Her Royal Charming

Q & A

What are the significance of the character's names? 

I put a lot of research in Adira's name. I wanted it to be something unique with a powerful message. Her name has Hebrew origins and means strong and noble. My goal was to have her name as a constant reminder that she's capable of handling anything that comes her way. 

I chose the name Edmon because it means protector and he functions as her guardian angel of sorts. He's always looking out for her from the beginning and never stops. 

I chose Derric because he was my favorite character from the Stolen Kiss series on Wattpad. (Seriously you should go check it out!) Also, his name means ruler and I wanted to have the royal connection in mind. 

The rest of the names were chosen from a random baby-naming website. The funny thing I met people with the character's name (minus the main characters) after I chose the names and they were actually amazing human beings. 

Who are the characters in relation to the fairy tale Cinderella?

Adira=Cinderella, Ava + Edmon = Fairy Godmother,  Derric= Prince Charming, 

Sophia, Emma and Harper = Evil Step-sisters, Kenny= Stepmother, 

I made a few changes, like having an evil step-father instead of mother, three step-sisters instead of two, and two people acting as the fairy godmother. 

Where did you come up with the idea? 

I am obsessed with how many ways a story can be retold. I'm also a big fan of Once Upon a Time which was a big inspiration.  I started reading a lot of fairy-tale retellings here on Wattpad and had ideas on how to reshape some of my favorite stories into modern day. This was just the first in my list I had started writing. 

Follow my profile to learn more about when I will publish similar types of stories. 

When did you start writing this story? 

I started planning out most of the novel June 2018, and starting writing November of the same year for NaNoWriMo. I stopped after chapter 15 because I was swamped with school, and then resumed writing January 2019 in my spare time before work. I really starting make a dent in the novel June 2019 which is when I finished. 

So it was a lot of on & off writing to handle. 

How long is Her Royal Charming? 

On a single document it is 177 pages long. I'm really proud of it!

Is there going to be a sequel? 

I have small ideas for a sequel but I'm unsure of how they're going to pan out. I might have to put the sequel on hold while I pursue my other story ideas, but it's definitely something I'm open to in the future. 

I was thinking of it following Adira and Derric into college and the honest truth about her mental health struggles. If you have any ideas for a title leave a comment below! 

Why don't Derric and Edmon like each other? 

That is something I want to potentially explore more in the sequel. The short version is that I dropped hints (or wanted to) that Edmon might have feelings for Adira. Also, what he mentioned before was that he was jealous of how much time she was spending with Derric is valid. 

Are the characters based on real people? 

The characters in this story are 100% fictional, they are a product of my mind. With that in mind, I loosely based Adira on myself and her life around similar events in my life. This was actually a therapeutic way for me to channel my feelings through her character. 

I don't want to go into specifics and I want to keep my life private, but some things in this story are based on true events. For example, the debate Derric and Edmon had in Chapter Thirty Four was almost word for word an interaction I had with a co-worker when we got ice cream. (I was team cone).  

What was the original plot/ending? (This is kind of long, proceed with caution)

The way this story ended was not how I originally intended. The title in the early stages was called Someday My Prince Will Come, (but that's for a different story now). The beginnings of my plan and the actual story are pretty much identical. Her step-family puts her through hell, she goes on a run and meets Derric at the park. 

I wanted Adira to have more friends but ultimately landed on just Edmon to create a closer bond between the two of them. I didn't think that would be established as well with a group of three. 

I had plans to play into the Edmon/Adira romance more. I wanted her to have a crush by him and be rejected when she reveals them to him. Then she would run to the park and see Derric who comforts her, cheers her up and distracts her all at the same time. 

The big scene where her step-sisters trash her room was going to happen when she was showering after looking for apartments for herself. They were going to specifically ruin all mementos of her father, vandalize her car and steal her bag because of a rumor that she was dating Derric who was meant to be more popular than he actually was. 

They were supposed to put big posters of her around the school saying she was a pathetic slut and publicize the fact that her mother left because she was too bitchy to deal with. This was on top of more fabricated rumors they spread about her. 

Derric was supposed to leave her after the stunt her step-sisters pull not knowing what to believe. Adira was supposed to have a meltdown and cry until there were no tears left in her body, not talking to anybody including her friends and can't handle the stress she's been dealing with. 

Edmon was going to get into a fight with Derric for not standing up for her. Adira comes to the fight and leaves with Edmon saying beating up Derric wasn't worth it. 

Before this, Derric had already asked Adira to the school dance and she said yes. Then all this drama goes down and she had already bought her dress so Edmon was going to take her. She decided to stay home and Edmon comes to her house and convinces her to go. 

He tells her she should have a day to shine and helps her get ready. with the aunt. Before she goes inside her aunt reminds her she doesn't need a man to be happy. 

Adira gives herself a night of fun and finds herself dancing with Derric who looks miserable. She masks her voice and asks him what was wrong. He admits he made a mistake and was acting like a giant asshole. He discovered his feelings for her too late and can't do anything. 

He suddenly gets the idea to go to every house in the middle of the night and with a personal item of hers until she shows up. He was willing to go to every door when he comes to the right one and she drops the mask. 

He professes his love for her and she questions what they know about love for being teens. He wanted a second chance, she says yes after a while giving him a chance in the future when they've matured and grown up. 

In the end she may not have gotten the prince and happily ever after but at least she got hope and the tunnel of darkness around her had lightened up and that was all she could ask for in the moment. 

Thank you for sticking to the end, let me know if you want to see my write this alternate ending as a short story.