Ah, so you saw the ’grey ghost’ and ’all cats are grey in the night’.... plus I think it a little amusing that C~ is treating Gwyneth like a cat giving her a bowl of milk... and we know what G~ thinks of cats - hehe... and then of course there is the card reading, the Queen of Wands is obviously the Prevot, and the cat at her feet is our own cat-like heroine. I think you’ll enjoy the next Ch... in the works of being written, and I’ve even managed to include my brother-in-law Trevor - he wants to meet "Luscious Lexy" (according to my sister he often drools over her portrait)... I’ve explained she isn’t at the moment, but will be next story - maXine

Louise Lindgren replies: "Yes... I did see the "grey ghost" and "all cats..." My french is extremely rusty but I did recogised that one. And of course that the QoW was the Prevot, that was easy. So no 10 is being written? That’s good, more is on the way. Hehe.... I bet your brother-in-law would meet the transformed Lexy. And no wonder, she’s a real babe in that drawing. T.B.C. your place...
"

...astute obervation. I think it is too easily forgotten that a story can also be driven by character development. Fictional characters have to be bigger, bolder, brighter, more dramatic than real-life. And they have multiple faces..S~ our ’bad guy’ struggles with his internal daemon, he felt sorry for Gwyneth, and has felt regret over C~ he has faced set-backs and not given up - and in this way we ’care’ about him, whether he is on the side of good or bad. Their world is definitely shades of grey... deliberately so. Even our heroine, is not so lily-white.. she has shown envy, selfishness.. and her own goals have been thwarted... but she has not given up. Nor has A~ for that matter. None of them are "wimps" tbc...

Louise Lindgren replies: "True. But how many plots have one accounted that is entirely driven by character? Even the simplest human being is still more complex than the most complex fictional character (or so I’m told), and that is a challenge to any writing person I think. I certrainly think it’s a great challenge but I also think you’ve done a great job (as far as I can tell) with adding different sides to each and every one. T.b.c... "

C~ I find is a tricky char to write.. she is much younger, and less world-wise than all the others. I am constantly having to remember to be a naive 16yo, viewing the world thru’ rose-coloured glasses... but she will grown up.. and soon. Have you noticed how it is only the ’daemons’ who internalise with their possessor? I have made the distinct difference that their relationship is symbiotic, whereas the WitchMaids are totally possessed, there is no shared thought processes. And if there is anything of the real A~ left, she does not get a word in.
Also, that a character is never simply defined by another, and that is the only truth of them. C~ adores S~ gods gift to women, B~ sees him as an ambitious, but inexperienced apprentice, and we find out next Ch what Simon thinks of him... tbc

Louise Lindgren replies: "continued1... Although we do find exceptions, like A~, who’s sides are decreasing while she’s being taken over more and more by her possessor. But she’s still interesting. It’s fascinating how it works, although if every character followed the same "blueprint" the story wouldn’t work at all. And btw yes, I did notice the difference there between the daemons and WitchMaids ;-) Very clever. "

The plot is not overly complex, but it is interwoven and layered - but the plot itself is not the be all and end all... character development is vitally important. Three years of planning and playing around, to produce my first draft. And sure, there are mistakes.. but all learnt from - and what seemed the perfectly planned plot I have discovered a couple of glaring holes, but now finally setting about writing my ’saga’ I can correct them, and hopefully produce a fairly decent first draft to a short novel. The word count so far is 40,000 (Ch1 to 10)... I definitely have plans for this story - maXine

Louise Lindgren replies: "continued2... Oh, 40 K so far, that’s a whole lot of words. Impressive.
Yeah... I think you have to have a fairly simple plot, othervise you won’t have any room for the character development that is so important. Though I’ve got to say that I think it differs a bit depending on which kind of story you’re writing. A drama needs a tremendous amount of development to make it real and believable while a more action-packed plot perhaps requires a little bit less, but still enough for the reader to care about the characters. Writing surely is a science of its own, interesting and yet very difficult. "

And on another subject... Tuesday night, one of my guests commented about the artwork on my walls... the staked vampyre, sabrina (man-eating mermaid), apprentice daemon and lexy... she admired them, but said she would not display such in her own home... she said she would be too concerned at what other people thought of her art choices, and what it said about her... seems that pretty fae are what sells, and dark daemons what disturbs - hmmmm.... - maXine

