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The commentary for Part One can be found in the eBook and paperback version. What follows is the commentary for Part Two.
Click here to go to the latest commentary.
Chapter One
Whew! That felt like a long break to me, lol. I'm actually kinda glad to be back...wonder how long that'll last? ;-)
I'm really pleased with this chapter. After all the ones that gave me hell in Part One, I was relieved to find I hadn't turned into a complete hack, lol. I tried to really jump right in with this one and not spend time summarizing Part One. If you forget what happened, you can go read the "Previously" page, lol. We start off two or three weeks after the last chapter (don't remember which), and I tried to bring in just about everyone we met before so you can all get a sense of where they are and what they've been doing. In a nutshell, Sage, Levi, and Gen are pretty screwed up. Levi probably less so, because he at least tries to deal with things, but the others...not so much. And trouble's a-brewin'!
I also brought in three new characters, all of whom I LOVE. First up: Peyton Rice. She's meant to be like the anti-Janine in a lot of ways. While Janine is sexy, popular and perfect (to Gen) to the point of being intimidating, Peyton is the talkative, clumsy, cute girl-next-door sort. Essentially, she's a walking Sandra Bullock movie, lol. Where will this go, now that Gen has two possible love interests that are so different? I'll never tell--at least not yet, lol.
I also introduced someone who is clearly a love interest for Michael in Krysta. One of the things I liked about the Michael short story SURFACING was that between his dreams and phone calls, he had lots of different people to interact with, letting me show different aspects of him. Krysta provides me with the same opportunity, and also makes something rather clear to the reader (I hope): he's not opposed to witches in general, just Genevieve, lol. But Michael is attracted to power more than anything--not merely that he wishes to obtain it, but that he's attracted to it in others. And there's definitely something about Krysta. ;-) Though she doesn't have a huge role immediately, I guarantee she'll be back a bit later...I mean, how could she not when Gen is so freaked out about her, LOL. In deciding where to pick up the story for the first chapter, my first thought was "I need a Michael and Genevieve scene" because they're just too funny together, lol. And that one as they're leaving Krysta's appartment is one of my favourites.
Finally, we have Thad Kincaid. He didn't get to do much this chapter, but he'll be around for a little bit in the next one, where he hopefully endears a few readers. ;-) He was originally supposed to appear briefly in Part One, but I had too many other things going on, so I pushed his introduction back to this first chapter. I've also changed his character about six times since I conceived of it, so I'll avoid saying anything else here in case it changes again, lol. But he will be back--hopefully sooner rather than later. ;-)
Anyway, I felt this chapter nicely set up some important "mythology" development (that are NOT ret-cons, I swear!), and prepared for the coming character arcs of just about all the main characters--meaning Gen, Sage, Levi, Michael, and to a lesser extent, Merri. Meredith's plot arc starts more next month when she finally gets a chance to take over POV, though there's a hint in this one.
Wow, sorry for the long commentary!! I'll have a shorter one next month, lol.
Chapter Two
This chapter switches over to Merri's POV for the first time in the book! And she was an absolute bitch to nail down for the first scene, and it wasn't until the second one that I figure out why. If you read the prequel Michael story, SURFACING, you'll know there's a lot more to Merri than meets the eye. She's a bit of a chameleon--she's good at hiding herself. It wasn't until the last part of this chapter, when I really got a hold of her character, that I realized the reason she was so hard to write before was that she wasn't being herself. If that makes any sense, LOL. So if that first bit is a little awkward...it's all Merri's fault! ;-)
I also tend to get a little ramble-y when I take on a new POV, as I'm trying out the voice, looking around through her eyes, etc. so while I tried to cut those bits out, my apologies if it's still kind of weird.
Anyway, I still pretty much like this chapter. I like Merri, I like Thad, I like the dynamic between her and Michael, and I like the "real" Merri that comes out later. That final bit felt necessary for me on two levels: one is, obviously, it hints at a plot and character arc for her, and two, because it's been a while since she shot that guy, and it seemed important to me to remind readers that she isn't what she seems. Obviously, I can't have her shooting people every other chapter (unless...), but I'll try to play the multiple sides of her for contrast sake as much as possible.
Next chapter...I have no idea what's going to happen--haven't started it yet. So here's hoping I write it in time, lol.
