Here We Go Again
The snow melted. I went to the airport and picked up Bob and took him to iHop where I ate everything on the menu since I’d been living on nosh food while I finished up my part of Dogs and Goddesses. Then we went home and Bob did not bond with Milton although Milton ADORED him. It’s a good thing I’ve been writing with this guy for three years because he failed the Milton Test.
And then we sat in front of the fire and argued about the book we haven’t started to write yet. I ask you, a demon stealing souls? IT’S BEEN DONE. At one point, Bob brought up Predator. I said, “I never saw it.” He said, “You never saw Predator?” in the same tone of voice he’d use to say, “You’ve never bathed?” I said, “You never saw The Lady Eve.” He rolled his eyes and we went on. But even really tired, we did some good brainstorming work. I know a lot more about my character now. And his. And the antagonist. And they all have goals. They’re a little short on motivation, but by damn, they all have goals.
Tomorrow we go to the grocery, the bank, the post office, and some place for lunch, and during the entire time, we will be arguing about this book.
Just like old times.
You may remember seeing my mom and Paul pop in during the Cherry Con (or maybe not) Anyway, they are Soprano fans and I gave them the signed “Agnes and the Hitman” for Christmas. They both loved it.
Mom was surprised to hear you and Bob were not “a couple,” but the Paul remarked “Gilbert and Sullivan didn’t even speak to each other, and we all remember George Gershwin and his lovely wife, Ira.”
Thanks for keeping us posted. Good luck and happy emailing.
Jenny, it’s not the idea, it’s what you do with it. I can get into a soul-stealing demon … well you got demons what else are they there for? They’re demons, they aren’t dropping in for tea, right? So you can have your character try to talk them to death and then Bob can have his guy blow them up and everyone will live happily ever after. Except the demons who will be really p.o.’d. But that’s a nice excuse for a sequel.
Aaaah, happy squabbling. That’s music to our ears because we know out of that comes a really good book.
Maybe Bob needs to try harder to bond with Milton. Perhaps getting Bob and Milton to share a bed would help?
The ideas have been seeded. The character motivation will definitely follow. I’m already excited about this book!
Never saw Predator. Saw Predator2. Made me cry. THE LADY EVE is divine.
Stealing souls, huh? “It’s been done.” Cmon, J, you sound like my husband after he read my first story. “Time travel? It’s been done.” In 30 years I’ve never let him read another word.
Stealing souls. Well, I can’t imagine what a demon would want with stolen souls, esp. since demons have no souls themselves. It would be like nuns holding Colin Firth captive. In fact once you’ve stolen a soul, how do you keep it captive? How do you keep from being influenced by the souls you’ve stolen? What do they fetch on the open market? Like, if I (a human) totally messed up my soul, could I then go to a demon and buy a fresh soul, like from a baby? Would it be like heart transplants? Paranormal is not my thing, as you can see. But the idea leaves lots of questions, so that’s good.
The Lady Eve was a con artist. Maybe the demon is, too. Maybe he can’t really steal souls. Maybe the emperor has no souls–er–clothes. It just goes on and on, and it’s not my book. No demons in my book. Well, two lawyers and an ex-husband, so you decide.
Have fun!
How can anyone NOT bond with Milton? Well, I guess no one is perfect…not even Bob.
All I have to say is that after reading that there will be another Crusie/Mayer book I have put my happy pants on and I think that they will stay on all day.
Happy quarreling Jenny!
Oooh this is so exciting! Keep arguing…whatever the path to another Crusie/Mayer book is, we always love the end result!
Sounds like it will be a wild ride to get to the Wild Ride. Hang on and keep bickering!
Hi, Jenny–
I felt compelled to provide additional positive reinforcement in the Jenny & Bob book area: Yay! I can sympathize with your feelings about demons having been done. I have plowed through quite a catalog at my local library of what they are calling supernatural romance/female adventure fiction, (insert your own description here), and some of it feels very stale. When done well, though…
Anyhow, I consider anything with you and Bob the cheesecake in my book collection. Thanks!
Goodness, that was a rapid thaw, considering there was a fair amount of snow lying about. Are the dogs disconsolate? And how can Bob possibly fail to be enchanted by Milton, and, indeed, Veronica?
Ooh, Colin Firth held captive…
*wipes drool off chin*
I’m sorry, what were we talking about?
Oh right, lack of Milton-bonding. Did Milton steal Bob’s Cheetos? That’s a death sentence right there. And I won’t even get into what happens when you interfere with the man’s Gatorade. Should the brainstorming flag and you be in need of fresh squabbling, diss the ‘ade and you’re good to go. Is there still enough snow for a snowball fight?
Drooling some more at the thought of your next book too - you kids do good work.
LOL Inkgrrl, I was kind of stuck back at Colin being held captive too.
Okay, so Milton and Bob didn’t bond. The guy is still a dog person. Go write a soul stealing demon book with him.
Then we went home and Bob did not bond with Milton although Milton ADORED him.
so technically he passed the Milton test, it’s just Milton didn’t pass his test…which is unbelievable, because hello, it’s Milton.
I loved the Lady Eve. well, I loved when she gets back at him…the boat part of the story was necessary but only so-so.
If you go by THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS, demons want souls in order to consume them. You HAVE heard of soul food, haven’t you?
http://www.seark.net/~jlove/screwtape.htm
How about doing something different with the soul-stealing demons, like having them disguise themselves as cute dachshunds?
Ah, but she didn’t say that Bob didn’t bond with Veronica!
I think that, secretly, deep down, Bob adores Milton, but admitting his feelings for the cutest dog EVER would totally screw up his macho vibe.
Courtney De called it.
In fact, I’d watch Milton like a HAWK. He’s got that commando training….
Does Bob have a dog?
Have you considered a sympathetic character that doesn’t like dogs? That really would be a stretch for a Crusie book!