Thursday, September 15, 2011

Admission

Okay, I admit it, I'm a hopeless blogger!  It's been over a month since I shared anything with you.  But, in my defense I would like to state that in that time I have moved, been remodelling, having an addition built, rehearsing for the part of Glinda in The Wizard of Oz, been running my business, and, oh yes, let's not forget, writing the 3rd Custodian Novel.  Phew!  So I ask forgiveness if my blogging isn't up to par.  I'm not complaining, though.  I do admit all this stuff going on at once can get a little overwhelming but it's also very exciting.

But enough about my hectic life.  I would like to tell you the story of what happened when I was down in the dungeons of Norwich Castle (as promised).

To get to the dungeons you first have to walk through a room filled with all kinds of torture instruments *shudders*.  Then through a room where 'my' talking heads reside, along with a couple of cells with manequins in, just like I described in The Emerald Staff.

My guide was about to take me down into the actual dungeon when she noticed the lights were off.  I looked down the stairs leading to the god forsaken hole in the ground and it was black as pitch down there.  I really did shudder then.  My guide explained that the light switch was up in the guard's office and told me to stay where I was, while she went and turned them on. 

She left, leaving me all alone surrounded by cells and unsavory looking wax heads, which just got my imagination flowing.  After a moment I started to hear chains rattle and people moaning.  It was the most forlorn sound I'd ever heard.  Suffering and misery was apparent in the sounds resonating around the room.

The strange thing was I wasn't spooked.  My first thought was that the guide had turned on a CD while she was up in the guard's office to add to the atmosphere.  She had told me there would be a guided tour of the dungeons shortly after my private one. I just assumed they did that to give people a better idea of what it would have sounded like in the days where people were locked away and forgotten about.

A while later the guide returned and I mentioned to her how I thought the CD of moaning voices and rattling chains was an excellent idea.  She gave me a strange look and said, "We don't play any CDs down here."

7 comments:

  1. Wow... I have never had any kind of "paranormal" experience, but I can imagine I would be totally creeped out, even though I find the concept of it all very fascinating. I have a cousin who has seen things and people, and he has said that he wasn't spooked by them either, but that he either thought they were someone else or knew that they wouldn't hurt him.

    Oh! I had noticed a while back that you had "Wings" on your book list. I'd been seeing it, but hadn't quite convinced myself to read it until I saw it on your list. Gave it a try and just finished the third in the series. :-) Pretty good story so far - thanks for sharing! Do you have any recommendations for other books that you have particularly enjoyed?

    I have also been wondering, if your series were ever made into a movie, who would be your ideal cast?

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  2. Hi Mandy,

    I had a reader email me through my website. He was so excited about the stories that he also included a complete cast list of who he thought would be great. We went back and forth with ideas for actors and it was so much fun.

    I think this is a great idea for a post. As you can probably tell, I'm always looking for ideas for posts, as I'm not very good at this blogging thing. Thanks for sticking with me, btw :-)

    I will definitely put this question up as a post in the next week or so and I'd be interested who you could see as a cast. I have my ideas on some, infact I kind of saw the actor/model as I built the character but others I just can't think of anyone.

    As for book recs. Do you like to read adult paranormal too? I absolutely loved the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning.

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  3. I would have to think about the cast thing... probably re-read the books to get back into the feel of things (which is convenient because I tried out a new book last night that was free for Kindle and wasn't really digging it). I think that would make a fun blog post. :-)

    I'm not a great blogger either... for that matter I've been behind on reading them lately too. Somehow, though, whenever I think about catching up on your blog, you have recently posted! So that's fun. :-) Life happens, so I can't blame you a bit.

    I'm good with a lot of paranormal/fantasy/scifi stuff. Haven't quite jumped on board with the whole vampire scene, but I'm enjoying the faeries and dragons and just about anything with Celtic ties. Any target age is fair game to me, as long as it is well-written. :-)

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  5. Okay so I am re-reading now. Finished The Amulet again and started on The Emerald Staff last night. Choosing a cast is harder than I thought! My "dream team" picks are:
    Faedra: Emma Watson - I think because I just love her... but also I think she could pull off this role well.
    Faen: Sean Biggerstaff or Nicholas Hoult - For a while I had Sterling Knight in mind, as far as image, but now I'm thinking one of these guys would be perfect.
    Jocelyn: Tamzin Merchant - I can't imagine anyone else in this role.
    Vivianna: Kiera Knightly - I'm not as big a fan of hers as I used to be, but I think she would be a great villan.
    Henry: Clive Owen or Sean Bean Can't decide...

    This is where names start to escape me (sorry...), but I think Ewan McGregor, Hugh Jackman or Gerard Butler would be fun as Faedra's uncle. Alan Rickman (because he *must* be in here somewhere) might be good as the fae King. And I would love to see Jeremy Irons and Roger Rees in there somewhere... maybe as the dragons from book 2. I know I'm leaving a lot out... I couldn't think of who I'd like to see as Faedra's girlfriends, or Faen's friend. I'll have to keep reading and see if anyone comes to mind.

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  6. Hi Mandy

    Great ideas!! You know, Tamzin Merchant is who I had in mind for Jocelyn all along but I didn't know her name. I saw her in Pride and Prejudice. Never seen Game of Thrones. I did write a long response to your comment but for some reason Blogger deleted while I was posting it :-( Will respond with a more detailed reply in a Blog post, very shortly, I promise :-)

    This will actually make a fun blog post, I wonder if anyone else will respond with suggestions? I'll write down the suggestions that a reader emailed me a few months back.

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  7. That is so funny! :-) I have only ever seen her in P&P as well, and that's exactly how I pictured her. I even hear her voice when I'm reading! I'd say that says something about your writing and ability to capture a character's personality. ;-) I'd love to know what others are thinking. The only ones that I've sort of "cemented" in my imagination while reading are who I imagine Faedra, Jocelyn and Vivianna to be. The more I think about Henry, though, the more I lean towards Clive Owen. I think he'd pull of a fatherly role better than Sean Bean.

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