I See Me: Author-Read-Along: Chapters Eight and Nine

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CHAPTER EIGHT – important beats:

The bike – Beau gifting Rochelle with freedom
BLACKWELL!!! “A dark-haired, dark-suited man walked through the entrance with not a drop of rain on him.”
And what does Blackwell want?
Heartbreak … if Beau can see and ‘interact’ with Blackwell, then Beau is just an elaborate hallucination. Which Rochelle allows herself to believe because why else would someone like him be with her? If not for the fact that he wasn’t real?

Favourite Quotes

Jesus, my mind was wicked. Brilliant but wicked. To have conjured someone so complex, as compelling and terrifying as him … Blackwell. – I See Me, Oracle 1, Chapter Eight

But … the hot apple juice was a lie. A lie of love whispered in my ear by my evil, broken brain. – I See Me, Oracle 1, Chapter 8

CHAPTER NINE – important beats:

Beau, Beau, Beau – beautiful Beau knows when he is over his head, when he perhaps hasn’t handled a situation properly and he’s not afraid to go for help/back-up.

More BG on Beau here. Hints of a nasty childhood … is it better to be an orphan like Rochelle or have parents like Beau? I pick neither 🙁

Rochelle thinks everything … the necklace, the Brave, and even Beau are all part of some massive hallucination. One she is unwilling to wake up from now that she ‘conjured’ Beau.

Favourite Quotes

“And you love me.” Beau was crying now as well, shaking with it. “You love me, without question. Like no one has ever loved me. Not because of how I look, or what you think you can get me to do for you. And you think it’s a lie. You think it’s a lie.” – I See Me, Oracle 1, Chapter Nine.

“It can’t be true,” I whispered. “That would be even crazier than I already am.” – I See Me, Oracle 1, Chapter Nine.

I See Me (Oracle 1) read-a-long

Chapter Eight & Nine (above)

Chapter Ten & Eleven

What were your thoughts, comments, and/or questions on Chapter Eight and Nine?

I See Me: Author-Read-Along: Chapters Six and Seven

*SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* *SPOILERS*

CHAPTER SIX – important beats:

APPLE JUICE!
Eyes changing colour (magic).
Some hints to Beau’s not-so-great BG
Rochelle’s art from Beau’s POV. He sees the magic, but doesn’t know how to talk to Rochelle about it.

Favourite Quotes

He’d had the bakery heat up apple juice for me. I shouldn’t read too much into the action. There was no way he could possibly know what apple meant to me, just because I ordered apple pie last night. But still, my throat constricted, and when I tried to hold the emotion at bay, it flooded with a wave of heat through my face and neck. I gasped when the tightness moved to my chest. I couldn’t breathe. Oh, God. I think this was … happiness. Extreme, insane happiness. This didn’t happen in real life.

“It’s okay?” he asked.

“Yes,” I choked out. I looked up from the hot apple juice in my hand to lock my gaze to his. His face was blurry through my unshed tears.

“Don’t kick me out,” he said.

“I won’t.” – I See Me, Oracle 1, Chapter 6

CHAPTER SEVEN – important beats:

Pocket of bliss (including the references to the function of the Brave in Chapter Six “a microcosm of our own design.”) and Rochelle’s disbelief in “true love” or “fate,” which is VERY important later.
Hoyt is back. Silver reflection – Rochelle getting some hints here about magic (etc) that she promptly tries to reason away.
Beau stays.

Favourite Quotes

I was broken in a way that couldn’t be repaired. I could only endure. I really, really hoped that Beau staying meant he’d endure with me. – I See Me, Oracle 1, Chapter 7

I See Me (Oracle 1) read-a-long

Chapter One

Chapter Two & Three

Chapter Four & Five

Chapter Six & Seven (above)

Chapter Eight & Nine

What were your thoughts, comments, and/or questions on Chapter Six and Seven?

I See Me (Oracle 1): Chapter 2 and 3 – Author-Read-Along

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CHAPTER TWO – thoughts/notes/quotes:

Social worker scene – setting up how terribly alone Rochelle is, devoid of true human contact, her orphan status and ‘mental illness’ have segregated her from the world. No matter how strong she wants to be, everyone needs someone …

BTW, the scene with the jeweller is one of Michael’s favourite scenes in the book.

