"Instead of it being idealistic like the (1937) Disney movie, I make her, what I think, is more realistic," says Dickerson, who is based in Huntsville. "I look at how she must have been raised by an abusive person, making her work and treating her badly. How would this have affected her? She knows how she was treated and wouldn't ever treat anyone like that. But she does have some issues because of the way she was brought up."
"Snow White" was originally published around 1812.
Zondervan, an arm of HarperCollins, published "The Fairest Beauty," a young adult fiction work, on Jan. 18. The National Readers' Choice Awards named Dickerson's 2010 debut novel "The Healer's Apprentice" Best First Book and both that tome and her sophomore book, 2011's "The Merchant's Daughter," were Christy Awards Finalists.
Dickerson, who's biggest literary influence is Jane Austen, will sign copies of her books 2-4 p.m. Jan. 26 at the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library's main branch (915 Monroe St.) as part of a "Love in the Library" event. Author scribes set to appear include Linda Winstead Jones, Kimberly Lang, Lynn Raye Harris and Kira Sinclair.
On Jan. 29, Dickerson will sign at the Monrovia branch (254 Allen Drake Dr.), starting at 6:30 p.m.
"I can't just sign my name because that feels lame," Dickerson says of signings, "so I usually write the person's name I'm signing to and I'll usually say a little something in there. I'll usually put a Bible verse."
All of Dickerson's three books are set in medieval times, which the author enjoys exploring because of their colorful language, lifestyles and settings. So what does she feel that era has in common with 2013?
"We all have emotions and we all have goals and dreams and motivations. So I use that as a basis to make the characters relatable to today's people."
Huntsville-based author Melanie Dickerson. (Contributed photo)