Part I - LA, FS, S&A a look back
Part II - HoF recap,Chapter 10 update
Let's get started (wow, the acronyms)
Lost Angels, Spirits, Spirits and Angels, a History
On my desk in my new office I have a framed certificate Cobalt used to give out to it's writers whose books have gone "Platnium" meaning they sold over 10,000 copies (hey, we're a small company).
Occasionally someone who isn't aware of my love-hate affair with writing will ask me why I have a plaque from Cobalt after I tell them they ask me the same question, why ?
Why ?
The basic story goes is that after my youngest daughter was born I was a stay at home mom living with my Mom. I spent nap time reading Twilight, Nora Roberts and
While going through my old diaries I started to create a narrative of sorts. When I moved to Boston I began to fill my spare time tweaking the story and adding my own imaginative flair and It became oddly addictive. After talking with some Lit. Professors I decided to shop the story to different companies.
Including Cobalt.
Maybe it was because they offered me the most money, maybe it was because they really cared and offered me lots of money.
Anyway,
Lost Angels was a HUGE commitment and Cobalt gave me the opportunity to still share the story on a smaller more intimate scale, that has meant so much to me during some pretty hard times in my life. It is wonderful having fans of my own !
Looking back I can defintly see some of the issues I had with the series but as usual I find myself further investing into the characters. Now that of course does not mean there will be any more additions to it. After looking it over in immense detail I know that the story is done.
Influence
While Lost Angels started out mostly as a way for me to deal with parts of my past I think parts of it were really inspired from Romance novels (something still true with Litany Lane). At least that what I told the graphics as you can see here.
S&A Trivia
Now here is some fun trivia you may or may not have known
- Free Spirits (commonly known as Spirits) was originally entitled The Truth About Devils but was changed because it was too similar to a JB novel.
- Lost Angels was originally published by OrangeMarlow&Co Publishing
- I quit in late June but came back in August. That's when I developed my "swirling" technique(AKA writier's block till you think of something good). It's also when I started using my love of music.
- When I surprised announced S&A I tricked people by making the URL "http://lindaleighlostangels.yolasite.com/test"
- A Total of 60 songs were used throughout the entire series.
Part II
Playlist.com
Playlist.com site seems to have removed a large amount of my playlist including unused songs so expect a few youtube video's every now and then. Sometimes I wish I could just mail my Ipod to you all.
Damien Rice
So, not only do I heart Damien Rice because he is Irish and kind of hot, but I felt his music was really appropriate because many of his songs are duets which works well with switching POVs.
Once I figured out the "Glasshouse Chapter", I was obsessed with finding a song and who would have thought I would find a song while watching Shrek with my kids (and no it's not my favorite movie) ? I really feel like 9 crimes and Blower's Daughter go very well together but I think it's the last we will be hearing of Damien in my playlist.
Love Scene (lots of meta if you care)
I can't tell you how many times I attempted to throw a love scene into this series. No, seriously I really wanted to use this song but pop culture has ruined it. Yes there is alot of Eden-like imagry. This was one of my favorite chapters if only for the first section it reveals a bit about why Mr. Fierro is the way his is.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
The poem in Chapter 9 is Sonnet 44 by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, it was a poem in a series she wrote to her husband. I edited it bit for clarity and took some parts out. One part which mentions Eglantine, a type of Rose commonly known as Sweet Briar are the Rose's Clara picks.
Ironic Echo
Rei, I think mentioned an Ironic Echo and there actually is a partial one. In LL in chapter 8 (aka after the almost sex scene) Clara calls Mr. Fierro "Foolish" because he won't admit he has feeling for her and is constantly pushing her away (or something like that).
Fast Forward to chapter 6 of HOF when Clara says “I was so foolish, to think you would ever love me.”
They are saying the same thing with different contexts. . . except it's said by the same person.
Originally in Chapter 9 instead of saying "God forgive me. . I love you" he said "Maybe you aren't so foolish. . ." (and not I love you)
Another partial one goes back to chapter 8 of LL when Mr. Fierro whispers something to Clara that she can't understand it.
What was it ?