Notes

Necklace – broken, tarnished, and with a roughly-hewn antique-white diamond (so slightly darker/cloudier than the one pictured below). A piece of Rochelle’s past surfacing right before she begins her new chapter.

Favourite Quotes

It was nice that she cared, though. I’d just had more than enough of nice in my life. I wanted more than nice, but didn’t believe that more existed. So I’d take nothing – and no one – on my own terms every day, starting today. Nice just didn’t work for me anymore. – I See Me (Oracle 1), Chapter Two

CHAPTER THREE – thoughts/notes/quotes:

THE BRAVE!! “It was absolutely hideous. I loved every inch of it.” – Rochelle’s retreat, her ‘coccoon’. [I was going to insert a picture here – but am blogging on my iPad right now. Will come back to do so tomorrow.]

Notes

Gary/Tess -N.B. ‘dinner smells’ – make Rochelle’s stomach rumble though food means little to her in other situations.

Favourite Quotes

Keeping my mouth shut was my best defence against life. – I See Me, Oracle 1, Chapter Three

I See Me (Oracle 1) read-a-long

Chapter One

Chapter Two & Three (above)

Chapters Four and Five

What were your thoughts, comments, and/or questions on Chapter Two and Three?

I See Me (Oracle 1): Chapter 1 – Author-Read-Along

Okay – as I mentioned here – I’m rereading I See Me, Oracle 1 in preparation for writing Oracle 2. I’ve written and released Dowser 4 as well as written Dowser 5 since having Rochelle and Beau in my head, so I wanted to acquaint myself with their voices before really digging into the next book (though I already know the plot, the players, and the locations). I’m going to pin this post for awhile and link all the read-a-long posts at the bottom for easier navigation. Please feel free to comment, ask questions, discuss things with each other, etc. below.

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I See Me (Oracle 1) is an origin story. I adore writing origin stories. But it’s also a love story. The scene where Rochelle and Beau first meet haunted me for over a year before I gave in and wrote their story. I’d taken a lot of notes and sketched out a few scenes, but it wasn’t until I was halfway through the first draft of Dowser 4 that I See Me demanded to be written, needed to be written then – for timeline reasons – so I set Dowser 4 aside and devoted a few months to R&B. So … an Origin story. I loved the idea of an adept growing up not know anything about magic – how would that be possible? Under what circumstances? What would the ‘human’ world think magic was? Who would be the first to understand/find/interact with that person? And … a pure romance. Under what circumstances could two people come together and bond so completely that they began to believe in ‘true love’ and ‘love at first sight’? Ideas that almost anyone who hasn’t experienced the phenomena sneers at these days. Anyway, more on that later. CHAPTER ONE – thoughts/notes/quotes: Opening line: I wanted the book to immediately begin with a hint of the conflict to come. In the first draft of I See Me every chapter began with dialogue, each scene opened somewhere in the middle of the action to continually drive the plot and story forward. In later drafts I tweaked that setup somewhat for clarity and grounding (adding setting, etc, upfront). I worried about the possible slow start and build of this book for readers who were coming into this universe for the first time through this book (and didn’t understand that magic was at play). But I hoped that readers of the Dowser Series would figure out pretty quickly who the ‘bad guys’ were and be intrigued by their interaction with Rochelle in these early chapters. Notes

Colours, shades of grey, and black/white. Rochelle views the world in a VERY specific way – for her almost everything is perceived as some shade of grey. It’s important to note what she sees in colour, and what she renders in B&W.
Names: only people of some importance have actual names. This is another way Rochelle keeps herself distanced from people.

Favourite Quotes

Other people wanted to be haunted by my imaginary friends so much that they willing paid hundreds of dollars per sketch. My shrink would point that out as a silver-lining, but I’d prefer working at McDonald’s over delusions, any day. – I See Me (Oracle 1), Chapter One Today was my birthday. Today I would be free … well, as free as my mind would let me be. If I could just render the shading of the blade’s edge perfectly. – I See Me (Oracle 1), Chapter One

I See Me (Oracle 1) read-a-long

Chapter One (above)

Chapter Two & Three

Chapter Four and Five

Chapter Six and Seven

What were your thoughts, comments, and/or questions on Chapter One?