Case in point, the main song itself was sung by Mrs. Potts, who stood as an observer to the action happening around her.
I knew I couldn't forsake any of them. I had to cast and write for them as diligently and respectfully as I wrote for my two leads, or else the whole thing just wouldn't work. Not the way I wanted it to, anyway.
The Mrs. Potts in my story was fairly easy to cast as a nurse who took care of the ailing Rose. She was her guardian and, if need be, her happy little elf moving pieces into their places in order to make a miracle happen before it was too late. This character sprang directly from my work with a hospice. A number of nurses went into developing her. In fact, she was named after one in particular.
Likewise, Lumiere was easy to cast. I needed someone flashy and dynamic, so naturally I reached into Sofie's job to find that person. She's the show runner of one of the hottest TV dramas, so there were plenty of actors and actresses vying for the part. Ultimately I gave it to a plus-sized diva, because it needed to be someone with a little extra pizazz.
Chip and Maurice sort of blended, doing double duty through Fletcher's 12-year-old daughter, Ava. Like Pudgie, she was an overweight preteen who had some obstacles to overcome, but endless optimism to do just that. That she has a supporting, doting dad only made her stronger. Ava is indeed one of my favorite new characters and you WILL see her again.
More importantly, Jonathan Fullerton will get to know her eventually. Keep an eye out for that tale.
The only character that was hard to find room for was Cogsworth. He was Lumiere's spoiler in B&B, and I really wasn't inspired by him because I didn't think that my story required such a character. I stayed stuck in the planning phase for this book for a long time because this was one stray piece I couldn't make fit. It had to be someone in Sofie's life, that much I knew. But what did Sofie need to fill in the blanks of her past?
In the recent live-action B&B, the supporting characters took care of the Beast because of the guilt that they felt. After his mother died, his cruel father basically drove any loving (and lovable) qualities out of his son, and they, as his guardians from birth, felt responsible that they let it happen. For that, they were all cursed.
So, I started to think about what that character might look like for my story. Finally, it dawned on me. I had been so hyper-focused on the relationship between Sofie and her mother, Rose, that I totally hadn't considered the role her father might have played.
Because my own father died when I was eleven, I'm much more familiar with the mother/daughter dynamic. And since this story is so personal to me, almost a love letter (and apology) to my own mother, I hadn't even considered making any room for a dad. It never even dawned on me UNTIL I realized that Cogsworth could be her own father.
Vincent Ducet was born in that thought, because I saw the entire meaning for his existence the second I made the connection. It struck me like a lightning bolt. I knew then the subplot wasn't just about Sofie's "curse,"... Vincent himself had some things to correct.
That meant my book would not only have ONE romance... BUT TWO.
It is that second love story that will touch you the most. Three betas came to me, telling me they were already tearing up by Chapter Six, and I couldn't even remember what I had written. I was so focused on Sofie and Fletcher and getting THEIR romance right, because that's kind of the spine of the story.
Yet, Vincent would not be denied.
He opened my story up in ways I couldn't imagine. He let me know almost from the beginning that he was a crazy Cajun living on a boat in the marina, close enough to his daughter that they could still see each other, but far enough away from the Big City to which he had never acclimated. This gave color and music to my story in a very Beauty-and-Beast kind of way. It also makes Sofie way more human, because there IS someone on the planet that she truly cares about - someone who likewise cares about her.
That helps us love her, too.
He is the thread that ties the stories together. He also gives this tale so much more heart than I ever expected. It may be the subplot, but to me, it's one of the more beautiful romances I have written. It ranks right up there with the B-romance in THE UNDISCIPLINED BRIDE. Y'all know me. I like to tell diverse love stories. You get more freedom to do that in supporting characters, who don't have to do the heavy lifting of making it to the end of the book, riding off in the sunset to a white-picket-fence existence.
In the subplots, you can tell love stories where a happy ending doesn't necessarily include a Happily Ever After. How do you find romance when there's only a few grains of sand left yet to fall?
You love like Vincent Ducet loves.
Sofie boarded The Wilting Rose carrying dinner for two in a large paper bag. Vincent spotted the name of the restaurant printed on the side.
“Barbecue,” he said. “My favorite.”
She smiled. “How’s it going, Pop?”
He offered a noncommittal shrug. “Can’t complain.” She spotted one of her mother’s leather-bound journals sitting on the table next to his prized fiddle. As far as she knew, he hadn’t played that fiddle in a good twenty years. She knew better than to ask why he had dug it out now, so she said nothing. “How about you, Sugar?”
She pulled out the plates of brisket and all the southern fixings to go along with it, including the okra her father loved so much. “Can’t complain,” she said.
A month ago, this would have been normal conversation. Now it was just code for the things they couldn’t yet talk about. The silence was heavy between them as neither said much to the other as they ate, focusing more on the food instead.
Looking back, that had been a consistent pattern between them, starting when he moved out onto the boat when she was a teen.
Finally, Sofie pulled the trigger on substantial conversation. “Surprised to see Lougenia has joined us for the evening.”
He smiled absently at the worn instrument. “I dug her out a few days ago. She’s been calling for me.”
“For you or for Mom?”
Their eyes met. “Long time ago that was one in the same,” he commented casually.
She studied his face. She knew his recent visits to see her mother had taken it out of him and it broke her heart. “Why are you doing this to yourself, Pop?”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me,” she challenged. “I’m a pretty smart cookie.”
“I know you are, Sugar,” he said softly, with love. “But this isn’t about you, or even about your mother. It’s about a man and a woman. This man,” he amended, pointing a finger at his chest. “And my woman.”
His possessive comment took her by surprise. She hadn’t heard him talk about her mother like that in decades. When she said as much to him, he smiled.
“I never stopped loving your mother, even when she made it impossible for me to love her. We stand in our own way of love sometimes. Because of pride. Because of fear. Ego,” he chuckled softly. “Hers. Mine.” He paused. “Your mother has kept me locked out of her heart for a long, long time. Now that door is open simply because she forgot where she put the key. I’ve got a second chance, Sugar. My last chance. I don’t intend on wasting it.”
“What’s the point? No matter what you do, you won’t have a fairytale ending. You can’t have happily ever after without the ever after, Dad.”
He chuckled. “Whether or not I get a happy ending depends on where I decide to end the fairy tale, doesn’t it? And I’m not ready to type The End just yet.”
When I tell you that y'all ain't ready for this new book, this is the reason why. This story will break your heart. It sure as hell broke mine. But I am so, so grateful for it because this part of the story is what makes it everything I wanted my version of B&B to be. Why? Because there's nothing more hopeful than the promise of love... no matter when that particular bird lands on your shoulder.
I didn't just focus on the new couple. I literally aspired to give a HEA to a dying woman.
I can't wait for you to read this book. I'm excited. I'm scared. I'm all the things you should be when you write something that means something to you. But that turned up to eleven the second Vincent tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Hey. I hear you're looking for a Cogsworth."
I turned around and saw one of the strongest, most romantic heroes I have had the privilege to write.
In my mental movie, he looks like this...
And he sounds like this...
And I just really, REALLY can't wait for you to meet him.
Have you pre-ordered your copy yet?
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