This Book is Going to Hell

~ Jenny

So the only way this check-in-every-Friday-on-the-book’s-progress works is if I’m completely honest, so I’m going to be completely honest.

But I swear to god, anybody who laughs is going to get barred from commenting. IT’S NOT FUNNY.

Okay, it’s kinda funny.

Remember those posts I did on Lucifer?

(STOP LAUGHING RIGHT NOW.)

Yeah, that story was completely unwrite-able. (Yes, that’s a word. I just made it up.)

First of all, the Devil as a romance hero makes no sense; how can an immortal avatar of punishment form a viable committed relationship? No, make that second of all. First of all is that I’d have to define what the Devil actually is and what he’d be doing on Earth–the whole I’m-taking-a-vacation-in-a-club has no motivation–and then what Hell is, and what’s happening down there since Dad left, and I have no desire to write a story with scenes in Hell, especially a Hell I’ll have to figure out.

Then a romance between the Devil and a mortal woman doesn’t work for me; it’s like a boss and employee or a professor and a student; the power dynamic is too unbalanced. This is not 1950, I’m not writing a supernatural nurse/doctor romance. And yes, I was going to rip off Pratchet and do the granddaughter of Death thing, but while that works beautifully in the fantasy satire of Discworld, it’s not going to work in the real world I’d want this in because Death is not a character like the Devil, it’s a state of being. The only way having Death works in my story world is if Life is there, too, probably dressed in white and riding a unicorn, and that’s not happening.

So the hero and the heroine and the relationship of that idea are not workable. It was just a game I was playing here because I was so annoyed by the pilot of Lucifer (and then the second episode and then the third episode and then I gave up, Tom Ellis and Rachael Harris notwithstanding). That was it. It was a dumb game.

So I went back to work on You Again, but these damn people kept talking in my head. I mean, they would not shut up. I’ve been here before, my hard drive is littered with pieces of stories from characters who just had to get one scene out of their systems, and once I wrote it down they left and never came back. That’s clearly what I had to do here.

So I wrote the first scene, Nita’s scene, showing up at the crime scene where two people got sprayed with bullets and one walked away unscathed, but the only people she talked to in that scene were her new partner (she’s a homicide detective) and her brother, the Medical Examiner. I really loved her brother–big iZombie influence there–and the partner had potential, if only as a foil.

But I still had the devil character in my head, so I kept going and wrote the second scene where the devil is telling Vinnie, the bar owner (clubs are not good places to develop community, so in my world it’s a bar) that he’s taking half ownership and in return he’s going to transform the place. The bar is called Hell right now, and it’s full of flames and pitchforks, and the devil explains that it’s an insult to a very fine, very old institution and then Nita walks in and he is not instantly attracted to her but he is curious . . .

It’s a slippery slope. Because then I couldn’t quite get Nita right in my head, and Tom Ellis kept showing up as Lucifer, except I’ll be damned if I call him Lucifer, that’s just too pretentious, and there was nothing else to call him, plus all of the character problems I described above, so no. I closed the file. That was done.

Then I made the mistake of going to work in earnest on my office, which meant a lot of painting and moving furniture and sorting books and hauling trash and none of that occupies my mind. So it wanders. It would have been so nice if it had wandered to that ghost-and-murderer-filled house on the Ohio River, but no, it went back to that damn Nita story and by the time the bookcase and the library table were swapped and the trash was out, I had solved the character problems. And the what’s-happening-in-hell problem. And I had an avatar of Nita that when matched with the Ellis avatar gave me a great oh-no-not-you couple. So I got out Acorn and made a mini collage, and while I was moving images around, my mind was soaked in the story and I started to see the shape of it.

By Tuesday I had the turning points in the relationship and I had Nick’s antagonist (as in Old Nick) and his turning points. They were just there.

Then Nita’s mother showed up in my head, and I realized I had to get all those details out, so I opened VooDooPad and started a wiki to keep everything straight. Four pages: Characters, Plot, The Real World, The Underworld. Nineteen characters so far. Two main plots (romance and mystery with probably romance coming out on top as the final main plot) four subplots.

