Hey all,

Not too bad of a schedule, one month for a chapter, not super fast, but at least I’m making headway.

This was a hard chapter, AG made it through the funeral and has been coming to grips with the fact that she is an orphan and truly alone in the world.  Taking AG through this made me face some of my own memories of losing my parents, and believe me, it can be an emotional ride when you’re pulling those memories out to use for inspiration.  There’s no getting back those you love once they’re gone and through this chapter AG is coming to terms with that.

In this chapter we also get to know Mordecai a little more, how he feels about earth and what he thinks of Candied Apples.

“AG stood alone in her mother’s kitchen, the voices of the guests drifting in through the door that remained open to the rest of the house.  Around her the counters were covered with the remains of the food that had been supplied, as though food could fill the void that death created.  She looked into the sink, the dishes piled in it, they would need to be rinsed, she thought.  The cracks inside of her seemed to spread, but her eyes remained dry though a small part of her seemed to curl up like a small, lost child and sob.  Behind the ice the pain waited, the grief trembled.” – Excerpt Chapter Six Angel’s Gate

I think it’s a pretty good, solid chapter and the rewrite is going at a good pace.

Until next time,

L

Lord, this one took forever!  Or so it seemed, but I finished it today and I am very happy with how it turned out.  The story is going really well, I’m finally done writing completely original work and now being able to use the original first draft.  They are merging nicely.

This chapter was fun, got to know Mordecai a little more, had a deeper look into AG’s past and present.

“It was like a whisper against the back of his neck, a breath of cold air that sent a shiver down his spine.  He could feel it, the burgeoning powers of the Nephilim coming to life.   It rippled in the air, a delicious hum.  She was there, so close, and yet the old charms still protected her from his gaze.  For now…..

Soon the power of the blood spell would diminish, its creator lay dead awaiting burial.  All her magic, all her charms and protections lost, useless now to protect the child he had helped create.” – Excerpt Chapter Five – Angel’s Gate

Over all I’m proud of this chapter and I like this new momentum I finally got  going.  It’s been a rough few chapters but it’s finally going at a good pace.

Until next time,

L

Hi!

I’ve been working like mad on the rewrite of “Angel’s Gate”, and I would love to say it’s going awesome.  It’s not going bad, but right now each sentence is like pulling teeth.  But that’s not what I really want to talk about.  It has been the main focus of my life right now, it’s supposed to be the main focus of my life, but then bam! just as I was falling asleep one night my brain popped out with the whole beginning of Book 2 in the ShadowGate series, “Guardian Angel”.

During “Angel’s Gate” I fell in love with the Guardian, Gideon. How could I not? This gorgeous blue-eyed angel loves Froot Loops and where sweets are concerned he’s a hummingbird! The boy has one hell of a sweet tooth. He’s also just a true sweetheart with a heart of gold.

I knew while writing the original draft of “Angel’s Gate” I’d eventually tell Gideon’s story, but it was in a distant, vague, shadowy kind of way. Then of course the whole world of the ShadowGate grabbed me by the throat and I knew I’d be telling his story really soon. I HAD thought it would be once “Angel’s Gate” was done with the rewrite. Wrong! Gideon just had to have his turn in the spotlight.

So, I wrote the first chapter in eight hours and have been going steady ever since. I average about 10 pages a day, so if I keep up this pace Gideon’s tale will be done in no time at all.  Maybe even before I’m done with “Angel’s Gate”‘s final polish.

Well, I’ll keep you posted!

L.

Hi Folks,

I thought it was about time you met our heroine AG, or rather Agatha Grace Morris. (She really, really, really, really hates Agatha Grace). AG is inspired in many ways from my own past. Like her I was raised in a zealously devout family, by a mother who was adamant about her belief in God. Like AG I loved God, but I didn’t necessarily believe in the one my mom did. I couldn’t make myself agree with a God who could condemn babies for sins they never committed. (Don’t worry I’m not going to go on a religious tangent here. Just trying to help you understand AG.) Still, I did believe. But my mom’s faith was rigid and very controlling like a prison. It was the same for AG when she was growing up.

She was raised in fear of demons and dark angels, of sin and absolution. Her mother kept a tight control on her and in the end it forced her to escape. The moment she was old enough she escaped and planned to never go back. She thought she was finally free of the angels and the demons. Thought they were only her mother’s mad delusions. She was wrong. They were real and they have plans for her. She has a destiny she doesn’t want, a fate she can’t escape.

Now she’s pulled back into the one place she never wanted to return, meeting angels, fighting her personal demons and struggling to accept her purpose in life.

Thankfully I threw the poor girl a bone and gave her the dark and sexy angel Mordecai to love. Let’s just see what she does with him shall we?

Until next time,

L.

Hi to all of you in the Shadow Kingdom!

The re-write on ‘Angel’s Gate’ is going good.  A little slow, mainly due to the fact that I’ve been a tad lazy.  Netflix has got to be the enemy of productivity.  At least in this writer’s life.  But, I finally chained myself back to my desk chair and punched out another chapter.  So Chapter 2 is done and heading into Chapter 3.

I’m having fun reintroducing myself to this book and these characters.  Yes I spent months with them in the original draft, but it’s a much deeper relationship this time around.  I now know them and am able to bring out more depth and nuances to their characters.  I’m also adding some new scenes to give us a greater understanding of our female protagonist.

“The plane landed with a light bounce against the runway. AG could hear the faint screech of rubber as tires met asphalt and then she felt herself dipped forward as the brakes came into play.  A familiar combination of sensations, familiar from years of air travel, but never had she felt them at this airfield.  She’d never flown into Albany International.  She’d only flown out of it.  Ten years ago when she’d left home.  She’d boarded a plane and headed west.  Out to California, to the state that she’d made her home.  She’d never flown home.  Not in all that time.  Never flown home… until now.

She remained still as the plane taxied toward the terminal, as others around her began to stir.  Laptops were closed and stowed.  People awakened from the awkward doze of the experienced air traveler.  Ahead of her, past the wing, a little girl’s voice lifted in an unhappy whine.  She didn’t move, let the passengers on either side of her shift and grab for hand bags and carry-ons.  But her thoughts were not on them, or those moments.  Her thoughts were elsewhere.  Thinking back to a dream.  The dream she’d had only hours before she’d learned of her mother’s death.  A dream she’d woken from in tears.” – Excerpt Chapter Two – Angel’s Gate

All in all I’m enjoying the work, when I can drag myself away from Netflix!

Well, until next time,

Talk soon,

L