Chapter Three
Um...yeah, this one was a bit of a mess. I soooooo sorry about that. Mostly, I had a bunch of stuff I needed to put in there, but no idea where to put it.
I blame the problem on the first two scenes: Gen and her dad talking, and then the dream sequence. Neither of those were planned...I think originally I was going to head straight into the group visiting the club, On the Map, that Friday. Then one thing led to another (it's kind of like sex with your neighbour that way) and suddenly I'm thinking, "Good Christ, what have I done? Where did all these scenes come from?"
But I do like what came out of this one, at least--I was pleased at Gen and Merri forming a bit of an alliance. Never would have guessed that would happen, even if you'd asked me a few chapters ago. But with Michael and Sage seeming to form a bit of a bond, I guess it was natural that these two would as well.
And something good came out of the first scene as well: if you wanted to know what Part Two is going to be about, that's kinda it. Love. Well, and lust. But mostly love. That's why everyone is getting love interests. Of course, since I'm doing this so early in the story, I'm bound to break them all up later, but we'll see.
Next month, the kids go clubbing. And we switch POVs a couple of times. And I think there's definitley a need for hot sex...
Chapter Four
Finally, some hot sex! Okay, so a couple of people got laid, and I didn't go into a lot of detail about one, and virtually none with the other. Truth is, I think Michael and Krysta's sex life is best left to the imagination, for now. You'll get a pretty clear picture later, however. ;-) But at least he got laid—maybe he'll be a bit more pleasant now?
We spent a bit more time with Merri and Thad 'cause I just thought they were too damn cute, but it didn't seem necessary to me to go through the whole sex scene with them...best to cut to the chase and scrap the foreplay and actual act, no? Okay, truthfully, there was a bit more detail, but sex scenes always take up a lot of words, and I was already like way over for this chapter (it came in at 7.5K, and I cut out nearly 1K words). Why write about sex when I can just have them talk for fifteen pages? Anyway, I like LOVE them together. I totally need to get them a theme song—like stat. Maybe "A Way With Me" by The AM Project... And for anyone thinking Merri is acting out of character...well, the fact is, you don't really know her character yet. She's a compulsive liar—quite frankly, NOTHING is out of character for that girl.
Basically, this chapter (and the latter part of chapter two) tells you everything you need to know about Merri personality-wise. Seriously, you can go and make a list of everything you learned: you now know her about as well as I do. ;-) Ah, there will be many parallels seen later when her backstory is revealed. ;-)
I should add that I have no idea how difficult it is to buy drinks for underage people in a club like they do in this chapter. Alcohol laws are kinda tight here in Canada, but this is fiction and I can do whatever I want, okay? :-p
There was a bit of a set up here for the typical "Girl makes arrangements to meet guy, then he gets left alone and possibly embarrassed" sit-com style thing between Mer and Warren...and in my twisted mind, it made sense then to not go for the usual silly thing and actually have it be like a baaaad thing. The first three chapters of part two set up the mythology changes and that for the next arc of the story...this chapter really starts some of the plot stuff. That's right--I'm gonna have a Big Bad in this part of the story. ;-)
Anyway, back to Mer and Thad for a second...I really didn't expect them to end on that note. It surprised me when she got all snappy and mad at him—I actually had anticipated him driving Merri to her apartment, and I don't have a clue how Levi got everyone in his car to go home later. Sorry, Lev.
Chapter Five
I think we see—clearly—more of Mer's hypocritical side here. Honesty is good, unless she's the one who is supposed to be honest. Then it's bad. I mean, if she was really all that concerned about what Michael has been keeping from the others, she'd tell them herself, right? But she doesn't, ergo Merri's a pot and should probably leave Michael the kettle alone.
The Merri/Gen friendship development kind of threw me for a loop. I wasn't expecting it. I think everyone knows by now that this serial is based on a TV show idea I wrote about in high school, and in that, the Genevieve and Sage characters were really good friends, and Meredith was a completely different person. Of course, Hayden didn't even exist at that point, and so Sage was a pretty different person too. But it makes sense at this point—who else does she have to talk to about the stuff going on with her? There are just the four of them (well, and I guess Thad counts too), that have this big secret and know what is going on. Sage is growing more and more distant from everyone (also, please remind me to have a Sage-centric chapter soon), so she's not about to get all chummy with Gen. Obviously, she and Michael aren't going to be total BFFs or anything (although, admittedly, I'd like to see some kind of friendship develop between them at some point, though I doubt it'll ever happen). That leaves Merri. And Gen is more or less over her distrust for the time being. I think.
