How it All Began... | Tales of Faith 3-Month Tour

Saturday we {finally} had the cover reveal for "Protecting the Poor."

Today starts a whole new series of a blog tour!! I'm thrilled and excited to welcome thirteen amazing bloggers that I'll be hanging out with next month:

A.M. Heath @ A.M. Heath Blog

Becky @ Blossoms and Blessings

Esther @ We've Got Pockets

Faith Blum @ Faith Blum

J. Lodi @ Drop in the Ocean

Kaitlyn @ Maidens for Modesty

Kaylee @ Kaylee's Kind of Writes

Kenzi @ Honey Rock Hills

LeAnne @ Wildflower Acres

Medomfo @ Writings from a God-Girl

Michaela @ Tangled Up in Writing

Sydney @ Singing Librarian Books

We're going to have about three posts each week, so keep visiting back here (or just go and follow all of them!) and I'll link to each blog on the day they post. Every post is different--this week, for instance, we have an inspirational post, a book review, and an "about-the-process" lined up. I'm super excited about it and give a hearty thank-you to these lovely bloggers for letting me invade their space.

Let's start at the very beginning...

This month everyone is featuring "Befriending the Beast." Because let's face it, I wouldn't have had a "Protecting the Poor" without this one.

If you’ve hung around me long enough, you might already know the “story behind the story.” So just skim if you’re that person. But hey… maybe you’re new (hi!!) and love behind-the-scenes just as much as I do!

It’s always interesting to think back to how a series began—or, in this case, just one short story (cue a sheepish grin). My sisters and I were watching a movie and during a commercial break, the random question popped in my mind (because we really weren’t watching anything “Beauty and the Beast” related): “What if the beast was Belle’s father?” I jotted the question down on my phone’s notes app (anyone else do that?). This was end of June/beginning of July 2016.

Well, one of my friend’s birthdays was coming up late July. So, like any sane person, I thought, “Why not write a short story for her for a gift?” And like any sane writer, I knew I could pull it off.

Not.

I did write a short story (about 7,000 words) and it only took me one weekend. But I soon realized that my story idea morphed into something far greater than a mere short story could handle. As I edited, it grew to over twice its original length, landing it in the questionable short story/novella range (so yeah, I just called it a novella). No, I didn’t meet my friend’s birthday. She still received it as a gift—albeit a few months late (it released September 30, 2016).

End of story.

Until…

I wasn’t seriously thinking about making a series out of “Befriending the Beast,” but I mentioned to my friend how I had the fleeting thought of attempting a Cinderella retelling, but the only idea I had was modern. A few days later, she messaged, “Since you made the beast the father, I thought you might like to toss around the idea of making Prince Charming the father too.” Thanks, A.M. Heath. I stayed up half the night spinning an idea for a now-book-two of a series-I-wasn’t-going-to-write.

Once “The Secret Slipper” was in the works, I knew I had to create a trilogy (because three is just better than two), so as soon as characters were created, I began to toss around who could have their own story for a third retelling. Now, my reader friends, we have “Protecting the Poor” hinting at a Robin Hood retelling!

And there you have it… how my novella trilogy spun from one single question.

Have you ever had an idea that began simple and expanded every time you thought about it? If you’re a writer, what is the craziest way one of your stories began?