Chapter Twelve – Not all Angels are Nice

Hi All,

So far we’ve come to understand that angels are nice and sometimes cuddly.  That angels like Gideon watch over us with compassion and mercy, that they are gifted with infinite mercy and patience.  Well, not ALL angels are like Gideon.  There are those like Mordecai who can be downright….snotty.

We aren’t the only ones learning this, AG is quickly leanring the angel she rescued is not the cute and cuddly “tame” variety she’s been used to.  He’s a little more prickly than all that!

“…’With that attitude I don’t know how you’re going to make a good guardian angel.  You’re so…ugh.”  AG said, this angel could be very frustrating, she decided.

He looked away from her, ignoring her – which made her grind her teeth – and looked at Gideon who stood, arms crossed over his chest, face sober, his sky blue eyes showing he was also irritated with the conversation.  “What do you think to teach me, Guardian?”

“Compassion.  Mercy.”

“Compassion and mercy.  Useless things beyond the Gate. I suppose you will wish to make me more human.”

Gideon’s jaw ticked and AG had to admire how he didn’t just punch the other angel in the mouth…” Angel’s Gate by L Becker

Until next time,

L

Enter the World of the ShadowGate and be saved.

Chapter Ten – It’s All Too Much

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

ShadowGate Update

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.

Chapter Seven – Memory Lane

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

Chapter Six – The Wake

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

 

Chapter Five – FINALLY!!

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

Chapter Four

Chapter four is finally done!

I hate to admit it, but this rewrite is taking me a little longer than I’d like.  I’ve been having a little trouble getting myself into my hero’s head.  I know him, I mean, I wrote the first draft of him, but for a few weeks now he’s been eluding me.

Getting the essence of Mordecai should be easy, I mean he’s a simple guy.  He’s a very direct angel.  Good is good, evil is evil.  He’s got a job to do and nothing going to stop him.  And that’s the problem.  He IS a simple guy.  He’s got a purpose and he’s not beating himself up about his job or his place in the universe.  So it’s hard to explain how inside of him, underneath duty and the reason he was made, is a small sorrow because he’s forever kept from his home.  A little sadness inside because there’s no going back to what once was.

And I think that’s what was so hard for me to get into his head, because for a while I thought AG was the only one going through this.  That she was the only one who felt that her life was being taken away.  But Mordecai’s already lost his past life, he’s on the other side, not going into the loss, but living in the loss.  And that’s where I was having the struggle, to understand where he was.

And he’s not the most loquacious dude, I mean, he’s not long on words, so getting him to show me what he was feeling has been like pulling teeth.  But I think I’m finally getting there.

“An angel with dark eyes watched the waiting horde of Forgotten, sweat and blood mingling as they ran down his face.  A dark warrior, with dark eyes and bloodied wings, he stood ready to lead, ready to die. His hair was black like his wings, tousled and spiked with blood and sweat.  His armor was bloodied as well, even the small linked plates that encased the base of his wings and their curving edges was stained.  Dark and rusty, old blood, his blood.

Mordecai moved through the ranks, watching, listening, waiting as he, like all his brethren, stood waiting for the war they all knew would come.  A war that would rage until the power of the Key was passed and the Gate renewed or until the last Power fell and the Forgotten gained their freedom at last.  It was an endless cycle, a continuous pattern that made up existence in that long abandoned place.  A Key would fall, another would be born and in the passing of the power the Forgotten would fight for their escape.” – Excerpt Chapter Four – Angel’s Gate

And FINALLY Chapter Four is done and we’re moving into Chapter Five.  Time to throw in a little violence, some hand to hand combat just to spice things up.

Well, until next time,

L

Update from behind the Keyboard

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.

Say hello to AG

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.

Meet Gideon

Hi!

So, I was thinking about what I’ve told you about Mordecai, which led me to think about another of the angels that works at the Sanctuary. Gideon, is a Guardian Angel who was sent to Earth long ago to protect mankind. Like Mordecai his only purpose is to serve. But he is still a prisoner lacking free will. He stands on the other side of the Gate from Mordecai, a fully light Angel, but he is still as much of a prisoner to his duty as Mordecai is.

He’s spent millennia on earth, watching his charges be born and die. He can’t help but love each one, can’t help but feel pride in their successes, abject grief in their deaths. He can only watch them though, never touch them, never speak to them and he is very alone. Then he meets Anna, mother to A G, the heroine of “Angel’s Gate”. For the first time in a long time he can be seen, he can for a time almost be human. He gets to be her companion, gets to be there to watch her daughter grow, he gets to fall in love with her, but in the end, like always, he gets to see her die. Something in him breaks and he questions his duty, his purpose. He knows he will never fall, but he no longer can find joy in his purpose.

Gideon was supposed to be just a minor character when I began to write “Angel’s Gate”, but this heartbroken Angel made me simply fall love. By the end of the story I just knew he needed his own book. So, he’s definitely getting one 🙂

I can’t wait for you to meet Gideon. Talk soon,

L.

The ShadowGate Series by L Becker