I thought I’d take a moment to reply to some common questions/comments in my reviews, so here goes:
First, I want to say a huge THANK YOU to all the readers out there that kept this story on alert and came back for more. Not only that, but many of you sent reviews and even PM’s to me asking if I was going to continue or imploring that I update soon. I can’t say how much those inspired me to try again and usually when I got them is when I would try.
These are in no particular order. I went through the reviews and just added as I saw things to comment on. Sorry if it's at all confusing...
Why did I stop? Did I get writer’s block? Etc.
I never actually stopped. I picked up UB a dozen times trying to write again, but I was never happy with how Jasper was sounding, so I kept scrapping what I did, got frustrated, and stepped back again. I always knew the basics of what would happen, but getting Jasper’s ‘voice’ right was important to me, as he is one of the main characters in this story.
Once I got that down, though, it just kept coming. I had written a lot at my new job lately. I work 11am-7:30pm
So I ended up spending almost the entire weekend writing and I can’t thank HammerHips enough for showing me how useful WC’s are. They helped immensely and I’m hoping it will continue to do so. I finished off one chapter, sent it to my beta then knocked out two more in one weekend. I’m even proud of myself. I am busier at work, but did get to work on the next chapter some during the evenings and I’m hoping to finish up this weekend if I can. *crosses fingers*
I can’t promise a schedule, since I don’t know where life will take me, how busy I’ll get, if something will make me pause writing, or whatever. But I do LOVE this story and I never had any plans to scrap it. I just needed the right creative push perhaps.
Did Marcus see Jasper and Bella’s bond in Chapter 5: The Rescue?
This will come to light soon, but it seems my description is putting you guys on the right track. *grins*
Bella hitting Laurent in the balls with the pipe:
I wasn’t sure about this part when I was writing it, but I had a nice chat with Merina Green and I decided that hitting a vampire in the balls with something like that would not really ‘hurt’ them permanently of course, but I imagine it would hurt a bit and shock/stun them along with perhaps a knee-jerk reaction from human times. I mean, how many times do guys watch other guys get hit in the balls then wince and cup their own? So yeah, Bella didn’t really hurt Laurent, but she did make him pause and piss him off, which was the point. Basically, she gave Jasper enough time to get there and save them. Besides, I wanted Jasper to be impressed by the feisty kitty that is Bella.
Jasper and Bella
My Jasper is, I hope, going to end up being a sensitive yet fierce protector for Bella. While I ADORE IdreamofEddy’s God of War and he is my absolute favorite character in fanfiction, I just can’t see that kind of Jasper working for this story.
I want Bella to be a strong, independent beauty but with a vulnerable side. Basically, a mature version of SM’s twit, I mean character. So when she needs to, she’s going to stand up and defend herself and/or her friends. But, for example now in the story, she is just overwhelmed with everything she’s learning. I mean really.
“Hi, Bella, I’m a vampire, but not like the books, we’re marble skinned, don’t sleep and sparkle. Oh and you’re like some super great (x1000) grand niece or cousin of mine or something. Not only that, but you now have to decide to join us or die. Sound like fun?”
Yeah, she’s got her issues at the moment. While she’ll be basically accepting of it, she’s going to balk at the lack of choice she really has with it. It’s not like with Twilight where she was in love with Eddie and becoming vampy meant being with him forever. She will get there eventually, though.
Oh and by the way, while in calendar days their love will be a bit whirlwind, I want to show them growing closer before I throw them ‘together’, so you can see how and why the strength of their love develops. Things are going to happen, which have been set up from the beginning. They will face it together and it will accelerate their relationship from many months to more like weeks. So I hope you guys can bear with me on the Jasper/Bella interaction so I can develop them the way I see it in my head. I promise (hope) it will be worth it.
Peter and Charlotte
I always knew these two would be in this story. They are some of my favorites and I just had to include them. However, as with Jasper, I didn’t want to do the same old omniscient Peter as is the current trend in the fandom it seems. He will still be the cocky brother to Jasper, but instead of giving Peter the power, I gave it to Char. She is way too neglected in many cases and I am hoping to make her shine. I hope you enjoy it.
Marcus and Sera
While these two have been a LOT of fun to write, and in some cases they kind of ran away with my story for a chapter or three, you will start to see less and less of them. Now that they have met, the focus will shift to Bella and Jasper’s relationship. Marcus and Sera were really just part of the catalyst that pulls Bella into the Volturi and ultimately to Jasper. In a way, their job is done, so they are kind of done. I may write something on them later, an outtake or something, but at the moment I have no solid plans for that.
My Volturi
I don’t see them as ‘evil’. I see them as the order to the chaos that is the vampire world and tried to portray this in Marcus’ explanation of them. As BloodyRoses says in her review of Chapter 5: The Rescue:
Most authors write vampires as unfeeling monsters that are little better than beasts. I hate that. They are still the same people they were before they were changed. Yes they drink human blood but that isn't the defining trait of who they are. I see no reason why they wouldn't form a society and customs amongst their own kind. Some vampires can be brutal and animalistic but so can some humans. Humanity is often quite monstrous. Every one seems to vilify the Volturi (including the books) but can you imagine what it would be like if the vampires had no governing body? The Volturi are essential and both the vampires and the humans benefit from their presence.
I see the vampire world similar to the human one. You have a government that sets laws and enforces them, i.e. The Volturi. Then you have vampires all over the world, some good, and some bad. Sometimes the bad ones cross the line and break one of the laws. When discovered, The Volturi send someone to enforce those laws. Due to their natures and no real humane way to ‘jail’ a prisoner for long, there are often dire consequences. Then again, the laws themselves are few and far between. The most important being to keep the masquerade and not allow humans to know of their existence. Could you imagine? Sheer numbers could overwhelm them in some cases. And if one were ever caught, they could be ripped apart and tested like lab rats, which is sadly a very human thing.
Marcus and Bella
I’m not sure if this will end up playing out in the story or not, so I figured I’d comment here. There actual blood connection will always be a mystery. There is just no way to effectively trace Bella’s lineage back so far, especially since birth and death records get quite fuzzy before about the 13th or 14th century. At least it does in my family. Churches keep records, but age, fires, and neglect can ruin those records so easily. And that is only about 6-700 years of genealogy, so imagine if you tried to go back 3,000 years to find Marcus’ family when he was human when their writing included triangular glyphs of some sort, from what I understand – for the area he was born anyway.
While I never had a set idea, I imagine something along the lines of his father, uncle or cousin may have fathered a child that Marcus never knew about and that child survived, grew up, had kids, etc.
Are Jasper and Bella mates?
*gives a confused chuckle* Of course they are. While their interaction is only just starting, there is a reason I put Bella and Jasper as the characters on the summary…*scratches head* I did, didn’t I? But really, now they have met, you will see more of them together.
Cliffies
I really don’t mean to cut the chapters on cliffies. It just happens that way. Sometimes it’s because the next part is going to be so long and I want to get out what I have already. Other times I want to switch POV’s and that’s a good place to do it. But really, I’m already working on the next chappie, and I’m not holding onto chapters when my beta returns them. I make my edits and post ASAP so y’all don’t have to wait for them.
Byes
Okay, I’m off now to either run my errands then write, or write then run errands, or something like that. Not decided yet. But I wanted to somehow reply to some of the reviews and this seemed a good way to do it without spending hours repeating myself to everyone. *laughs*
Ciao for now!
Xoxo
Mae
Nice round up and very useful. Thank you.
ReplyDelete