Saying Goodbye

(Cross-posted from Darkling Delights)

Many bloggers will probably talk about saying goodbye to 2013, and reminiscence on what they've accomplished or wanted to accomplish over the last twelve months.

I'm saying goodbye, too, but not for the same reason. This past week, I turned in what would be my final round of content edits for Exterminating Angel. Now all I'm waiting for are the line edits and the galley.

Non-writers may not understand what it's like to say goodbye to characters we've spent months or even years with. For over two years, Zaphkiel and Company were part of my life. I came to know their fears, desires, what made them angry, their regrets, and other nuances that make characters unique. I can't tell you how many different beginnings I wrote. Characters that appeared in one version were excised in the next. Certain scenes, even entire chapters, hit the chopping block. But through it all, the premise remained the same:

"An archangel who unwittingly unleashes a demon upon the city must enlist the help of  Lucifer to stop it."

For me, Zaphkiel is an archangel who truly believed in what he was doing, but didn't realize the repercussions of such actions. He isn't perfect. Hard-smoking and hard-drinking, he's lived with a lot of regrets over the centuries. His closest, perhaps only, friend, Raziel, a fellow Throne angel, does his best to support him, but understands there are some issues Zaphkiel needs to deal with alone, including the death of his lover, Caliel.

But is Caliel really dead? Or is he reincarnated in a young man, Sean, who not only looks like Caliel, but has many of his mannerisms?

It was fun writing Lucifer, who worked on a need-to-know basis, although he often drove the other characters crazy. The only character he confided in was Raziel, although he shared a sobering truth with Zaphkiel.

Even though I'm saying goodbye to these characters, there's still a chance they might appear in other stories, although I've no plans for a series. So I guess I'm not really saying "goodbye" but "later."

The Character I'd Like to Write

Twin Engine Airplane, Morguefile.com

Certain characters seem destined for popularity. Special Ops, FBI, CIA, Navy SEALS, etc. draw us into worlds some of us can only imagine, ones of excitement and danger.

I've a confession. I want to write about an NTSB investigator. Why? Because I find the job of investigating aviation accidents fascinating, although that's not all the NTSB does. But I haven't quite figured out what I want my character to specialize in. In aviation investigations, each member of the Go Team has a specific specialty, such as weather, air traffic control, powerplant, etc.

People might wonder what's so exciting about an NTSB investigator's job? The NTSB can't, far as I know, arrest people, and I haven't seen them chasing down suspects or committing exciting feats. Well, not in real life. For example, if there's a crime and the FBI becomes involved, the NTSB has to cooperate with the other federal agency.

But, like a friend told me, I'm writing fiction. And while I want my stories to be grounded in a certain reality, obviously, there'll be some poetic license. Like, maybe a supernatural bent. I don't know yet. Right now, it's more R&D than anything. Hopefully, something will come of it.
   

What's In A Name?

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet", Juliet says to Romeo, arguing against the notion that he has the name of a rival family.

I have to disagree with her on this point. Names are important. It's why I still insist on being Ms Townsend, even after getting married, and why I don't write under a pseudonym. I've been Sara Jayne Townsend for 42 years, and I'm not about to change now. I've played about with hyphenating the two names, and had a very brief spell, aged about 13, when I decided I preferred 'Sarah' to 'Sara'. But ultimately this is my name, and it might not be very special or significant, at least to anyone else, but it's mine, and it's part of what makes me who I am. With a different name, I'd feel like a different person.

The same can be said for character names. They must be chosen very carefully. I'm writing in the 'real' world, on the whole, so perhaps have an easier job than SF and fantasy writers, who have to make up names. But even so, much thought goes into character names. It's why a book of baby names lives on my shelf of writing reference books, in spite of the fact I am well known as a person with no interest whatsoever in having children.

Sometimes characters seem to name themselves, but the names that attach themselves to the characters conjure up connotations and aspects of how that character is developing in my mind. The young protagonist of SUFFER THE CHILDREN, Leanne, seemed to name herself without a great deal of thought from me. It's a name that to me conjures up connotations of a tough but vulnerable person. It's a fairly modern name, so it suited a young person. The character Carrie, on the ther hand, I purposefully named after a Stephen King novel, because I wanted to pay homage to a writer who has provided a great deal of inspiration to me for most of my writing life.

