Owlet started out as a dream about a girl running after an owl through the woods. Reaching up and finally catching a piece of that owl as it merged with her soul and she soared into the sky. Then she was scribbles in a notebook, sketches to keep the ideas and eventually a true character started to form. In my first draft of Owlet (150k words instead of the current 50k, Yes, that would have been one FAT novel) She started to fully form and as I got to know her better I rewrote Owlet into what it is now but it was a process. My first two novels I had refused to do more than one draft of and Owlet was a novel I rewrote countless times from age 17 until being accepted by Tribute Books.
Iris was originally simply a girl with black hair and striking blue eyes who reached for a dream and caught a small piece of it which transformed her life. As I started sketching her the other characters started to pop up. Suddenly she had a companion named Diana who always felt like both a friend and an enemy because she never knew where she stood. Then I started a drawing and it ended up being a man whose soul was a falcon who then turned into the character Falcon.
Though that is not where the true evolution took place. The true evolution was more widespread across the novel. Iris was originally named Serenity and Falcon named Darien. Over the course of my rewrites they went from one dimensional characters caught in a strangely twisted romance to the characters who taught me how to write as they slowly filled out and became more and more real to me. As I realized what their pasts, presents and futures were and that nothing I had been writing was what it seemed. There were things going on behind the scenes and Iris was unendingly curious.
As the story grew Iris became more than just a girl from a dream, she became an Owlet surrounded by a world she couldn’t understand and unable to be a part of the ‘society of feathers’ that she had been born to join. Now, I can truly say I understand the world she lives in, I got to explore it as I wrote and rewrote (and rewrote and rewrote and rewrote) and now it is as real to me as the worlds of the novels I most enjoy reading. The world of the ‘Society of Feathers’ has become like Narnia, Hogwarts or the shire, something I hold in my heart and feels like a little piece of home when I return to it. Only in this case, instead of reading I get to be the one creating it and I can’t think of many things that bring me more joy.
Thank you for reading!
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About Owlet...
Somewhere between falling and flying… there is a girl.
Iris has a secret. She lost her memory eight years ago and never told a living soul. After an asthma attack one night she finds out that her dreams of a strange house on a snowy island may be a memory resurfacing but the more she learns about the past the more she realizes the life she has been living is a lie. As the façade her father has built starts to crumble around her she will have to decide which means more to her; the truth or her life.
READ ALONG
“Hmm...you know more than I thought, but definitely not as much as you could. How long has Iris known you were here? Since the first night? I know the hallway door didn’t open itself but there is no sign that you have been living there.”
“Roger had a small house on the other side of the island for Jarem to stay when he was here. Joseph and I took it over since he hasn’t been back.”
“On a breeze from afar she flew;
Forgetting her past and her stolen future;
Afraid and alone until she found home.
The Sparrow found the Fairy Wren,
Her soul mate...”
Both Diana and Falcon froze as they heard Iris singing ever so softly, her voice broken and raw.
“She is still asleep.”
“But she remembers. At least while she dreams.” Falcon sighed.
You can keep up with the read along at the bottom of this post :)
Damaris, thanks for inviting the 'Owlet' blog tour to swing by. We appreciate your support in helping to spread the word about Emma's new YA series.
ReplyDeleteGreat giveaway, thanks so much. Book looks really good, can't wait to read it!!!
ReplyDeleteWow, thanks for that insight on the evolution of your book. I always wondered how someone could just write a book. I will definitely keep my day job because I could not do that. Amazing
ReplyDeleteLove the cover! Thank you for the giveaway
ReplyDeleteLooks like a beautiful book.
ReplyDeleteWhat an original idea, I love hearing about the story behind the story.
ReplyDeleteThis book looks great! I love the cover and excerpt. Thank for the chance to win!
ReplyDelete-Brooke Banks