Do you ever think about how different the first drafts of your favorite novel must have been? How many characters may have died, been more minor than major, or had a totally different personality?
Since looking back at the early drafts of my published novel The Dragon Within, I've been particularly fascinated with the 'behind-the-scenes' of books, as I like to call them.
Okay, honestly I've always been quite fascinated by the "what-ifs" and unexplained answers in the backgrounds of stories, the things that are never explained, or the viewpoint you never see. What are the reactions of the people you don't see, but you know are there? What happened to the minor character while we were watching the major character fight this epic battle? What about the quiet moments in between, the ones rarely added because they're just not exciting? What if?
Maybe that's why I love writing stories so much. Even with my own story, I can write those 'what ifs' and unexplained stories. In fact, right now I'm working on a short story of Treya's post-The Dragon Within life, which is so deep and emotional that I knew from the beginning just had to write it. And it's cool because I've had a lot of people say Treya is their favorite and they wish they'd seen more of her, so I'm very excited to release Treya's story to the public when it's done. :)
In the meantime, though, I actually have a short (very short) story about Amael that you can read. I kept getting asked in interviews what characters I would like to spend the day with, and what I'd do with them, so I wrote a little story about it. :) It was a really fun and character-building experience to write, I must say. Check it out and tell me what you think below! :) http://melodyjacksonauthor.tumblr.com/post/94944329571/the-author-in-amael
