From the Writing Cave: Prince in Disguise | The Story Behind the Story | Author E. S. Elias

 

Hello, readers! I’m sure I’ve spoken about this, but I’ve decided to make today’s post all about the motivation and the boredom that led to me writing my short story, PRINCE IN DISGUISE. If you haven’t been around that long, this is a story I recently made available in paperback format for my Wattpad readers. Keep reading if you would like to know about it!

September 20th, 2017; Hurricane Maria devastated the island of Puerto Rico. Water and electricity had been turned off 24 hours prior to the storm reaching the hitting zone. Anything that required battery life was used up within the first hours of the storm (the phone was no exception as all cell towers were knocked out by the 100+/mh winds), and it was not a gradual build-up either. One minute, it was just a very strong downpour, and the next our house was surrounded by howling winds, lightning strikes every 5 seconds followed by the crack of thunder. I won't go into deeper detail, this was just the surface.

August 1st, 2017; Still without water or electricity, my only source of entertainment was reading (my books survived and did not get damaged), and the good ol’ pen and paper. A week later, I had written 2 short stories. One was for my romance pen-name, and the other was this one. Prince in Disguise was born from the idea of the narrator in the contemporary story drawing and creating a graphic novel. Granted, I have no art skills, but I know I wanted the story to be in written form before I thought about a graphic novel.

Yes, I did consider seeking an illustrated artist to draw my story-vision, but the short story was better as is, at least for now. Because, yes, I do think the story would work in illustrated form. But I’m settled with my paperback. And believe me, there are a butt-load of things I would have loved to do differently. I’ll talk about those things another time.

The whole concept about a prince disguising his identity has always been one of my favorite tropes. Jonathan (in PiD) is very reserved and keeps to himself. The choice to disguise himself at all does not need any second guesses. I was going to have the book told in 1st person, from Jonathan’s POV, but it just had a better flow in the third person limited, from Leena’s POV.

I did not outline this story, but I definitely had a good idea of what I wanted to achieve in the overall story.

I remember how accomplished I felt when I wrote the words "The End" on my notebook paper. And because emotions were definitely running high and hot, so I definitely cried for joy. It was bittersweet to have finished the project that was keeping me from looking out at the devasted yard.

At the time, I was writing under a different name, so I can't share that old cover art, but the current design is exactly what it was when I made the decision to pursue graphic design. This doesn't mean I hadn't been doing graphics design prior to this, but it was the first time I realized I could do it myself. On previous occasions, I did go to other artists and requested their expertise. I did like what I was given but looking back now (and I am looking at it as I write this post), it wasn't as great as I was making it out to be. So, I played around and the cover the story has now is the one I've had ever since.

To end this post, I'll just leave you with the book's blurb and the purchase link for the paperback! You can also find the link in the sidebar of the blog.

Leena is the daughter of the most wealthy farmer in the Drischire kingdom. Her life is simple, yet full. Prince Jonathan is the only remaining heir to the throne. He's loved by many, but one misfortune leads to the biggest mistake he's ever made in his life. He flees and comes to meet a wonderful girl. Yet, he feels he does not deserve her attention. When it comes time for Jonathan to face his fears and correct his mistake, he leaves Leena with the promise of his return. And a promise of marriage. Will Leena lose hope and fall for the new farm-hand her father hires? Or did Jonathan ever actually leave?

Prince in Disguise is a romantic fantasy short story in the Anerathia Chronicles. There is NO CLIFFHANGER and is HEA guaranteed. While this book is part of a larger series, readers can enjoy the story on its own.