Continuation of the Pumpkin

I'm doing more research on publishing (which is probably more difficult than writing the book itself). For those who have not heard, "The Face of the Pumpkin" is a contemporary fantasy/ghost story. It is a little like "Pinocchio" in a modern mystery setting with whimsical characters that include sorceresses, a Cat, a Bat, a ghost and a newly created Pumpkin with a face, arms and legs, who is the only one who can see and communicate with the ghost of a fallen fire sorcerer. Despite the unfortunate rejection of the sorceress creator, the Pumpkin journeys to different districts with the aid of the ghost friend and on the way discovers a great deal of self-identity and purpose and about saving those we love. 

First Draft Finished!

I have finally finished the first draft of my first novel! It is true that I was revising everything as I went along, but I will still be doing more proofreading (especially for consistency of unique capital words). There are a few bits of extra details I know I'll be adding.

This book has been a joy to write. It had some challenges, especially when dealing with a lot of characters. The number of characters ended up a lot larger than I expected, just like the length of the story. It is not that hard having a lot of characters, but it is when a lot of them appear in the same scene at the same time. The ending was pretty intense for me. We will see how this goes!

It is almost that time of the year...

A ghost, a witch, a Cat and a Pumpkin! (Note the irregular capital letters)

These are decorations for Halloween at my house, but they also largely remind me of characters from my upcoming book. These Halloween archetypes have representations as characters, but not in the way you might expect.

The ghost character in my book looks nothing like a cartoon ghost and more like a translucent person (a la Obi Wan Kenobi). The witch does not wear a costume like that or have a pointed hat. The Cat looks similar but more like an Egyptian Mau breed. The Pumpkin looks similar but has arms and legs, more rounded eyes and a more subtle nose.

I am eleven chapters finished so far! (With the first draft.)

Four Fruits of Magic

A green apple, a pear, a strawberry and blueberries!

What do these four fruits have in common?

Find out after I finish my upcoming book!

Once Upon a Time Returns in Less than a Week!

[SPOILER ALERT]
As you know, earlier I made a post back in June
about some unanswered questions that are still held
over since Season 3 ended. Let's see how many of the 20 questions are answered next season!

Last season dealt with an Oz theme (although Oz only actually appeared in 2 episodes) and focused on the Wicked Witch of the West and the mystery of the gap year. Rumple apparently destroyed her but will she return (at least in flashbacks)??

Zelena, The Wicked Witch of the West

One thing I did not include was what happened to Jefferson and who is Grace's mother and how was she lost? This of course is because unfortunately Sebastian Stan, who plays Jefferson, like Jamie Dornan, has been busy with many film projects. We all know what happened to Sheriff Graham/The Huntsman, but what Jefferson is doing is quite a mystery.

Jefferson, The Mad Hatter

The Huntsman (Sheriff Graham) 

Of the 20 questions I placed, we all that number 20 will definitely be a main issue when the season begins!

We will also see a return of Sidney Glass/ The Magic Mirror, who as we know, was also a Genie of Agrabah. But was he Aladdin's genie? (Making the presumption that Aladdin exists in the OUAT universe). In the Wonderland spin-off there were several different genies, so I wonder if any of them are connected with Aladdin or if Jafar had any connection to an Aladdin character or perhaps connected to any other OUAT character (such as Cora, Regina, Rumple, etc.) It would be amazing to see him return!

Sidney Glass/The Magic Mirror/Genie of Agrabah 

Jafar 

Speaking of the Wonderland spin-off, Will Scarlet/ The Knave of Hearts (the first one) will be appearing as a character this season on the regular Once Upon a Time. We know he had a history with Robin Hood and the merry men. I wonder who else!

Robin Hood with Will Scarlet, The Knave of Hearts

I also wonder what happened to some of the other Oz characters.

Glinda, The Witch of the South

Walsh, The Wizard of Oz

Dorothy Gale

And then there are other characters we haven't seen much lately, whom I'd love to see return (at least in flashbacks)

Mulan

Aurora

Prince Philip 

Maleficent 

Rapunzel

Cinderella (Ashley) 

Tinker Bell

Lancelot

Cora, the Queen of Hearts

Another interesting point is when we have cases where characters have been specifically mentioned (not necessarily by name but mentioning them beyond simple implication) but haven't yet appeared (as far as we know)

* The Black Fairy
* King George's Late Wife
* The mother of Grace/Paige (Jefferson's daughter)
* Merlin
* Emma's foster family (families)
* And Probably more to come and others I've forgotten!

Back!

It's been a while but I'm going to try to write more on here. So far I haven't finished my main book yet, but one update it will be a full-length novel, instead of just a novelette as intended before. I'm not sure whether or not it should go in the category of 'middle grade' yet. I currently have about two chapters left of the first draft! I am close to 40,000 words now (on a word processor in standard font that is about 130 pages!) I definitely do not want to be rushed although I hope to finish the FIRST Draft before the month is over. Si se puede?

Also Once Upon a Time returns for its 4th season soon! (One of my favourite shows!) My next post will talk a little more of that!

Questions on Once Upon A Time

(Spoiler Warning if you are not yet caught up to episode 3x22)

1. What happened to Jonathan / Zelena’s Father?

2. Did Jefferson ever meet Zelena?

3. For that matter, did Zelena ever go to Wonderland or ever meet her mother, Cora? (Also there is about a 40 year gap between Zelena meeting Dorothy and going to the Enchanted Forest to take revenge on Regina. Was the Land of Oz frozen in time during the curse?) 

4. How did King George get defeated? (a question since Season 1) 

5. How did Cora and Prince Henry lose their royal status?

6. How exactly did Tinker Bell end up in Neverland? 

7. How exactly did Hook and Baelfire leave Neverland? 

8. How did Walsh / The Wizard end up going to the Land without Magic months before the New Curse?

9. What happened to Rapunzel?

10. How did Prince Phillip get saved from the Wraith? (And what are his stories with Aurora and Mulan?)

11. What happened to Mulan? 

12. What happened to King Midas (He has never been seen out of the Enchanted Forest)

13. How did Regina’s father, Henry, end up a prisoner in Wonderland? (Is he “The King of Hearts”?) 

14. How did Will / Knave end up in Storybrooke during the curse? (Before the events of the Wonderland spin-off) Does he have any history with Regina or Rumplestiltskin? 

15. Did Jafar have any relationship with Regina or Cora (it would be interesting)

16. What happened to Dorothy and the Silver Shoes? (Are she and Walsh from our Kansas or Fictional Kansas?) 

17. What happened to Glinda? 

18. What is the full back story to Maleficent and her relationship with Aurora and Phillip?

19. How was Ariel’s relationship with her family under the sea?

20. How will Elsa/ The Snow Queen fit into OUAT?!!!