Also, I realize I probably spent a lot of time with things that seem irrelevant...but can I just promise everyone I know what I'm doing? I *hate* plot and character things that come out of nowhere: personally, I like set up so that I'm not left thinking, "Where the fuck did that come from?" And a fair amount of this chapter is setting up things that'll occur later, which will then lead to other stuff happening that's, like, important. So yeah dude, really, I'm planning this surprisingly well.
And note the slow strain on Gen & Levi's relationship. That'll come to a head at some point in Part Two (I think).
Chapter Six
"Let's do the time warp agaaaaaaain!" ;-)
Okay, so we jumped pretty ahead with things here. I suck at skipping long periods of time in books, so it was rather painful for me to let go of a whole entire week of story-time (which no doubt would have been filled with people talking about nothing for chapters at a time), but I did.
I'm actually kinda getting a kick out of the fact that Kourtnee hasn't had any lines of dialogue yet. Originally, I had to skip the early L/K romance in favour of the Merri/Thad one at the club. And after that, there just hasn't been a place for it. Now I just think it's funny that she's technically been present for a few scenes, but hasn’t actually said anything... I think I'll just make it an ongoing joke. ;-)
Here we also have a brief visit from the Plot Contrivance Gods. Okay, so I had a number of visits, but it's fiction, so I'm allowed to. I have no real defense, except that I went over a dozen scenarios of how he could have gotten in the song request, and went with this one. And I think that, because it led to the final scene with her and Levi, I can be forgiven.
Also, this chapter popped an author cherry for me—first lesbian kiss scene ever written! In a funny way, it was difficult. Not because they were lesbians, but because they were kissing; I hate girly stuff like kissing. I'd rather them yell or hit each other. Yes, I have problems. But I think they were cute at least. ;-) Anyway, I wanted to play G/P (Genton? Penevieve?) as realistic as possible—nervous, awkward, uncomfortable... Gen's never had a relationship before, and it makes sense that she's unsure of herself.
I did rather like this chapter. I really liked Levi and Sage at the end. The whole scene made me quite sad, and I liked that she was able to completely break down in front of someone.
Chapter Seven
I like Gen and Levi getting back to being BFFs. Not that I'm confident it'll last through Part Two, but it makes me happy.
I realize Lev's confession about loving Sage is a bit of a jump from anything he said in Part One—he always just mentioned having a crush on her, and I think Gen referred to his feelings that way as well. Presumably, he realized at some point between seeing Sage the night before and Gen that morning that he was, in fact, in love with her. Or maybe I'm retconning...
I also really like Gen and Michael's scene. He's mildly nicer to her when not quite awake and makes her tea. That just made me giggle. And she stood up to him—go Gen! Sure, he openly threatened to kill her, but I think she took it well.
And finally, I teased on my MySpace blog months ago that I had an "OMG!" moment coming up that was alllll the fault of fellow author Elaine Corvidae. The final scene, my friends, is what I referred to. ;-) All I can say is that is isn't what it seems.
My only real problems with the story now are with Sage--I have a hell of a time writing her POV scenes. And that's just her being uncooperative with me. She doesn't like to show vulnerability, doesn't like to let people see what she's thinking or feeling, all of which make her very difficult to write. Other than that, everything else is going smoothly--I'm enjoying writing Part Two.
See you next month! ;-)
Chapter Eight
Haha, told you it wasn't what it seemed. ;-) It was just too perfect an opportunity to pass up.
I like Michael and Sage sharing. It's like a cute little therapy group...but with more punching and kicking. This chapter was all about comparing and contrasting their character arcs.
I like at this point that Michael has something in common with each of the girls. Yeah, really, even Gen—you may not see it yet, but you will. And he clearly seems aspects of himself in each, and it reflects with his relationships with them. He'll give Merri trust without question because she does the same; they both know they lie, and all you can do is have some trust or you'll drive yourself crazy. He dislikes Gen, in part, because he already recognizes a part of himself in her. And he's being understanding with Sage because he identifies with her situation.
