Friday, February 19, 2016

What inspired Pigsty Princess?

When my husband and I were writing Sword & Illusion, I gave my hero a sister who was more interested in clothes and dances than the serious issues facing their kingdom. I got to wondering what would happen if a King was so fed up with his daughter depleting the kingdom's treasury for her frivolity and decided to marry her off to a poor pig farmer? I even came up with the title before I had written a single word.
When it came right down to writing it, though, I started thinking that a father who really loved his daughter wouldn't do something so final against her will, so I had to play around with the idea a little to come up with the story as it stands.
I always knew Mariana would find out that her husband was a rebel fighting against the King, but much of the details of the plot came through brainstorming with my husband and critique group. In fact, one major plot point came to me while I was chopping vegetable for dinner, and I nearly stopped cooking to go rewrite the book for this point (which I won't specify as it's a MAJOR thing). When I told my husband what I'd come up with, he just shook his head and said, "That's really good.
Pigsty was my 2011 NaNoWriMo book, and during the writing and rewriting, the TV show Reign came on, and regardless of anyone's feelings about the historical accuracy of the show, I love it and have gotten several ideas for scenes or characters from watching it. I see it like an epic fantasy, which is my genre, and much of what I'm putting in the sequel to Pigsty, called Questionable Queen has come from that show.

Nancy S. Brandt, fantasy author
Pigsty Princess - the story of a pretty, pretty princess and the family that wants her dead.
Sword & Illusion - Warrior woman and a Prince, dragons and magic

Books available at all online retailers.
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