161,556 words. That's how long the book is right now. I wanted to have the edit done by tonight, but unfortunately that's not going to happen. I'm up at 6 in the morning to catch a plane to Leeds, so I'm about to hit the sack.
Oh, and for those of you who were pleading with me to keep LSODM as long as possible... you've got your wish. My editor Nick and my agent Michelle both got back to me, suggesting tiny changes here and there, but nothing that would shorten the book.
So the HUGE amount of characters stay in. The MASSIVE battles stay in. The HILARIOUS jokes and LIGHTNING-FAST wit stay in. Verily, it is a good day to be a Minion.
And I've just been chatting to Laura, who calls it the "deepest and darkest one yet". So I've got her all-important seal of approval, which makes me happy.
When it's out, when you've read it, I'll talk more about the writing of it, and the various problems I had to deal with in order to make it work. Everything from Book Two onwards has been leading up to LSODM, after all. Of all the books, this is the one I was certain about from the very beginning, in 2005, but it was one I was the most unsure about when I was actually writing it. So it comes as a relief to know it's actually good.
So... tomorrow I'm in Leeds— the tickets to which are now sold out— and on Saturday I'm signing in Waterstones in York at 11AM— and no tickets needed.
I'm been really quiet lately, on the Blog and on Twitter, and I do apologise for that, but I had to devote all my attention to the book. Now that it's (practically) done, I can get back to normal. Which'll be... er... nice.
I guess...
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«Oldest ‹Older 3601 – 3800 of 4986 Newer› Newest»(You are? Shocking...)
#ChaseForBook9
(Just kidding, of course. :-P)
And yeah, I'm a hypocrite.
I still hate you, by the way.
#ChaseForBook9
(But I act like one, don't I? XD)
[Raises hand higher]
Ooh, ooh, me, me,
[Does a little dance]
The answer is forty-two!
#ChaseForBook9
*walks over* You need to sit down, Alastair... The downfall of mankind will be ourselves. How narcacisstic. But it's worth it, living. In the long run.
*grins* the answer to life, the universe and everything.
Alistair, *punches in the face* emotions won't be the destruction of our species, but the lack of them. But I don't know that. We don'y know very much, and neither do you! You act like you have gained enlightenment, that all of us are the true evil of this planet. But you have reached quite the opposite. You still look at the world through a lens of good and evil! That speaks for itself.
#ChaseForBook9
Exactly.
#ChaseForBook9
I'm not viewing it as things that are good versus things that are bad. I don't believe that it even matters what humans deems good or bad. I am merely perplexed because I fail to see, if you all care so much about others which clearly you do, how it pays off to keep a sadistic mass-murderer alive.
It doesn't. But it doesn't need to.
#ChaseForBook9
Because people can change, Alastair. And I know you do? Maybe subconsciously, but you do... that, and I think that there is still a way to save you. No, not your physical body. You, your essence.
I don't know why I'm doing this, honestly.
I still hate you, and I don't think you'll change.
I don't believe you'll change, and I don't believe you deserve another chance.
Aretha gave you a chance and you trapped her in your mind and fed her fear.
I don't know why I'm not killing you now. Or just letting you die. Or trying to sabotage the box of RedRays somehow.
Except that I don't think there's much point. In the end, it isn't my decision whether you die or live.
#ChaseForBook9
*laughs mirthlessly* *spreads arms* This is all that's left of my essence. Mixed with a few other people's. What you see is what you get. Maybe I can't feel compassion because- *coughs a little* Niccolò- *coughs a little more* stole my name before I ever did. Maybe, regardless, I just can't. But either way, I don't see how any 'saving' is possible, or even worth the effort to try. I happen to be content as I am, anyway.
*shoves Alastair in a chair* You need to save your energy.
I keep telling you Fabienne makes the most sense.
*is shoved into chair* *coughs a little more* You know, it doesn't take all that much energy to stand.
And I keep telling you that humans are stubborn and ergo I'm not listening to her.
*glares* You'd be surprised, actually.