It was what he said in Chapter Nine of HOF : "Say yes to me"
It is played straight in LL with Clara's last line, she has said "Yes, Sir" a number of times but this time with another context
Wow, these tropes are
Name Calling
When I originally wrote LL I had a reason in my notes why Mr. Fierro didn't call Clara by her first name but I accidentally deleted those notes before I starting writing and couldn't remember why and after doing some re-reading I remember why.
Part of it was because in LL he mispronounces her name (Claw-ra vs Clair-a) to annoy her and it was supposed to become a thing but I completely forgot, so just a little mindless trivia.
Daisy
Some commenters picked up on the daisy Clara had in this chapter, but not why she was pulling it apart.
To Shawna
Sometimes I read old comments and post to keep myself in "cannon" and you posted that
. . . There is an odd (very vague, a bit meta) connection between August and my newest project. I did not realize it until now. . .
In the March 30th post. I for the life of me can't figure out what it is, is it that tense thing you've been talking about ? or the Luce/Lucie similarity
House of Fierro Recap
quotes are from the text.
I thought it might be helpful to keep things in perspective as to what our characters are up to.
December 18th 2007 - A boy name Joshua enters Mr. Fierro's house where Clara is being kept
Late August - Clara's two sisters get married (to very rich men) and Clara's parents are worried about her being alone. He parents have also noticed that she has been distant since her accident and are still bitter about her calling off the wedding to Peter.
Early Septmber - Clara is kidnapped from her home and finds herself trapped in a room in Mr. Fierro's house. In reality Lucie who is a Spectre had been able to posess Clara because of how bright her "Light" is. Lucie wants a second chance at her happy ending. Mr. Fierro is weary at first but plots to use the situation to his advantage.
Late Septmeber - Lucie has been going off, allowing Clara to spend time with her "new grandfather". CLara attempts to escape but neither Mr. Fierro or her Lucie will let her. Clara writes a letter to her parents so they won't worry about her. Mr. Fierro doesn't deliver it instead (after finding out the DeLune family is going bankrupt), he uses it to forge a ransom letter in her handwriting to send to her father in hopes of accomplishing two things.
1. Getting Roger's attention and doing some haunting of his own.
2. Ruining Martin's pride by loaning him money, making Martin feel as worthless as his father turned out to be.
However he is constantly plagued by contrasting thoughts.
Meanwhile Lucie continues to torture Clara (because after all it was mentioned in LLthat Spectre's become slighly off kilter) and breaks her fingers. Lucie becomes so desperate to keep her "family" together she kills Mrs. Beck in cold blood.
Was that enough of a recap ?
Chapter 10
Okay here we go. Once again this chapter for some reason fell a short but I hope this long post somewhat makes up for it. They story flows in such a way that adding "extra" scenes may cause the story to deviate
Playlist
One song a commenter (Jason ?) tuned me into, A U.K classic ,and a ballad by a 90's popstar
+1+ - Bitter Earth - Dinah Washington
+2+ - Wonderwall - Ryan Carter
+3+ - Hurt - Christina Aguilara
Chapter 10 , now easier navigation page !
You are going to hate this but, I in all honesty have no idea what I was talking about. I'm really going to have to think on that because I am sure at that point I didn't have anything actually written.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it was something about social classes ?
Single mom living with her mother . . . isn't that how all the great authors get started. Ya know like the Rowling woman.
ReplyDeleteWell, atleast your books have better titles than those harlequin novels. I've actually always found the covers pretty even if the content is lacking.
ReplyDeleteSo, this post was a nostalgic way of saying there will be no more S&A ? I guess I like the ending the way it is.
ReplyDeleteIn the FAQ on the fan forum you mentioned you had an idea swirling that you may never actually write. Can we assume it is another romance ?
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you only sold over 10,000 seeing as the Lost Angels was a series ! Since you have a new job will you take a break from writing after this ?
ReplyDeleteI think its so cool you are brave enough to share pieces of your life with other people. Have you ever gotten any backlash ?
ReplyDeleteLol, one of those Harlequin writers names is Fiona Harper. Looks like your name is becoming less weird, princess.
