I’m so geeked to have Dara Girard joining me on Gwyneth’s Blog today. I read my first Dara Girard book back in 2004, Gaining Interest . And I have since fallen in love with her Duvall Sisters series and Black Stockings Society series. Although… my all time favorite Dara Girard book would have to be Sparks … She creates characters that just pull you into the story and her novels are always such fun reads. So, I’m just pleased to be able to chat with her today about her novels.
GB: I noticed a little bit of a postmodern flip on classical fairy-tale motifs in a few of your novels that I’ve read. Do you like playing with the fairy-tales and giving them a remix?
DG: You bring up an excellent point Gwyneth. Yes, in a few of my novels I have used a fairy-tale premise but they were not based on the recent ones most people are familiar with. In truth, I don’t care much for knights in shinning armor and damsels in distress, which calls to mind what present day fairy tales have been reduced to. Original fairy-tales were very different. They used to have strong heroines and adult themes—ones that were naughtier and sexier–but as time passed, they were sanitized to suit Victorian children. The present watered down versions tell us (primarily women) that if you’re beautiful and good that someone (a male) will eventually rescue you.
GB: WAY COOL!!
DG: I get my inspiration from the fairy tales of old. Women had minds and they used them. For example in several earlier versions of the “Ash Girl” tale (a.k.a Cinderella), she was no push over. There’s one version where she follows the advice of her governess and kills her stepmother only to get one that’s ten times worse; another tale has her boldly ask to go to the ball and she cleverly outsmarts her stepmother’s tricks. And there’s the German version, one of my favorites, where the step-sisters so desperately want to fit the glass slipper that they cut off part of their foot! This is the one I like to call ‘the bloody shoe’ version.
I could go on and on about this tale and others that have inspired me, but I’ll spare you. However, my point is when a reader sees any correlation in my stories to a ‘fairy-tale’ I hope they see its valiant history and my desire to put the ‘hero’ back in heroine.
GB: Speaking of fairy-tales, I noticed in Power Play that there was a little bit of the Cinderella theme at play. I have to say, I really adored Mary and Edmund’s story. There were so many life lessons about self-esteem and self worth at play in the novel. The novel is the first in your Black Stockings Society series. Can you tell us a little bit about the series and your inspiration for it?
DG: You’re right. Like most stories with a rags-to-riches premise, Power Play initially brings to mind the fairy-tale theme, but again my goal was to make Mary the hero. So she has to rescue herself from a bad boss, a conniving colleague and a man who hasn’t been completely honest with her. Her destiny depends on her choices. The Black Stockings Society offers her the opportunity to change her life, but she has to do the work.
GB: That she does! She really comes into her own. It’s such a fulfilling thing to see!
DG: And that brings me to the conception of The Black Stockings Society. It is an invitation only club meant for women ready to shake up their love lives. The series has an element of mystery. No one knows how they are selected or the creator of the club, who is only known as “Ms. Dorathe”. I decided to select stockings, because they are an ultimate feminine item that is sexy and powerful at the same time. When I was doing research for the series, I discovered that there are many different kinds and some very expensive ones ($70.00 a pair and up!). Considering how stockings/nylons originated we now have full-body ones, sequined ones, thigh-highs, or whatever – a wide choice for any woman and for any budget.
I was inspired by the thought of an object changing how a woman saw herself. So in my series, I wanted to give each woman a chance to take control of their destinies, with a little help. They all have to face what they want, but they must take the risk to go after it.
GB: I have to say I really love the Duvall sisters. You really stood the fairy tale on its head in The Glass Slipper Project . My favorite Duvall sister novel was Taming Mariella , though. She was my kind of heroine. It’s an interesting series with great family dynamic. What were you hoping for readers to take away from the Duvall sisters?
DG: My first goal is always to entertain. What would I want my readers to take away from the series? That you don’t have to be beautiful and good to get what you want. If you have the qualities of a heroine, you will win. In this series I showed three different women who each achieved their own happy ending.
Isabella is kind, but she’s not considered beautiful. However, she has a strong inner will and is not the wimpy “Plain Jane” hoping to be noticed.
Gabriella is sweet, but doesn’t have a model’s figure and does something that is selfish, which helps her gain confidence.
And Mariella is beautiful, but she’s vain and demanding. In a simple story she’d be cast as a villain, but I saw the hero in her and fortunately readers did too.
At their core the Duvall sisters are loyal and loving and that’s what makes them heroines to me.
GB: What’s forthcoming from Dara Girard? Can you share any news about future projects with us?
DG: I am presently putting together another series for Kimani Romance. Also I just submitted a mainstream novel to my agent, and hope to have good news for my readers soon. I am considering returning to an old series, the Henson Trilogy, to a character many of my readers have been asking me about. But as an author, you know that it’s up to the publisher if what I submit will get published.
GB: Your career is going steady and strong. You are putting out amazing novels and sharing great stories with readers. Do you have any advice for writers who want to be where you are?
DG: All of my advice for writers can be found in my book, The Writer Behind the Words: Steps to Success in the Writing Life . But here are a few tips: Never lose your love of writing. That’s what’s kept me going through the ups and downs of my career. If you get a rejection, you keep writing. If the publisher drops you, you keep writing. If you get an agent, or can’t get an agent, or you get an editor, and the editor leaves, you just keep writing. Why? Because this is the power you have, and the moment you get the right publisher/editor you will have a bunch of stories to give them.
GB: Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by Gwyneth’s Blog
DG: Thanks for having me! It’s been an absolute pleasure.
Readers can find out more information about Dara and her books here:
http://daragirard.com
http://daragirard.com/blog
And readers can purchase the first two novels in the delightful Black Stocking Society Series here:
POWER PLAY
A GENTLEMAN’S OFFER
And these are three of my four all-time favorite Cheryl Lynn songs… in exact order. (I already posted my number four two weeks ago when I did “If This World Were Mine”) “Shake It Up Tonight” will always be my favorite Cheryl Lynn song because it’s just a great I’m-about-to-go-out-with-my-girls-and-party-my-behind-off song. Granted I wasn’t old enough to really go out and party my behind off when the song originally came out, but I could dream. LOL. Enjoy!
