It all happens ...in the carriage

Some people can boast that they live in their cars.



In Bargain with the Devil, I have featured a number of carriage scenes as well. There were confrontation, death, deceit and even a spicy encounter. Here is an excerpt from the novel:

An ordinary carriage drove slowly down the winding road along the river. The curtains were firmly closed, concealing the identity of the vehicle’s occupants – and small wonder, for the carriage was occupied by two young gentlemen who were ardently engaged in kissing one another.

“Willie, your moustache itches!” complained the younger man wearing a hat.

“You are the one who insisted I wear a fake moustache, Elizabeth. Now you must bear with the consequences.”

“Shh! Remember to call me Eli, not Elizabeth, or you shall give me away! I am much better than you in this deception. At least I remembered to call you Willie, instead of Fitzwilliam.”

“I protest! Willie is a most indecent name. Call me Will or William.”

Small wonder. Indeed, for the two ‘gentlemen’ in question were Mr. Darcy and his new wife, the former Miss Elizabeth Bennet, in disguise.

Of course, I left out the juicy bit from the excerpt. You'll have to read the book about it.


Photo from Cinderella Carriages.

Go on and on

One of the locations in my new novel is Whitstable in Kent, UK.

Whitstable is famous for its oysters, which have been collected in the area since at least Roman times.(Wikipedia)

Here is an except from Bargain with the Devil about this.

A drunken Darcy seemed far more obedient than the sober counterpart with whom she was used to dealing. He stopped caressing Elizabeth immediately.

But he seemed more inclined than usual to talk, as well.

He murmured, “Cheap alcohol would not make me drunk. I am simply feeling … happy. Did you know that Whitstable is famous for its … oysters? They tell me that oysters are good for the men. It makes them go … on and on. You know, on and on … with their women. Do you want to try?"

Can oyster really make you go on and on?

Research shows that oyster is rich in zinc, one of the minerals that improve physical performance. So do you want to try too?

Photo from London Evening Standard

Drunken Behaviour

How do you usually behave when you are tipsy or drunk?

In my forthcoming Pride and Prejudice what if novel, Bargain with the Devil, Elizabeth Bennet disguised as a young boy and followed Mr. Darcy when he went in search of George Wickham and Lydia Bennet.

Mr. Darcy got drunk with some fishermen and taught Elizabeth how to behave like a man by scratching "his" bulge. He also tried to teach her how to sit with "his" legs wide apart to show "his" manly asset.

I'm happy to say that I tend to be quiet and fall asleep soon when I am drunk. Is that a blessing?

Photo from movies ndtv.

Strip maze

I'm trying to organise a blog book tour for Bargain with the Devil and just learned a good idea from the yahoo group I'm a member of.

It's to come up with keywords from my book and try to find blogs that may be related to them. I've come up with 31 keywords so far. Let start with the first one: MAZE.

In the book the devilish Mr. Darcy asked for a piece of clothing from Elizabeth Bennet for every turn he took to take her out of the maze in Pemberley.

When the book passed through the editor Judith, she said I had to be specific with the trees that were used in a maze in Derbyshire.

Luckily I had Lynne's help. She lives in Derbyshire and excels in research. She suggested blackthorn, hawthorn, hazel and Boxwood (or Buxwood). I have decided to use Buxwood.

Photo from Cedar Creek Gardens

This one looks a bit too low for a strip maze game though!

From acupuncture to science fiction

I often like to find some plot twists to surprise readers, the funnier, the better. For a science fiction story I have written, I tried to throw the hero and heroine into a smut situation by using an unusual method - acupuncture.

I found an article which said that Acupuncture is based on the belief that the body has 20 energy pathways that, when blocked, create problems such as illness, pain, and even infertility.

Acupuncture helps to release certain hormones in the brain including endorphins, the “feel good” brain chemicals that help reduce pain, relax the body, and help regulate a woman’s menstrual cycle. Studies have also shown that acupuncture treatments can help improve sperm quality in men that have unexplained infertility.

Here was the scene I wrote after finding the above info (William is from Mars and Elizabeth from Earth. He was sick after taking some Earth food):

***
“See, you have all 20 energy points and pathways. The only difference is your energy points are slightly larger. That means you have a stronger body and are more receptive to external stimuli.”

William nodded his head.

“I need to use laser needles on the energy points along your bowel pathway. So I have to take off your body suit.”

Despite his weaken state William couldn’t help blushing.

“Don’t be a sissy. I have seen plenty of nude men.”

Before he could say another word, Elizabeth had zipped open his body suit. She pushed it over his shoulders, baring his torso. She then pushed it low down his waist, nearly exposing his pubic hair.

“The needles will release blockages in the energy points. This will allow any poisonous elements there to be diffused,” her voice trembled as she explained.

“Why is your voice trembling? Have you done this before? Are you qualified?”

“Stop nagging! I’m a fully qualified acupuncturist.” She turned her eyes from his body and concentrated on the needles and preparing.

William could see that she was uncomfortable with the procedure or something else. Maybe she was hiding something from him. But then she stuck a laser needle on his stomach. It didn’t hurt but it seemed to bring some air into his body. It was a strange feeling.

She continued to stick his body with needles, from stomach down to the bowel. Her hands were touching the muscle near his manhood and he squirmed.

“Don’t move!” she yelped, “Or else I may touch another energy point.”

That got William nervous and he flexed his muscles. The movement slid the needle off to the right.

“Damn! You’ve done it.” Elizabeth swore and pulled the laser needle out quickly.

William felt some air flow from his pubic hair towards his manhood.

“What have I done?”

“You dislodged the laser needle and I have accidentally stuck your…,”

“My what?”

“Your libido energy point.”

“What?”

“Calm down. You are not one of us. So it may not affect you.”

“And what if it does? What does that mean?”

“That means… that means, you may get horny very easily in the next couple of days and you may be able to … mmm, you know… go on and on for a few hours.”

***
The story continued, and hehe, William did go on and on.

Conception of the story

In Quest of Theta Magic is my first novel. It started out as a Pride and Prejudice fan fiction. I think I was one of the first writers to put Mr. Darcy into a fantasy science fiction world.

Some people may argue that fan fiction writers are all amateurs, because they use famous authors' characters as their own. That can be true. But writing by amateurs does not equate to bad writing nor bad plot.

When I plotted In Quest of Theta Magic, I wanted to change the fact that women in Regency times or in Pride and Prejudice were rather helpless. Therefore I gave the Bennet (Bailey) sisters some magical power each. Elizabeth (Elana) had fine eyes, so I gave her eagle sight in this novel.

The Bennet (Bailey) girls all contributed in one way or another in helping Darcy (Dean) in his quest.

The idea of making Darcy (Dean) an ugly beast was a reversal of P&P plot where Darcy found Elizabeth only tolerable at first.

From that point onwards, the plot and twists went into free form and diverged from P&P and thus In Quest of Theta Magic was born.