You mentioned that you had to make a lot of changes to Black as Night before it was published, could you please tell me some of them? - Mary, 8/2/04
In a week or so I'll probably hide something on this website about them in another secret door - this one has a tricky key and I'm trying to make the html work for me... stay tuned. Okay, it works now.
Whom do you like better -- Blanche or Rose? -- a reader in California, 7/25/04
That's a hard question. I hope no one ever asks me that about my kids. I like Blanche because she's atypical and introspective. I like Rose because she has such interesting ideas and she DOES things. Rose is, in some ways, an easier character for me to write. Blanche is harder but in some ways more rewarding. She's a deeper person.
Which of your books do you like best? - a reader in California, 7/25/04
Another hard question. Of the "Snow White and Rose Red trilogy," Waking Rose is the one I most want to see in print, because I enjoy reading it. Right now it's a massive manuscript (the publishers will probably cut some of it - it's rather rambling right now) and it's very uncomfortable to read a thick manuscript in bed when you're lying on your side. I will be happy when it's actually a book and it will be easier to hold. (Yes, I read my own books - silly, hm?) Still, I think that right now, Black as Night is a better-written book (even though, just having finished editing it, I have 'term-paper' feelings about it - as in "Thank God it's finished." But that's not the book's fault. I just took so long writing it). I almost want to say it has a more powerful ending - at least I think it's powerful, but I'm biased. I'll let readers be the judge of that one. And The Shadow of the Bear is like an old friend - I still enjoy reading it and thinking over the storyline.
Every author says this, but my favorite book is usually the one I'm working on right now. I have manuscript I just completed (based on a fairy tale but not in the trilogy) that I'm really crazy about. I could almost say I have a crush on it. But already I'm starting to get interested in the new one I'm writing, which I'm researching right now. Each of my books is like one of my children - each is different and I like each one for different reasons. It's hard to say which one I like best.
My mom and I loved the character Brother Leon in your story. We were wondering if he was by any chance inspired by the real Fransiscan priest Fr. David Engo? The way you made Br. Leon talk and even walk is exactly like Fr. David. Thanks, Stephanie 7/28/04 
I am amazed! Well, yes, I modeled Brother Leon (and several of the friars) on Franciscans I knew in NYC back when I was working there in the early nineties. Then-Brother David Engo was a novice among the friars I knew, and he certainly influenced the character of Brother Leon. Brother Leon also resembles the more well-known Father Stan Fortuna, who's a skilled jazz/rap musician as well. The song Brother Leon sings in the book is one that Father Stan introduced me to. You can find out more about Fr. Stan from his website, Francesco Productions. Fr. David is a spiritual advisor for Penitents.org.
My daughters and I look forward to the next Grimms tale... My only quibble with Rose is I don't think tie-dyed dresses are in. - Beth, 8/12/04
This is funny because it's the second comment I've gotten on the tie-dyed dress Rose wears on the trip coming back from California. I concede: tie-dyed dresses are not in, but I thought I had tried to demonstrate that Rose isn't someone who wears clothes that are "in." I think she wears what she likes, and her tastes run to the extravagant and the colorful, maybe painfully so at times. Also, coming from California, often associated with hippies and tie-dye, the dress has a "souvenir" quality (like coming back from Hawaii wearing a Hawaiian shirt). It's meant to be rather over-the-top.
I guess I didn't realize tie-dye was such a fashion flash point. My husband's family used to own a small tie-dye business in college (named EDUN - that's "nude" backwards, and the slogan was "Only Buff is Better!" Okay, my in-laws are crazy, but that's a secondary point here...). We do it ourselves at family reunions - I just did about thirty-five shirts on the beach with my five children and eleven nephews and nieces and nine siblings and four in-laws this past June. It was a lot of fun. (For those interested, I have to say that www.dharmatrading.com, where I put in periodic orders, has the best deals on dye, painting supplies, and natural fabrics for sewing.) Just yesterday I was wearing the shirt from that reunion, a blue-purple-and-green ocean blend done diagonally - my son has a matching romper.
Maybe, being surrounded by it, I'm blind to how chillingly out-of-style it actually is.