So I have fifteen thousand words of rough draft, plus several versions of digital collage in Curio (if I start a scissor-and-glue collage, it’s all over) and a VooDoo Pad Wiki. It’s all neatly organized in one folder that’s going in Dropbox so I can get back to You Again which is actually publishable, or will be if I ever finish it, which I will do as soon as I get all these damn demons out of my head, which could take awhile because I just ordered four books on demons from Amazon.

I don’t want to hear about how this is the book I should be working on. Honestly, I do not, so don’t start with that because it’s just annoying. I don’t even want to write this book, the problems I’d still have to solve would be huge–I still don’t know a damn thing about police departments or bars and I’d have to make up a city because I’m not researching one–I just need to get it out of my head. It’s fun to write, but that’s just because it’s an early draft–they’re always fun–and once the heavy lifting started, this story would make writing You Again seem like writing Dick and Jane Have a Cookie. I can’t keep doing the fun part of writing, the beginning, and then wandering off to start something new. That’s how I ended up with six freaking books in progress.

So that’s why I didn’t make progress on You Again this week. But I wrote a lot, so I’m counting it.

[One thing still nagging at me before I can stick this on my hard drive and lose it forever: a title. Something that says love story with demons. The working title is Nick and Nita: A Love Story with Demons, but that seems too on-the-nose. Not that it matters because I am not writing this story.]

121 thoughts on “This Book is Going to Hell”

    1. EXACTLY what I was thinking! The Thin Man, Now with Demons! Just think of the possibilities of adding an adorable dog (or cat) to the plot too.

  3. I feel like there was some writer who said the cure for writer’s block was to have Some Other Project That You Really Should Be Working On.

    My boss also says no writing is a waste, because it expands/ solidifies your skill set as a writer. I am personally skeptical given some of the shit I’ve written. But it’s comforting when you’re staring at a slideshow of plotting going “What did I just do with five hours of my life?”

    1. Isaac Asimov certainly said something like that — he always had so many projects going on that he was never bored and never had as much as a twinge of writer’s block.

  4. Rename Nick as Lou (short for Lucifer), and title the book The Devil You Know.

    I love where your mind takes you while moving furniture and oainting; wondering what happens when you fold laundry, LoL! Keep us posted, please.

  5. I didn’t laugh. Truly. And I’m not even trying for teacher’s pet or anything.

    Aside, now that I’m a teacher, after seven years of doing other work, I make damn sure I don’t have teacher’s pets.

    The whole “new work/s’ seduction” is exactly what I thought it would be. Chill and keep drawing your mind to that house they’re all in. Maybe re-read what drew you to that type of story in the first place.

    And maybe cancel the Demonic book orders? After all, it’s no use putting peanuts near the kid with the nut allergy. (I have one in class. Everything is tougher for him. Poor dear.)

    So You Again. Immerse in it and let’s hope your mind wanders down that path. ((HUG))

  7. We told you we would buy that book. We will also buy You Again.

    On a less smarty pants note, this reminds me of all the house cleaning I did in university when I had a paper to write or test to study for, procrastination that looks like productivity. Our brains don’t usually like the hard, slogging work. I wish mine did.

    1. My daughter is presently writing her master’s thesis. She told me she’s already put all her spices up in the kitchen cupboard – in alphabetical order.

  8. When I was working on the dissertation I created mardigras themed litter boxes.

    Story title: Hell No

      1. I mean the litter boxes. That’s the most creative “I should be doing something else” I’ve ever heard of.

    2. I like “Hell No” as a title.

      On a side note, my husband used to role-play a series of characters. He started out with the barbarian, Hell Yes. When Hell Yes died, he brought in Hell No, who was promptly followed by Hell Whynot. They were known, obviously, as the Hell Brothers.

  10. I totally understand. When those voices keep chattering it’s wise to let them have their say. So, this will be seven WiPs. *grin* Demonic Love be Damned.
    It was great that you didn’t stall or come to a screeching halt and stay away from writing completely. When that happens to me it’s because I’ve either read a highly descriptive novel that has taken me off to another world, or watched a compelling movie, then to wash those characters from my brain I have to read another book. And so the cycle begins and no writing gets done. I’m going to use your technique in the future.

