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Gothland - Author's Notes by Elina  graphic by Ang Here are a few notes on the different portions of "Gothland", which you may or may not find interesting. Emmy Sue - Obviously, this piece was written for Emmy, but I think it wound up being for me. I had written On The Porch with the idea in my head of an entire series of stories set in that universe, but I hadn't taken steps to make any of them a reality until Emmy challenged me to write something for her, featuring an Emmy/Joey pairing. Something set in the Gothland AU was the first thing that popped into my head, and I started work on it. However, it languished without an ending until I started to feel bad about not completing my friend's story. I beat my head against a wall, trying to figure out how to end it so it would dovetail with On The Porch. Nemoinis was the goddess with the right words to get my synapses firing in the proper direction, and I am eternally grateful for her help. And I'm grateful to Emmy, because writing this piece gave me direction and inspiration for the rest of the series. On The Porch - This story is set in a fictional version of The Church, the real-life Goth club I attend on a semi-regular basis, as are all the other stories in the series. I enjoy meeting people who have read On The Porch, or making my RL friends read it, so I can take them to the club and say things like, "That bench right there! That's where Joey kissed JC!" I'm evil that way. Move Your Body - All credit goes to my betas, Ang and Emmy, for this piece being at all readable. It started off as a complete ugly mess, and there was much rejoicing when I realized I needed to just rewrite the whole thing. Face Off - To go along with the notes at the end of the story, here is a link to an informative, if drug-positive, site with more information on Ecstasy. (Be warned: there are ads for adult-oriented websites on the linked page.) Again, my thanks to Emmy, who helped me figure out things I needed to clarify. Surprise Ending - Shine beta-read not one, but two versions of this story, and I will love her forever for it. Her words helped me figure out that what I thought was the final draft really wasn't the story I had intended to tell at all, necessitating another total rewrite. Let us all bow our heads in a moment of silent gratitude. And, here's the recipe for a Tuaca Lemondrop, courtesy of this page: 1 shot Tuaca Yummy. And In The End - The final portion of the story was mostly written via an AIM chat with Velma, with beta provided by Shine once again. Gothland soundtrack: These are the songs I loaded into my Winamp, hit shuffle, and played on repeat for hours as I wrote this series. The list is almost entirely random, and the only connecting factor is an element of movement - body-moving or emotions-moving, either one. Final thoughts: Writing Gothland has been a wonderful experience for me. It's the first series I've completed, and the most writing I've done in a short timeframe for ages. My thanks go out to everyone who has written kind words and sent encouraging thoughts. I also need to thank the denizens of The Church for providing unwitting inspiration - without them, Chris, Justin, JC, Joey, Lance, and Britney wouldn't know how to be proper Goths. And, of course, my deepest thanks are reserved for Velma, who supported me and encouraged me every step of the way. Every time I faltered, every time I doubted my ability to do this, she was there with support and humor and suggestions. I cannot express how grateful I am for her presence in my life. |