On one of the first days of 1985, I lay on the couch trying to combat pregnancy nausea with a book of classic vampirestories.
My two-year-old and eight-month-old were napping at the same time, a highly unusual occurrence. I laid the book upside down on my chest and decided to write a gothicy-style vampire novel.
Now, I had never written a novel, only short stories and one novella. Nor had I even written much fiction since my junior high school days, thanks to a series of illnesses in high school and a killer schedule in college. Since becoming a parent, I had not even read much fiction. I preferred the Bible, as well as books on pregnancy, childbirth, Cesarean sections (I've had six total), home birth (I've had none), breastfeeding (infants, toddlers, through pregnancy, and tandem), Christian parenting, and homeschooling.
Yet, by the time the kiddies had awakened, and I was soaping washcloths for diaper changes (Yes, I used cloth diapers, by choice), I had the rudiments of s story--a teenage girl falls in love with a vampire she meets by a remote lake--flowing through my mind.
Of
course, the main character would be Melissa. That had been my name of choice
for numerous childhood stories. Finally, Melissa would star in her
"official" story. I decided to set her story in 1972 (I later changed
it to 1975 simply because I wanted Halloween on a Friday) to give expansion
room to the story. It was a slow growth.
The raising of six, lively, breastfed, homeschooled children left little time for writing. Drafts attempted in locked, toddler-proofed rooms offered little concentration. Those adorable little people who shared the space were more interested in tapping typewriting keys than playing with all the lovely, educational toys strewn on the floor. Many, many deleted scenes found their home in some landfill.
Yet,
while other stories ideas have come and gone, this particular one would not go
away. Finally, in 2007, I decided to write it as a novella for the seventeenth
birthday of one of my sons. I figured it could write it in a weekend. I was
wrong.
So in January 2008, I tackled the novel in earnest. At some point, I realized the story was too large for one book; it would need a sequel. And far too many sequels (in my opinion) aren't that good. And I was struggling to write one book without the specter of a second looming before me.
Not until I had outlined the sequel and was actively writing it did I realize the story was actually a trilogy. And that was a real problem (to me) because I had enough material for two books but not three.
So I paused writing the second until (for consistency's sake), I had an outline for the third. And, honestly, without integrating Ed Calkins as a character into the first novel (when it was only a first novel), that third novel would would never have happened, at least not in the wonderful directions it veered.
The rest of my ideas for the rest of the BryonySeries books derived from writing another book.
While writing the first novel, the companion cookbook derived from all the fun food references, the mentoring subplot, and my desire to give back.
The idea for the bonus short story came from my publicist, who wanted me to have something to read at pre-publication events.
While writing the first novel, Sarah had the idea for Girls of the BryonySeries subseries.
While writing the second novel, I had the idea for The Adventures of Cornell Dyer subseries.
While writing the third novel, Sarah had the idea for the Bertrand the Mouse subseries.
And while editing the first novel while drafting the second, I had the idea for the Before The Blood prequel and the werewolf story.
And after I published all five of those volumes, I had the idea for the Limbo trilogy.
And while writing the werewolf story, I had the idea for the "A Year of Shadows" novelette.
Funny how that happens, isn't it? The entire series really took on the life of its namesake noxious weed, which can easily overtake healthy vegetation..
Now although I've previously said I've likely written my last novel, a vague, wispy shadow of another BryonySeries story is already lurking in the back of my mind.
Ed thinks I have a another novel inside of me.
He may be right.
The original BryonySeries "drop of blood trilogy
These books for young adults and older below originate from the expansion of the initial idea and revolve around the idea of "a drop of blood, a deceptive fantasy.
In addition to the trilogy, this initial subseries has a bonus short story and companion cookbook featuring recipes for all the food references in "Bryony," which is a permanent fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties.
