Something you all should know...

After I finish 'Part 1' of SLAYER, I will NOT BE POSTING ANY MORE OF THE CHAPTERS. This leaves me *approximately* 2-4 chapters to post before the end of 'Part 1'.

*commence groaning*

There are two reasons for this:

A) Because I have to leave some incentive for you to buy the book once it's published...

B) Because I'm going to be so damn busy trying to finish the darn thing I really won't even have the time to edit and post the second half because I'm going to be killing myself trying to get it done by the time I want to.

BUT,

Goodies while the rest of the book is being done:

-A contest will be posted up on DA shortly after that point.

-Updates and some artwork will be posted on DA and/or my personal website, so keep an eye out for both!

-A 'soundtrack' of sorts (currently in the works) will also be posted on the website, containing music I found particularly inspiring while writing Part 1.

And never fear!

I will post tasty tid-bits from Part 2 as it nears completion. (aka, more incentive for you to buy the book. ;))

Love,

C

In Other News...

Have you ever read something that touched you in a way that made you ache with a longing you didn't understand?
You realized that whatever you read wasn't in your own life?

Yeah. Welcome to my life.

The quote that follows whenever I make a comment is as follows:

Sometimes I get so caught up in my own fantasy world that I often find myself mourning the fact that it doesn't actually exist.

And that's true.
I'm finally over the massive hump that was "halfway" toward the end of my book. And as I'm starting to speed towards the end with no sign of slowing down or even stopping, I find myself growing sad. Sure, I'm jubilated to know that it's FINALLY going to be done, and people will finally be able to read what I've been slaving over for five years, and maybe, just maybe, laugh and cry with the characters I've grown to know so intimately over the past few years.

But there's an ache in my chest as I realize that once I reach the end, I will no longer be able to learn more about my characters and their lives, or grow to love them more than I already have.
I believe it's like dying, in a way.
The end of your book is like the death of a child.
Or (less morbidly) at least like the death of a small part of yourself.

I know there will be a sequel; that's been decided for a long time.
But knowing that I'm closer to the end than the beginning is very... depressing in a way.
Especially because the sequel (In the works, the title is "Gatekeeper") has nothing to do really with Kitty or Storm. Their time is over; their story is done.

I almost think that I may keep editing and re-editing just to prolong the inevitable end.
(For those of you who have actually been doing your reading homework I HAVE edited and rewritten several parts of the book that you have already read. So the finished product is going to be different than what you've seen here. Not drastically, but enough that you will want to get a copy. )

Yes, obviously this is very bittersweet for me.

On a happier note, I'm pushing for January-February-ish for publication. Yay! There's a chance it may be delayed to March or April, but considering how hard I've been slaving over*cough* I mean working on it the more I feel that I need it to be done and published by no later than February. I turn 20 on the 26th of that month, and I think it would be an awesome birthday present to myself to have it done.

Anyway, in the next few months, several big things are happening: 1) I'm officially requesting certain rights to the image that I used for Kitty on the cover of "SLAYER." I don't personally know Addison Gill, and I'm going to have to request permission from the photographer to use her face model as Kitty. Hopefully that will go well. 2) I'm getting an official website, if only to sell my book (so people who don't know me in real life won't have to go to incredible lengths to get a copy.). 3) I will be posting a contest in December-ish (depending on whether or not I think I'll get the book done when I say I will) for the book itself, because I love DA. Please see my previous journal entry for a bit more info.

Now I'm going back to my writing. Deadlines to meet, and all that, you know...

So I'm Planning a Contest...:)

This is just a heads up to my readers...fans...all those awesome people...

I really want to see some fan art for my book.

So (as soon as it's finished of course), I'm going to announce a contest through deviantart for fan art for my book.

I haven't decided all of the prizes yet, but rest assured that they will include deviantart subscriptions, feature pages in my book, and signed copies of the books and some original artwork. If anyone has any other ideas for prizes, let me know, I'm always open to suggestions.

The next chapter is on its way to being done!

Sneak Preview?