Louise Lindgren replies: "So true. Light and fluffy faes are a sign of a healthy mind loving all the normal cute stuff. Uuähh... I dispise the light and fluffy side. Give me a bunch of teeth and tentacles on a scary creature any day. I no longer bother what people think of me when they see what I decorate my walls with. If they want to believe I have issues, then so be it ;-) I challenge thee thou foul creature with bright disposition, pale pastels and flowery companions! "

... rough justice. Did you notice that the boy ’fox’ was one-handed? ... so obviously he had already been punished before for his thievery... so in a way, the Prevot has previously shown compassion and was justified in her verdict. The hysteria and pressure of bowing to public demand, despite the injustice of it all was definitely what I wanted in that opening scene, so, somewhat ironic your documentary viewing at the same time. hmmm... esp. the accusation of a child... such still resonates in current society. The Power theme continues, with poor C~ thinking she has S~ in her power.... silly, klutzy, naive girl; and the Mayor trying his hand over the Prevot; and Claude seeking comeuppance over S~ .... aaah so much rivalry! - maXine

Louise Lindgren replies: "Very ironic, and very creepy; I rather literary went straight from documentary to reading the chapter. - Yes, I did notice the poor child only had one hand. I think cutting the hands of thieves is/was an old arabic tradition. I may be wrong. - Hehe... there are a lot of rivalry and struggle for power in your story, a real tug-of-war. But sometimes I wonder if there are too much equillibrity between the houses of power. T.b.c. your place."

...tbc... of course, Mad, Bad Ani jumped to her own conclusions regarding the cards Lexy showed; and being the impatient, impuslive that she is, didn’t wait for any further insights. Obviously Ani and the Baronette go way back, given her thoughts that Beatrice couldn ’t have Created for well over 100 years; an interesting thought given that S~ is obviously her creation, and spent 15 years at the forge... a bit of a time anomoly may be about to occur. Lexy is is wise and prudent enough to know that the prophecy may not be fulfilled. Lady Fortune has many paths to choose from. It is a big ’if’, especially given that C~ is not yet even married, let alone pregnant, and Ani does have plans of her own; as done the Prevot; so sensibly, Lexy does not tempt the Fate’s by declaring such a fait accompli.
I only hope that I can pull all of this together, and that I haven’t got a glaringly, illogical hole in my plot lines.... I fret about it constantly! I left a scene out of this Ch. it was to gory in description; so the reader has to use their imagaination as to how poor Claude ended up a broken mess in the hospice - maXine

oh, forgot to mention in return comment... PoD doesn’t return fire with rotten cyber tomatoes... but with eggs... hard boiled

Louise Lindgren replies: "Oh... hardboiled eggs. I’d better learn how to duck then, eggs are a bit harder than tomatoes "

Oh, damn comment system. Just erased all of your comment in my DW comic picture. Now all I have left is a word "Undefined". Yippee.... (sarcastic tone)

Anyhow, just wanted to "pop in" and wish you (hopefully) a sunny Midsummer celebration. It is time of the midnight sun, sauna and swimming. It’s the times like these we sure are happy to live in the countries we do. Go Finland and Sweden!

Och samma på svenska: Jag hoppas at du skulle ha en jätteroligt Midsommardagen!

Louise Lindgren replies: "Hi, Panu. Sorry about the delay.
That "undefined" thing has happened to me too, which is really annoying when you’ve spent a lot of time writing a comment and all of a sudden it just disappears. Hope you had a nice midsummer celebration. Here the traditional midsummer rain fell without mercy. Anyway... I’ve finally opened up a library shelf over at Wyvern’s. It’s not much but it’s a start anyway. "

Really like your art !! especially your dragons !! Your art is just so different , I dont know how to describe it , it just so breathtaking , the drawings look so real, like they can just suck you in . Some of the pics look like they come from a mysterious dream or sumthing, really kwl Im new to elfwood , so Im just looking around for now , struggling to get my drawings up

Louise Lindgren replies: "Thank you very much, Jack. I always try to be as original as possible so I’m glad you find my gallery interesting and different. Hope you’ll enjoy your stay in Elfwood, many tremendous artists and really nice people roam the woods. "