Bryony
After her father’s sudden death, seventeen-year-old Melissa Marchellis moves onto the former estate of nineteenth century composer and pianist John Simons, where a mysterious mist stalks her, ghostly piano music plays in her bedroom, and visions of John Simons’ young wife Bryony, who died in childbirth, invade her dreams. Those dreams, Melissa discovers, are simply a distraction for the midnight feedings of John Simons, now a vampire.
So, John proposes a trade: Melissa may visit the past as Bryony in exchange for minute samples of her blood to neutralize his vampire state. For a time, Melissa happily seesaws between her adolescent routine of school, slumber parties, and cute boys to dancing at balls, attending formal dinner parties, and hosting garden fetes.
But fantasy and reality blur when her eccentric, middle-aged English teacher penetrates her dreams as Melissa’s dashing, young vampire chaperone; her brother Brian adopts a peculiar stray cat after a friend disappears in a midnight exploration of the dilapidated mansion; and another girl with a similar vampire pact is gruesomely murdered.
Caught between the danger of her agreement and her escalating infatuation with John Simons, Melissa contends with other vampires and their agendas, while struggling with her feelings for an undead musician.
While grieving the abrupt end of her blood bargain with nineteenth century pianist John Simons, eighteen-year-old Melissa Marchellis packs sensible goals for her life and marches off to college, where her obsession flings her into a relationship with a music professor, a man with a shady reputation and an uncanny resemblance to John.
Meanwhile, Melissa’s peer support crumbles, as her friends make other choices for their lives. Shelly and Laura attend out of town schools. Ann forsakes her wealthy ambitions for a Munsonville boy. Julie is preoccupied with studying and dating a nice, but dull, psychology major. Katie runs away with an aging medicine man.
Melissa quickly cycles from pursuer to victim when the professor develops a mysterious illness requiring unusual treatments; neighborhood pets disappear at alarming rates; and she begins caring for a child with a number of disturbing qualities: a voracious appetite, abhorrence for meat, luxurious red hair that defies trimming, extreme intelligence, and musical abilities beyond its tender years.
As her world unravels, Melissa glimpses the horrifying truth beneath her choices. Will Melissa use that knowledge to finally break free from Bryony’s past?
Staked!
For seventeen-year-old John-Peter Simotes, prodigy of a college music professor that died from a mysterious illness and was staked by his best friend’s vampire-slayer father, growing up in a remote fishing village means tolerating an English teacher mother, enduring a Bible-thumping grandfather, working for a newspaper delivery uncle and a funeral director stepfather, playing with astral projection, and waiting for the right opportunity to rescue the princess trapped in a bedroom mirror.
So when John-Peter accidentally discovers a diary written by his deceased great-grandmother, revealing her claims that a famous nineteenth century pianist and composer with a connection to the village and a resemblance to the music professor was actually a vampire, he and his best friend, Karla Dyer, decide to resurrect the vampire to prove her theory.
But experiments with magic and immortality do more than test the information set forth by a mentally unstable woman. They unlock the truth about John-Peter’s real identity, the evil motives of people he trusts, and the mission upon which he must embark to save them all.
Snowbell
While visiting an out of state friend, a snobbish teen decides to show up the locals by disproving their cherished ghost stories. However, her calculated prank becomes a terrifying night in a dilapidated mansion and a desperate wish that the legends were true.
Memories in the Kitchen: Bites and Nibbles from "Bryony"
In Denise M. Baran-Unland's young adult vampire novel, Bryony, seventeen-year-old Melissa Marchellis trades her blood with a Victorian vampire for a trip back into time as his wife, Bryony.
Yet, as Melissa zig-zags between 1975 and the late 1890's, she encounters plenty of food. These range from the familiar dishes that grace her family's dinner and holiday tables to unfamiliar Victorian fare: beef tongue, stuffed pigeons, and boiled calves head.
The recipes included in this collection reflect the culture of both time periods to give the reader an insight into the world of "Bryony."
Whether you read this cookbook to enhance the story's enjoyment or for menu ideas, may you thoroughly delight in each "bite and nibble."
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