  12. Got me thinking about the Darynda Jones Charley Davidson mystery/romance book series. Haven’t read them all, but did the first couple books. Her main character is the grim reaper and the love interest is the son of the Devil. Sounds like an odd coupling maybe, but somehow Darynda seems to make it work & with some humour too.

    Think if your story speaks to you, it may be for a reason. Sometimes keeping the logical brain busy doing menial tasks like moving furniture keeps it from judging good ideas and lets the creative flow while logic brain isn’t looking. Can be a good thing.

    Only you know for sure which story is the one to do first. But maybe it’s a never say never kind of situation. Think it’s great you have it all stored. Smart.

    1. Popping back in to add a fab bit I read in a post on writers and their careers by writer Andrea Phillips. She had this to say:

      “Variety is like crop rotation for the writer brain, letting some parts lay fallow and grow new ideas while you harvest the field next door.”

      Think that’s brilliant. And may speak to how most of us writers can feel pulled to “new fields” now & then & how that’s not just a good thing but a necessary & re-energizing thing. Love that idea.

  13. I did not laugh. I fixated on the office. I want to see pictures of the finished office. As parts of my remodeling are finished I am trying to put the house back together. Nothing fits and I have no place to put anything. And it is a big house: 6 rooms that are approximately 22 x 13 feet and then another 6 rooms, 3 of which have weird dimensions. And I can’t seem to get anything to fit together. For some reason the long narrow rooms are easier than the big rooms, probably because I have fewer choices. My remodel gave me tons of storage but I can’t fit the furniture back in gracefully. Anyway, I want to see how you solved the office problem. I need inspiration.

    1. Jessie, I’ve seen advice to treat large rooms as two or three spaces, one conversation area, one reading area, etc. That breaks it up into manageable decorating challenges, with the whole a colour/texture coordination. Good luck! (I envy you your space.)

      1. In the old house in Ohio, that’s what I did with the huge rooms. The living room was 22 x17, so there was a lovely grouping of comfy chairs around the fireplace and then another around the TV cabinet in the other half of the room with a big table in between. We had a lot of good times in that room.

        1. These are excellent ideas. Of course, in the living room (14 x 24), the fireplace is centered on the long wall so it is about 10 feet from the north wall and 10 feet from the south wall. An 8 foot long triple arch by 6 1/2 foot tall palladian windows that comes to within 2 feet of the floor are directly across from the fireplace. There are two archways, each about 3 feet out from north wall. The archways are 5 feet wide and across from one another. So the entire north end of room is given to a 5 foot wide corridor with 3 feet to place stuff against the wall. I can’t believe I looked at this room and didn’t notice that it does not lend itself to conversation groups except for the huddle around the fireplace. I was seduced by the window and all that space.

          Which is why for 30 years everyone has congregated in the dining room (22 by 13) I have an old table my in-laws gave us that seats 12 people and everyone can get close enough to chat. Well, except for dinner by ourselves when my husband and I huddle at one end. When we were first married we lived in a studio apartment and I loved it. How did this happen?

          1. I think it’s hard because you have too many options you have to make a decision on and no cosy space.

            I’d start with one room, make it a cosy space, somewhere you and your husband can have breakfast or dinner comfortably without a huge table making you feel there should be half a dozen other people there. Old english houses did this, they had the dining room for formal occasions and a more casual room for family meals.

            As for furniture spacing, this is old school, but get a piece of paper and draw the different rooms to scale and then cut out pieces of paper the same size as your furniture and move them around till they fit. I am sure there are computer programs and spreadsheets for this, but the bits of paper make it more fun and less of a chore and you can colour them and cut them out of magazines and rearrange them

  14. I know it’s not the story you want to be writing, but I’m so glad to see someone else has the “oooh, shiny” new story problem I have. Seems everyone else in my writers’ group sticks with one novel and that’s it.

    Here’s hoping that if you do finish this story there’s some way to publish it, but moreso that it wanders away and you’re able to focus on You Again.

  15. I really like “Hell, No,” as a title.

    Maybe you could just write it as a really bad book? Not worry about the things that you need to know and the world-building and all your rules for good story, but just blurt it out as a terrible, truly terrible, first draft. And then self-publish it and sell it for .99 as an example of a truly terrible first draft (not under your own name, but under some pen name that you’re willing to share with us, like maybe, T. T. Draft). Because then you could get it out of your head and we could still have the fun of reading it. I suspect that your truly terrible first draft that breaks all your rules and isn’t edited and hasn’t had beta readers questioning every other line is still probably pretty entertaining.