As for naming the boys, I have to say that when I write men - and I am of the opinion I'm not terribly good at writing men - I do tend to write about my ideal men, as I'm sure a lot of writers do. However, my concept of the ideal man is sensitive, intelligent, introverted and geeky, which pretty much describes Simon in SUFFER THE CHILDREN. The aggressive Alpha male is not a turn on for me. Give me a geek any day.

My first two serious adolescent crushes - the kind when you start writing their names in hearts all over the cover of your school exercise books - were, firstly Mark Hamill (I first saw Star Wars a month before my 13th birthday, and it was a revelation - up until then boys had largely been an alien species for me), and shortly afterwards, Simon Le Bon, when I first got into Duran Duran. So the names Simon and Mark have, to me, always suggested desirable men. No real surprise, then, that the hero of my first published novel is called Simon, and the hero of my current WIP horror novel is called Mark.

It's difficult, though, with names, especially when you're going with real-life ones, because sometimes people you know make the assumption that if you use their name in a book, you are basing the character on them. The horror WIP has characters called Helen, Mark and David. There are people with these names in the writing group, but I can say, in all honesty, that none of my characters are based on anyone in the writing group. If I do base characters on people in real life, I don't give them the same name as the real life person. For instance, the character of Jonathan in DEATH SCENE is based on a real person. But that person's name isn't Jonathan. And that's all I'm prepared to say on that subject.

Where do you get inspiration from for your character names?

A Tale of Two Vampires

It's official! I finished The Ripper's Daughter, my vampire Victorian paranormal mystery for National Novel Writing Month on November 20 and verified it November 25.

I wanted to write about vampires, but I also wanted my story to be different. So I decided to make the relationship between Nathan and Stephen a symbiotic one. Stephen needed Nathan to drink his blood and Nathan had someone he could feed from without endangering other people's lives. Their relationship goes much farther, however, a sexual one they need to keep hidden from society. Not only that, but also continuing the charade of Stephen, Nathan's master, playing the part of his manservant.

Inspector Lewis

What really inspired me to write this story, though, was Inspector Lewis. The show aired on Masterpiece Mystery while I was plotting my NaNo WIP. Not that the two have anything in common except I knew, after watching Inspector Lewis, I wanted Nathan to be a former Detective Inspector.

Who would I pit Nathan against? Then it came to me. Who is the most infamous murderer in Victorian history? Jack the Ripper. (Okay, there are others, but I'm going with the most well-known.) And what if Jack the Ripper weren't human? What if he were a werewolf, and only Nathan knew this? So the DI risked his life and all he had to become a vampire and stop the Ripper? But what if he failed?

I explore this throughout the story. The guilt Nathan feels at failing to catch the Ripper and the determination to stop him when he finds the Ripper has come to Louisville, Nathan's new home. Nathan now owns a saloon called The Cloak and Dagger. I wanted a place where he could get information but not resort to making him work as a police officer or as a reporter. Besides, both those jobs would require working in daylight, something Nathan can no longer do. He can go out in overcast weather but direct sunlight will cause considerable damage, even death. And if Nathan dies, so does Stephen and vice versa.

Although this is a first draft, I thought I'd share a short excerpt.Remember, this is from a draft and is not intended to be considered final.

Please enjoy!

Excerpt:

I caught Stephen biting his lower lip, a worried expression on his face. Concern? He needn’t worry. After all, he turned me, knowing a vampire’s strengths and weaknesses. He knew I wouldn’t take foolish risks.

No, it was something else. Stephen hadn’t eaten or drunk much the last couple of days and seemed a bit sluggish and redder in the face, as if stricken with high blood pressure.

Something primal stirred in me. A faint coppery smell triggered an ache in my fangs which dropped slightly.

Our eyes met, Stephen’s blue ones darkening. He rose, pulling the brocade curtains shut against the moonlight and any passersby. We couldn’t risk complacency. To do so could put our lives in danger.

He crossed the room and sat on the sofa next to me. The light from the lamp glinted on his hair, throwing shadows across his face, the bridge of his aquiline nose. But my attention was drawn to his carotid artery. I licked  my lips, desire pooling in my body, heightened by his nearness and the smell of blood. As my fangs continued to drop, my need grew and I shifted impatiently, eager to drink.

Stephen leaned his head back. I unbuttoned his shirt collar, pushing it aside to reveal pale flesh at the juncture of neck and shoulder. Leaning in, I breathed in the scent of soap and water, a clean smell.