And just when you think Michael's a cute, warm and fuzzy teddy bear thinking about his dead family, Krysta comes along. I didn't think that scene would actually make it into the story, but it shows quite the contrast between glimpses of old Michael and current Michael. Plus, as she doesn't get a lot of "screen" time (since it would probably involve a lot of sex scenes right now, and I hate writing them), I think it gives readers a rather complete sense of Krysta and their relationship. And it bumps me up to an R rating, which is always a good thing. Okay, truth is that people at the forum agreed they were disturbed by the idea of Michael having sex, so I decided to disturb people. It amuses me.
But him and Sage? Talking about Anne and Hayden? Love it.
Chapter Nine
Well, I started this chapter in May and didn't have time to complete it until the middle of August. Not the way I like to do things, but sometimes that's how it goes. Hope it isn't too uneven.
Now, where to start... I think the biggest thing about this chapter is that Genevieve showed some real growth. As she mentions, she's learned a new spell with Merri's help, and just that little thing is enough to boost her confidence (in addition to her romance with Peyton and her standing up to Michael a few chapters ago...basically, everything's coming up Genevieve). She takes the initiative in dealing with David Shaw, and Michael goes so far as to encourage her to do so. They are like *almost* friends in this one, which I kinda dig. I think things changed a bit because he has a certain amount of grudging respect for her after she had the stones to stand up to him. Of course, it goes without saying--as I've been hinting at it now and then and peeps at the forum have basically guessed as much--but there will be a rather unpleasant confrontation between them at some point, but in the meantime they seem quite comfortable in their mutual dislike.
Merri and Thad are back together! Yay! And if you were paying attention, you caught the brief further plot development in Merri's brief vision. The introduction of this little (supernatural) mystery is actually going slower than I thought, but I guarantee a bunch of stuff will hit with a bang soon (and it'll resolve when Part Two ends next year). Anyway, back to Mer for a second, I found out in this chapter that she's really, really uncomfortable with me writing the slightest bit of detail about her sex life. I make mention of that here because it surprises me--I figured Sage would be private, Gen would probably be more open, and then given Mer's experience, she wouldn't care in the least bit, but she wanted to end that first scene with Thad as quickly as possible. (Yes, these people are real to me and do give me preference in how I write their scenes--just deal with it.)
I don't really want to talk about Natalya or that right now...I'll just say that she will make an appearance some time before Part Two is up (well, okay, so she made an appearance at the end of Part One, so it's not like a debut or anything), and David Shaw will appear now and then.
Finally, I hope you had a chance to give me some feedback in the poll on the chapter page, or on the forum, about how you felt the POV shifts went. I really need to start doing things that way, and it seems a natural progression, but if readers find it too jarring, I can work on smoothing things out.
Chapter Ten
I thought I'd address something that readers may or may not be wondering about: no, Michael isn't some old perv who wishes to bang any of the girls. I revealed in an earlier chapter that he used to be a teacher. The girls are basically his students and yes, the man does have some ethics. It basically comes back to him compartmentalizing things again, though…G, M, & S go in the student compartment, Laurie was in the employee compartment, Finn is in the friend compartment, Krysta is in the lover compartment… Michael doesn't like those compartments to mix. I imagine his arc will eventually involve some crossover, as he's already borderline friends with at least Mer, and shares a connection with Sage, but that'll probably just serve to mess him up.
Oh, yes, and Laurie is briefly mentioned. If you read the companion short story, SURFACING, you'll remember her. I just figured I should mention her briefly, so that story doesn't exist in a vacuum, and it makes sense that Finn would know her.
Actually, it kinda surprises me how nice Michael's been the past two chapters. He's dealing well with Sage and helping her, then it turns out he's looking out for both Merri and Gen. No, I don't know what happened. I'm sure he'll do something prickish soon, though.
I also like how he gets to be kinda normal-ish in this chapter. I'll chalk that up to Finn being around.
Ah, Finn. I have this problem in that I really want to give characters accents, but I hate writing them in because it gets distracting. Scottish can get kind of ridiculous in literature, so I figured I'd just say, "Yeah, he's Scottish. Spends a lot of time in London, though. You can decide what he sounds like."
Finally…you'll notice two familiar faces in this chapter. ;-) It's only semi-cannon. Yes, if you revisited those characters in ten years, that's what you'd find: they have two daughters (Desdemona Emily and Maya Louise, if you care), they're still together, etc. However, Catharsis doesn't actually exist in the same universe as CotA (I mean, the timelines wouldn't mesh at all). I just thought it would be fun to do a semi-canon crossover.