I think we should get Alexis out and kill him. I'm done with him, he's a lost cause.
#ChaseForBook9
And that sounds so convincing coming from a self-proclaimed sadistic mass murderer.
I make "the most sense?"
I should probably start fearing for my sanity.
[Laughs]
#ChaseForBook9
*walks in quietly and smacks the back of Alastair's head* Nobody gets to kill him.
Fabi, I just read that as "sadistic sass murderer"
Well, He is both...
FINALLY. SOMEONE WHO MAKES SENSE
He won't change Aretha. We can try, but he's broken in a way that we can never truly fix. It's your choice I guess, he's in your friend's body. But...
#ChaseForBook9
Ah, so you're here.
You do realize the last time you gave this guy a chance, he trapped you in his mind, made you think you were inside a Dalek and tortured you, right?
[Raises eyebrow, but steps back and lets Ari take control of the Alice situation]
#ChaseForBook9
You make the most accurate predictions of how I will act under certain circumstances, and you're the most logical in the sense that you always stay true to your own beliefs. You needn't worry for your sanity, Fabienne.
(Mind blown)
Alastair, just because you don't understand doesn't mean that it isn't less important, or logical.
*shudders a little, takes a small step backwards* Yeah, I know what he's done- to other people, too- and I don't believe he'll ever change. But Alexis is stuck in there and I'll never get Niccolo back without him, so I refuse to let him die.
*frowns* Apparently I'm the most compassionate one here. Funny.
I don't mean to give him another chance, I just need him alive.
#ChaseForBook9
#ChaseForBook9
#ChaseForBook9
I can work with that.
#ChaseForBook9
Trip- I don't believe that anything matters.
Aretha, I don't know how you think you'll ever convince me to not only contact but actually invite your completely incompetent friend back into my being. But I also know me saying that will only make you more determined. Still, I'm confident you can't.
Adra, I wouldn't say you're the most compassionate- rather, the biggest fool.
Fool is one way of saying it. No, I don't think that you should be forgiven. No, you can never be. But I can't find it in me to kill a person- not anymore, that is. And certainly not now.
Alice, the biggest fool here isn't Adra. It's you.
#ChaseForBook9
I'm going back to my bar for a drink, I can't take this insufferable buffoon for a moment longer.
#ChaseForBook9
Oh? You can't find it in you anymore? *coughs* What changed?
It's not as though you're *coughs again* actually *coughs* killing me, anyway- just letting me die.
You do that, Trip. Be sure to not come back.
Trip- which one? *smiles a little* We're all idiots in our own way.
*stares at Alastair* You're bleeding again. Let me fix it.
"Insufferable buffoon?" Nice one! XD
(And I'm going for now, too hard to multitask. Back soon.)
#ChaseForBook9
#ChaseForBook9
*sits down, rubbing her temples* I'm still trying to figure out a way...
I don't owe you an explanation about myself, Alastair. You haven't done anything for me that gives you the right to know.
It's going to take a lot more than that to get to me Cruciactus. Don't worry, I'll be back. We aren't killing you today. You won't die today. I'm just going to unwind. I looked at your soul you know. It was hard to find amongst all those others, but I did. And boy was it screwed up. Toodle pip! *walks off*
*pops head back around door* Oh, and if it were up to me, I would have killed you a long time ago.
*leaves*
#ChaseForBook9
*cringes, clutching hair between fingers* *recovers* *glares at Alastair* You know you can't drive me away just by hurting me.
#ChaseForBook9
*grins* I know, but it's still fun.
Trip, I don't really care about the state of my soul.
And Adra, that's fine by me. If I get too curious, I can always take a peek inside your head, anyway.
*laughs* like you have enough power left inside you to do that.
Adra, what are you still trying to find a way to do?
#ChaseForBook9
*shrugs* Fair enough. In my current state, I don't. But I do have the power to do this. *vanishes*
*sits down in empty bar with a drink, puts music on and feet on table* Argh. So much better.
#ChaseForBook9
*rolls eyes* Eejit.
And find a way to make him live.
