So, tell us, if you can, was it a battle royal to get your ideas across for Dreams of Darkness?
Not at all, really. My original proposal was accepted basically as submitted. Once Beth and I got to writing it and fleshing out the details, there were lots of revisions, some that we came up with, others that came from Harper and/or DCP. The published version of
DREAMS OF THE DARK basically retains the original plot I wrote. Many specific aspects of the story, however, changed along the way.
Many passages that tied the book more closely to the original series were inexplicably excised
after my final, approved edit. I've never been able to get a reason for this. The only rationale that I think makes any sense is that either Harper or DCP thought that readers who weren't diehard fans of the show might not have "gotten it." I disagree, but I'm just a writer; what do I know? Some of the edits, however, had disastrous consequences; occasionally, sections of dialogue were removed--right in the middle of a conversation, resulting in a completely nonsensical exchange. A few paragraphs were missing portions of sentences, which destroyed continuity--or the whole structure of the passage. These were not in the page proofs Beth and I examined just prior to publication. Someone did it afterward.
Needless to say, this sort of thing is very frustrating to a writer. But it's all a part of publishing, and I can always take solace in the fact that it's nothing like Hollywood, where any resemblance the finished film bears to what the screenwriter originally wrote is entirely coincidental.
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