Karen L. Haws's Storefront

FREE DOWNLOAD OF LOVE'S JOURNEY TO AWAKENING BELOW:

Ron Perlman's masterful acting as the character, Vincent, in Ron Koslow's beloved late 1980s television series, Beauty and the Beast, inspired me to write this sequel to the series. Vincent's heart wrenching grief over the death of the great love of his life, Catherine Chandler, mirrored my own buried grief over the death of my eternal companion. But, is Catherine really dead? In Love's Journey to Awakening, we reenter the tunnels and caverns of Father's world under the streets of New York City, and learn how the tunnel-dwellers there, with the assistance of Helpers from the world above, work together to rescue Catherine and restore her to Vincent. Along the way, they face a new threat from a villain even more evil than Gabriel was, and they finally learn where Vincent really came from. If you haven't already purchased and viewed all three seasons of Beauty and the Beast, which are now available on DVD, please do so before you even open my book, because this story begins where the series ends. Many of your favorite characters from the series have been brought back to life in this new story line. Among them are Vincent, originally played by Ron Perlman, Catherine Chandler, originally played by Linda Hamilton, Father, originally played by Roy Dotrice, ADA Joe Maxwell, originally played by Jay Acovone, Pascal, originally played by Armin Shimerman, Mouse, originally played by David Greenlee, and Diana Bennett, originally played by Jo Anderson. These are only a few of the memorable original characters appearing in this new story. I wrote this book to put smiles back on the faces of the grieving fans who were heartbroken, as I was, over both the demise of the series and the death of Catherine Chandler. My target BATB fans are those who, like myself in early 2007 when I was writing this novel, have not yet discovered any of the other fan-fiction sequels available in the world of Beauty and the Beast. So, please read and enjoy! With love, Laurel

LOVE'S JOURNEY TO AWAKENING--PERSPECTIVES:

I want to tell all of you, both my readers and my potential readers, a little bit about the perspectives from which my book was written and edited.  I, of course, wrote it from the perspective of an obsessed fan of the Beauty and the Beast television series.  When I began this project at the beginning of July, 2007, I watched the episodes from all three seasons in a continuous loop, one per day, in order to get all of the details straight as I wove my story into the series.  My editor, Dr. Thayle Anderson, edited my work from an entirely different perspective, which added depths that could never have been achieved otherwise.  Not only did Thayle give me the benefit of his masculine perspective, which was extremely helpful, but he is not a fan of fantasy, nor has he ever seen a single episode of Beauty and the Beast. Because fantasy is not his "thing," he hammered away at the plausibility of my story.  He effectively kept me tethered to the ground, while my imagination soared.  That helped me to craft a fairytale, which while completely impossible, is also believable.  Because Thayle has also never viewed Beauty and the Beast, he asked me thought provoking questions that an editor who was familiar with the series would never have thought to ask, which helped me to write a story which stands alone without the absolute necessity of having seen the series, although I strongly encourage my readers to do so. Dr. Anderson's discussion of my novel appears at the bottom of this column.

Just like the television series, my novel is a cross-genre work which includes story elements from all of fantasy, romance, adventure, mystery, and crime dramas.  I have tried with my writing style to emulate the lyrical ambience that Ron Koslow achieved in his beautiful series scripts.  You will have to be the judge of just how well I succeeded with that endeavor.  If you enjoy my book, I would love to see your review of Love’s Journey to Awakening on Amazon and anywhere else you feel like posting one.  You may also rate my book and post a review of it on my webpage here on Lulu by following my instructions appearing just above my books.

Now, the question has been asked; Why did I choose to set up shop on a self-publishing site like Lulu?  The answer to that question has to do with the publishing industry’s perspective of Beauty and the Beast fans.  I want to tell you about a decision I finally came to regarding publishers and book agents.  My research into that area was very discouraging for a number of reasons.  As I was saying, my book is a cross-genre work.  In my quest for a publisher or book agent, I ran across two problems.  There was resistance from some mainstream publishers due to the fact that my book doesn’t solidly fit into any one genre category, and they have the attitude that a sequel to a twenty-plus-year-old television series will only be appealing to the "narrow cult-niche" they feel we occupy. The ones who were interested, I was not at all interested in having represent me, because they sell lurid trashy romance without any redeeming moral values. I definitely had no interest in engaging in struggles with their editors who would be pressuring me to water down or delete the moral underpinnings in my story.  I was not about to sign away my rights and control of my work just to watch my efforts to create a pretty story destroyed.

