Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Wow! So I haven't updated in about three months... sorry about that! Life has been super crazy lately, what with work and studying and friends getting engaged. :) I also met somebody really nice so he's been a distraction, but I'm trying to put all that aside and keep my priorities straight - one of which is updating my WIPs! I apologize for the incredibly long wait as well as teasing you guys with the banner for "Enigma" and then never actually coming out with anything. I swear I'm going to get around to writing this story eventually.

So, first things first! Today I finished answering each and every one of my reviews. I pretty much said sorry in every single one because some people have been waiting patiently for an answer for months. I've never let reviews sit in my Unanswered pile that long, and hopefully I never will have to again. It's just that I get such nice long wonderful reviews from amazing people, feedback that you can't exactly write "Thanks! Glad you liked it" and then forget about them. I want to make sure that my responses are worthy of the feedback and to give some thoughtful answers (because interacting with your readers is challenging yourself as an author; it makes you think more deeply about characters/situations/plot points that you wouldn't otherwise think of by yourself) so that is why I took so long to get back to all of you! I appreciate everything you say and the constructive criticism is awesome.

I am about a third of the way through Chapter 3 of "Bittersweet and Strange." This chapter involves the deepening of the romance of Mirabella and the merman (whom you have all guessed by now is a merman) and the introduction of conflict. I won't say too much more about it but there is a curse involved! And of course Mirabella's fiance ... hmmm, yeah, that is a problem. ;)

Once that's done, it's a toss-up between updating "Quadrivium" and writing Salazar Slytherin's story, the last of four one-shots I've written about the Founders. First there was Helga's story about her unrequited love; then there was Godric's story where he first met Helga and got introduced to her quest; and then there was Rowena and her evil stepmother. Salazar's story will take place a little bit later along the Founders timeline (similar to the time period of Helga's story) and it will involve him making a choice to leave and go his own way. I've already given it a title, it's "Pillars of Sand" which is a lyric from Coldplay's song "Viva La Vida." I thought the lyrics were very fitting for Salazar so this will be his theme song!

If I decide to update "Quadrivium," I will pick up where I left off. If you remember, Princess Helena and Gideon have just been scooped up by the strangely intelligent dragon who is taking them to his cave - to eat them? yikes! - and they have left the prince and his men behind. Godric has also made his appearance in the story and has been betrayed by a jealous enemy and thrown out of court, sans powerful goblin-made sword. Yeah, he's screwed. Well, maybe not... I'm debating whether to introduce Rowena and/or Salazar in Chapter 3 because I don't want too many storylines to get tied up. It may remain Helena and Godric exclusively for a few more chapters. We'll see!

Once I get some momentum going on these WIPs, I will be starting "Enigma" - that's a promise! It will be the sequel to "Give Up This Fight" but won't directly deal with Tom, Merope, or their son. The two main characters will be Ron and Hermione's daughter, Rose Weasley, and her cousin Dominique Weasley. The two girls will be older, probably in their 20's, and both work in the media (Rose is a writer for the Daily Prophet and Dominique is a photographer/historian). They are both embarking on a massive history project that they're hoping will turn into a feature story or a book, basically dealing with the life of Lord Voldemort, a subject that most people still consider taboo but everyone is curious about. Who really knows what happened to him? Where did he come from? Why did he become the way he became? But as they begin to research his life, the two girls find themselves more and more entangled with his story - his legacy may still live on and prove dangerous to the over-curious. And of course I will have Teddy Lupin play a pretty big role in the story, and you all know he's involved with Dom's older sister Victoire, but Dom has a crush on him too - I know, it's kind of cliche, but I love this particular love triangle for some reason. Anyway, I was inspired to write this story after reading a wonderful book called "The Historian" by Elizabeth Kostova, which scared the crap out of me and which I highly recommend to all of you.

Anywho, lots of things cooking and I can't wait to hear what you guys think about everything! I'm writing, writing, writing away, and trying to catch up on validating. You will be seeing updates from me, I promise, and I'm going to keep a closer eye on answering reviews.

Thanks for reading, guys!

- Jules