*glares at empty chair* Me too. I don't care how cruel or how stupid he is- Alastair will not die on my watch.
He better not turn up here. My bar, my rules.
#ChaseForBook9
Aretha, you and I actually need to work together on this.
That is, providing he can't see this right now.
*glances over at Trip's bar* I'd be really interested to see what he's like drunk. Only after I know he'll live, though.
#ChaseForBook9
He's probably quite dangerous drunk. Like a wounded animal.
#ChaseForBook9
*giggles* Imagine that. "Do you know who I think needs to feel pain? The telletubies.Cheeky bastards. Like, Why are there televisions in their tummies?" *he falls off a chair*
* he burns the ground*
"I hate you."
*is in giggling fits*
Adra- yeah, we do. He'll have gone somewhere he thinks we'd be hard pressed to reach in a little over an hour, even with your portal. Is there any place where you can't create one?
#ChaseforBook9
... I can't do Alchemy in the afterlife... But portals?
I suppose... On water. There isn't any earth or planet to write on.
*hits her forehead* I can't in the air either. How much do you want to bet he turned into a Raven?
*nods* Then it'll be somewhere on the water. But he won't be able to stand on it given his current state, or filter air out of the water, so he'll have to have something to keep his head above water... Maybe a seaweed forest in the Pacific ocean?
He might be a raven sitting in a tree somewhere. Actually, that's more likely. Oh, and the water would ruin the leather coat, and he hates having to fix it all the time. So, yeah, forget the seaweed thing...
#ChaseForBook9
And... What do you want us to do? It's not like we can go retrieve him.
[Facepalm] I was walking past the map in the hallway and misread Ashland as Jubiland.
So he's run, has he? [Winces] Lovely.
I'm back, I guess.
#ChaseForBook9
Maybe an insanely tall tree right on the edge of a cliff with no actual standing room, or something ridiculous like that. He's either done something incredibly intricate, or he could be right in front of our faces. He might have become a blade of grass or something for all I know.
#ChaseForBook9
Try a tree in Iowa, a little town that's not on the map. I could be wrong, though. Heck I could be lying on purpose. To myself, even.
#ChaseForBook9
*groans* I can't even track him... I mean, I could, but then I would be in no better of a shape than he....
I can't search for souls over long distances, I'm sorry.
#ChaseForBook9
*sighs* I don't know. He always does whatever he feels like doing, so if we could somehow make him want to come back we'd be good, but I'll have to think of how we might go about that...
A tree in Iowa? In a town that's not on the map? Why, did he say something about one?
#ChaseForBook9
That's the tree that Alexis is trapped in.
But that's too predictable.
[Shrugs] If he thinks we can't find it anyway.
But yeah.
And I have absolutely nothing useful unless we're in really close range and he's in a form that still has his knives.
Also, I'm still unsure about helping. I probably will, I guess, but I don't know.
#ChaseForBook9
*frowns* Well then I know where that is... But there's a whole forest- did he say which tree? He definitely hasn't hidden himself there, because I know exactly where that is. I'm a little surprised he used it at all, actually.
Now that I think about it, he probably is somewhere really close, just hiding in plain sight, because there's no reason for him to do this unless he can watch us scramble about looking for him.
#ChaseForBook9
*nods* That had crossed my mind, that he's nearby....
hello!!
wbd
You don't have to, Fabi, if you don't want to. I can handle it. The whole thing is mad, anyway, so.
#ChaseForBook9
Good. No, he didn't. Just an ordinary tree.
And I think I'm leaving again. I couldn't really help, even if I was sure about doing so.
#ChaseForBook9
Aretha darling! Would you mind checking my roof for birds? I think he would find it funny that I said I wanted to kill him, but didn't, even though he was right above me.
#ChaseForBook9
Hey Snow!
#ChaseForBook9
On one side, I want to help my friends. I think I owe it to Zaf go try to save Alexis, anyway.
On the other hand, I'm pretty sure I'll be useless. And I don't even want him to stay alive. I'm just not a forgiving person. It's stupid, maybe, but it's me.