He made no sound as I licked the skin, readying it. I looked down to see Stephen clench his fists and I wrapped my fingers around his wrist. The gesture served two purposes, to comfort him and to anchor myself against the ecstasy of drinking his blood.

Stephen closed his eyes. My breathing quickened, my heartbeat increased as adrenaline pumped through my bloodstream. In contrast, Stephen’s breathing and heart rate slowed as his heart struggled to pump the excess blood circulating through him.

Again, I marked the spot with a gentle swipe of my tongue, tasting salt. The ache in my fangs intensified and I became heady with passion, both for his blood and his body, which needed to be satisfied in that order.

I bit, incisors pricking his skin. A thin line of blood trickled free and I lapped at it. Within seconds I fed, my mind focused on Stephen and the pleasure this act gave both of us.

For him, it was relief. For me, it became an almost orgiastic experience.

His hand tightened on my leg, fingers pressing into my kneecap as I continued to drink. At first I worried I hurt him. But he assured me the sensation was one of pleasure-pain and far more preferable to the discomfort he felt when his body became gorged with too much blood.

     

Research – A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That

Perhaps it’s a carryover from my article writing days, but research is an integral part of my writing process along with plotting, writing, and revising.

The reason for research is simple: to bring an air of authenticity to the story. Even a science fiction writer is likely to consider the laws of physics when creating an alien world. Authors whose stories take place in different times study the customs, language, settings, etc. The Prohibition world of 1920s Chicago is far different from today’s Windy City.

I’ve been engaged in fact-finding since high school. Even then my stories were set in the past  (usually Prohibition). Plots take place during the French Revolution, Colonial America, and World War 2. Recently, I’ve started exploring the Victorian era but haven’t yet found myself brave enough to attempt steampunk. (More research is needed.) :-)

One of the biggest benefits of research is it can lead to interest in other areas. The problem is I can become so absorbed in the new information, I forget my original idea. (Which is why I write them down for future reference.)

Research can also be a starting point. For example, in Death Sword, Xariel, an angel of death, suffers from a sex curse as a result of his teaching the lunar cycle and his former relationship with Samael. During my studies of angels, Xariel (Sariel), also a Grigori, taught the lunar cycle, which apparently was forbidden knowledge. Whether or not he was actually punished for this action, or for simply joining the other Watcher Angels, is probably debatable. For me, the important thing is how this punishment affects his character as well as his motivation(s).

Is research necessary? Depends on the author’s preference. Me? I’m the type of writer to go so far as to find out the temperature of a certain location. For example, in a short story I’m writing, I need to know how cold it was during the Louisville winter of December 1917. This way, I know what my characters will wear and how they’ll react.

Apparently, it was pretty damn cold.

Mojo Queen central casting

I'm sick and plan to spend the weekend curled up with my Kindle reading some of the books I bought today. I had a few ideas for a post but frankly they all required more work than I can handle right now. ;) So! How about something fun...

No matter how unlikely it is to happen, there's probably not a writer alive who doesn't fantasize at least once about their book being optioned for a movie. For me all this involves is casting the movie. I don't really care about Oscars but an MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss or Best Fight would be cool. I mean, if we're going to be shallow here, let's be shallow all the way. Anyway, back to casting.

It took a while for me to figure who I would cast in Mojo Queen. For main character Roxie Mathis, I eventually settled on Rachel Weisz. She is English and I have no idea if she could do a decent Southern accent, though she could certainly do no worse than the hot mess of fake accents you hear on True Blood. I definitely think she could bring to life Roxie's mixture of vulnerability and boldness that keeps me so interested in writing the character. I couldn't find a picture of Weisz in glasses but I really like this pic to represent Roxie. She looks like she's saying, cross the line, I dare you. (Saying that to Blake, no doubt.)

Daniel Rambin, Roxie's vampire ancestor and best friend, was easier to cast. He's charming, he's a little goofy, he can flip out to crazy-dangerous at the worst of times, he looks like a young Robert Redford. Who else but Brad Pitt?

And I'm not even that much of a Brad Pitt fan, but I think he'd make a great Daniel. I can see him playing the character with great relish in a scene where Daniel busts out with some old country song, something crazy like Harper Valley PTA. That would at least have to make the cut as a DVD extra.