So, I finally came to the conclusion that I was going to have to publish this book and probably any future Beauty and the Beast books myself, at my own expense, until we can convince a worthy publisher that we are not just a "narrow cult-niche!"  The only person I have now signed control of this book over to is Ron Koslow and his production company, and as you will see in my copyright citation, I am not asking for nor expecting any payment for it.  I hope that it won’t be too long before he has time to come and get it! I am just babysitting the story while it provides closure and comfort to others, and if that is all it ever accomplishes, I will be very happy.

Finally, there is the perspective of awareness, my own awareness that in the printed copies of my novel available in the worldwide marketplace I used an alternate spelling for Jo Anderson’s character, Diana Bennett, and other major and minor characters in my novel.  When I first began writing Love’s Journey to Awakening, the third season DVDs had not yet been released.  The copy that I was working from didn’t have the credits intact with the spelling of the characters who were added in the third season. So, I used the spelling that I was familiar with, "Dianna," for Jo Anderson’s character as well as alternate spellings for other characters from the original series. When the third season of Beauty and the Beast was finally released, and I was watching it to be sure there weren’t any conflicts in blending my story into the series, I discovered, to my dismay, that the unusual spelling "Diana" had been used for Jo Anderson’s character in the credits.  I am very obsessive/compulsive, so this was an extremely annoying problem to me.  I thought very seriously about attempting to go back through my entire five-hundred page novel and change the spelling of her name.  However, I finally decided that as frequently as her name occurs in my novel, because she is such a major character in my story, it would be a dangerous undertaking.  I felt that it would be far worse to overlook any of those occurrences and end up with both spellings in my book.  So, the "Diana" Bennett from the series DVDs is "Dianna" Bennett in my original book in the worldwide marketplace. Hopefully, that won’t be terribly distracting to anyone but me.  After that, I invested in a new computer with better software and was able to make all of the character spelling corrections in the fully corrected versions of my novel available here on my website, including the free download, and in the keepsake inscribed and signed copies available on eBay under my seller ID kandycain1587.

Oh, and about Dr. Peter Wellington vs. Dr. Peter Alcott: One of the character name controversy criticisms that has been addressed in reviews of my book has been about the last name of the character, Dr. Peter, played by Joseph A. Campanella in the "Beauty and the Beast" series. In my story, I chose last names for some of the characters that were not given them in the series episodes. I chose the last name of “Wellington” for Dr. Peter. I have been criticized by some who have stated that I don’t know the series well enough because it has been posted on the IMDb (Internet Movie Database) website that Joseph Campanella played the character “Dr. Peter Alcott” in the BATB series. However, it also states that, “The content of this page was created by users. It has not been screened or verified by IMDb staff.” The fact is that Joseph Campanella’s character, Dr. Peter, appeared in three episodes of the series that were aired in this order, “Ashes Ashes,” “Dead of Winter,” and “The Rest is Silence.” I and several of my readers have gone over all three episodes with a fine-tooth comb, and Dr. Peter’s last name is not mentioned in any of them, not in the beginning nor the ending credits nor in any verbal interaction between the characters in any of the scenes in those episodes. I even studied very carefully the setting of the scene in “The Rest is Silence” in which Catherine is sitting in Dr. Peter’s office to see if the last name “Alcott” was written on a diploma on the wall or on a desk plaque, and it was not there anywhere. It is true, according to Philip Ward in England and another of my readers, Susan Anneveldt in The Netherlands, that the name Dr. Peter “Alcott” appears in at least one other piece of fan-fiction literature. It is my opinion that the author of that work did exactly what I did and chose the last name of “Alcott” just as I chose the last name of “Wellington.” I believe that it is from that source that the last name “Alcott” has been widely distributed, and the assumption was made that it was the last name chosen by the series creators for Dr. Peter. Therefore, I am sticking with my choice of “Wellington” because I don’t want to copy anyone else’s original work of BATB sequel literature.

