In the future of this story two characters have a conversation. About something. At a place. Where things are happening.  And that conversation got me thinking about… stuff. This stuff might be completely banal to you, because I’m trying to get fictionally scientific, and at first I wasn’t really going to indulge my wordy theories because I was only concocting them to keep some of my story rules in check. They aren’t really going to come up, but they might be helpful to know. And I thought maybe some readers might have thought about some of what I was tossing together and could be interested in the bio-genetic flap and yap that I pulled out of thin air.

The main thought that triggered my scientific evalution was, “Jax should probably have every form of hepatitis available and Chloe should probably be on baby number 27.”

If that ever crossed your mind, you can find my convoluted explanation and subsequent rambling tangent on the origin and genetics of vampirism, here. You can thank insomnia.

What the balls is After the Calling? I asked myself that question eighty klafrillion times. I’m still not sure. I’m crap at summarizing things. Especially stories that have nine (I counted. It’s nine) different story lines.  But I tried.

I personally think it takes most series writers a minute to find their groove and work out the kinks, as even the best storytellers can have awkward beginnings. But it took me an entire year to find my groove and sometimes I look at my first chapter, and my heart burns. I do have acid reflux, that is true, but it’s only around dairy and bananas. This kind of burn is entirely related to the fact that I clearly did not reread my first entries to this story until it was too late. Some of the stuff… I don’t even remember writing it. I go back and read and I’m like… THAT HAPPENED? Why didn’t anyone tell me?!

I don’t know if any of you have every played Gears of War 2 or 3, but there is something known as “the berserker”. Google it. That biznatch scares the holy bleeding crap out of me. Pardon my French, but she fucks with my DREAMS. I’ve actually stopped playing the game for months at a time so as not to confront her. And when I finally do confront her, there is screaming and TEARS and things are being thrown and dogs are barking and cats are hissing and boyfriends are trying to unplug the xbox… I’m so serious. I’m actually a fairly unflappable, quiet, reclusive individual, so that reaction, and its ever-predictable consistency, is a pretty big deal to everyone involved.  Animals and humans alike.

Chapter 1: Bliss of Reentry is like my own personal berserker of this story. It makes me cry and scream when I’m trying to get past it, and then I throw things when it kills me and mutilates my dead body.

Chapter 2: Madness In Sanity is one of the giant bugs from star ship troopers.  That would be a useless analogy except I have a stupidly strong, almost debilitating fear of insects.

Chapter 3: Secret of Desperation (or Despair, depending on when you caught me, or which hand I was using to write the outline)  is like a giant tarantula. I don’t have a spider phobia. I’m actually cool with them because they eat insects, I just don’t like to look at them for longer than necessary.  So it’s like, you can be around, please do kill and eat the last chapter, but just try not to let me see you.  I don’t want to know you’re here.

Deceiving the Lie, despite the length and laze of Part VI, is like the light at the end of the tunnel. You can’t stop holding your breath yet, but you know you’re getting there. And being that we are approaching the halfway point of this venture, I think it’s about time we started seeing some light.

All that said, people who have read my story from the get… AND ARE STILL READING DESPITE THE FACT… you are amazing.  For those who comment, you always always always make me smile, and for those that link me, sometimes I can’t believe you even want to be associated with me. And now that I’ve sworn off of torture, I promise it will be clear waters from now on.

That said, those who do not want to experience the torture that was AtC coming into its own (who can blame you), or just want a taste to decide if you want to risk berserker-type heartburn, I have assembled a story summary to get you where you’re going. The full story synopsis can be found at the SWA Summaries site, and in my Synopsis section under Site Trimmings. Separate chapter synopses are coming soon.  I finally got a Terms Dictionary up, also under Site Trimmings, but it is a SERIOUS work in progress. The problem here is that I don’t even know what half my terms mean. At least enough to make a decisive definitive definition.

Example: Aura.

What the monkey testicles is an aura?!  Mickey even gave a fully indepth definition in Madness Part: VIII. She DEFINED the aura, and then DEFINED purana. And yet I, creator of Mickey, don’t know the definition of either.  At least a definition that is shorter than Madness In Sanity Part VIII, which had a word count somewhere in the three thousands.  I know. I’m terrible. But yeah, working on it.

Thank you tons for just being here,

Veron