Pattern of Love is my take on Sleeping Beauty. It's an interesting proof that readers probably won't consciously notice any particular artifice that the writer might use, because I wrote this book, and I was halfway through re-typing it before I noticed what I'd done!!
I deliberately introduced Sleeping Beauty motifs all the way through. I remember spending ages planning it. For example, the hero and heroine meet in a rose garden - how obvious is that? Not obvious enough. He goes round her her place at least three times and bangs on the door to wake her up; she is described as being in bed, sleeping, wearing nightdresses and pyjamas on loads of occasions; and his kisses always rouse her and wake her. It's also due to meeting Prince Charming that she stops dreaming her life away in the country and comes to life as a television presenter.
The experience gives me the confidence to say, well, if I feel like throwing in a few roses and sleeping motifs then I will! The cliche police are not going to come around and arrest me!! In fact, this exercise of reviewing my old titles has been a real eye-opener. In many ways, my earlier books are better because I've just written them and enjoyed them. Years of studying killjoys like Foucault and Derrida have kind of squashed my innocent pleasure in stories. I also tried to be a better writer, which is no bad aim, but it's inhibited me and again taken the gloss off the experience. Instead of thinking: what fun! I love this! I'm worrying, thinking, should I say this? Is this a cliche? Have I used too many adjectives? And certainly with romances (and most light fiction) I think people read for the feeling. The feeling in my earlier books is fun and pleasure, in the later, tense anxiety. I'm sure that getting an education was a valuable experience, but it's time to throw all the strictures away and enjoy myself again.
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/79145
