This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Tudor England can seem like a fairy tale as told by the Brothers Grimm: Queens locked in towers. Betrayals and beheadings. Happy endings for pretty much no one.
Case in point: Lady Jane Grey, queen for nine days before "Bloody" Mary Tudor claimed the throne and had Jane beheaded.
"Lady Jane was so charming — a passionate, intelligent person who loved to read— and she had such a horrible ending," says Cynthia Hand.
Hand, who minored in history in college, always wanted to tell Grey's story. But "it would be such a downer."
So she decided to change the ending.
The result, "My Lady Jane," to be released Tuesday, is a Tudor England that's far more "Princess Bride" than "Wolf Hall." There are more jokes than deaths. Magic, not religion, is the rift tearing England apart. And the teenage narrators are just as concerned with first kisses as they are with the fate of their country.
It works, thanks to the converging talents of Hand and co-authors Jodi Meadows and Brodi Ashton. They've peppered the story with cheeky asides to explain historical deviations and poke fun at their characters, who tell the rollicking tale in switching viewpoints.
The three developed a close friendship after meeting on book tours for their separate young-adult paranormal/fantasy trilogies — Hand's "Unearthly," Ashton's "Everneath" and Meadows' "Incarnate" — and had talked casually about doing a book together. In fall 2013, Hand tried to pitch her Jane-Grey-as-comedy idea to Ashton — who lives in Salt Lake City — during lunch at Cafe Rio.
"She said, 'I have this idea for a book that you and I can write together ,and it's going to be about Lady Jane Grey, who was queen for nine days, and then she was beheaded. We'll make it FUNNY,' " Ashton recalls. "I sat there shoving salad into my mouth so I wouldn't have to answer."
Later, they roped Meadows into the nascent project. It was easy to decide who would write which character — Hand as the sheltered, somewhat sexist King Edward; Meadows as the bookish but stubborn Lady Jane Grey; and Ashton as Grey's husband, Gifford Dudley, a wannabe poet cursed to spend his days as a horse.
Things didn't truly take off till a few months later, when Ashton and Meadows visited Hand in Los Angeles and a planned trip to Disneyland gave way to a day in the library at Pepperdine University, plotting what would become "My Lady Jane" on a conference room whiteboard.
"There's a moment in writing where the energy takes over," Ashton says. "We all looked at each other — do we want to go to Disneyland or do we want to start writing this book? And I love Disneyland, so that shows how important [the book] was to me."
Not that writing the book didn't come with its own perks — including a two-week research trip to England, where they visited the places their characters would have called home (as well as the places their real-life counterparts were eventually executed).
They wrote the book in Utah, during several weeklong spurts staying in Ashton's cabin in Midway. They each pounded out a chapter a day, then took turns reading them aloud each evening after dinner. The final day of the week was reserved for revisions.
It was a "crazy fast" process, Hand says — on their separate projects, it might take a week to write just one chapter. But writing together had a certain magic, giving them the power to draw upon three brains instead of just one.
If someone got stuck, she could ask the other two for advice rather than spend the afternoon staring hopelessly at the troublesome sentence. And looking across the table and seeing the others busily typing was motivating when the words didn't want to flow.
"It's a good pressure. We don't want to let our friends down by being the one who didn't finish her chapter," Meadows says. "It was also encouraging because we can't wait to hear what the others are writing."
They swear they had no disagreements or fights, even during the revision process — and even when Hand accidentally knocked over a bottle of water and fried Meadows' laptop, erasing a day's worth of work.
"Jodi names her computers, so that's how she feels about them," Ashton says. (This ill-fated laptop was named Felicity.) "So if we can survive that. …"
It's fortunate they did, as they're now gearing up to spend even more time together for the "My Lady Jane" book tour, which kicks off Tuesday at The King's English. Events will include slideshows and giveaways — "a party at each place," Ashton says.
She jokes, though, that planning events is often sidelined by discussing which knitting projects to bring along, now that Meadows has gotten the other two hooked.
Killing time in town after her flight out of Salt Lake City was canceled last year, Meadows — a longtime knitter who also spins her own yarn — asked Ashton to take her to nearby yarn shop Blazing Needles. Gazing at the walls of colorful wool, Ashton mused, "Maybe I'll learn to knit, too."
Meadows took her up on it and taught her right there in the store. "She hasn't really stopped since," Meadows said.
Hand knew knitting basics, but had never mastered certain techniques. When the three got together last fall, Meadows took up the challenge: "We'll see if you can't purl," Hand recalls her saying.
Now, they often use Google Chats to knit and talk from afar.
"Jodi has corrupted both of us," Hand says. "We're all broke because we go to yarn stores when we go on tour."
The three dream about starting a combination bookstore/yarn shop called Bindings. Even if that doesn't pan out, they're far from done collaborating. Director Ridley Scott's development company is working on packaging "My Lady Jane" for the big screen. As for whether there might be more Jane books — featuring other Janes from history? — they're not ruling it out, though they're each working on new solo projects.
Giving Jane Grey a happy ending has been "an absolute joy," Hand says, both creatively and in terms of their friendship.
"And a way to spend more time together is to write a book together," Meadows teases.
Twitter: @racheltachel —
On with her head!
Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand and Jodi Meadows will discuss and sign "My Lady Jane."
Where • The King's English Bookshop, 1511 S. 1500 East, Salt Lake City
When • Tuesday, June 7, 7 p.m.
Also • Places in the signing line will be reserved for those who purchase a copy of "My Lady Jane" from the bookstore.