ReplyDeleteDespite it;s goofiness, Shrek has some of the best serious songs like Hallelujah in the first one.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like Mr. Fierro was having an Edward Cullen moment when he was looking in the mirror at his unchanging face.
ReplyDeleteI've never thought of Clara as a Mary Sue and this chapter for some reason made me see her as an independent character. I don't see her Mary sue-ness at all.
ReplyDeleteI think Clara and Fierro are the my favorite couple off all the ones you've written.
ReplyDeleteSo, what was your impression of Twilight when you first read it ?
Is there a reason that room is painted black ? I mean if Lucie really cared why not make it a nice place for her daughter to live ?
ReplyDeleteOMG, I totally forgot Princess Fiona had red hair. To bad it clashes with that green skin.
ReplyDeleteSo, is Clara's mom much younger than her father ? I mean how old are they that they can have kids 22 years apart.
ReplyDeleteEw, how did the blood get on the railing ? I thought she killed Mrs. Beck in the woods.
ReplyDeleteYou can mail your iPod to me, I could use one ! I have a weird sense that Mr. Fierro is going to die in the end, I just do.
ReplyDeleteI think Emile has to know Mr.Fierro wont kill him because if he does kill Emile he won't be able to help Fierro.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how Mr.Fierro expected Martin to prove his daughter is actually kidnapped.
ReplyDeleteIs Clara a writer ? Why does she say she writes in cafe's and on park benches.
ReplyDeleteFierro tells Clara she will understand what he did to her family if she has ever been wrong (paraphrasing) but, she has been wronged, by Fierro.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure in a fight between Mr. Fierro and Emile, Emile could win. I think he could take Mr.F even with a gun.
ReplyDeleteI like these short chapters, they are the perfect amount of reading and content to move the story forward. So, this entire story takes place in 2007 ?
ReplyDeleteIn the header for the part 1 of this blog post what does the FS stand for ?
ReplyDeleteThis chapter scares me, I hope Fierro and Clara don't break up.
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling if in the end Clara gets to kill Lucie she is going to have a kick ass one liner.
ReplyDeleteI love all your graphics they are so feminine ! What font is August written in, the image anyway. I really like it.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDelete@ Shawma - I don't know, it actually doesn't really bother me.
@ Erik - Is it ?
@ July - Oh, I wouldn't know about content
@ June - Yes, pretty much.
@ Harper - guilty
@ Edith - More than likely.
@ Marianne - Yes, just read some of the older comments. It's okay though
@ Joel - ♥
@ Trina - I know, right.
@ sugarcookie - yes, I'll admit to being a slightly inspired twi-mom. Although that wasn't intentional
@ Heidi - Yes, I agree. It was just a theory.
@ Hpgirl - well I was introduced to it by a group of women who really liked it so I knew it was a love story going in. I just liked how strong thier (Bell/Edward) relationship is so of course New Moon pissed me off. On the other hand I also loved the whole "loving your best friend" thing Bella and Jake have.
@ Rosie - Did I say she cared, I suppose she does a little bit, for the most part she wants to break Clara down. (I suppose 'daughter' was a typo)
@ Jill - Red and Green clash ?
@ Illia - oh, I did the math. In LL (I think) it mentions that Clara's mom was 18 (Dad was 26) when they had Clara's older sister who is 26. Making Mrs. DeLune 44, a little old but still possible
@ Terri - Creepy, right ?
@ Petit_B - Maybe I'll auction it off for Charity.
@ Emilelover - true, but he does want to help
@ Gillian - He can't, that is the point.
@ Wendi - She meant write music.
@ Lili - Yes, but that fact that Clara doesn't consider him blackmailing her family a 'betrayl' shows a little bit about Clara.
@ Ashlyn - Honestly, I don't think Emile would win. Emile is scholarly he spends indoor reading and writing. Mr. Fierro used to work outdoors, he is very strong. . . just saying.
@ Hallie - Yes, I worked backwards figuring out ages and that's the year I came up with.
@ Krisi - "Spirits" is actually called "Free Spirits"
@ Nybarista - me neither
@ Wilson - One liner ? I'm no Ian Flemming.
@ Natalie - I want to say "Jane Austen" is the name.