Now, it was important for me to actually *do* something with the characters while they were there. I didn't want it to be pointless, so I had them help Gen along a bit. I hope the scene didn't drag a whole lot.
This has turned into a really long commentary, but I'm about to make it longer. What bugged me a little about this chapter is that it covers three days story-time with no decent segues in between the scenes. I'm sorry about that. I just got looking at everything I needed to cover and realized this was about the only way to do it.
Next chapter makes good on both the beginning and end of this one (how's that for vague), and after that we'll have a special Christmas chapter that will actually be posted in December. :-)
Chapter Eleven
Well, I tried to do something different than the usual, "Uh, that person's a hacker-she can get into the computer!" Who needs hacking skills when you're these girls, right? Anyway, I've been throwing in Gen doing some magic as much as possible 'cause I'll need her to be a bit stronger at some point and I don't want it to come out of left field. But while she casually throws out a line like, "I modified that spell" that's actually a kinda big deal. And poor Michael has no idea yet...
And to explain why I didn't have Finn actually contact Hayden (at least not yet)…look, I want Sage to have some kind of contact with him as much as the next person, but I've got a real problem with death in this world. When you've got reincarnation and people with super powers, death sorta ceases to have meaning. I feel like it'll lose some of its impact, if not all of it, if I can suddenly have all dead characters popping back in as ghosts with messages for people. That isn't to say I'll never bring back a dead character, or that they won't show up as a ghost, but that I want to keep that to a minimal. Plus I thought it would be that much sadder for Sage if she heard Hayden's spirit had "moved on" to a higher realm and that he didn't feel tied to the earthly plane. That's harsh to deal with (welcome to Michael's world).
Chapter Twelve
Poor, poor Genevieve. She's so nice--sometimes I feel a little bad for doing horrible things to her.
Most of this chapter centers around Sage. She's still a little hard for me to write. I got into her head in the next chapter a whole lot than I have in the past, though, and I think I finally have a good grasp on her. She's very private, though, so it's hard to tell.
I kind of like the idea of Sage and Hayden, while seemingly opposites, had the most "traditional" relationship out of anyone in the story. It seemed, to him, logical that he would give his serious girlfriend a promise ring, even though it is old-fashioned and so very unnecessary (and I'm not sure I'm into the whole engagement ring thing anymore either--seems like a patriarchy thing).
That's really irrelevant and like the crappiest "behind the scenes" thing ever, but I just had to comment.
Originally, Michael was going to tell Sage who he thought would be the one to die, though I changed my mind about him saying. Seemed better to stretch it out awhile longer, since no one actually dies in this chapter. ;-)
I think I'll comment on the rest of this chapter when I post the next one (in just two weeks!). Oh, but for a random tidbit: Austin and his grandmother are a shout-out to my fave show growing up, Twin Peaks. Yeah, I know, it's a little obscure for a reference... Anyway, remember the grandmother and grandson from both the show and the movie? No? Then you suck. Go watch it and then we'll talk. :-P
Chapter Thirteen
I did write a commentary for this chapter back when I wrote it, but I lost it when I deleted some files back in November.
I do feel like I finally got into Sage's head. She was always so isolated from everyone else, and this chapter has kind of furthered that; she's now experienced something no one else has and made the most difficult decision of her life.
The other thing I dig about this mini arc for Sage is that it tells so much about Michael as well. At the forum, it was questioned whether or not Michael had been telling the truth about knowing Anne's death occurred so he could fulfill his purpose/destiny...and yes, it's the truth. I think the only thing worse than going through all the horrible things in his past was to learn that it was all necessary.
He knows this, he's accepted it to a certain degree, but living with it every day is still difficult.
Chapter Fourteen
Well, everything has slowed down quite a bit from the last two chapters. We jump to about a month and a half after thirteen ended. Remember that plot thing I keep bringing in, then promptly forget about? Yeah, I gotta kinda get off my ass and deal with that, since we're heading into the latter half of Part Two.
So, to recap: Merri's been having visions. Something spooky is going on with some local deaths--the first of which occured several chapters ago when the gang was at the club On the Map. This will be visited again a few chapters from now, then will be resolved sometime this summer/fall.
