Chapter Seven
I think part of the fun of writing this blog is discovering what I have written. For example, the title of the chapter is Shutdown … I needed about two minutes to remember why.
If my mind keeps folding in on itself like this, soon I’ll be picking up my own books and saying things like: Wow! Who wrote this? Hahaha
The chapter opens with Jessie in love. Jessie, I think, is my favorite character. It’s odd to say that, but she is. Evylin, for example, is my Beatrice, while George, although he is the main protagonist, is someone I cannot bond with, which must sound really weird right now (six books later) but it’s true. His permanent, please feel sorry for me, attitude is so annoying. I know he’s got a good heart, and there isn’t really anything particularly evil about him, but still – he rubs me up the wrong way. Personally, I think it’s his age and the fact that he’s born into a privileged life. (Oh no! Is this a sign of me being envious of any kid who has had a good start in life?)
This might be my new attitude in my blog.
Sarcasm and self-criticism.
My childhood, the world I lived in, was pretty poor, and yet, still, today, I feel more at home with poor people than I do with rich? (Help me, Doctor Fanon! Hahaha.)
The best example I can give of how George irritates me is the letter he wrote to his dad.
LOL.
Anyway, back to the chapter, it opens with Jessie discussing something with her WallScreen. I always enjoy writing such scenes. I think this is because, in my imagination, Jessie is at that wonderful age of discovery, the age of first love, where money doesn’t matter, and no matter what he looks like, he is her superhero.
There’s really not a lot of memories involved in the chapter, unlike the one before. The chapter simply races along by itself, telling the story. There is no major research needed or private recollections coming into play. (Although the information about Botox and threads actually comes from one of my clients, who I taught English for a while. She was a beautician and would often tell me about all the latest and advanced developments in the branch.)
Another scene I enjoyed writing was the speech of the chairman. I like being all the different characters in my books. (Even George LOL.) Some of these characters have been inspired by people I have met. The magic word here is inspired. I have not based any of my characters on anyone I know or have ever met because, as interesting as they are, they are not characters in a book. They are people living nine to five, simply trying to survive. I would say that my character interpretation is a tree grown from a seed. I have met a lot of directors and CEOs in my life, and my exaggerated memory says that some did insist on this protective, pompous art of speech.
In this chapter, I show Jessie making a comment in Latin. I then repeat the term in English for two reasons. One, it saves me having to footnote it (the book layout is more complicated with footnotes) and also because over the years, I have found people actually do this. They say something in their mother tongue and then repeat it in their adopted language. I use this verbal repetition later in the final book for a special Sicilian character. And yes, I have Italian friends who like to do this a lot.
I remember deliberately writing about Jessie’s anger at losing her kiss when in fact, the real message at this point is how manipulated everyone is. How blind everyone became when convinced they could make some quick money. Yet Jessie’s anger was about losing her kiss.
The chapter ends with Jessie listening to her favorite song. It could also be one of my favorite romantic songs. Life has periods, and with these phases comes romantic connections. Running Bear is from my time when a kiss was everything. I was very young at the time. But still, when I hear the song, it always makes me feel ‘home’. It is a memory of my innocence, an innocence that I wanted to give to Jessie. Now, looking back, I realize this was perhaps the beginning of me writing my own soundtrack to the books. The story is like a film inside my head. I grew up believing that every good movie had a good soundtrack. In my arrogant fantasy, I began to sneak in songs that could play in the background as the scene was enacted. I honestly enjoy it when these moments happen. Sadly, so far, these moments have remained only shared by one. But I won’t give up. If someone ever discovers my book – hey, the soundtrack has already been written. My thirty years as a musician might finally pay off!
