Bloodline Doodling
Posted Tuesday, 01/21/20
Now that Glinhaven has been put to bed (so to speak), I'm back onto the Bloodline Trilogy. I'm taking up where I left off in Bloodfrost with part two of the trilogy, Bloodlust. There are roughly fifty pages of Bloodlust already written, but because there was such a long gap between writing Bloodfrost and its sequel (when I was finishing The Crypt Artist and Glinhaven), I had to familiarize myself with every aspect of the storyline again. Hence, I spent last weekend re-reading Bloodfrost and the maiden pages of Bloodlust.
There are scattered bits of symbolism throughout the trilogy. If you've already read Bloodfrost, you are aware of the bells and half-moons both main characters Noel and Pim see etched in candle glass. They do have specific connotations, which are revealed later in the book. The symbols are actually hints into the future. Of course, neither Noel nor Pim know it at the time. It's only when the hints come to fruition that they link them to the symbols, and after the mysterious character Shoji warns Noel about what could happen. More symbols are planted near the end of Bloodfrost. They do spill over into Bloodlust, where their meanings are made increasingly evident as the story moves on.
The symbol refresher proved to be a worthwhile endeavor. To that end, I'm currently writing Bloodlust and hope to have it finished by late summer or early autumn of this year.
While I was boning-up on symbolism over the weekend, I took an hour or so and played with the book cover designs for both Bloodlust and Blood & Soul. Sometimes, but not often, the quickest excursions into cover design brings about the best results. And so it did this time, luckily. Special thanks goes to artist Anton Belovodchenko for the wonderful photos, on which each cover was based.
And, as I've said before, writing as "Deidre Dalton" requires a different mindset:
Writing as myself, and then switching to my literary pseudonym Deidre Dalton, entails a complete change in mindset. While most of my books are generally descriptive, those written under the "Deidre" hat tend to swim in much darker waters. This isn't to say I possess split personalities, but the creative direction requires a definite swing in focus.
The books I've written under the "Deidre" moniker go deeper into the dark side of various personalities, and some of the actions undertaken thereof require a balance between good taste and blatant sexuality and/or violence. If I were to psychoanalyze myself, I'd have to say this all began in my teen years when I wrote murky verses and followed my morbid train of youthful thought, as evidenced in my book of poems known as Torn Bits & Pieces.
The fictional result of my shadowy ventures has become the Collective Obsessions Saga, to be followed closely by the Bloodline Trilogy. When the trilogy is complete sometime next year, I'm not sure where I'll head wearing my "Deidre" hat. Anyone's guess is as good as mine, but rest assured Deidre Dalton will make a reappearance, in one way or another.
Wish me luck. ;)