I'm not sure there's really much else to say about this one. It's like a short reminder chapter. That's it.
Chapter Fifteen
It's not Valentine's Day unless I'm breaking couples up.
Actually, though, for a chapter that could have been really sad, I felt it had a very positive feel at the end of it. Contrast Gen in this chapter with Gen from early Part One, and I think you'll see just how much she's grown.
Chapter Sixteen
The whole tramp-stamp thing made me giggle. Gen's tattoo and discussion about piercings is really about self-expression and confidence. In a way, I really saw her here as someone taking control of her body and her life...
And of course, that isn't without consequence.
Now, although I'm going to get into this in next month's chapter, let me say something equivocally: in no way should this chapter suggest the attempted sexual assault is her fault. When I say there were consequences to her taking control of her body and her life, I meant in terms of story and that, not literally. Essentially, if a character is too comfortable, I have to do something bad to them. Happens with guys too.
Anyway, I *love* the bit with Finn and Michael in this chapter, although it's brief. I love what this does for Michael-what it shows about him, what Finn hints at about him, and what this choice will ultimately do to him. Read this chapter and the next and tell me you don't love him just a little bit. ;-)
Chapter Seventeen
This chapter concludes another mini arc. There will probably be two more mini-arcs at about three chapters each, and that'll be it for Part Two.
Anyway, I had a hell of a time with this chapter. I had to deal with the fact that, while Gen thinks the assault is her fault, I don't and I don't want it to read like I think it's her fault. And who would have guessed that Michael would be the voice of reason?
This should really demonstrate just how complex a character he is. Here is someone with nothing but contempt for the girls and his job, and who has threatened to kill Gen a few times (and in some cases, almost allowed it to happen), and yet... Michael really was genuinely bothered about what (almost) happened to her. He wasn't about to actually articulate it, even to himself, but it's touched on there.
I've said before that Michael sees some of himself in all of the girls. Genevieve included. He looks at her and sees pre-bastard Michael, in a way. More than anyone, he knows (or at least thinks he does) what she's capable of. Though he doesn't deny his hatred of her, at the same time there's a protective streak to him and he doesn't want to see her damaged, which is what the assault would have done to her. Though the idea of Finn betraying all the girls to their enemies is mentioned at the end of the previous chapter, the fact remains that he brought the rope to the hotel room even before he was aware of what Finn knew. And I think this incident showed him something he didn't know about himself, and that scared him a bit.
Still, I don't think he should become a rape counsellor any time soon.
The other awkward bit is that I don't, honestly, think a survivor of sexual abuse is "damaged" in anyway, and I'm not convinced Michael quite meant it like that either. The thing is, traumatic experiences affect different people differently. Sage lost a loved one, but she remained more or less intact-the same couldn't be said, necessarily, for Gen or Merri in that situation. Merri has been through things, but she adapted. Gen, however, is the kind of person who would really change, and not necessarily for the better. Michael knows that.
Chapter Eighteen
Hey, look at that-we finally get pay off for all the Merri hints I've been making! Or, at least we will soon. In a chapter or two.
The one thing that's a little off about this is that, because Merri/Belle is a minor, I'm pretty sure her name wouldn't be released in the papers and that, because of the Young Offenders Act or something, so Gen wouldn't have found her name online...but it's my story and I can do what I want to.
And how's that for an ending. ;-) I did warn people in a spoiler before Part Two started that Gen would once again have to face her trust issues with Merri and that this time she'd be in a position to do something about it.
Chapter Nineteen
I love Michael being all flustered that Gen rendered him obsolete. It makes me giggle. And telling Krysta off like that was great. She, of course, isn't out of the picture.
I am *so* sorry for the ending. I had meant to go straight into Merri telling Gen the truth, but it seemed better this way 'cause I wanted it done from Merri's POV (and I don't like POV switches mid-scene mid-chapter).
Oh, and Gen's joke suggesting Michael is a drag queen was put there specifically for my message board peeps. ;-) If you don't get it, then you should probably hang at my forum a bit more often.
Chapter Twenty
I find it interesting how Merri STILL tries to protect Gen from the real details of the truth. Her reasoning is different from Michael's...he's worried that Gen will become, well, evil, while Merri envies that innocence.