#ChaseForBook9
okay... whats going on??
i really am lost here...
Guys, we have 55 minutes until midnight. (or 5AM) ...Then only a little bit left after that.
*stares wearily at Trip* Was that meant to be demeaning? He wouldn't have made himself into a bird on your roof, anyway- that's too recognizable.
#ChaseForBook9
Hidden in plain sight you say, Aretha?
Well, something out of place then. I just don't think it's sensible for me to climb buildings while intoxicated.
#ChaseForBook9
really, whats going on????????
(Alistair teleported away and we're trying to find him to save his life)
#ChaseForBook9
(More roleplay, Snow. Sorry this is always so confusing!! DX)
#ChaseForBook9
soo... alastair is good now????
or are we just being nice?
*appears, breathing heavily, stumbles forward and leans on chair* I- *launches into coughing fit* My apologies... For this... *sinks to ground and continues to cough*
Hi Snow! :-)
#ChaseForBook9
(Adra is being nice, I just need him alive so we can save Alexis and bring Niccolo back.)
FOUND HIM!! *points at alastair*
*rushes forward, kneeling next to him, placing her hand on his shoulder*
Yep. You just sit tight there.
Nice, I guess.
And I'm not being nice.
I'm being a rabbit and not participating this time.
Several reasons.
#ChaseForBook9
Alistair, try this, it'll calm you down. *offers bottle of vodka*
#ChaseForBook9
#ChaseForBook9
*eyes widen* *stands frozen to the spot* Oh, God, I... I was not expecting this at all... (I legitimately had absolutely no idea this was coming. Seriously.) That's- that's not Alastair. *tears start to pool in eyes*
#ChaseForBook9
what is it with you guys and alcohol???
*opens mouth to speak, ends up in a coughing fit instead*
#ChaseForBook9
Aretha.... Do you mean that he's...
*eases Alastiar against a tree so he's propped up*
Take it slow- breathe.
he's who???
i am seriously confused...
I'm a bartender, what can I say?
Aretha... I'm sorry. Who is this then?
#ChaseForBook9
Oh my goodness.
#ChaseForBook9
*eyes widen* Oh...
okay, guy, seriously, USE YOUR WORDS!!!
*covers her mouth* Oh my God...
*eyes glaze over* It's not him all right. Different soul.
#ChaseForBook9
gah!!! USE YOUR WORDS!!!
who is he
How is this possible though??
WHO IS HE!!!
I DON'T KNOW!
#ChaseForBook9
Ok, this is insane, but Alastair must have gone back in time and done exactly what he claimed he would never do. Which is completely mad, because going back in time is hard, but... This is Niccolo. Oh, God. *unconsciously digs fingernails into arm* He knew it wouldn't bother us to watch him dying, so...
#ChaseForBook9
[Deep breath] I have no idea. Now it's really about time I stopped bothering you all.
Bye.
#ChaseForBook9
Adra! REDPOWDER STUFF! NOW!
#ChaseForBook9
*tears leak from her eyes* After all this time...
thank you for finally informing us mear pesants of this fact, oh mighty great ones!
It's... It's over on your counter...
okay, so.... what??
what now?
as it may have escaped you all, i haven't been on as much as you, so i dont know all thats going on
*Gets up and runs into bar* WHAT? WHY? WHY WAS IT THERE?
#ChaseForBook9
oh, i give up!!
*leans against bar and watches*
*picks up box, runs back outside*
#ChaseForBook9
*hastily wipes her eyes, getting to her feet*
*applies red-watever to Niccolo* Now, this is going to be agonising in about... ooh, five seconds.
#ChaseForBook9
(Snow, there was this whole thing where they locked Alastair in a room so they could interrogate him, and it made all magic reverse itself which resulted in Alastair accidentally attacking himself with a ton of energy, so he was dying, and there was some discretion over whether or not we should just let him die, and now he's gone back in time to retrieve my friend Niccolo, who was in control of previously-Alastair's body before he got stuck in time. Sorry this is so confusing!!)
