Thank you so much to Heather for joining us today and for allowing me to be a part of this blog tour. I loved her book The Temple, and my post will be up on the 25th.
Finding the Princess:
One Little Girl’s Dress
Heather Marie Adkins
I mean, what little girl doesn’t at some point? The tiara, the dress, the magic wand, the prince…
But for most of us, being a real princess just can’t be a reality. Princes, after all, are few and far between—plus, the royals tend to keep it amongst themselves (ew?). So, to compensate, we play pretend princesses at Halloween.
Don’t get me wrong; I love Disney movies. But that’s just not the kind of princess I was going for at eleven years old. Donning a bright blue Cinderella dress or a yellow, red, and blue Snow White gown just wouldn’t cut it for me. It’s such an in-between age—too young for Historical Romances with busty blondes and too old for Barbie as Rapunzel.
No, I wanted a real dress.
Since I have always been an avid reader, my tastes run to the eclectic. At that point in time, I was reading a lot of fantasy—Garth Nix and Charles de Lint were my idols. I loved the idea of long, flowing hair and gowns, romance, adventure…
Of course, this sort of eclectic-ness did nothing to help my image. I was a nerd, plain and simple. I was teased and bullied for being so quiet and shy. I wore thick, plastic glasses and silly one-piece jumpers. My hair was mousy and I had a speech impediment in my early years. Not the makings of a future glamour-girl.
My dad and my step-mom have always fed my desire for imagination and creativity. So when they asked me what I wanted to be that year, I answered fast enough to make their heads spin. I don’t know how Daddy did it, but he found an amazing place to take me for my princess dress.
The large, creamy-colored tent dominated the parking lot at an intersection where two main boulevards meet in the city. It reminded me of a circus tent—without the pointed roof and brilliant colors.
Stepping through the flaps that constituted a door was like being transported to another world. It was dimly lit inside by hanging bulbs—the kind in small cages that you often find in garages. There were so many racks of costumes that they formed a maze! It smelled musty, but I was in heaven.
It seemed like there were dresses from every era inside this tent. Long, flowing, bell sleeves, puffy sleeves, scoop-necked, high-necked, lacy, wool, dark colors, bright colors…it was never ending bliss for the princess-obsessed.
I don’t remember how long I browsed. I can’t even remember if my dad and step-mom trailed behind me the whole time; if they said anything or did anything. But I do recall when I found the dress.
It was a creamy color. Ankle-length. The skirt was different, more sheer in material than the bodice. Same for the long bell sleeves. When I put it on, I could twirl my hips and the skirt would swish against my legs.
It was beautiful.
I still remember my step-mom doing my hair and make-up. I remember thinking for once that I was beautiful—and then I had to put my glasses on over the eye shadow. That sucked 🙁
But, this memory stands out as the single most wonderful Halloween I ever experienced. I had the perfect costume. I spent the evening trick-or-treating with my two little sisters, my dad, and my step-mom.
Best of all, I had SO many compliments on the dress. Isn’t that a great way for a girl to feel good about herself?
While I may never be a real princess, for just one evening… I felt like one.
Plus, hey—CANDY.
* * *
Leave a comment telling Michelle and I your story,
and you could win a copy of my ebook paranormal romance, “Abigail”!
Abigail
When Abigail’s supposedly immortal faery mother is found murdered, her human father sells her in to slavery. Bought by a young and wealthy landowner named William, she is whisked away to a Grecian island to play caretaker for his baby sister.
However, the island has a deadly secret connected to Abigail’s past. Her budding romance with William is shattered by Abigail’s intimate, unwanted connection with the island’s faery prince. Meanwhile, the Faery King is planning revenge upon the family.
Abigail must join forces with the very race she’s sought to deny, to save the humans she has learned to love.
Heather Marie Adkins is an independent fiction novelist and avid bibliophile with the library to prove it. She writes across genres and began self-publishing her work in June of 2011—much to the chagrin of her mother. Heather has five published books and two more coming out this year. She loves to garden, cook, and travel, and would give anything to live in a cottage in Ireland . She currently resides in Kentucky with the love of her life and 15 pets.
Find me online!
aurora M.
Great post!
What is YOUR favorite Halloween memory?
Well I love to go trick or treating with my dog….she LOVED to go and I got so much joy from watching her…..She was dressed as a gypsy, war dog (camo), petty from little rascals and even a princess herself…lol It’s been years since she past but thanks for making me smile by allowing me to share those memories
veltara(at)yahoo(dot)com
Heather Marie Adkins
Thanks for having me at Book Briefs, Michelle!
@Aurora – What a great memory! My dog is central to my existence. We’ve never dressed up and gone trick-or-treating, but she has a pumpkin t-shirt! lol! Thank you for sharing such a sweet memory 🙂
~April~
I guess my favorite Halloween memory’s would be from the old school Halloween fairs. Everyone dressed up and every room had a different game in it like the old fishing and duck games and pop the balloons and bobbing for apples.
april@pinebelt.net
Samjam G
My favorite Halloween memory was last year. I didn’t dress up or anything, but my friends came over and we hung out and broke my porch swing. Entirely on accident! that thing was 15 years old! But it was just to hang out with your friends!
samjam@earthlink.net
Heather Marie Adkins
@April – I definitely agree. Those “traditions” are so important, not only as memories of our childhood but as things that will be shared with the kids of the future. Bobbing for apples is a fun Halloween treat!
@Samjam – ACK! 15 years old?? It was just waiting to fall apart…LOL! Some of my funniest memories are from hanging out with friends at Halloween. Especially in high school, when you’re too old to trick-or-treat but you’re not too old to dress up and run around the neighborhood like you own it LOL!
Emma Michaels
My favorite Halloween memory… hmmm hard to pick. When I was younger and lived close to my family I would trick-or-treat with my cousins for hours and hours on end until we were all too tired and had multiple pillowcases full of candy. One year one of my cousins brought along his bird… lets just say the bird decided he needed a bit more decoration on his costume… the next year be brought his snake… which was worse. Apparently a LOT of his neighbors have a fear of snakes.
“Trick or TREAT!!!”
*door opens*
*sees snake*
*screams*
*door slams*
As you can imagine decided that he didn’t want to trick or treat that year after about twenty houses.
Sincerely,
Emma Michaels
Emma@EmmaMichaels.com
ladyreadsalot
My favorite Halloween memory was trick-or-treating with my best friends as mother earth and fairies. We went through my best friend’s neighborhood and came to a scary house where one of my friends peed her pants from fear. Hahaha!
Emily
xx
emilykaiser24(AT)yahoo(DOT)com