Merri and Thad. *sigh* So cute. I love him. I kinda wanted the chapter to end right there, but the final scene was one I've been excited about, so I had to get to it ASAP.
This is also one of the only times we've seen Gen do a spot of magic (roofied Gen notwithstanding) and it was fun for me to have a small observation there from someone who is really good at observing. This isn't just Michael's paranoia--there is something kinda spooky about Gen and the magic.
And to get a little darker for a moment...I don't want to go into detail about the abuse Belle suffered, but rather explain why I chose to have her history be what it is. The original character I created many, many years ago was named Isabelle, and she too was an abuse victim who ran away, but that's about it. When it came time to revamp CotA to be an eSerial, I decided to give her a far more atypical story. It may seem odd, in our modern, Western society, to have someone who is basically a child decide to prostitute herself (though in this case it wasn't for money, but for the safety of someone else), but a glance through history--and in other parts of the world today--tells a far different story. Girls who are forced to grow up quickly can make startling adult decisions. From a creative standpoint, however, I felt Merri had to have a genuinely disturbing past. It wasn't enough to just have her kill her abuser; I had to have a reason for her to actually FEEL like what happened was somehow her fault. I think everyone--other characters and readers--would sympathize with her no matter what, but Merri had to honestly believe they wouldn't. So that's what changed her story from "abuse victim kills abuser" to "abuse victim prostitutes self and kills abuser in horrible, calculating way."
Oh, and FYI, I added the trigger warning at the beginning of the chapter 'cause I knew some people were disturbed by the brief glimpse of child abuse in Catharsis.
Chapter Twenty-One
That opening scene was one of the most difficult things I've written in all of Part Two. It plays so easily in my head 'cause I have a TV screen playing in my mind, but on paper it was a bitch. I hope it wasn't too hard to follow.
I've felt really bad about Levi getting shafted for these past few chapters, but honestly, until he became part of the main group, there just wasn't much for me to do with him. Now he's been let in on the inner circle, however, so he should start appearing a bit more. In fact, he has a fairly significant role in the next chapter.
I brought in Thad's friend Raji because I wanted Gen to have someone to kind of bond with over magic and that, and she hasn't really had anyone like that so far. She and Merri work together sometimes, but I felt it was important that she have someone who "gets" the spell stuff. There was Krysta, but they didn't exactly seem like they would become BFF's that easily. And then I thought it would be hilarious is Raji developed this huge instant crush on her and she wouldn't know what to think. I do hope that wackiness will ensue come Part Three.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The final official chapter! (There's an epilogue next month, though.) Poor Levi. I just felt like the only way he was going to trust Gen and the others was for them to save him. And the idea of Gen getting offended when he was embarrassed at everyone thinking he was gay made me giggle.
It also seemed important for Sage to save Levi. Important for her, important for him, important for the story.
I'm hoping in Part Three to give poor Levi more screen time. What I like about him is how much he likes all these bad-ass women around him. He's best friends with Gen (and was infatuated with her for years), has always like Sage, and I just think that's really cool of him. I think it says a lot about the character of a guy when he's drawn to strong women and doesn't feel threatened by them.
Natalya finally makes an appearance, which is perhaps the most important part of the chapter. She appeared very briefly in the epilogue of Part One (that was her in the final scene). And what does she do now that she's finally arrived? She fires Michael. Poor guy. Did anyone besides me feel a little bit bad for him in that scene?
The one thing I can promise is that at the end of each part of CotA, something will happen that changes everything because I don't want the story to get stale. In Part One, Hayden died. In Part Two, Michael gets fired. In Part Three...now, you don't expect me to reveal that yet, do you? ;-)
Anyway, the group had finally found a rhythm during the past few chapters, so it seemed necessary to break that up before anyone got too comfortable.
Epilogue
A simple epilogue with two scenes that made it to the final cut. There was one more, but I decided to leave it out. Since Cade McMahon will play a significant role in Part Three, I felt I should introduce him now. And, of course, I had to reveal there was a "traitor" of sorts among their ranks.
The scene that didn't make it in revealed a big piece of the puzzle from Part Three...but I decided to wait and reveal it when the characters themselves find out. The Thad/Natalya scene seemed a good enough way to end it.
See you in a few months. ;-)
Reader discretion advised.
At some point there will be sex, violence, coarse language, and mature themes (if there hasn't been already).
Not for readers under 18.
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