My book fans from all over the United States including Puerto Rico, Canada, England, Ireland, The Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Tailand, Australia, and Belgium, some of whom began e-mailing me and cheering me on before I had even completed my book, have asked when my book might be seen on the big screen or even on television.  They also want Ron Perlman to don the extensive make-up, and play the part of Vincent again.  It is my observation that Ron is certainly still vigorous and powerful enough, with the majestic presence required, to fill the role once more. I also know that he is a very talented director.  Perhaps if Ron and the other wonderful actors, who made this series so very memorable, like what I have done with the story and their characters, and if my readers are as pleased with the actual book as they were with the idea of it, Ron Koslow might be persuaded to employ his marvelous creative skills in adapting my book for the screen.  One can only dream!

One of my book fans educated me regarding the various abbreviations that have developed among Beauty and the Beast fans on the Internet.  So, I wish to salute all of the wonderful BATB (Beauty and the Beast) fans out there who have written many sweet SND (She’s not dead!) fan-fiction sequels to this heartwarming series.  They have effectively kept our favorite TV series alive in spite of the entertainment industry’s efforts to smother it.  They have been writing sequel BATB literature for more than 20 years, and I am just a newcomer.  Maybe, if we all stomp our collective feet hard enough, we can convince the industry moguls that we are serious when we say that we want our series restored!  I, myself, would be overjoyed to see the series resurrected with new seasons and episodes.  Based on Ron Perlman’s interviews and on his actual performance of the part of Vincent throughout the series, it seems clear to me that he was truly passionate about the role.  I don’t believe that it was just a paycheck to Ron. To me, Ron Perlman’s portrayal of Vincent was the brilliant performance of a lifetime!  The same can be said of Linda Hamilton’s poignant portrayal of Catherine Chandler.  If it had not been for her moving performance as the woman who dared to love the Beast, I would not have been compelled to fix this tragedy and restore Catherine to Vincent.  Of course, Ron’s and Linda’s characters would not have been as convincing without the supporting roles filled by the other brilliant cast members.  Ron Koslow was a genius in assembling actors whose chemistry with one another onscreen made their performances pure magic!

Personally, I would love to know that all of my readers have thoroughly enjoyed watching every episode of all three seasons of Beauty and the Beast before ever opening the cover of my book.   I promise that you will enjoy my book much more if you have viewed all three seasons of the series, and I also promise that you will never look at the painful third season the same way ever again after reading my story.  Happy watching and reading!  With Love, Laurel

READER REVIEWS FROM THOSE WHO DON'T WANT TO REGISTER WITH LULU (There is also a review from one of my youngest book fans in the middle of the right side-bar, and British screen writer Philip Ward's review of my novel is posted right under the book below these reviews. More reviews are available in the review section by clicking on the free download book link below. I have been overjoyed to hear from readers all over the world. The list of countries represented by my readers is growing, and they now include the United States along with Puerto Rico, Canada, Ireland, England, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, Taiwan, Australia, and Belgium.): 

Patricia, one of my readers living in Ohio, sent me the following beautiful review on April 2, 2009 after reading one of the printed copies of my books she purchased from Amazon with the alternate character spellings.

Jan Adams, one of my readers living in England, sent me the following lovely review of Love's Journey to Awakening on December 19, 2008:

British screen writer Philip Ward sent me the following review of Love's Journey to Awakening after generously spending some of his valuable time reading it:

I really am so pleased that after all the problems caused earlier for your book publishing that you are now doing so well.  It is good that you have also had such a lot of support from your family and friends with your book, particularly during the bad times you endured with the nasty comments and campaign against you by fellow fans of BATB.  So let me start, yes you are probably right in saying that it is more a book for women than men, too much romance and not enough adventure and action, but I enjoyed reading your book and was kept interested in the story and enjoyed the back history that you kept referring to as the story progressed.  I liked the family history you have created for where Vincent came from, with the Tandins living in another underground community with advanced technologies. The introduction of these sci-fi'ish / vampiresque creatures could give you plenty of scope for other offshoot stories from this book.  You said you were concerned about my masculine reaction to your handling of the sexual topics mentioned in your book, well I thought you handled them very well and as I said in an earlier message to you, compared to a lot of books nowadays and to a lot of the fanzines and postings in fandom it was very tame!  As someone who does not normally read books, I thought your story was excellent and I found it very easy to read and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.  Therefore, overall, I give your book 10 out of 10. 