#ChaseForBook9
(thanks Aretha!!)
(No problem! I hope that helped!)
#ChaseForBook9
(as much as it could)
*sigh*
can i teleport anywhere? get anything??
No thanks Snow I'm fine. Just making sure Niccolo doesn't die of shock.
#ChaseForBook9
He hasn't made a sound...
*sigh*
i hate feeling useless!!!
Snow, we all can only wait and see.
*whole body tenses* *grits teeth, squeezes eyes shut* *slowly sinks to ground* *digs fingers into ground, breathes even more heavily than before*
#ChaseForBook9
I have to say, he's taking it better than me.
#ChaseForBook9
i... i hope he's okay, i would hate someone... you know... when i'm around
*tentatively feels his forehead* he's burning up....
do you think he'll be okay adra??
i could teleport him to a doctor... or bring one here...
Burning up? He's taking it pretty well then. I would compare it to being drawn and quartered.
#ChaseForBook9
*kneels down, moves closer and rests hand gently on shoulder* The pain will go away, any moment now...
*glances at Adra* What does that powder do, exactly?
#ChaseForBook9
"]Okay, I have to leave now, but I have something to make sure Alastair won't die for a bit. *drops black box on ground.
In here is RedRays. In this form, it's powder. It's a torture substance made to torture people, but another property of it is that it freezes your body in the state it's in. So you can sit in a chair for months being torture without having to go to the toilet, yay. So it should stop his body falling apart for a bit, but then it will wear off. It will give me a bit more time to get to him. :)
However, it IS very painful. Alice is very good with pain, so I think it'll put him in absolute agony, which is remarkably impressive as usually words cannot come near to describing it. It gets easier to get used to the more you use it, so I'm pretty awesome with it."
#ChaseForBook9
I'm not entirely sure... Trip's the expert. *goes and retrieves a cool washcloth, placing it over Niccolo's head*
I know a lot about the medical field, but I don't know everything. Hopefully it won't come to that.
*breathing becomes uneven* *lets out small, involuntary groan*
#ChaseForBook9
*curses and begins to draw alchemy symbols around him* These amplify his life forces a bit...
Yeah Ari... No. The pain will stay for a very long time. I took the tiniest of dosages, I gave him the whole box. It should keep him alive for a few weeks.
#ChaseForBook9
/But/ He will also be in pain for much, much longer.
#ChaseForBook9
Thanks, Fabi. (You are NOT rubbish! Stop that! *swats at gently*)
The fever might not go away, then- it depends on how long he's had it. If the powder freezes a body in the state that it's in, he'll stay exhausted and coughing up blood at any rate.
#ChaseForBook9
(this feels incredibly real, huh?)
But he won't be dead.
#ChaseForBook9
*sighs, and places her hands on either side of his face* I can attempt to balance him, and help control his energy....
*closes her eyes and falls silent, concentrating*
so long as he lives.... god, i hope he does....
Oh. Well, that's nice, to know, I guess...
It won't go away, then, but you'll live? *attempts to sound optimistic* *fails miserably* *glances at Niccolo and winces* Darn it, I'm so sorry...
#ChaseForBook9
(Does it to you? I might actually start crying soon, but I think that's just because I'm so attached to so many of my characters, Niccolo especially...)
#ChaseForBook9
(you know, i feel all hollow inside...)
(*Hugs Aretha* I was legitimately crying earlier what are you talking about?)
(*hugs back* Wow. I guess I'm not alone, then.)
#ChaseForBook9
[Shrugs]
[Leaves again]
[Stalks the comments but doesn't talk]
[Hugs Ari]
[Vanishes]
#ChaseForBook9
(amazing how reading things can make you so.... emotional)
Girls! Pay attention to Niccolo!
*kneels beside, holding him steady*
#ChaseForBook9
*looks anxiously at Adra* Will that help? I... I've never seen him like this, and... I've seen him go through a lot...
