Chapter Eight

What’s the natural first step in finding a missing relative?  Talking to the forgers who got them their documents, of course.  Dani’s world is just so different that it made it a lot of fun to explore.

I debated with myself about whether or not to include Chomp’s scene in the novel.  It’s violent and not terribly flattering for Dani.  (Although I love the “heads or tails” technique.)  In the end, I decided to keep it to demonstrate where she is at the beginning of the book.  Her reaction to violence subtly shifts as the story and her character develop.  With Chomp, she has no regrets.  With Redneck, she finds it unsatisfying.  At the end, she’s able to find a different path.

Chapter Nine

Michael’s investigation goes a little differently than Dani’s.  He calls the center, hoping to find a discrepancy he could report to the police.  He pursues a legal, open path instead of beating up snitches for information.

I loved Joe’s line about Michael “being a civilian, entitled to pick up women in any situation you like, no matter how weird.”  And I like to think that he and Dani would in fact tell this story to their grandkids.

Michael’s enthusiasm and delight in being part of the adventure make me smile, too.

Chapter Ten

I enjoyed contrasting Michael and Dani’s reactions to the Blue Curtain Club.  She sees the potential, he sees the societal implications.

Michael needed to loosen up as part of his character arc.  Like a lot of “good” people, he has a rigid morality and doesn’t tend to spend time thinking about why people make the choices they do.  He makes assumptions based on what he thinks he knows and doesn’t go past those assumptions.  He needed to be introduced to all the shades of gray out there.

Chapter Eleven

This chapter would have been a lot longer if I could have gotten away with it.  I enjoyed creating my own burlesque performance and had a lot of fun deciding about costumes, music and punchlines. 

When I spoke to burlesque dancers, one of the things they were consistently frustrated with was being mistaken for strippers and people assuming that their bodies were available to touch or grope.  Redneck Whiskey is an amalgam of all the stories of bad audience members.

Chapter Twelve

Michael is in a bit of unique situation.  His flashes keep pushing him into environments beyond his comfort zone but most people don’t accept psychic instructions as a valid excuse for other people’s behavior.  He has to come up with something plausible but hates lying.  It really limits his options.

Dani keeps wavering between suspicion and wanting to pretend she has a normal life.  I can understand trying to find the fine line between protecting oneself and still having a life.  Granted, her situation is a little more extreme but it’s all a matter of degree. 

When Michael misunderstands Dani’s reaction, assuming she feels bad about being a burlesque dancer, it was my attempt to show that psychic gifts wouldn’t lead to complete understanding.  Understanding someone’s emotions doesn’t help you to understand the reason behind those emotions, a common mistake made by people who claim to be able to spot liars.  They may be able to detect nerves, but not being believed could make someone just as nervous as trying to get away with a lie.  Dani was feeling bad about not having a normal life, not about being a burlesque dancer.

Chapter Thirteen

This chapter is where we learn why Dalhard was recruiting ex-military personnel to begin with.  He wants suitable test subjects for genetic manipulation.  We also meet Ron McBride and learn about his traumatic experiences.  When I first wrote this scene, I was planning to reveal Dalhard’s powers later on.  But without understanding what my villain was doing, the scene appeared to be somewhat pointless.  So I gave up on the idea of keeping it a secret and made it clear from the beginning.

I deliberately left it ambiguous as to whether or not Rogers really sensed something with Dalhard or if he was just crazy and snapped.  Granted, most of the crazy people in my world know something but sometimes crazy is just crazy.  Doesn’t mean they’re wrong, though.

Ending with the tiny flash of Gwen’s world and experience was fun and creepy.

Chapter Fourteen

Martha’s despair on realizing that she made a mistake sending Bernie to the treatment center is heart wrenching.  Michael can’t help but respond to it.  He doesn’t have a clear idea of what he’s going to do but his ruse of dropping off a therapy toy is a good one.

Expanding Horizons is based on the creepy sanitoriums from the turn of the century, albeit updated.  They were essentially warehouses to keep embarrassing individuals away from society and the doctors had carte blanche to perform experiments on them in the name of improving medicine.  They had pamphlets with pictures of beautiful lawns and pristine grounds but hid the reality of their patients’ experiences.  The luxuries in the public areas were designed to soothe visitors and donors.