Haruhara Haruko from FLCL
I mentioned over the weekend that I was thinking about Dawn Addison from Raven’s Hold. Then the week got away from me, but now I’m back to post this for the . . . wow, those are horrible stats. Well, moving on.
At the beginning of the year, I ambitiously said I’d write a sequel for Raven’s Hold and post it on the blog throughout October. For those that didn’t read it, this was the supernatural thriller I attempted. Scary things happening in an asylum, main character is trying to escape, and bad stuff happens. Dawn Addison was one of the bad guys and she really stole the show. This character was insane, fun, devious, very memorable, and probably the best thing to come out of the story. So it was a shame when this year started off so poorly that I announced that I wouldn’t be doing any more. To be fair, 2016 has really sucked.
Anyway, I’ve been trying to find a place for Dawn and it hasn’t been working out. She is a rather unique character and I’d have to rewrite her. In the Shattered States, she’d lose the supernatural stuff, which is a big part of her mentality and drive. She could be a figure that they run into and she thinks there are ghosts, but then everything would be either traps or coincidences. Dawn kind of loses her menace at that point. In Windemere, the supernatural stuff would be rather common for that world and her insanity wouldn’t really factor into that being around. Why would anybody be surprised that there are ghosts in a world where you have dragons, zombies, orcs, elves, vampires, trolls, and all manner of monsters? That includes ghosts too.
I considered having her make a small appearance in every series. Just a strange wanderer through my mind that has no impact on the story. For example, Dawn appears to have a chat with Lloyd before he moves on. Then people see her asking for Nyx’s autograph before disappearing. Rather silly and pointless. This was when I thought she could be a character who is roaming dimensions in search of something. This did get scrapped because I do like her as a villain.
So, what am I thinking and hoping to get feedback on?
I’m considering another attempt at a sequel that will be posted day by day in October. This would be an unedited manuscript since I still have so much on my plate and this is still in the planning stages. The new story is that Dawn is back to killing in the real world and only a detective considers her a suspect. The story is a race to stop Dawn from completing a list and each person dies in a bizarre or brutal way. A big part is delving into Dawn’s past and discovering what drove her to Raven’s Hold. She will still have strange things happen around her, which leads to death and mayhem.
The problem I’m having is deciding on the setting. Having Dawn get chased around a big city is fun, but I think she worked better in a contained area. So I was leaning toward having her in charge of a hotel that appeared overnight and is very popular. It’s an easy way for her to get victims too. Probably have a few deaths happen off the premises like a zoo incident or one where the target is convinced to leave by the cop. This might turn into a rather open game of cat and mouse with Dawn routinely teasing the cop. I mean, how do you arrest someone for murder when it was done in a way that can’t be explained?
All of this is because I can’t get Dawn Addison out of my head. She really should be used again and get her full story told. What do people think?
Legends of Windemere 
I agree that her story needs to be told. I like the hotel idea! I also agree that she would lose key elements if you shifted her to your Bedlam series. Besides, you already have Lloyd there.
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I am curious to see how she would work with Lloyd since they’re different flavors of crazy. I might push back my next project to fiddle with this idea a bit more. This could require that I work in the opposite direction that I usually do. Come up with the story sequence first and then the characters.
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Okay. Since she’s on your mind, I take that as a good avenue to pursue.
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Once I clear the editing run of Snow Tiger, I’ll give her some attention. Next week doesn’t seem like it’ll be good for new book writing any way.
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Well, you’ve already done the island. So, a hotel works well, in a Psycho (or, even better, Shining) kinda way. Go for it!!
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I was thinking about Psycho and Shining, but I might make it more urban and busy. Instead of having only a few people there, I’d have it a busy building and only a few people are targets. Makes it harder for the cop to figure things out. Be interesting to think about how a huge group of people would deal with seeing a paranormal event since single people or small groups can be shrugged off as crazy.
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Nice!
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Timeshare would be perfect. Lots of traffic and angst. A brutal sales presentation would be a good place for her to hide in plain sight. Pursuit is good, but the predator gets more dangerous when it’s finally cornered.
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I’m not really sure how a Timeshare works. Always imagined it being one person in a place at a time. I always think of some guy with a presentation in a barely furnished room with palm trees out the window.
What about a predator that doesn’t believe it can be cornered even when it is?
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Timeshare sales usually involve a locked door presentation that devolves into sensory deprivation. Eventually, people write the check just so they can leave. They usually do this at the resort, so it can be a nice place. Nice steady stream of victims, lots of angst. Good setup.
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Maybe. Think my only concern is that means most of the people there would be from a certain demographic or in a bad mood. I have to think if that works off Dawn’s mentality. There’s also Corvus to consider since he’s still around. Almost forgot about him.
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I vote for Dawn in the busy Hotel. Sounds great.
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Thanks. Seems to be a popular setting.
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Sounds like fun .
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If she’s in your head like that and so insistent, I’d say she’s waiting for you to tell her story. The hotel idea sounds cool – go for it!
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Thanks. Think I’ll put off the new book for another week and get the 3 smaller projects done. That way I can hit the big one with a clear mind.
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Sounds like a busy few weeks, Charles!
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That have turned into a busy few months. 😉
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If you enjoy the character and have a story to tell, I think you should do it!
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Thanks. Decided to work on the outline today and might make it the next project.
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