    1. Yes, yes, Sarah has the answer. Publish all the fragments as ebooks with suitable warnings for the non-addicted.

      One of my favorite scenes ever was one of the versions of the woman who worked in the jewelry store that gets robbed. LOVED it, even though you ditched it for another version. Even if I don’t ever get to read the rest of the book. Still glad I read it.

  16. Instead of demons, I might remember that devils are fallen angels.

    Maybe he wants to retire and go home?

  17. Jenny said “…Death is not a character like the Devil…”

    But Death is a character. He’s a character early mummer plays and Italian & German folktales (there’s a wonderful folktale where a man picks Death to be his son’s godfather because Death shows no favoritism to either the rich or the poor. The boy becomes a doctor.) Death is a character in movies, in books, the tarot… Death comes for us.

    There is no corresponding character for Life – because we are Life. We come tearing into this world with violent exuberance every time we’re born. There’s no one character because we each explode onto the scene, break through the soil, crack the egg – do whatever we have to do to be born.

    You don’t have to use him as such (or her for that matter) but there’s a lot of literary precedence for making Death a character.

    1. Yes, but it doesn’t make sense to me.
      That is, I can see an underworld figure, a king of the dead, but not Death. The God of Thunder isn’t Thunder, he’s Thor.
      If we need Death to usher us out of this world, there must be a Life to usher us in. It just doesn’t make sense. Which doesn’t mean I don’t love Death in Discworld, but then a lot in Discworld doesn’t make sense and I’m okay with that.

      1. Okay, then here’s a thought.

        We don’t see Life on this plane of existence because they’re on the other side pushing us through….

        where they look a lot like Death. And what we call Death is pushing us through to the next plane of existence…to the next Life.

        And plane after plane, there’s a door with a doorkeeper who moves us through.

        Oooh, now I’m thinking of conductors on trains and I have a story kernel.

  18. I’m definitely not laughing at you because I have something that feels similar to this going on in another area of my life.
    I know my problem is resistance, plain and simple.
    I don’t know you personally well enough to know but I’m going to ask you, just in case.
    What is the first answer when I ask you – Jenny – why are you resisting finishing a book that you can actually publish?

    1. Ps I hope I didn’t offend you. If the question helps use it. Regardless I have nothing but respect and admiration for you.

      1. No, no, not offended. I just missed this comment somehow.

        I’m not sure this is publishable. Which has never bothered me before, but I think I’m going to run into the same problem with this that we did with Wild Ride, which is that the mythology eats the plot. In this case, all the action takes place on Earth, nothing that’s happening in Hell is anything more than back story for the plot, but in order to understand the plot, I’ll have to get the back story at least sketched in on the page. I’m having a wonderful time designing a non-denominational Hell, but the story is the romance and the crime/mystery, not anything happening Below.

        1. I think Judy meant why are you resisting writing YOU AGAIN, which is publishable. (Correct me if I’m wrong, Judy.) But if that’s what she meant, it’s a damn good question.

          And we’re laughing with you, not at you. (Snicker.)

          1. For some reason, it won’t claim the space in my brain that this one is. This one, I realize something new every day. The problems are huge, but it’s moving. You Again is just sort of sitting there, smiling aimlessly, waving as I go by. This sucker is the one saying, ‘And then . . . and then . . . “

  19. Jenny, I don’t care what you write as long as you do write. You publish it, I will buy it.

    1. Me too. I swear she could publish her shopping list and I would buy it. Because it’s sure to be entertaining — I can see it now, all kinds of goofy little existential comments about why everything is on the list….rationalizations…

  20. How about “Going to Hell to find my Lover” for a title for the work that is not going to be a book?

    It sounds like a very productive week and that is a great positive. Focus on the positive. “You Again” will progress eventually. You need a tidy office to write it in right? So all is good. Don’t be too hard on yourself.

