Nikki's Notes: Celeste's Death

This note is a bit of what I like to call "Nicole Logic". At first it looks confusing and doesn't make sense, but once you understand it, it makes perfect sense. Let me explain it for you.

The first thing you need to know is what is happening at this point in the story. This is the first chapter, and Celeste's parents are taking her to a concert for her sixteenth birthday, which was a few months before. As they're driving over a bridge on the way to the concert a large truck hits the driver side of the car and pushes it towards the edge of the bridge. There is a long moment where the car is balanced precariously on the edge of the bridge before plummeting into the water below. Cameron Cornell happened to be in the car directly behind them, and was unharmed. Realizing that Celeste and her mother are still alive in the car, he dives off the bridge to rescue them before anyone notices. He manages to get Celeste to safety, but doesn't have time to go back for her mother.

Now, onto the notes!

In the top right corner it says everything shattered, but nothing mattered. I just realized that I put and extra t in shattered and mattered, but oh well. This is basically what Celeste is thinking after her car crashes, in the moments before it goes off the bridge. She realizes that her father is dead, and her life is shattering around her. Then the car falls, and nothing matters anymore, because she knows she's going to die.

Starting from the top of the page, there are several paths. The first goes down the middle. It says My death was a car crash, falling, water, but I'm still alive. This one's pretty self explanatory. It's just the order of events.

This is the second path. My death was fire, silence, ice, then him, Cameron. He saved me. Fire, silence, and ice each corresponds to one of the events. Fire is the car crash: hot, loud, frightening. Silence is the fall; all sound is drowned out by the wind, and in her numbness Celeste finds it almost peaceful. Ice is the water as it consumes the car: cold, and inescapable. Then Cameron is there, rescuing her, dragging her onto the shore, forcing the water out of her lungs, and saving her life.

And lastly is the third path, which branches off of the second path. My death was fire, silence, ice, then him, Cameron. But I didn't know that yet. How can you know something without actually knowing it? When Celeste sees Cameron she somehow knows his name, even though they've never met before. She realizes that this is something she couldn't possibly know, and in her half-conscious state asks herself "How can you know something without actually knowing it?" You don't actually find out how she knows his name until A New Beginning.

My Books and Characters: Falling

Falling is my new non-book, as I like to call it. Since around July I've had this group of characters stuck in my head. None of them had much of a story, but they wouldn't leave me alone. They were driving me crazy, so to shut them up I decided to put them in a series of short stories. All the stories are connected in the sense that they all have the same characters, but they don't follow a main plot line.

There is a war going on, but it's not a war among humans. It's a war among angels. Since the beginning of time the Angels and and the Fallen have fought for control, but now everything has changed. The Angels have become corrupt; bringing their war into the human world, killing innocents, and breaking their own laws. They've become no better than the Fallen. There is still hope for Earth though. A small group of rebel angels has banded together to defend the humans, and stop the wicked deeds of the Angels and the Fallen.

The Rebels

Valkyrie, known by her friends as Val, is the leader of the Rebels. She was formerly one of the Fallen, and Lucifer's lover.

Aurora was, until recently, an Angel. After being framed for an unforgivable crime she is banished from Heaven and joins the Rebels. She is the younger sister of archangel Micheal.

Pendragon, also known as Pen, is Val's best friend and second in command. Like Aurora, he used to be an Angel.

Roswell is one of the Fallen, but he works as a spy for the Rebels. He is madly in love with Skyla, and Daren is his twin brother.

Daren, a former Fallen Angel, is Roswell's twin brother. He is very fun-loving, and he always knows how to make people smile.

Skyla is an Angel working as a spy for the Rebels. She is madly in love with Roswell, and would do anything to keep him safe.

Crim, although a loyal member of the rebellion, is still very much in touch with her Fallen tendancies. She is often violent and angry, and she never hesitates to pick a fight.

Ashwinder was also a Fallen Angel. He enjoys coming up with new ways to annoy Crim, and he constantly challenges her. Despite this, he is her closest friend.

Elyra is the most mysterious of the group. Although she was one of the Fallen, she does not act like it. The other tend to favour one side or the other, but Elyra is completely nuetral.

Others

Lucifer is the leader of the Fallen. His evil is second only to that of Satan himself.

Micheal is an archangel, and the leader of the Angels. Although he was once pure and good, he is now just as corrupt as the other Angels.

Updates

Hey guys! I have a lot of new updates today. First of all, I'm not sure if I mentioned it before, but awhile ago I decided to cancel Kale. It was a book I wanted to write, and I loved the characters, but I just felt like I didn't have the ability to make it good enough. Well after some reviewing and new ideas, I've decided to start writing Kale again. It's still going to have the same characters and general idea, but I'm working on a new plot line.

Unfortunately I've also decided to cancel a few books for various reasons. I will no longer be writing Fairies or Sanctuary. I'm also considering cancelling Defected and Elemental. Neither of them have a solid plot line, and I have to many other books to focus on.

