun books lately. Hmm, which one shall I pick from....

Strigoi

Greetings!

I had planned to post this on Wednesday, but all week has been a whirlwind of editing and synopsis/query letter writing. Friday morning, I submitted for the very first time to a publishing industry professional in NY. My hands trembled uncontrollably as my cursor hovered over the send button. My stomach flutters now just thinking about it. What is done is done and now the waiting game commences. But while we wait, let’s talk about strigoi.

Photo courtesy of Google Images.

The word strigoi originates from the Latin word strix which means witch or demon. In Romania, strigoi are referred to as troubled spirits of the dead who prey on humans. They are a cross between a poltergeist and a vampire in that they cause all sorts of mischief to their surviving families and sustain themselves with blood (both human and animal). Some claim the strigoi can possess other’s bodies or take on animal forms like pricolicii, a creature similar to a werewolf. They are not supposed to be sexy or glamorous. As you can see from the picture above.

Now there are two kinds of strigoi. Strigoi vii and mort. Vii are living vampires and are often referred to as witches.  Mort are the dead. They are the ones which prey on human blood. Yup, you figured it out. Strigoi vii become morti when they die. Once dead, he or she has to return their grave frequently—more specifically during the day.

How does one become a strigoi? *laughs* The ways are endless and they don’t involve being bitten. To name a few:

·         Being born out of wedlock

·         Die before being baptized

·         Born with a caul or tail

·         Unnatural death

·         Unmarried people

·         A cat walks over your dead corpse

And the list goes on. Have I mentioned Romanians are highly superstitious? So what if you are bitten by a strigoi? Chances are when you die you may become one of them, unless the priest intercedes at the time of death and in your burial.

How do you ward off strigoi? Garlic. Stakes, Fire. If you ever get a chance to drive through the countryside of Romania, you will see braids of garlic and herbs hanging from front gates of people’s homes. Yes, even today there are many believers in these myths. 

How do you kill a strigoi? There are multitude of ways and it all depends on the stage in with the strigoi is in. If they are in the wrath stage floating about, one must exhume the body and pierce a stake through their heart. The gypsies suggest sticking a clove of garlic in the mouth as well. If they are a fully developed strigoi, a stake through the heart, decapitation, and burning the body would do the trick. When the grave in which the strigoi inhabits cannot be found, the best time to kill a strigoi is while they are feeding because they are completely distracted by the blood.

Here is the key for a strigoi to survive. It is believed that if the strigoi goes undetected for seven years he or she are free to leave their original grave and lead a normal life among humans. Obviously they would have to live somewhere where they are not recognized. They are no longer bound to their own grave except for Saturdays when they must find a grave to spend the day in or on a special undead holiday. When they reach this state, they become immortally beautiful.

So now you know a little more about the vampires of Romania and some of the mythology I have woven throughout my novel. Most of this information I gleaned from the internet and tales my grandmother used to tell me when I was a child. She had a great way of getting me to go to bed or eat my carrots. “If you’re not a good girl, the strigoiul will find you . . .” I also understand now why Romanians eat lots of garlic.

Would love to hear your thoughts and comments.

Dracula's Castle

Greetings!

In case you were wondering, I haven't turned into a vampire yet. The writing is going well. I'm at 85K as of this morning.

As promised, a post about vampires. Who is the most famous of the legends? Dracula (aka Vlad Tepes or Vlad the Impaler). Made famous by Bram Stoker 1897 novel Dracula, Vlad Tepes has fascinated the minds around the globe and Hollywood only added to the fervor. Who can forget Bela Lugosi's hair-raising portrayal of the undead Transylvanian superstar?

With the resurgence of vampire frenzy in the last couple of years, thanks to the lovely Stephanie Meyer, Romania has once again attracted the world's attention. I can not tell you how many ghost hunting shows and other documentaries about the real Dracula on TV I've seen.

Here's a little factoid you may not have known: There are no Romanian legends that claim Vlad Tepes was a vampire. Yes he was a notorious ruler and shed blood without batting an eyelash, but Romanians don't consider him a vampire. Some think of him as a hero for defeating the Turkish armies. Oh, yeah, they believe in vampires, strigoi, just not in the Hollywood romanticized version.

When I traveled through Romania in 1998, shortly after I had read Dracula for the first time, I wanted to visit Vlad Tepes' castle. My relatives living in Transylvania took me here:

This is Bran Castle, where Dracula may have stayed during one of his conquering tours. It is a beautiful medieval castle and elicits the feeling of grandness reserved for the rulers of that time period. However this is not THE Dracula castle even though the kiosks lining the gate entrance will sell you just about anything with Dracula stamped on it. I discovered this a couple of years ago after doing some research and watching a couple of documentaries on the History Channel. Dracula lived in the province of Wallachia, south of Transylvania.
In Fall of 2009, I spent a week visiting my grandmother who happens to live 30 kilometers for the actual castle, Poenari Citadel.

Poenari was built in the 13th century and was abandoned. In the 14th century, Vlad commissioned it to be restored enslaving the rich families of the those who had crossed him in the past. They worked till their fine clothes turned to rags and either died or were executed. The citadel is located on the cliff of a small mountain along the pass through the Fagaras Mountains. To get to it you have to drive way off the beaten path then climb over 1400 steps to reach the entrance. It is has the mysterious creepy feeling to it that one would expect visiting Dracula's castle. The views from the towers and walls are spectacular. Because of it's remote location there are no tours and neither are there any tourist attractions near by- yet. Romanians love to capitalize their fame.
The castle now lies in ruins as it was abandoned after Turks attacked it while Vlad lived there. Legend says his first wife cast herself off one of the towers after seeing the fortress surrounds by the barbaric Ottoman soldiers, claiming she would rather the wild animals or the Arges river fish eat her broken flesh than be raped and killed by the Turks. Her body was never found.

This legend has inspired part of my vampire novel. What if she was the real vampire in the myth? Something to think about, eh?

Hope you enjoyed learning a little more about my heritage. Next week I'll be discussing the strigoi.

Cheers,
Melania