          1. For one of my books? Community, baby, I’m all about community. Also it’s a romance novel, so nope.

  21. I am not laughing. Not. Laughing. (I am, however, grinning ear to ear. Totally doesn’t count.)

    You have my sympathies, because I, too, have a hard drive littered with partly finished stories. I tell myself it’s because I come up with ideas faster than I can write them.

    Whether you write Not Lucifer, or You Again, or something else, I will read it. And enjoy every second.

  24. Ironic that you posted this, I just started watching Lucifer and came over to Argh to read the posts about the plot issues. I like the show in general but feel it’s got some growing pains to go through still. I’m super excited to read about the characters that get stuck in your head as I have this problem ALL the time! I thought it was my ADD glad I’m not alone! Good luck focusing and keeping the devil away 😉

  25. (not laughing, but…)

    Show of hands: who else saw this coming from the very first post Jenny did on Lucifer?

    2. I knew another book was going to come along. It wouldn’t be any kind of blog journey story without a big reversal. I wonder what our heroine is going to do next?

      1. Swear at her computer because it keeps demanding her old keychain password which is long gone and because evidently the one usb port it owns is defunct. Grrrrrrr.

  26. Ages ago I said I thought writing was complex, sometime it just flows effortlessly, other times you have to hack your way to the path with a machete.

    I say just go with the flow, the voices in your head want this, they’re making this easy for a reason.

  27. This book disturbs you. I think to write a convincing book you have to be in love with your hero. But you maybe don’t trust the devil and you also think maybe subconsciously wonder whether you can make other people love him?

    I had a friend who wrote a vampire story. The heroine had cancer so she had nothing to live for. And so she let herself fall in love with the vampire who was absolutely adorable. You kind of watched this story develop with horror. Both of them were hopeless. I don’t know if she ever finished this story but it was one of those stories that leaves it mark on your memory (which is bad) …

    I’m not an expert by any standards. I do not not not understand how 50 shades got to be so popular because the hero was a drip and the heroine was so stupid she’d go and investigate the haunted attic at midnight while she’s alone with just a torch with a low battery…

    You are a natural comedy romance novelist. Maybe you’ve got a character – the devil – who isn’t funny? And is fighting with you? And the title? From Hell with Love.

    What if he’s been despatched to knock of the Heroine’s Angel because Hell thinks she’d make a good resident? But he falls in love with the heroine who really is good. And give him some opt out of hell clause where he finally has to give up being a devil and fall for the angel.

    Just a thought because that could lend itself to being a romantic comedy.

  28. This blog post is as timely as its entertaining. The group, One Million Moms, has filed some sort of complaint to Lucifer’s network because they made the Devil good looking and seductive and someone who appears to be cool.

    I ask you, my favorite fun group, what would be the point in succumbing to sin and seduction if the devil wasn’t any of those things? I don’t know a single person who’d follow Gollum or Pennywise into hell, do you?

    1. I’ve been reading about this on some of the newsgroups I follow, and the same point keeps getting made over and over: If you want the Devil to be portrayed as he is in the Bible and in mythology, hire Tom Ellis. The fact that the Moms don’t get it is hysterical.
      I still don’t like the show, and I think the dialogue they give him is terrible, but they cast it right.

      1. I haven’t seen the show because I definitely trust your opinion on it. The Moms group…I respect their feelings about what they hope and want to accomplish, but I think there are much bigger fish to fry. Particularly in a time when our society’s demons in 2016 are so unassuming and “normal” looking.

        And for me and the not-so-fast, not-so-firm teachings of a lapsed Catholic childhood lead me to think that Old Nick was once referred to as The Morning Star and originally one of the first favored by God. He looks less like Steve Buschemi and more Chris Hemsworth. He’s Thor. The devil is Thor.

      2. Coming back to this page to apologize to you and Phred for not friggin’ putting Tom Ellis and Lucifer together. Phred introduced me to Tom Ellis, Googled Tom Ellis, did not read who he actually is and what he does as I was stupefied by his looks. I’m shallow AND dumb. I’d cry if I didn’t laugh my head off first.

        1. It did cause ,everyone to double check I had the right name. But I can see why someone would find him distracting

  30. What if you are having a problem with her because you’ve named her incorrectly. Maybe she’s Italian and named Tina, after her grandmother, Faustina?