One last thing before I start talking about Falling; I've decided to combine Cornell 2 with Cornell. After a long discussion between Skyres and I, we figured that a) the idea for Cornell 2 was terrible (although it took her half an hour to convince me of this), and b) I need more material for the first book. Since James is such an important character in the New Beginning series we still needed him to be mentioned in Cornell. In the end it's all for the best, because the climax of the book makes more sense if James is actually in the first book.

That's all for now.

Laterz

Improv Writing: That Summer

This is another Heron scene, but it's completely different from the last on I wrote. This one is based on some song lyrics I came up with today.

I remember that summer
Watching her smiling in the sun
I remember that summer
Talking, laughing, having fun


I smiled as I remembered that summer, one of the best I'd ever had. My band had been on tour for months, and it had just ended a week before. I couldn't even recall where we were exactly. It didn't matter though, as long as I was with her. It was a beautiful day; the sun was shining and there was a slight breeze. We decided to have a picnic, just the two of us.

Her hair flowed over her shoulders like a golden waterfall. It was longer than usual, almost down to her waist, but it was beautiful as always. I had an irresistable urge to run my fingers through the silky blonde strands, and so I did. She smiled contentedly and closed her deep blue eyes. In the warm sunlight her face seemed to glow.

"What did I ever do to deserve something as divine as you?" I wondered aloud.

"Well, there was that time you saved the world." she replied. "And that time you saved the Goldens. And then you saved the world again. That might have something to do with it."

"No, probably not." I said, playing along. "Maybe it was because I kissed that absolutely gorgeous girl."

Her eyes snapped open and she turned to glare at me. "What? When was this?"

"Right now." I whispered, quickly kissing her soft lips. She laughed and pulled me closer. I kissed her again, delighting in her tender smile.

"I love you," I told her. "More than anything."

"I love you too."

Improv Writing: As I Lay There Bleeding

I  just really wanna write right now, but I'm not feeling inspired by any of the scenes I need to write. So here's a random Heron scene that won't actually be in the book.


As I lay there bleeding, I think of her. She must hate me so much. Why wouldn't she? I left her again. I broke her heart again. I hurt her again. I broke every promise I ever made to her, and I hate myself so much because of it.

As I lay there bleeding, I think of all the terrible things I've done. I disobeyed my parents. I nearly killed my brother. I fought with everyone. I got my best friend killed. I drank, I lied, I cheated. I hurt the best thing that had ever happened to me. I never realised it before, but I'm a terrible person.

As I lay there bleeding, I think about all the things I'm about to lose, and all the people that are about to lose me. My brother, always keeping me in control and fixing my mistakes. My almost-sister, wise beyond her years but still too kind for her own good. My not-quite-friends, who dislike me but tolerate me. And her, my soulmate, my true love, my other half. It always comes back to her.

As I lay there bleeding, I again think of her. I miss her so much. I love her more than the world. I wish I could see her one last time. I can see her golden hair, her deep blue eyes, her brilliant smile. I can feel her hand in mine, hear her saying "I love you" one last time.

As I lay there bleeding, I stop thinking, and accept the end.

Nikki's Notes: Intro and The Tree of Souls

Hey guys. This is a new thing I decided to do called Nikki's Notes. I thought it would be cool to let you take a look at some of the notes I make when I'm planning books and scenes. I'll scan my notes, and then tell you a bit about them. For example:

This is a diagram I drew of the Tree of Souls. The space surrounding this area is called the Void. It's a never-ending white space. Each circle represents one of the eleven guardians (yes, I realize I spelled (spelt?) it wrong in the diagram). The guardians protect the Tree from shades, which are demons that live in the Void. The Gateway is enchanted so that no one except guardians can enter it. The Gatekeeper guards the Gateway just in case someone manages to break the enchantment.

The Guardian of Souls watches over the Tree. It is his/her job to make sure the Tree is cared for. If a leaf falls off the Tree he/she summons the owner of the leaf to the Otherworld, but this rarely happens. In Somewhere in the Middle, Serifina is the Guardian of Souls.

The Best Scene Title Ever

Usually when I write a scene I give it a name like "Jenn's Vision" or "Graduation". Something simple that tells what the scene's about. Occasionally though, I will come up with a really interesting or funny scene name. Here a few of my favourites:

Nicole had coffee?!
Call me Jenn
Chickens
Ren meets Alex... kinda
Fragments, fish, and pussy willows

And the best scene title I've ever come up with is:

Because I Love You (Heron's Sweater)

Believe it or not, it's actually a very dramatic, romantic scene. It also makes a great song title.

Laterz

Fanfiction and other random thoughts...

Whenever someone asks how many books I'm writing I usually say about 20-25. Recently I actually went through my list and discovered that in total I'm writing twenty books and five fanfics. Although I'm writing twenty books I'm mainly focusing on twelve of them, and eight are just side-projects. Most of what I post on this blog is about the twelve main books.

The fanfics are also side projects, and most probably wont be completed. I'm just writing them for fun. Also, when I'm having writers block I find it easier to write in a world that has already been created, as opposed to writing in an unfinished world of my own design. At the moment I'm writing two Criminal Minds fanfics and three Harry Potter fanfics.