#ChaseForBook9
*lets go of him with a jerk*
Holy shit that stuff hurts... But I managed to help the flow of the energy inside him a bit... It was really confusing, with all the souls.
But I couldn't completely finish...
*Sighs and tries again*
(GOD DAMN ANTS!!! i think they're stalking me...)
i am so awful when it comes to helping the sick and wounded...
*pulls flask out* I have medicinal alcohol? My medical work really only covers gaping wounds and things that can be fixed with alcohol.
#ChaseForBook9
What does it do? You know, improving the flow of energy...
#ChaseForBook9
i... i'll stand back and let you do what needs to be done...
(WBD, MSD)
His soul is fine... It's just his physical form.
#ChaseForBook9
*Opens one eye* you know how when you're stressed, you get headaches or knots in your back? It's because the energy inside of you is getting holed up at that one point, and with 48 souls, Niccolo's coiled up pretty tight.
Please don't interrupt me, I need to put all of my focus into this. *closes eyes*
*stops breathing for a moment, erupts in hacking coughs, then starts to breathe irregularly again* *lets out another small involuntary groan*
#ChaseForBook9
*nods silently at Adra, holding back tears*
#ChaseForBook9
*stands up, walks beside Aretha* There's nothing I can do for him. It's up to Adra now.
#ChaseForBook9
*curse, her hands stiffening*
*frowns*
#ChaseForBook9
*casts grateful glance at Trip, but stays quiet*
#ChaseForBook9
*mumbles* No, I-... *growls slightly under her breath* Idiots, let me through!
*gasps, her back arching, and stiffening, before falling back into her trance-like state* That wasn't fair...
*sigh*
diet coke tastes awful...
any change???
Adra, are you alright?
#ChaseForBook9
*whispers*
come on, Adra... you can do it...
Adra... if it's too much, just pull away. He can't die at the moment. You have as much time as you need.
#ChaseForBook9
*Opens her eyes* Pen. I need a pen. Now.
*hands pen*
i always have one...
Um... Here! *pulls black pen out of pocket and hands to Adra*
#ChaseForBook9
Oh. Well then you can use Snow's. Thanks, Snow. (I always have one of those, too! It's a writing thing, I guess)
#ChaseForBook9
(yeah! note pad and pen, always on the ready!)
*takes the pen and begins frantically drawing symbols all over Niccolo's arms to the point where they're practically covered in ink* *she touches the symbols, and concentrates again*
hmm... trip, you still here???
(just for future reference, when you say arms, do you mean you drew on top of the leather coat?)
#ChaseForBook9
Yeah. Not got a lot to say though.
#ChaseForBook9
*opens her eyes and lets go*
I...
*closes her mouth and backs up a bit*
I think I helped...
lets hope he lives....
*close eyes*
(*magically poofs the leather coat away* Sorry, I keep forgetting, it seems... )
*smiles weakly at Trip* Who does?
#ChaseForBook9
(how long do we plan to keep this role-play going for...?)
First?
#ChaseForBook9
Oh, never mind. Bye.
#ChaseForBook9
*smiles back*
Now Fabi. How are you rubbish?
#ChaseForBook9
i ded this page to Niccolo living
:D
how's that for a ded??
(That's fine. I just sort of had to know that for the future. I'll put it this way- Niccolo is to the leather coat as Skulduggery is to the Bentley. :p)
Snow, he'll live- it's just a matter of getting rid of all that pain... (As for the length of the roleplay, I don't know. It's been going strong for several days now, I think. We just keep coming up with new issues.)
Thank you, Adra.
#ChaseForBook9
*falls back on the ground, raising her glass* I'll drink to that.
Now Trip. How are you awake?
It's not half bad, Snow. [hugs]
#ChaseForBook9
(*hugs Fabi* You are ABSOLUTELY NOT RUBBISH!!! *scolds*)
#ChaseForBook9
(Yeah, I know Trip lol how are you still alive?)
*yawns* Anytime, Ari. Now if you don't mind... That took a lot out of me... *falls to the ground, asleep.
(Needs sleep irl. Talk to you guys later)
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