    1. I see what you did there, Julie. You’re wonderful. I vote Nick’s last name is Dante. Never trust a man with two first names. 🙂

  31. I am not laughing either…grinning ear to ear perhaps, in anticipation of maybe reading the Lucifer book one day…

  32. Crusie, I am laughing my ass off. But it’s a delighted laugh, because I’m just so damn glad to hear you say you’re writing. I don’t care what it is or how many problems you (currently) think you have with it, this entire post made me happy.

    Although, gotta say, I do have a preference for your romance fiction. It’s so crunchy.

    *steps back into lurkerdom*

  33. I agree. How can the devil be a romance hero? The only way it might work is if the devil isn’t a person (or entity) but The Devil is a job title that can be passed from one person to the next. Kind of like Westley and the Dread Pirate Roberts.

    Maybe this current Devil is looking to get out of the business. I mean really, how much sin can one person stand before getting bored? (Don’t answer that) But he can’t leave without finding a replacement. “Have you ever considered Devil-cy? You’d make a wonderful Dread Pirate Rob–scratch that–King of Hell.” Might be fun to explore how he became a Devil in the first place, too. Was he tricked into it? Did he ask for it? Wow, I’m having too much fun with this!

    Title suggestions: No Way in Hell or Hotter Than Hell or Hotter Than Sin

    1. That’s actually within spitting distance of the back story I’ve got.
      I’m good with the names and the back story and the plot. I just don’t have a title. Or a book.

      2. Nope.
        I know the back story, I know what he’s doing, I know what happens to him.
        I’m a little hazier on her, but I have a lot more cleaning to do, so I’m sure something will float to the top.

      3. I’ve been sitting on my hands, but I have to put a word in here for my husband’s book, “See You in Hell,” a comedy about a woman who’s a ruthless CEO, goes to hell, and does a corporate takeover. Dave ran into the same problem Jenny mentioned: his first drafts included a romance between his heroine and the devil, but it just didn’t work. So no romance…but plenty of snark. /end promo

  34. (whining) But I want this book, too! I agree, no desire at all to watch the show, but I’d pay money for this book in half a heartbeat. God, what I would give for just a drop of your imagination. And I love Hell, No as the title. It just works.

    Not laughing. Drooling.

  35. Not laughing, because a) that would be rude, and b) yes, this has happened to me, although not quite to the extent you’ve taken it. Perhaps I need to start painting enclosed spaces with oil-based paint?

  36. Very torn. I remember you saying at a Thurber House picnic that it got much harder to write when the voices stopped. So, the fact that this story has voices is great news, right?
    But I also understand what you’re saying about the hard part and being to get through that.
    And, selfishly, I just want more Crusie’s.
    So, good luck with all and Abby off it!

  37. The other thing I’ve seen done successfully is to use interesting shaped bookshelves or other furniture to act like walls.

    I use something called a step chest (I think mine is Korean style) to give my front door more of a foyer.

    You want something with an interesting shape however because regular tall bookshelves don’t usually flow in the room.

    1. Ooh, thank you! I hadn’t heard of step chests. They are prettier & possibly more useful than Tom Ellis (my other Google for the night).

  38. You have a step chest? I love step chests. They both store a ton of stuff and display it beautifully.

    Don’t mind my whining. The house was built in 1926 for a family and a maid so there is an assortment of rooms for living, entertaining and relaxing (music room, sun room, breakfast room). And if there were more than two of us and we did not operate as the warehouse for family furniture that no one wants to go out of the family but isn’t really suitable for day to day living, there would be no problem. I am giving real thought to having a cottage like Jenny’s in my future.

    1. I’d really rethink being a warehouse. My mother left an inventory of furniture and valuables with ‘MUST STAY IN THE FAMILY’ in caps all over it, but we’re all clear that we’re only going to keep the things we love. Stuff weighs you down, otherwise.

    2. If peeler don’t want it in their homes, they shouldn’t expect you to keep it for them either.

      I think stop being a warehouse too. First offer to family, but then let people for whom the old family furniture is “perfect” and they’re excited to put it in their space have it to love. You keep all the memories. And get furniture you love for your space.

