This is the thirteenth entry in my Birth of a Novel series of posts, where I talk about the development of my new YA urban fantasy.
I was well into chapter ten of Mythos when I realized I hadn't chronicled chapter nine. Doh. Chapter eight ends with Zydeco and Blaine seeing an awful thing. It's bad tidings for the Mythos in the city. Chapter nine takes place weeks later, and the Mythos are living in these somewhat dark times, worried about themselves, their families and friends. I returned to Blaine's apartment for brunch, this time with Magenta joining everyone. As opposed to our prior visit, however, the mood is far more somber.
Alright, I need to come clean now. I was struck by the mood in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, when all the witches and wizards are in constant danger of disappearing, of losing their own friends and family. People go into hiding. People run. Some people stay and fight, but often lose. There are many books along these lines, and they always remind me of Germany, Austria and Poland before and during World War II. For the small population of Mythological creatures living in a large city, it's a microcosm of all of the above. Mythos is a smaller book, and Phineas Malice is neither Lord Voldemort or Adolf Hitler. He has his own reasons for what he's doing, but I wasn't going for anything so overly evil. Hmm. I hope I haven't sold Malice short. He is evil. Really he is.
He’s calling us criminals, you know,” said Magenta. “Drug dealers.”
Edward nodded. “Yes, I’ve noticed that.” He narrowed his eyes and spoke in a barely audible voice. “I wonder what he was.”
Magenta shook her head. “Well, thank you for brunch, Emma. Edward.” She didn’t lean in for a kiss. She wasn’t like that. Instead, she took their hands and smiled. “But if I don’t get out of here and have a smoke, I’m going to bite someone’s head off, and what kind of gratitude would that show?”
What with all of this going on, plus constant studying for finals, Zydeco's mind isn't entirely focused on the fact that he's asked Tameina to the prom. The pair of them have spent an awful lot of time together studying, and he's clearly got strong feelings for her. He's so worried about his future, though, that he hasn't been able to organize his thoughts on the matter. The chapter ends with a reminder that certain aspects of a teenager's life are immutable. I'm surprised at how easy I find developing the Zydeco/Tameina relationship. It feels really sweet and honest and I hope it comes across that way.
Overall, I think I did alright with this chapter. I already know I need to go back and add a bit more background tension - that someone is always watching and that peril lies just around the corner.... Because it does, truly. MWAHAHAHAHAHA
But first, they need to get to the prom. Its going to be like Carrie without all the blood. >-)
Thanks for reading and stay tuned!
Feel free to jump ahead to my next Birth of a Novel post
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Or to read about the last chapter, saunter on back to the previous entry.
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