Is the Mr. Carnazzo who owns the Reflections banquet hall named after a certain Mr. Sabatino Carnazzo who just graduated from Christendom College? - Emily, 12/21/04
My first response was, "Of course not!" I usually pull minor character names out of the local phone book and rarely base them on an actual person (although I gave Officer Cirotti from the first book the last name of my cousin's husband). But just to be sure, I looked up "Carnazzo" in the phone book, and found that there's only one Carnazzo in our town, and it's the Mr. Sabatino in question! So I suppose I DID name it after Mr. Sabatino, although I didn't intend to. Our town, where Christendom is located, has a scarcity of Italians, and I must have lighted on his name as the first Italian one I found. Too funny!
I was wondering who is the writer of that song that Brother Leon is singing- the one about "taking my breath away". The lyrics sound familiar, but I can't remember who sings it or the tune. -- Jacinta, 12/26/04
Thanks to Mariellen Hynes, I now know that this lovely little song was written by Claire Hamill, a British recording artist, in the 1970's. If you'd like to get any of Claire's albums or listen to her other music, check out her website at http://www.clairehamill.co.uk/.
What are the full names (including confirmation names) of Bear, Fish, Rose, and Blanche? - Audrey, 10/21/04
Here you go!
Bear: Arthur John Michael Denniston
Fish: Benedict Franklin Augustine Denniston
Blanche: Blanche Mary Christiana Brier
Rose: Rose Mary Cecelia Brier
Plus how old are they and when are their birthdays? - Audrey, 10/21/04
The Denniston brothers and the Brier sisters are unusual in that they are both a year apart from each other, and consecutively. Thus at the end of Black as Night, Bear is 21, Fish is 20, Blanche is 19, and Rose is 18.
If you really want to know their birthdays, they are:
Bear: Jan 31
Fish: April 13
Blanche: Feb 22 (president’s day)
Rose: Nov 2
I was wondering, was Leon falling in love with Blanche like Matt thought? - Christina, 2/6/05
Leon did not actually fall in love with Blanche. The virtue of chastity requires a constant vigilance - whether you're a celibate friar, or married or single. Leon is a pretty prudent guy, and he realized that he was in danger, if he spent too much "alone time" with Blanche, even counseling her, his feelings would tend to gravitate towards a fixation that could fool him into thinking that he was falling in love with her. This was a particularly real possibility because he liked Blanche as a person, found her attractive, and was extremely concerned about her situation. He knew that the potential was there, so he avoided dwelling on it in his thoughts, and took practical steps (such as not touching her when they were alone together in the church) to prevent it.
He wasn't so much "squelching" his feelings as directing them in some cases towards prayer for Blanche and in other cases turning them towards other people and towards God. Some people consider that chastity means experiencing no sexual desire or just being naturally disinterested in sex. But in reality, chastity is an art, one that has to be carefully cultivated by examining protecting your thoughts and actions on so many different levels so that you're able to truly love people in the right way.
Part of the process means being humble about your frailty. I wanted to show part of the process of becoming chaste by demonstrating it in action. Part of Leon's process was admitting to himself that he could fall in love with Blanche IF he let himself. Once he admitted that, he CHOSE not to, and took actions to bolster that choice. And he was successful.
That's how it is with chastity. Honest married people will tell you that even though they love their spouse dearly, they still occasionally experience flickers of interest in other members of the opposite sex. What they must do, to guard their vocation, is to put those feelings aside and not encourage them, lest they destroy their marriage and betray their beloved spouse.
I like to think that in the same way, Leon was wise enough (even though he was young) to recognize that any feelings he might have towards Blanche or other girls he met in his ministry would be passing inclinations of the flesh, and in that way, could be temptations from the Enemy. He knew that he found true joy and happiness in his life with Christ as a friar and knew (because he knew himself well) that this was a constant joy that would always return to him.
I hope that answers your question! Good one!
I'm writing to ask you how you pronounce Blanche's name. Is the "a" pronounced like the "a" in ball, or the "a" in ant? I pronounce it one way, but have friends who insist it's prounounced the other. I'd like to know how you pronounce it. Thank you! - Rachel P., 7/25/05
I always pronounce it "a" as in "ant" because I think that's the English way to say it (the French say "a" as in "ball"). Thanks for the question!
Will there be radio dramas for Black as Night and Waking Rose as well? -Sarah D., Michigan 8/10/2005
It all depends on how well the first audio drama does. It was just released this month (Sept. 2005) so it's impossible to say. But I'd sure like to do another one, and I know I could get some of the same actors to do it, if we did. So we'll have to see! (To hear samples or purchase the audio drama, click here).