  39. Ha.

    Wait, please don’t ban me! I’m laughing at myself, not you, because I have the opposite problem. I want to work on the new story, but the old characters won’t leave me alone. They won’t tell me what they want to do, but they won’t leave me alone either. The plan is to try some collaging and see if I figure anything out.

    But maybe I should paint something instead!

  40. I’m interested to learn if you find any correlations between demons and ghosts that might inspire you for You Again when you get your book order from Amazon.

    I mean, if we all grow and change over time, who’s to say that ghosts don’t change, evolve the longer they haunt someplace. What may have started out being a Casper-esque spritely spirit could eventually (given the right motivation and circumstances) wharp into one hell of a demon. Or at least a ghost that emulates demon-like qualities.

    Even May could potentially become worse the longer she’s forced to stay confined to Archer House. She’s still evolving, even if her surroundings stay the same. I imagine Alice will be facing a ghost with a severely different bend to her after the years and years she’s spent isolated at Archer House when May next encounters her niece.

    And the same could be true for Zelda’s ghost, depending on the nature of its death and who’s occupied the house it’s in.

    I think the demon books could help in the long run. I’d count that, too. 🙂

    1. I pretty much handwaved that part in the back story; the idea is that ghosts are the spirits that refused to enter the Afterlife on their own, so demons have to go fetch them, and some of them manage to escape detection and then just degrade, basically starve to death spiritually over a hundred years or so. That’s the set-up in Maybe This Time which is the book that would come before You Again.
      The parallel book to this one would be Wild Ride, with its demons on earth, so that’s the one I’ll have to make sure fits.

      1. Oooh! I loved Wild Ride! Now I’m beginning to think you should actually write this one. (Not helpful, I know. Sorry. But still.)

  41. Thought for a title…
    Hell’s Angel

    Their couple name could be Nikita.

    I couldn’t read all of the comments so I don’t know if these things have already been suggested.
    My imagination went into over drive reading this. I’ve not watched the show, but I agree with the trouble you’re having with the logistics of it all.
    It drives me nuts when the voices start pestering me until I write the one scene down and then they leave. *throws hands in the air* It’s like, “Well what purpose did that serve?”
    I have about 4 different stories started myself and then the muse decides to take a break for a few years. But this could all just be the Virgo in me and I’ll eventually get back to them. In the meantime, though, I’m left wondering what the hell happened to these people that I’ve now become intimately acquainted with?
    But I digress. My point is that we write what we write when we write it. Simple, yes, but oh so frustratingly true. You’ll get You Again done, but we cannot choose which voices talk when.
    Hopefully you can get this Lucifer story planned out enough to satisfy the Voices that Be so that you can get back to the story at hand.
    Either way I look forward to reading whatever you write.
    🙂

  42. Of course, I was hoping you’d name him Lucian or Lucas, but Nick is good to. I like her name, very pretty.

    So my literal brain has provided the following:

    Deal with the Devil
    Devil’s in the Details (meh)
    Dances with Demons

    Sadly, my muse has the sense of humor of a 12-year-old.

    Also, I’m Very Happy you are writing this. I’d read the hell out of this book/ series.

  43. Nick and Nita’s Infinite Playground! I swear I’m not laughing. I have more books in progress than you do and NO room to judge. But sometimes just getting excited about something again can transfer to the book you are supposed to be writing, so fingers crossed there.

    (My week’s progress: no longer in maintenance mode!)

  44. This thread’s got 109 comments. Are we in yellow alert?

    Do we need to maybe post new replies in next thread over? Writing/Romance?

    Is it probable to break the blog after all the work that Mollie’s put into it? FYI This is Argh, anything’s possible. 😉

    “The power, the pleasure, the pain…”

    1. It generally breaks around the 300 mark; I try to pull the plug and redirect a lot earlier. I’ll keep an eye on it–thanks for letting me know–but there’ll be another Book Done Yet on Friday, so I can close the comments then.

  45. Love Is the Thing with Horns? Pitched Intentions? Dance with the Devil? Date from Hell? The Devil Gets His Dame? The Devil Inside Her? 😉

  47. “Must love hellhounds”

    Clearly my brain is going to keep working on titles until the day the book is released. Sorry.

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