I absolutely love Harry Potter, so I really enjoy writing the fanfics. Each one is centered around a different original character. While on DollDivine's Hogwarts Scene Maker, I made this:

These are my characters, Vextera LeStrange, Jennifer Evans, and Azalea Snape. I created Jennifer years before I started writing, when I first fell in love with the Harry Potter series. My friends also had characters (Crystal Black and Erika Edgewood) and we would add them into the series. Azalea was created from my love of Snape. After reading the seventh book Snape became my one of my favourite characters, along with Lily Evans. I really wish that he and Lily ended up together. In my fanfic Azalea is their secret daughter. I created Vextera because I have always wanted to write a Slytherin/Death Eater. While her mother, Bellatrix, was in Azkaban Vex was raised by the Malfoys.

For anyone interested, here is my FanFiction.net account and my DeviantArt account. I haven't posted any of my fanfics yet, but I'm considering posting Vex's because I'm planning on writing it from start to finish instead of assorted scenes. On my deviantart I'll put my drawings and photography, and the occasional character picture.

One last thing; I've decided to combine Cornell 2 with the first Cornell book. My original idea for the sequel didn't work out, but I still want to keep James and Niare. Celeste's trip to Brazil has been moved to the first book, and her mysterious illness has been eliminated entirely.

I think that's about it.

Laterz

Improv Writing: Memories

Before I start writing, I'd like to apologize for not posting often. It's summer, I have endless amounts of free time, I'm not doing anything productive, and at this point the only thing stopping me from blogging is pure laziness. I'm feeling really uninspired lately, but while searching the Internet for writing prompts I came up with an idea for a scene. So here it is, unedited, written on the spot. Enjoy! (P.S. It's told from Celeste's point of view, sometime between Cornell 2 and A New Beginning)


I sat on the couch, staring at the old cardboard box. It was a completely ordinary, unremarkable box, but it scared me more than anything else. I knew what was in this box. I knew that if I opened this box, there would be no going back.

"Now I'm just being paranoid." I said out loud. "It's just a box. I should just shove it in the attic and forget about it."

As I said it I remembered what James had whispered to me when he dropped off the box. You're going to have to face it eventually. As much as I hated to admit it, I knew that he was right. I had to open the box.

Slowly I kneeled down and lifted the cardboard lid. I could smell dust, old paper, and ink. The first thing I saw was a picture of James and I dressed for our Grade Eight graduation. My mother had forbidden me from wearing jeans, so I had picked out a short zebra-print dress and paired it with dark makeup, combat boots and skull jewelry. James had worn a black suit with a red tie that matched my hair. We had opted out of the after-grad party and instead walked along the moonlit beach.

Setting the picture aside I picked up the next one, a family photo taken at the beach. I was 10, and Kevin was only 3. We'd gotten another beach goer to take it, but just as he pressed the button we were attacked by seagulls trying to steal my french fries. Every time we looked at that picture my dad would burst out laughing and then we'd all start laughing until our sides hurt.

I set the picture on top of the first one. With tears blurring my vision, I continued to shift through the old photos. There were a few school photo, along with more of my family, and some of James and I. All of them were taken before I was changed, before my parents died, back when everything was normal. Although I loved my new life as a vampire, I would've traded it all to have my old life and my family back.

Finally I reached the bottom of the box. The only thing left was an envelope with my name on it. Opening the envelope, I pulled out a sheet of paper covered in James' familiar handwriting.

Dear Celeste,
     I just wanted to let you know, you are the bravest girl I have ever met. Not because you saved your brother's life and defied death, or because you survived in the jungle against all odds. You are brave because you faced all the painful memories contained in this box. I know it wasn't easy for you, reliving it all and seeing what your life used to be like, but you did it. I'm so proud of you.
     You've changed so much Scar. Not only your appearance, but everything else too. I could go on for ages about how much you've changed, but I won't. I will say this though; I know you're strong and fearless, but at the same time I know you're also terrified of slipping up or making the wrong choice. Just know that if you ever need anything I'll be there for you, even if it means flying halfway across the world. You can count on me.
Love always,
            James

I slumped over, clutching the letter in my hands. My tears stained the paper and smeared the ink, but I didn't notice. Later I would think of how James knew me so well, and how he always knew what to say, but at the moment my mind was blank. I sat on the cold hardwood floor, alone with my memories, my face streaked with five years worth of tears.

My Books: Elemental

Elemental is about a girl named Lexi. Everyone at her school can control one of the eight elements (fire, water, earth, air, spirit, electricity, light, dark) and they are sorted into houses according to their element. Lexi is a bit different though; she controls an element that no one has seen for thousands of years. Unfortunately, while returning from a vacation with her parents, Lexi's plane crashes and she loses both her family and her memory. She doesn't remember her powers, her friends, or even her own name. After her friends tell her who and what she is, she struggles to recall her lost past and the hidden element within her. But on her quest to find herself she may end up getting more than she bargained for.