Hello!
I wanted to take a bit of time to talk about the story! We officially have 11 episodes (minus the Wonderland interlude) and I'm further than I thought I'd ever get.
I've been working on Until Morning for a while, so I've actually gotten these questions here and there when describing the story. Or they're questions I anticipate getting. Or they're just topics I like talking about.
If you're interested in where the story is going next, read ahead!
I'll have the next chapter out soon. Either today or tomorrow. I'm tired today and have been a bit slow. Also, the next chapter requires a lot of last-second medieval English economy research.
Q. What time periods are included in UM?
A. There are three major ones. Roughly 1180 AD for Robin's time. Her time is roughly during the reigns of Henry II, Richard the Lionheart, and, of course, King/Prince John. The early Marianne chapters mention the 1187 siege of Jerusalem, so episode 2 starts specifically in 1187.
The 1780s-1890s for Hook's time (remember that Hook arrived in Neverland a long, long time before Wendy did). There's a story behind how medieval Marianne ended up in the 18th century. We'll get to that.
Alice's time is around 2021.
I mash up a lot of geography and time eras, and a lot of times, it may seem like a get-out-of-research-free pass, but this actually takes a lot of research on my end. I need to know what's accurate in order to mess it up in a way that's intentional and not an oversight. Wondrium is my best friend.
Q. Is there an end in mind? Will it be tragic?
A. Yes. UM will end. I've known the end since I started. And the ending isn't going to make everyone happy. It's definitely bittersweet, but I feel it will be an earned ending for all characters.
However, UM is also a story I can add as much as I want in. Sometimes I'll have new ideas for new characters. It's why I made this a serial novel. I am going to keep it going as long as the story is good, but I'll start wrapping things up once I feel like I've told what I can.
Q. What are your inspirations besides the source material?
A. I'm quite influenced by Shakespeare. You'll notice I pull in a lot of Shakespearian tropes. There are other more recent works that influenced me. My first major writing influence was actually a video game called Illusion of Gaia. It touches every piece of fiction I write, and I think it's really apparent in Until Morning. The Poppy Wars is another major influencer. Love that book series.
In the serial novel/webtoon world, I was first drawn in by Lore Olympus, and I think a lot of Lore Olympus is apparent in Until Morning. Under the Oak Tree is another favorite of mine.
For UM specifically, I also have to credit Wicked for really giving the "villain retelling" idea.
And I'd be lying if I said history documentaries and books didn't inspire me.
Q. Who is your favorite portrayal of Captain Hook and Robin Hood?
A. For Captain Hook, Jason Isaacs. Hands down. I was really drawing from Jason Isaacs for Marianne. I really wanted that "color me scared AND horny" feel. I also like the Disney version for nostalgic reasons.
I feel like the super over-the-top Hooks with bright red cheeks are a little much. The Hook in J.M. Barry's story was almost hero-like and some portrayals go too far in making him a classic "ugly" villain when that defeats the point of the character. Peter Pan wasn't supposed to be all good either.
For Robin Hood…I don't know. Is it bad that I haven't seen a lot of Robin Hood movies? I feel like Robin Hood hasn't had a lot of super interesting takes besides Shrek. And on some writing days, I do have Robin Hood's musical number from Shrek stuck in my head.
Hook is always more of a fun personality. That's why my Robin is so amped up. But I ended up with an incredibly interesting Robin character compared to Marianne, who I mistakenly thought needed less development work.
Marianne and I had several long, dirty sessions with writing prompts and freewriting to get her up to Robin's level. Robin practically wrote herself.
Q. What was the inspiration for UM?
A. The original idea came from a dream. I don't think the characters were named, but the fairytale character who did make an appearance was Tinkerbell. Instead, there was this larger-than-life pirate captain and a woman who lived most of her life in the forest kinda fighting against but working together at the same time.
A lot of time was mashed together too in a fairytale world. I woke up, thought it was so epic that I wrote it down and filled in the blanks.
Q. What characters will make appearances?
A. Most of them, but there are different stories/historical events that may be pulled in.
The ones I'll confirm are Wendy, the Queen of Hearts, Lost Boys, and Tinkerbell.
I'm toying around with a few historical events. Of course, Prince John will show up and the Magna Carta will come into play.
Q. Who is an interesting character who hasn't really had a chance to shine yet?
A. Smee.
Smee was a character I was always curious about even though I wasn't certain what to do with him. He's always portrayed as dedicated to Hook but with a bit of an individual streak. He makes a lot of mistakes, but Hook always has a soft spot for him and is never as harsh or cold to Smee as he is others. I wanted to explore why Smee is so dedicated to Hook in UM, and why Hook has a soft spot for him.
