Dismantle My Bed

Just what are Norco and Togo? That’s one of the running questions of Bleeding Through Kingdoms: Cinderella’s Rebellion? What are they and where did they come from? This question is sort of lightly answered by novel’s end, but it still leaves room for interpretation. The can certainly be described as Cinderella’s saving grace, though.

I’ve been asked quite a few times how I came up with their names, so here is the true story.

I was living in California when I wrote the novel. There was a nearby town named Norco. There was also a restaurant in the area called To Go’s. Put it all together –

Norco & Togo, the cuddly and mysterious comfort creatures of Bleeding Through Kingdoms.

To be as strange as Christophe, your early home life must have been somewhat twisted. Luckily for him, he died by his stepmother’s hand, was reincarnated as a bird, killed the evil stepmother, and was turned back into a boy for his efforts.

But Christophe may be the most beautiful character in Bleeding Through Kingdoms: Cinderella’s Rebellion. He cares too much. He feels too deeply. He hurts with abandon. And he loves so fiercely, it’s a blessing to be on the receiving end. All the other characters feel it, even if they do find him slightly disconcerting.

Almost every fairy tale has her, the angry queen or stepmother who despises, and, subsequently, tortures or kills anyone younger or more beautiful than she is or who challenges her to the affections of a man. Though my book deviates from fairy tales almost from the get go, the framework remains the same. In Bleeding Through Kingdoms, that bitter woman intent on the destruction of those she deems competition is Snow White’s stepmother, Queen Ino.

Queen Ino is an utterly heartless human being.

Or is she?

She despises Snow White.

Or does she?

The thing about Queen Ino is that everything about her is exactly what it seems. And yet… it isn’t at all. Even she doesn’t realize that she isn’t what she first appears to be until circumstances force her to find out who she really is.

She may not be the brightest member of the Bleeding Through Kingdoms troupe, but she is quite possibly the sweetest. She has been pampered and sheltered her entire life. Everything she wanted, her father would have given her. All she had to do was follow the proper path, and it’s just where she was headed.

Derailed from that path only by her stepmother’s attempts on her life, Snow White makes the best of the circumstances in which she finds herself. And still, she never expects people to do the bad things that they do. Dangerous, since so many of those bad deeds are directed toward her.

So smart, but so sheltered, Rapunzel is just getting her footing in the real world. If she seems backward, thin-skinned and naive, it’s because she is, and she will be until she has more life experience. She is hopeful and optimistic. It could be naivete, but it’s not. It’s just her. Even when things look completely bleak, she has faith in the ability of the people around her to overcome.

Her book smarts are unparalleled, so she can offer help where others can’t. She is observant and perceptive. She picks up on things and there are at least a few things that are still undiscovered… even by her.