Hello, all!  Now that the vacation period is over (I know this because today was light even for a Monday, so I am not looking forward to later on today…), and I am back to work officially as both writer and Dreaded Day Jobber, I would like to say that if you have any questions for me (limited to writing, as I like to keep my private life off the computers — what’s put up on the Internet stays on the Internet, right Beyonce?) feel free to ask them.

As far as the novel goes, I am getting the pair out of the house and off to the cousin’s tonight.  I’ve been wanting to write this scene because I am trying to work on how my characters sound when they talk to each other.  Sometimes, I get the feeling that there is little difference in how one character sounds compared to another.  For all the time I spend talking to people on the phones, I should have dialogue down pat.  For me, I am trying to not have to fall into the trap of writin’ foh-net-cally but give a hint of some sort of accent or manner of speaking through vocabulary.  Of course, I still need to get an idea of what the cousin is like.  He’s a moonshiner (where it’s not considered illegal, merely troublesome) and he is the one who Ehren buys his moonshine from in order to charge it with a little bit of the healing power — technically, it’s Vimala’s power, but we know what’s what around here — and his cousin charges him a slightly higher (“We’re cousins on your momma’s side, but that ain’t really family.”).  In my mind, I’m casting this guy just because he perfectly embodies the slimy part of the business — any business, really.  Yes, Ehren is a bit of a shyster and a lazy gadabout, but he’s at least trying to keep a small sense of respectability about him.  I see his cousin calling him out on it every now and then because he knows he can really tweak him with the reminder that there’s very little difference between the two of them.  Just that one of them accepts what fate has handed him and is making good money out of it and the other wants to put on airs of ‘benevolent capitalism’ to make himself feel good about himself.  Whether this improves or not, I am not sure — it’s still early in the draft for me to see what’s happening in between now and the end of the book (how much should he have left when it’s all said and done?  Really depends on my mood — could be the clothes on his back, could be nothing.  We’ll just have to see.).

Well, it’s getting near the time I should get some sleep.  If you’re interested in what I’m listening to when I write this, I’ve put my Spotify list out here and here.  I take no responsibility for your disappointment or enthusiasm.

Have a good day everyone,

Seething Apathy