Blake Harvill was the really tough one to cast. He started out as a bad guy, then became Roxie's love interest. He's a sorcerer, shady and dangerous and kind of flaky. Once he became the love interest he was tall and had dark hair and a sexy arrogant smirk. Sometimes I considered David Boreanaz as Blake, because, well, David Boreanaz is just freaking awesome. I mean, my love for Spike is eternal, but Angel had his moments. Boy did Angel have his moments. And Boreanaz is the only reason I can still sit through an episode of Bones.

But then I stumbled across a picture of Zachary Quinto that immediately made me say "That's Blake!"

Dark chocolate eyes, stubble, and Roxie likes it when he bites his lip. (I don't know, she just does.) I think they both could play Blake's darkness and his occasional flakiness. Boreanaz might have the edge when it came time for Blake to tempt Roxie with his seductive side.

So what do you think of my casting choices? Who would you cast as the leads in a movie of your own book? Share in the comments, or even better write your own post about it (don't forget pictures!) and leave the link in the comments. I'd love to read similar posts.

Full Steam Ahead (Almost)

So I'm getting ready to start the third draft of the as yet untitled Zaphkiel Project. Usually my titles come to me right away. For some reason my muse, who bestows clever titles, decided to take a vacation. At this point I may end up calling it Zaphkiel. But there's already a book called Raziel and another titled Samael, so yeah, I'll keep working on it. (Raziel is also the name of a character in the Zaphkiel Project.)

Meanwhile, I'm still trying to figure out what my 50k writing challenge will be about. I don't normally write about vampires. Okay, there was that one short novel set during the French Revolution. For the sake of all our sanity, I won't release it on unsuspecting readers. Yet. (Evil grin.) Anyway, this idea about a vampire steam punk won't leave. Except it would involve steam boats and pirates as well, all set in Victorian Louisville.

Of course this means more research. I don't have a story yet, just a character who has what I hope is an interesting problem.

When Characters Misbehave

Sometimes no matter how carefully you plan, your characters refuse to follow the path you've set for them. And if they are insistent on misbehaving in this way, it often means you have to rethink your plot structure accordingly.

When I created my amateur sleuth, I had in mind she'd be a single, independent minded girl. I didn't want her tied to the obligation of a committed relationship.

In truth, I am not a big fan of romance in novels, and I don't like writing about romance. But it is difficult to keep characters perpetually single, because relationships are such an integral part of humanity and if you want people to relate to your characters, you have to ensure that they relate to other characters.

So, in DEATH SCENE, the first of the amateur sleuth series, my single female sleuth does have a bit of a 'fling', with a fellow actor. I never imagined that this was going to be a serious relationship. I thought he was only going to last the first book. I also didn't plan on her being in love with this character. I think she has a problem with commitment.

As we progressed through the editing process of DEATH SCENE, my editor advised me to make a bit more of the relationship between these two characters, as the 'love interest' was coming across as being a bit two-dimensional. So I worked on this a bit, trying to suggest that he was perhaps falling for her - though I was adamant I didn't want my sleuth falling in love with him. I also chickened out of adding any sex scenes. There were certainly places to put them, but I am the sort of person who skips over sex scenes in novels, looking for something more interesting going on (a bit of murder or mayhem, for instance). I didn't think the sexy details would add anything to the story, so it all happens "off-page".

I've recently finished the first draft of the second novel in this series. And what did I find, as I got to the exciting bit at the end? Suddenly I discovered my amateur sleuth was full of regret for the cavalier way she treated the love interest of DEATH SCENE (who I was convinced was out of the picture by the beginning of Book 2), and seemed to be hankering after rekindling her relationship with him. Granted, she was tied up in a damp dark basement in fear of her life at the time, and such situations lend themselves to a degree of self-reflection.

But this all came as a bit of a revelation to me. I had my amateur sleuth pegged as the type of girl who would move from lover to lover without a second thought. It seems that maybe she's not that kind of girl at all.

So, if my sleuth insists on my bringing back her ex for Book 3, that's really changed the story arc and I'm going to have to think about where I go with this.

Not only that, but it was at this point in the manuscript that I also came to the realisation that I'd pegged the wrong character as the murderer. Which is going to require some serious re-writing for Draft 2, as the actual murderer doesn't actually make much of an appearance in the first draft.

Pesky characters. It really throws a spanner in the works when they go and do unexpected things. A writer's life would be so much simpler if they did what you told them to. But the story would probably be far less interesting, so I have learned that it pays to listen when your characters are trying to tell you where you're going wrong.