Autumn's Requiem

Author's Note/Preface

People often tell me my writing is "avant-garde".

I don't mind this label, even though it is in many cases, code for "I didn't really get it.".  At the same time, it means, "There's not much out there that's quite like this." I take that as a huge compliment. If there's one thing it's difficult to be these days, it's original.

People also tell me my writing can be difficult to read because I put a lot of focus on character, rather than plot. I am guilty of telling more than showing. I also love plot twists and unreliable narrators.

In short, I don't really follow the rules when it comes to getting what exists in my imagination down on paper. It's hard to put my work into a genre, I love adverbs, and I write for people with a relatively sophisticated vocabulary. Whatever advice any famous author has given about crafting fiction, or any professor ever told me about making my stories "marketable", I've probably proceeded to ignore.

That's okay. The world has enough rule-followers.

On the other hand, if I actually followed rules and advice, who knows? I might accidentally write a best-seller one day and make a much better living writing than I do. :P

I am an editor's worst nightmare, and I'm aware of this. It takes a special person to want to work and collaborate with me.

That being said, this is the first piece I've written that was intentionally avant-garde.

I'm not sure why, but I really wanted to do a story that was mostly existing inside the mind of a single character--one who becomes increasingly unreliable as time goes on.

Most of the plot is "told" by the protagonist because there's little to show. More accurately, most of the plot is "thought". However, she is possibly as unaware of the plot of the story as anyone else.

Unreliable narrators are really fun to work with.

One of my interests is mixing genres. In specific, I love historical fiction combined with paranormal elements, or psychological thriller. I'm a fan of dark fantasy where the sanity of characters is dubious. I even like romance, provided it's a little forbidden and probably eventually crosses into light erotica.

I call most of what I write "Gothic fiction" or "literary fiction", both genres that few write and don't really sell. The concept of "modern Gothic fiction" has been made successful a few times in the past fifty years. Anne Rice populated New Orleans and France with vampires and witches, and V.C. Andrews brought us 18-year-old damsels in distress, insane grandparents, family shame, sexual awakening, and dilapidated Gothic mansions. More recently, Charlaine Harris gave us a bit of ill-fated paranormal romance with "True Blood", and Laurell Hamilton pushed the boundaries with "Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter." Modern Gothic Fiction hasn't died out, but it's a hard genre to write successfully.

Still, much like the protagonist of this story, my mind and heart were always captivated by haunted castles, the insane wife in the attic, the creepy raven at the chamber door, the undeniably magnetic Dracula, ghosts that float the trees, and the echoes of "Heathcliff" across the moors.

Much like this prompt suggests, I've always been a girl a little too much in love with the romance of darkness.

That's what inspired this story. I mixed the thrill of forbidden Gothic romances with the equally haunting refrain of Mozart's "Requiem" (the composer actually died while writing the dark, unforgettable "Lacrymosa", which means "lamentation".). On top of that, I threw in a bit of the Tudor madness.

That story is also true. Though Violette never names the English Queen, Elizabeth I was no fan of women, much like her father. What she lacked in beauty, she made up for with wit and knew the destructive power of a beautiful woman--especially for a Queen. Elizabeth, who dubbed herself "The Virgin Queen" and "married to the people", was said to have had a lifelong affair with her admirer, Lord Dudley.

He was not a man of good reputation, and before becoming Queen, "virgin" wasn't a term applied much to Elizabeth. She broke up quite a few homes. They might have been a good pair, as he was the one man who wouldn't expect her to make him King. Unfortunately, his first wife met her demise after falling down a flight of stairs. She suffered from both physical and mental problems, but in the eyes of much of England, it was possible that either Lord Dudley or Elizabeth pushed her so he'd be free to marry.

Since the Queen couldn't marry her love, she imprisoned couples who married without consent of the Queen or eloped quickly to cover up an unplanned pregnancy. Many beautiful young noblewomen ended up spending years in solitude, confined to religious houses, or simply died because they dared to fall in love and marry. Most believe Elizabeth simply wouldn't tolerate any star that might outshine her, possessing a narcissistic and suspicious personality like her father's.

Though the reign of Elizabeth I was considered to be one of the most prosperous in England's history, it also had a very dark side. Unlike her father, Elizabeth learned the value of concealing her secrets and mistakes to maintain the affection of the people.

A character like the idealistic and somewhat childish Violette was, in my mind, exactly the sort of girl Elizabeth would never allow life in her Court. She is, from the start, a flower being punished for the natural act of blossoming. Her awareness of her youth and sexuality, contrasted with the joyless and frigid nature of a white-faced Virgin Queen is designed to make the reader pity the flower.

Had she been a houseplant, Violette would have fared better.

This story isn't a particularly special one, in my mind. Hwever, there was a time when stories like this one were all the rage, and even considered scandalous. Nowadays, you can't do much to shock people. (trust me, I've tried.)

I think I could have developed this into a longer work, because while simple, the characters and setting offered so much possibility. But, alas, 7000 words....

I hope you enjoy my attempts at "something different". <3

*~ Alayna