Let's see what happens

[ksmith]

Well, looks like we will be doing something about all the large-scale junk in the garage--Mom phoned a junk guy, who will be coming over this afternoon to give her an estimate for the hauling. If he proves reasonable and this works out, it will be such a relief. There are 2 refrigerators, an old upright organ, assorted chests of drawers, and a couple of broken-down exercise bikes--yes, I used them until the bearings wore out. There are old desks and chairs in the cellar. I've gotten pretty handy withthe 4-wheeled dolly over the last few months, but there are some things I just can't move on my own.

Still awaiting word about whether the Feds have accepted my e-filed return. If memory serves, I think TT was supposed to email me that they had received word, but in case what memory served up turned out to be a big zero, I will check tonight when I get home.

Still fiddling with the new Jani 5 Chapter 1, and the secondary POV. This character isn't what we would call normal, but I need to give the impression of obsession and not-quite-rightedness while avoiding the tumble into barking-madness. Also working out conversations between Jani and other characters--her Dad, Lucien, Niall, John. I often make notes of this dialogue with an eye toward using it in the book. Sometimes I do, but usually all it does is serve to align everyone's attitudes and help set the tone for relationships. There's a talk with her Dad that's going to play a part in this book, I think. She needs to realize at that point how much she's scaring people who care about her.

Jani had a difficult relationship with her parents, but she was too self-absorbed and intent on getting off Acadia to realize it. She tends to run over people--is that a surprise?

This conversation with her father is going to occur about halfway through the book, I think. It's going to be interesting.

Comments

[kinetikatrue]

I was actually thinking about this while reading the latest Jani book and it seemed to me that it was an amalgamation of the way in which some people are scared of people who they see as foreign/alien, as she is, quite literally, an other, and the way some people are scared of people with lots of tattoos or piercings or hair that's dyed "unnatural" colors, as it wasn't something she was born with, but something that she is as a result of modifications to her body. I don't think there's anything to be scared of in her - at least not in that regard - but I can certainly see where it would come from.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I think Jani's also attuned to people's perceptions of her because as a colonial, she's used to getting the short end of the stick. She's used to people who controlled her future considering her not quite the thing.

[kinetikatrue]

That does come across as well, though in a completely different way than it does with Niall. Of course, if I've been reading the story arc correctly, it looks like he's going to break out of some of that in the coming book, as well, so I'm very much looking fora=ward to seeing how that comes about.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Jani throws it back in their faces, while Niall tries to conform. Funny that they manage to get along as well as they do.

Hmmmm...I'm not 100% sure what Niall will do in J5, although he will be a driver in the beginning, and involved throughout. It's that mess in the middle that complicates...

[kinetikatrue]

Not so funny as all that. They understand something fundamental about eachother. It's what makes them inverses of eachother. In fact, it's so deeply rooted in them that I'm really not sure what it would take to sever that connection irrevocably. Even while they spent most of the last book in opposition to eachother, you could still see that things weren't finished.

As for what will happen to Niall in the next book, I'd assume you certainly know better than I, but the thing that I've been rooting for is for him to find some sort of solace.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

>Not so funny as all that. They understand something fundamental about eachother. It's >what makes them inverses of eachother. In fact, it's so deeply rooted in them that I'm >really not sure what it would take to sever that connection irrevocably. Even while they >spent most of the last book in opposition to eachother, you could still see that things >weren't finished.

A friend calls them 'two old souls'. So much alike that they're almost too much alike. Never truly restful in one another's company because they know one another too well--neither can hide much from the other.

>As for what will happen to Niall in the next book, I'd assume you certainly know better >than I,

Heh--don't be too sure. Sometimes that understanding doesn't come until 2 drafts later.

>but the thing that I've been rooting for is for him to find some sort of solace.

He deserves a break.

Something else to think about...

[kinetikatrue]

He deserves a break.

Something else to think about...

This has caused me to wonder: what would he do, if he didn't do what he does? And I really can't think of a good answer.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Indeed. At this point, he thrives on order, and possesses a fundamental belief in systems that Jani discarded long ago.