I'm confused. I was re-reading Shadow of the Bear, and I noticed that it says that "He(Bear) put his one arm around her(Blanche) and kissed her." But then it says in Black as Night that Bear had never kissed Blanche before. What? In Shadow, did Bear just kiss Blanche on the forhead, or the cheek? Or was it on the lips? -- Sarah, 9/18/2005
Your confusion is understandable. I decided when I was writing Black as Night that in The Shadow of the Bear, Bear probably didn't kiss Blanche on the lips, considering the situation (they were right outside her house, Fish and Rose were around and possibly about to come in, together with Mrs. Brier). He probably felt it wasn't the right time. So their real "first kiss" wasn't until the end of Black as Night. I like it better that way, myself.
What happened to the ciboriums and chalices in the first book that were in Mr. Freet's cellar? - Joanne, 12/20/2005
Do you mean the other chalices? That's a good question. If you've read Black as Night, you know what happened to the three 'precious ones.' I suspect that the ones that were stolen from Fr. Raymond were returned to St. Lawrences and were probably inherited by the friars, who would have made sure the vessels found good homes, probably with priests in poorer countries. But any vessels that weren't Fr. Raymonds probably remained in Mr. Freet's possession, which wouldn't have been much consolation to Mr. Freet, who was, after all, in jail. Thanks for the question!
In The Shadow of the Bear, Rose has a dream about Blanche being tortured by having her head stuffed into a box of Styrofoam balls. Is there a relationship between the description of crack in Black as Night and this dream? -- Erika, 1/15/2006
THAT is an interesting question, but I'm afraid the answer is no. The dream about Styrofoam balls is actually a dream my best friend in grade school had (a dream we always thought was VERY funny). I didn't think about the dream at all when I was writing Black as Night and the description of Arthur's arrest, so the relationship is purely coincidental.
Did Rose homeschool her senior year since St. Catherine's was closed down?-- Jennifer, 1/13/06
You're right, she did. I think she felt her family had had enough excitement for one year anyhow.
What happens to Rob Tirsch (spell?)? - Kristen, 3/27/06
You're the first person who ever asked that! I'm not sure what happens to Rob (personally I don't much care, either, the jerk). I doubt Rose or Blanche ever run into him again. Unlike Madeleine L'Engle, who kept bringing Zachary Taylor back into the picture again and again, I have no plans to write more about Rob.
Why do Eileen (minor villain in Shadow of the Bear) and Elaine have such similar names? I was confused in Black as Night when you first introduced Elaine; I thought she was Eileen! (They're both blonds, have similar-sounding names, are rather power-hungry, and seem to be fond of drugs and the like.) But then it finally dawned on me that they were two different people... - Jacinta, 4/9/2006
Um. That's a good question - I never thought of that. Maybe I think blonds who have names beginning with "E" sound more evil. I don't think I realized that I had done that until you pointed it out! I'll have to make sure I don't introduce a third blond with an "E" name in Book 3, or that will REALLY confuse everyone! Thanks for catching that! And sorry about the confusion!
You said recently that the Fosters were not Catholic, is there very much chance of them converting in Waking Rose or will it go unsaid? Elizabeth, 1/30/06
I don't think there's much of a chance, but we'll see.
Where can I find the lyrics and guitar chords for the song Brother Leon sings in the book, "You Take My Breath Away?" - Nicole, 3/25/06
The song, properly titled "You Take My Breath Away," was written by Claire Hamill. You can find the guitar chords here.
Will Brother Leon be in Waking Rose? I'd like to see what he's like as a priest. (I also think it would be nice if he got to say Blanche and Bear's wedding!) : ) - Elizabeth, 6/5/06
He might appear in a cameo -- but I think Bear and Blanche will be married before Brother Leon is ordained!
I gathered from the books that Bear and Fish were arrested during Bear’s junior year and Ben’s sophomore year. After they were arrested, they lived in the streets. So, did they not finish high school, or what? Thanks and God bless! -- Kayla, 7/16/06
I believe you have the correct timeline there. Bear and Fish both studied when they were in juvenile detention, and eventually they both took the GED test to get a high school degree. They were sort of overeducated. I suspect that Ben passed the GED before Bear did. Thanks for the question!
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