Love's Journey to Awakening editor, Dr. Thayle K. Anderson, English Professor-Emeritus from Murray State University, has the following to say about the author, Laurel Cain Haws:

In a letter dated August 18, 2007, not long after my retirement from the English Department Faculty of Murray State University, Karen Haws, a family friend and long-time fellow member of a small church congregation here in Murray, Kentucky, asked me to edit a novel, her first, which she had just enthusiastically undertaken to write.  Long aware of how bright and how verbally articulate Karen has always been, I consented to help her out in any way I could, and during the last seven months or so, I have had the immense pleasure of proofing Karen’s work, chapter by chapter, of suggesting how she might improve this sentence or paragraph or chapter, and of discussing with her the varied and complex purposes she had in mind as she wrote a carefully conceived, exhaustively developed sequel to Beauty and the Beast, the popular television series which ran for three years during the late 1980s and  early 1990s.

It’s time for a full disclosure: No doubt I was Karen’s one readily available, but by no means her ideal, choice for this work. I served on the English Department faculty at Murray State University for thirty-seven years, but never during that extended stint did I teach creative writing. I have, moreover, had little experience with the romantic fantasy genre, the characteristics of which are most evident both in the TV series and in Karen’s novel. Indeed, the romantic fantasy is simply not my cup of tea, and consequently I passed on the opportunity to view the recently released DVDs of all three years of the series episodes, insisting to myself that while Karen’s novel may supplement and build upon the TV series, it should be able to stand on its own; it should appeal also to readers like myself who are not familiar with its TV precedents.  I am, hence, not a highly qualified judge of this novel’s merits as a romantic fantasy.

I am, however, a pretty experienced judge of writing ability. I taught freshman composition, semester in and semester out, for the first thirty years of my tenure at MSU, and I have read countless  towering stacks of papers written by general education students, English majors, and English graduate students in the myriad courses I have taught over the years. I have also read and taught hundreds of works of fiction—and, consequently, I’m confident that I know good writing when I read it.

And here’s what I can tell you: When it comes to writing, Karen is the real thing. She is highly articulate. She knows the mechanical rules of English well, and seldom has trouble with them. She develops her settings and scenes in exhaustive detail, and she certainly knows how to create and maintain dramatic tension in her plot and in her subplots. Her tone, as a third-person, omniscient narrator, is engaging and consistent. To me, however, her most impressive strength is her ear for dialogue. Crafting highly credible dialogue is the most effective way to create complex, highly believable characters—compellingly real human beings with whom the reader can identify and sympathize—or against whom the reader can respond with ambiguous feelings, with condescending disgust, or with full-bore rage. Thanks to Karen’s marvelous sense of dialogue, not one of her major characters is flat or stereotyped. Not one of her major characters fails to engage the reader—and if the reader is so engaged, the plot tension will take care of itself. Few aspiring writers that I know of have this gift; Karen most certainly does.

Indeed, I believe that Karen’s strong, highly believable characters and her careful attention to detail will pull even those not familiar with the old TV series into her highly imaginative, dramatic, unpredictable story, and while I am no romantic fantasy maven, I feel certain, damned certain, that those fans of the genre who are willing to give Karen’s novel a chance—a good read—will be richly rewarded for the time and effort they have invested. I have never aspired to write fiction, but if I had, in my maiden voyage I would have been gleefully proud to have even approached the quality level of this, Karen’s first effort. Trust me on this: Love’s Journey to Awakening, as a work of popular, romantic-fantasy fiction, richly deserves your serious attention. You won’t be disappointed.