I considered a few different angles for their relationship but didn't really figure one out until I started freewriting scenes with Smee. I ended up liking him much more than I thought. I think he'll be a reader favorite, although I can't really predict that.
Q. How do you redevelop the characters?
A. Exactly how I develop them. I usually just freewrite and the characters become who they will. I don't fight my initial instincts. If I feel a character is trans, they're trans. If I feel they are Black, they're Black. If I feel they have brown hair, they have brown hair. I check my own biases and make sure I'm not falling into any major problematic tropes, but it's how I keep my cast of characters as diverse as possible.
With some of the characters like Hook and Robin Hood, I do have a little bit of a framework to go off of. And that's what's fun about it. I get to break these characters down and dig into what is most important to keep in the characters. Like with Hook, obviously, you have the hook. With Robin Hood, you have stealing from the rich to give to the poor. I explore what would make the characters fit the framework. Like what life experiences need to happen or what motives could be behind their actions while still fitting the essential framework of the character. It's really fun. The Captain Hook/Robin Hood/Peter Pan gender-bends weren't actually intentional. They were just profiles that fit the women as characters that eventually evolved into their own thing.
Q: Who is your favorite character?
A: I have different ones for different reasons. But I will say Robin was the most interesting character to develop because there's both a lot of source material to work with and very little. There's no one Robin Hood story. No one is going to say I didn't get the story right because...what story? Robin has been deconstructed several times over the centuries since the early Yorkshire ballads of the outlaw. I am writing different takes on the ballads too. Especially when I start exploring how Robin became an outlaw.
Robin is fascinating because, in a way, my reconstruction of the character is as accurate and as true to the legend as it gets. Reconstructing the character IS the legend. I am taking more from the early Robin Hood references than I am from recent ones.
The other thing is that Robin wasn't originally a character who "stole from the rich to give to the poor." He (using he here to distinguish the legend from my Robin) was actually a pretty vicious outlaw who had an intense sense of moral fairness. There's a lot of reference to the greed of early Medieval monasteries. So my decision to make Tuck a monk will become relevant to that.
I use a lot of the early legend and historical fact to create Robin in UM. Robin Hood is different from Hook in that there's some reality in the legend and evidence of Robin Hood actually existing in some form. Or multiple forms starting from the 1190s. Robin has always shifted to reflect the reader and that's what makes the stories so unique. Robin belongs to both everyone and no one. I'm just adding more to the character overall.
Q. Any interesting angles in UM?
A. I really want to explore the characters' various disabilities. Already, with Captain Hook, I had a disabled character who is never really consciously recognized as such. A lot of times, when disability activists analyze him, they analyze the vilification of disability, and that's certainly a valid angle. I'm saying "he" here to refer to Captain Hook as a general idea since he's generally a male character.
But I think there's something to be said in how we've always just...accepted Captain Hook is ABLE to do everything he does regardless of being disabled. He has accommodations in place that he can work independently. And in a society where disabled people are often infantilized or underestimated or pitied, I think Captain Hook is an important character.
There's also this idea that disabled people have to be suffering to actively be considered disabled. Like you have to be struggling to need accommodations in the first place to really earn it. Captain Hook resists that, but no one would say he isn't "disabled enough" to need accommodations.
The choice of a hook may be a little questionable, but hey, he gets by. It makes things easier.
Q. Are there any characters who may not appear in UM that you'd like to rewrite?
A. I'm already working on a Greek mythology story that I may eventually start publishing as a serial. I don't consider what I do "rewriting." I feel like rewriting is more story-based where I'm more character-driven. I reimagine the characters more than I do the story. I don't know what the word for that is.
Besides that, I really find myself absorbed into old classic horror movies/stories like Dracula and Frankenstein. I don't have any plans for rewrites because I haven't really come up with anything that feels new to those stories. But I could see myself coming up with something in the future. The Hugh Jackman Van Helsing movie was one of my childhood favorites. If UM is successful and I really find a niche with rewrites, that may be the "next thing."
I want to do something with Phantom of the Opera. And there are a few Phantom references coming in UM. But that show was my childhood. I've just never come up with a take on it that gets me excited. Just doing a feminist take on it isn't strong enough for me and I feel like a lot of rewriters take that route and water down the problematic parts of it. And that's not to say romanticizing stalking and murdering is a good idea, but going beyond the romantic side of it, there's a really raw, human side that is essential in the story. I think sympathy is needed for the Phantom character. I don't think the answer is giving him Christine, but I would like to explore his character in the future.
I write my own original work too with 100% original characters. There's something about unpacking classic characters and stories that attracts me. And hey, Shakespeare did it and if it's creative enough for Billy Shakes, it's creative enough for me.
I feel like I'm fated to write a Shakespeare rewrite one day. I don't know when, but it will probably happen. Shakesing the Shakespeare is my destiny.