What Spirit Followers WAS Going To Be
So I wrote a book. SURPRISE. Just in case you happened to not know that. But if you did know that (and were so kind as to add it to your tbr list etc. etc.) I thought I’d share some interesting stories about the writing process for this book. And by that I mean I’ll share with you the moments where Emma and I were on sugar highs and made up these idiot (but hilarious) ideas that never made the book.
Let me preference this by saying this idea originally came from Emma and I wanting to write a four book series called The Lost Princess where basically there was this girl, Mary (now Camaria) who lived with her four sisters and grandfather and was (wait for it…) A LOST PRINCESS TO A KINGDOM annnnd there was this DARK LORD WHO WANTED HER POWERS. She had all four powers. And yes, the magic was elemental. So original right? In the end this idea was scraped (obviously), and Emma dropped off the project, but there are some stories about the outlining process I’d like to tell. Plus, some of the stuff in The Lost Princess made it into Spirit Followers (which is a post for another time.)
Okay first off everyone in this book was GOING TO DIE at the end after everything seemed happy. Because, you see, this was originally going to be a standalone/four book series (???) I know, confusing. But when Emma and I were outlining this story and had finally gotten to the end, we couldn’t decide how exactly it would end. My mom overheard our dilemma and suggested that the main character just suddenly murder everyone. WHICH I LOVE. But it didn’t happen. (Or maybe it did? You won’t know unless you read the book!)
If you’ve read the acknowledgements in Spirit Followers you might have noticed something about Apollyon taking tango lessons (???) Well, there was more, my friend. Long story short, I had this idea (a very not smart idea I might add) where Emma and I would have a sleepover, get high on tons of sugar, and then outline. #notsmart…but it was hilarious because we ended up creating these stories where Caleb makes cars out of legos? And Terra gets stabbed by Mista with a lego. Also, there was a scene where Caleb built Terra a porta-potty of legos. (We were really talking about legos alot.) etc. etc. etc. And then there was the scene when Mary (Camaria) who was 12 in the first outline kills…well, everyone basically.
The final outlining incident worth noting is when my dad thought his ideas for the book(s) were better. And maybe they were…But basically his version consisted of our five main ladies using chainsaws to kill everyone in the woods and an assortment of characters in a war including: Pinocchio, Goldilocks, Dora the Explorer, and Darth Vader.
I can promise you that I actually wrote Spirit Followers while not on a sugar high so its tango-lessons and legos free (although Darth Vader MIGHT just make an appearance if you want him to) but still worth checking out. So please do!
Happy Sunday and happy reading,
Lydia (1/2 of Lemmabeans)
