Hi everyone,

Chapter ten is finally in the bag!  It was  a little bit of a struggle, mainly because AG was done with it all.  An encounter with her father sends her running back to her old life.  She turned to spells once cast by her mother to block her from angelic sight and planned to run back to California to leave everything behind.  While writing this I wasn’t sure how I was going to convince her to come back home.  I’m still not sure.  This chapter ended with her heading out of town with a bag packed and no intention of coming back.

“AG was so much calmer than she should have been given the circumstances.  Maybe she was calm because she didn’t really believe it would work.  She remained calm as she laid out the items her mother had listed once long ago in her diary.  Items Anna had once used to bind herself from angelic sight.  She was still calm as she picked up the knife and recited the words.  It wasn’t until she had scored her palm – as directed – that she began to have some doubts.  Not that it wouldn’t work, but that it would.  If it worked…The results would be all those she wanted but if it worked….If it worked it was another nail in the coffin of proof that she really wished would stop piling up.

Still…her blade didn’t hesitate and her voice didn’t falter as she read out the words Anna had once spoken.

“Ceanglaionn cumhacht mo fhuil dom o radharc aingeal.  Le fuil ta me ag sileadh, bac o neamh, dofheicthe do Dhia agus a aingeal.  Fola agus anail sealaithe o radharc.”

Each word held weight, each one held a meaning she didn’t understand, but one she could feel deep inside.  She could feel them, feel the spell, like a whisper over the skin.  She could feel it swirl through the room, invisible and silent and she knew the moment it took hold.  She knew though there was not clap of thunder, no dramatic magical effect.  She just…knew.

This time when she left home she didn’t hitchhike….” Angel’s Gate by L Becker.

Well, I’m off to start chapter eleven.  Wish me luck that I convince AG not to go!

Until next time,

L

Hi!

In the land of the ShadowGate the words just keep churning out. “Angel’s Gate” is heading to the final polish and book 2, “Guardian Angel” is going fast!  I believe I mentioned I’d started the 2nd book a few entries back, and it’s going smoothly.  I’ve a feeling by the time I’m done with the rewrite of “Angel’s Gate”, “Guardian Angel” will be done and ready for its rewrite.  Pretty cool 🙂

The world of the ShadowGate is really expanding in book 2, I’m getting to learn a lot about the Angels, Daemos and Shade. I’ve also been introduced to a wonderful cast of all new characters, as well as gotten reacquainted with familiar ones.  Gideon from “Angel’s Gate” is back taking center stage. Some more old friends also make an appearance, but it’s the newbies that have me really tickled pink!

In this book we get a full look into heaven, meeting Talis and Vision, the leaders of the Choirs of angels. The Elohim, an ancient, and mortal race of godlike beings, are introduced through the disruptive Shamshiel, who likes to interfere with the earthly realm. An all new villain raises his head, the oily Master and his unfortunate Daemos slave, Shatter.

The most surprising new arrival of the tale is Lucifer. He completely took me by surprise and I’m a little embarrassed to say, I absolutely fell in love with this mercurial, playboy. (I admit it, he’s one sexy bastard that would make even a devout goody two shoes contemplate sinning). Needless to say, I’m having a blast and can’t wait to see what happens next.

Write soon,

L.

Hello peoples,

This chapter found AG coming to terms with her past and trying to understand her mom.  It took me about a week to finish, but that’s a much better pace than chapter six!

“Her memories of that place and of those times were bitter sweet.  She had believed with full heart and full honesty.  She had never doubted or questioned even when she had been mocked for her beliefs.  None of the other children had believed what she did.  None of them believed that the angels were real, and they laughed at her when she said they were.   When she had been little it hadn’t mattered because she had believed her mother, and believed no matter.  But that didn’t survive adolescence, when childhood faith gave way before the realization that her mother was wrong.  Faith couldn’t stand against the reality she awakened to.” Excerpt Chapter Six Angel’s Gate

AG also takes us into her relationship with her fiance a little more.  Her feelings for Douglas are questioned and she isn’t sure what she feels anymore.

Well, on to Chapter Eight!

As always,
L

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.