Questions about The Sevenfold Spell
- Why so sensual?
- It’s not sensual enough! Why are the sex scenes so short?
- Talia is such a tart! Why did you make her this way?
Questions about The Magic Mirror and the Seventh Dwarf
- Why did you spell “dwarves” as “dwarfs”?
- Where’s the sex?
- What is a Nibelung?
- Did you make up the word, Spielmann?
The Sevenfold Spell
Why so sensual?
This story did not take on a life of its own until I started perusing the love story between Talia and Willard. Each sex scene is short and is there for a reason. If you don’t like them, jump to the next page. None are longer than a page (except a slightly longer seduction scene).
It’s not sensual enough! Why are the sex scenes so short?
I write my sex scenes the way I like to read them–short and with punch. It was inspired by the way Janet Evanovich writes them. When writing descriptions you will notice that I leave most of my describing to the reader’s imagination. For example, I once described an old-fashioned ornate side table as a “granny table”. It is up to you to fill in what a granny table looks like. I do the same with sex scenes.
Talia is such a tart! Why did you make her this way?
Talia kind of morphed into an opposite of Aurora, the original Sleeping Beauty. Where Aurora is beautiful and pure, Talia is plain and … not. Aurora also has a disability, and it is counteracted by Talia as well, although I am not going to spoil that for you. And Aurora has wisdom, which Talia has to earn the hard way.
The Magic Mirror and the Seventh Dwarf
Why did you spell “dwarves” as “dwarfs”?
Because that’s the way you spell it. “Dwarves” is a popularized spelling invented by Tolkein, and has evolved to mean fantasy dwarves. There are no fantasy dwarves in my story. Most of them are little people and have achondroplasia or some other limb-shortening condition. After extensive research, I found that “dwarfs” is an acceptable term to use.
Where’s the sex?
Whereas The Sevenfold Spell is pretty steamy, this story would be classified as mildly sensual. This story did not call for many sex scenes because of my virginal female characters and because the action is pretty nonstop. There are a few sensual scenes, however, and plenty of romance.
What are Neibelung?
In the story of the Nibelung, the Nibelung were a race of dwarves (note the spelling) who lived under the ground and who kept great hoards of gold. The gods stole this gold and their greed proved to be their downfall. Nibelung are portrayed as villains in the story, but they are actually the victims, striving valiantly against the evil gods to retrieve that which is rightfully theirs.
At least that’s the way Gretchen sees things.
Did you make up the word, Spielmann?
No, I first encountered it on Google Translate and loved it for my story. I spent hours pouring through German language pages (I can limp along through German), attempting to verify that it was an actual word that means what I thought it meant. It turns out it is an archaic German word meaning “gleeman”. Directly translated, it means “playman”.