I admit, I got the idea from Stephenie Meyer, who releases quotes from the later parts of her book before it comes out. So here's my version. Enjoy.
---

"I saw the pain register in Storm's eyes before his expression hardened and he replied in a low voice, "If that is your intent, then perhaps we should stop altogether."

"“I'm through listening to you! You have nothing to say that I will EVER consider listening to again!” Storm finally forced his way into my room.
"Get away from me you bastard. I snarled at him. My fangs flashed dangerously."

"“Please? You think that asking politely is going to make this okay? Kitty what have you done?!”

"I hissed at him. “You're the reason she fell.” I accused him."

"“Baylen? How...what are you doing here? What happened?” The vampire hybrid smiled crookedly. “I think I told you once, a long time ago, that I'd rather help you out than my half-brothers and sisters, if the need arose.""

Origins.

So I recently moved into a new apartment, and had to pack up all of my stuff into boxes and bags, and move them.

Something you all should understand about me is that I am a Class-One-Packrat. I have pictures I drew from back in the 2nd and 3rd grade lol.
So I don't bother to look through them all when I'm moving, because I'm naturally assuming that I'll keep them.

Not this time.

One of my friends who was helping me move decided that it was time to clean house and get rid of stuff I never look at anymore.
That included going through nearly a hundred or so drawings that I've kept since forever, and getting rid of the ones that were outdated or just not drawn very well lol.

So it was no surprise that I found my original sketches of a few of the stories I'm currently writing, including Slayer.
Originally, she was a lot like Catwoman, and she had a sidekick.
She used whips and magic instead of martial arts and knives.
She wore lots of black leather, and she had a tail. She looked a lot more feline than human, and she didn't have wings.
Her ears were huge, taking up the entire side of her head, rather than just being larger than 'elf' ears, but proportionate to her body.

Now for those of you who have seen Treasure Planet, you will be able to imagine what she looked like a lot easier because she looked a LOT like the captain from that kids' movie. So did her sidekick lol.

And she never was going to meet anyone named Storm. Or any type of soulmate for that matter.

The character evolved into something a little more like who she is now, changing from just being some kind of magical feline superhero to being a 'mutant,' or a 'freak.' She still had a tail, and no wings. The American government picked up pretty cases like her and dropped her off on some shielded, protected 'island' where they performed 'tests.' The government just picked up vampires, angels, hybrids, etc, and threw them all into one place to keep them contained. But they broke off into to factions; good and evil. That's kinda where the idea of a league of immortals came from.

Kitty met another set of creatures like her (it wasn't until later that I decided she'd be one of a kind), a mother and her two sons. All that Kitty knows about the island is that her parents disappeared years before, and that they were somewhere on the island. Originally, she would have been the savior of all the immortals on the island, including the bad ones. She would have wound up dating the oldest son of the two brothers. Happily ever after.

However, the whole lack of a 'good immortals vs. evil immortals' theme continued to bug me even as I had this storyline planned out. Vampires have always been a source of creativity for me, and I was at the time writing another book called "Caught Between Immortal Lust" which at the time, would have turned out a lot like Twilight as far as the whole 'human loves vampire' theme goes. (It currently is going to be the third book in the Slayer series.) But I wanted to include vampires in my 'Kitty' book. So she went from being the 'savior' of the all the immortal races to the 'destroyer' of one in particular. Vampires. I took her parents out of the story completely, which gave me an excellent motive for her single-minded destruction of creatures that I to this day, still love. (Trust me, mine and Kitty's relationship is very love-hate lol.) Vampires are bad, Kitty is 'good.'

Originally, she never dated Kenric. Originally, he was more like her big brother, and Darien was the only love complication between her and Storm. Originally, it was all in third person.
To make her one of a kind, I had to throw in a wild card as far as her bloodline came in. Her father was originally a demon; a cat demon lol. Her mother became a fallen angel, which gave her wings. I took away her tail (I thought she'd look too much like an anime character lol) and gave her three forms; human, hybrid, and cat. Originally she used her feline form more often.

Originally, the book was supposed to be called "The International Immortality League."

