Scarlett: Halfway There And Nothing To Wear

I’m afraid I’ve been so caught up in the developing love story between Gabriel and Chloe that I’ve been neglecting our blog and our Facebook page.

All right, I confess. I’ve been more into the research than the blogs or the social media. Who could blame me?

But I’m here now, and I’ve made a discovery. James and I have reached the unofficial halfway point in the manuscript: 47,580 words. Quite an accomplishment, given everything else that’s on our plates at the moment.

I think this calls for a celebration. I would invite all of you, but James and I do our best celebrating when it’s just the two of us. Isn’t that right, my love? Just you and I, a tub full of scented bubbles, some candles and mood music, maybe a tray of chocolate treats….

James? Sweetheart? Baby? Lover? How soon can you get here? Hmmmm?

James: Gabriel's Blog

I wasn't expecting this.

 

My life is lived on the road, never home for long. I spend so much time travelling that my house doesn't even feel like a home. Why? Because there's no one there waiting for me.

 

I haven't really had a place that really feels like home since the deaths of my parents. They've been gone for years, taken away from me by a drunk driver. Since then, I've just kept busy, so much so that I've forgotten how to have a life.

 

I can feel it sometimes. I can be somewhere, taking a photo of some beautiful spot, and creeping in there is this feeling of being alone. Of being lonely.

 

Well, sometimes the unexpected comes along and floors you. It's happening to me.

 

She's had a hard time of it. Her father abandoned her when she was a child. What kind of man does that to his own child? Not much of a man.

 

It's still got a hold of her. It's still influencing her life. She deserves so much better then what happened to her. How do I get her to see that?

Scarlett: Chloe's Blog

I have trust issues. There, I've said it.

It's not without good reason. I grew up in the Flyover, as it's commonly known. I call it Purgatory, because it's somewhere between Heaven and Hell. Life in the Midwest can be laid-back, idyllic...that's the Heaven part. It can also be boring, and with the exception of the major cities, a place of limited possibilities. That's where Hell comes in.

It was hell for my father. He went over the wall when I was seven, and he never looked back. He wanted out so badly, he left without his wife and child. I've wondered why he didn't take us with him. It was one thing to leave a place, another to leave his family.

For a time, I wondered if Mom had refused to go. Mom was born and raised in Jefferson County. She'd always been happy there. I can't imagine Mom wanting to go anywhere. But knowing how much she loved him, well, she would have gone to Mars with him if he had asked her.

He hadn't asked.

So why did he go? Why did he leave us? I wish I knew. I wish I knew what was wrong with me to make him decide he no longer wanted to be my daddy. A part of me has always felt inferior somehow because of it.

I grew up unable to trust men because of it. I ended up involved with men who were, in one way or another, all wrong for me. A shrink would probably say these were subconscious choices. I don't know. Maybe.

Recently, I met the most wonderful man--online, of all places. Is he too good to be true? Time will tell.

James: Olivia and Rachel

A passage from chapter twelve:

Olivia stepped off the elevator in her condo building, late in the afternoon, coming home from work. She and Rachel had plans this evening, concert tickets with the Philharmonic. It was an all Beethoven performance, a piano sonata, a piano concerto, and the Fifth Symphony. Assuming Rachel’s not in the middle of a long delivery, Olivia thought with a smile. She had been called by the hospital at five this morning for a delivery, and from time to time it took a lot longer than expected.

She walked down the hall, unlocking the door to their condo, and stepped inside. Rachels’ shoes were by the door. Well, she’s home. Classical music played softly in the background. She took off her shoes, setting her briefcase down, and moved through the condo, finding the bedroom door open. Rachel was there, appraising herself in a mirror, wearing a cream colored strapless cocktail dress, one that Olivia knew well, and fondly remembered from other evenings spent together.

“Hi,” Olivia softly called, approaching her.

“Hey, honey,” Rachel said, glancing back, warmly smiling.

Olivia wrapped her arms around her fiancee gently from behind, softly kissing her shoulder. Her short hair was nearly dry, and Olivia thought she caught the scent of that conditioner Rachel liked. “Busy day?” she asked.

Rachel laughed. “The mother had twins.”

“Good God… that must have been fun.”

“Honey, if we decide to have kids, you’re the one giving birth.”

Olivia laughed. “So noted.” She held Rachel a bit longer, just basking in the moment. Rachel’s parents would have never approved of them. They had been unable to accept her coming out, and hadn’t spoken to her in ten years. Her own parents, both dead now, how would they have felt? They had been distant parents, tied up with business and society, barely involved in her life. Her childhood had consisted of a series of nannies and governesses responsible for her upbringing, her mother and father rarely showing any interest in her. My family is right here, she and I, Olivia thought.

“Come on,” Rachel said softly. “Time for you to get ready, sweetness.”

“So it is. If we keep standing here like this, it won’t take long before I want to get you out of this dress.” Rachel smiled, stepping out of Olivia’s arms, and lightly kissed her, heading out of the room. Olivia’s smile broadened, and she headed over to the closet, thinking of that wine red cocktail dress they both liked. Yes, that would do.

James: Other Points Of View

We've been doing a little bit of filling in the gaps in the last little while.

One of the ideas we started out with in the book was the concept that Same Time, Tomorrow would be told from the point of view of our two main characters, Chloe and Gabriel. Scarlett was writing Chloe's point of view, and I was writing Gabriel's point of view.

Simple, right?

A couple of chapters back, Scarlett added in a very brief passage in a hospital between two supporting characters, George and Cass, neighbors and friends of Chloe's mother Linda. It was the first time we had taken ourselves out of the POV of our main characters.

We decided to play around with the idea, add in a few pieces here and there from the point of view of other characters we've introduced. The list of supporting characters would then include not just George and Cass, which we've already done, but also Linda's POV as well. Scarlett has some ideas in mind down the line for Linda, which really enrich her character.

And beyond that? Scarlett created a character named Dana, a work friend of Chloe. Earlier in the writing process I happened to write her coming across Gabriel, flirting shamelessly with him (she's a complete flirt) and then finding out that his interests lie elsewhere. I added on a scene recently featuring Dana coming home, one that played with the humor of the character.

Two other characters we've now extended this to are Olivia and Rachel. Olivia is Gabriel's agent. Rachel is her fiancee. I created the characters themselves early on, and the passages I wrote for them as their POV more recently play into the tenderness and intimacy between the two women. It also created more depth for Olivia, who would otherwise come across purely as comic relief.

All of this has led us to ideas for sequels. Dana's got some real promise, with some ideas that Scarlett suggested. And the history between Olivia and Rachel feels right.

Then there's another idea, another woman we haven't introduced formally yet. She'll have to wait for the second book headlined by our Chloe and Gabriel.

No, we're not telling!