Guest Post with Andrea Cooper

Today we have a new-to-us author here at The Book Pushers, Andrea Cooper. Andrea’s debut novel The Garnet Dagger is out now!  Take it away, Andrea.

 

Where did Elves come from?

 

Before I had ever heard of Tolkien, I saw a cartoon The Shoemaker’s Elves. In the cartoon, the elves were tiny. As a child, though, I did not think Elves were tiny. Not even Santa and his Elves could convince me of their tiny size. It was not until as an adult and read Tolkien and watched the Lord of the Rings movies that I found there were others who believed as I did that Elves were tall.

But Elves did not originate from The Shoemaker’s story or Tolkien. They are in German, British, Scandinavian, and even Old English and Norse mythology and folklore. Even in Iceland, there are beliefs in Elves. In these histories the Elves are either benevolent or malicious toward humans. Things such as tangles or hiccups were blamed on the magic of Elves. The German word for nightmare is Alpdrücken, or “elf-pressure”[1]

To me, Elves can be good or evil. It is their actions that prove their temperament. Skin coloring does not denote wickedness in my story. For example, in my second novel of The Garnet Dagger Trilogy, I introduce the Drow. These are dark or grey-skinned Elves who usually are thought of as evil with a few exceptions like Drizzt by R.A. Salvatore. Once again, my characters are good or evil based on their deeds, not their classification.

I wrote Brock, an Elvin, in my story The Garnet Dagger from the viewpoint of benevolent Elves. He and his people are mostly benign, but keep the humans away from their lands with a magical barrier. However, Brock is fascinated with them and that is what gets him into trouble.

So how do I write a character of a mythical being? I blended my imagination with Native American and the positive stories of Elves from Tolkien and other myths and legends.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elf

[1] http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/184516/elf

 

Andrea’s Bio: Growing up in Houston, Texas, Andrea has always enjoyed creating characters and stories. But it wasn’t until she was in her late twenties that she started writing novels.

What happened that ignited the writing flame in her fingers? Divorced, and disillusioned by love songs and stories. They exaggerate. She thought. Love and Romance are not like that in the real world. Then she met her husband and realized, yes love and romance are exactly like the songs and stories say. She is now a happy wife, and a mom to three kids (two boys and a girl).

Andrea writes paranormal and historical romance. When not writing or reading, one may find Andrea dancing in Zumba.

She believes in the power of change and counting each moment as a blessing. But most importantly, she believes in love.

The Garnet Dagger is her debut novel and is a paranormal romance with Crimson Romance.

Kindle iTunes Nook Sony Kobo