Originally, Darien never became a dark creature.
Originally, Baylen was never in the story.
Originally, the war over Kitty was started for a different reason. (The real reason I still can't say because I haven't written it yet. XD)

Originally, a lot of things were going to be different.
Isn't it funny about origins?

Heroines.

As one may have deduced from my writings (whether or not you've been able to make it to my website to read them all), teen romance plays a very solid part in most of my stories.
However, it most assuredly takes second place to the main plots of my books, which mostly revolve around the heroine herself.

Yes, the romance she has with the obvious male protagonist makes her a stronger person, or brings out qualities/abilities she may have not discovered on her own. The romance/relationship lays down the foundation for the much more involved plot.

Take Twilight for example. (Please don't flame me on this one guys, I love Twilight just as much as the next girl, I think Stephenie Meyer is brilliant, in her own way.)

The plot is simple; Romeo and Juliet recreated. But the plot revolves strictly around Edward and Bella's relationship. In the first book, James comes after her because Edward protects her, and Edward is forced to save her from the psychotic vampire. In New Moon, the basis for the whole book is that Bella cannot live without Edward. Third book, same ideas, different antagonists, etc and so forth.

Now the books are brilliant in their own way; the simple, timeless forbidden love story has drawn millions of readers in, made even more intriguing by the vampiric twist.
But though Bella is the heroine, there is never a very big plot that does NOT involve her relationship with Edward. Renesmee and the Volturi was a nice touch in the last book (I think this was the only one in the series where we saw Bella change in any way, vampire transformation nonwithstanding); Renesmee forced Bella to let go of her previous life, fears, and limitations, without Edward's help (Keep in mind though, that it was Edward crossing the line between friend and foe that made her realize that it was her own limitations that kept her shield from expanding).

Twilight is one of my favorite book series; I really do love the simple, uncomplicated plot that revolves around their relationship. Very typical paranormal teen romance.

But, my plotlines are so different from that. Each heroine has a story, a reason for why she is who she is, and through her relationship with her significant other, she changes. Whether dramatically or subtly, whether she come into an ancestral power or her personality changes, there is always another plot that revolves specifically around the heroine rather than the romance.

Romance, especially for teenage girls, is always going to be an important part of any book--that's what draws so many teenagers to them.

But I also think that a heroine should be reliant upon herself, have her own strengths and weaknesses, and her own STORY that not only complements the love shared between the two characters, but also compliments her own personality. The romance should enrich the story, but not be the foremost part of it.

I like a girl with a little spark of her own, don't you?

A Different World

I see the world a little differently than most people.
I ride the bus to and from work, and so often I find myself telling a story about the different people that get on and off the bus.
I like to people watch, you see. It's infinitely interesting.

Like the little wrinkled old man sitting at the far end of the bus.
He's not old you see. No, he's actually a fairly young immortal, but his features have been ravaged by Tyme.
No, not Time, TYME.
Tyme is a giant wraithlike demon that with every slash of his giant claws has prematurely aged hundreds of immortals, beyond any healer's repair.
He was finally destroyed by the young, beautiful dark-skinned woman who just stepped onto the bus with her three small children.
She is glorious, and her children very much take after her.
No one would know that their father was a demonic creature, not even the children themselves, and even now, she is running to keep them out of his clutches, to keep them safe.

And then there's the young looking girl who is fidgeting nervously in the very very back, looking very much like she wants to jump out of her seat and bolt. No one would guess that she is a dark fae, doing a dark errand for an even darker lord.
She looks at me, catches me watching, and then ducks her head again. She knows that I know what she is, what she is up to.

My world is full of vivid colors, both bright and dark, and often accompanied by epic music in the background.
I see clouds, and I know they are there, not because it's going to rain, but because an Air elemental is calling upon them to aid him in his desperate battle against the Fire Warlord.


I believe that every artist has their 'muse,' and mine happens to be Two Steps from Hell, and Within Temptation.
They speak to me what words could never say.
And they help make my world more and more of a reality.

First Blogger Post

For the record, a lot of my first posts are going to be put up all at once because I'm importing from several other blogs. From now on I'll only be posting on this one though, so bear with me as I go through these introductory stages of getting my Slayer site together. :)