wanderlust: September 2009

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Story Behind the Story:

On February 14, 2008, I slept in later than usual. I was having a fascinating yet peculiar dream. For one thing, it wasn't very clear. I wasn't exactly sure what was going on, only that what WAS happening was intriguing.

When I awoke, I knew this: It was in modern times, and the lead girl, Emmy Taylor, in my dream was part of one of the popular cliques in public school. She was snobbish and disdainful. Her clique attended a party where alcohol and spontaneous boys were present. On their drive home, all drunk, they were in a fatal accident. Emmy was in a coma for a very long time, and the doctors disbelieved that she would pull through. But she did, and she was unexpectedly healthy and mobile. Having a near death-experience, Emmy was changed, and recognized how disrespectful her "friends" were. Having avoided them, her clique develops a sense of betrayal in her, and mark her as their next target for torment. But Emmy has other things on her mind: How she caught her cup as it fell to the ground, without even touching it; how she sorted her paperwork just by thinking how it needed to be done, and are these strange voices in her head the thoughts of those around her? She uses these discoveries against her enemies.Then, unexpectedly, a new student arrives at the school. Jace Whitney is handsome, and may be just what Emmy needs to stabilize her new condition.

I told my parents this synopsis, and they had their opinions: the story was great, but PUBLIC SCHOOL? How creative is that? Every contemporary novel has a public schooled protagonist, which I had to agree.

Then Mom made a suggestion: How about she is home-schooled, and instead of the public school environment, a theatre or other type of community environment? This interested me, and so Emmy became home-schooled. How many novels have a home-schooled protagonist? Not to mention I have much more experience in home-schooling than public-schooling. Write what you know, some would say.

Other things changed about Emmy: She was no longer a snobbish cheerleader, but an intelligent, deep, curious girl who likes to study and read (think, somewhat, geekish, not nerdish---like me!). Her name changed from Emmy to Pepper, which I thought rocked uberly. In the dream she had long, dark brown hair; now it's strawberry-blonde, short, with wild layers. Her appearance may very likely change, but no promises.

I was trying to think of a possible title. I had one title for a while, I AM BUTTERFLI, just wandering aimlessly through my head, that I wanted a storyline to put underneath, but it never fit with THIS storyline. It was just a cool title, and I hoped I'd have another inspiring dream. Then I thought: Pepper is an unusual name...Butterfli is an unusual name...why can't I switch? So Pepper became Butterfli.

(As I began to write the story, however, I realized that it wasn't just Butterfli's story: Jace is a largely leading character. As the book is told in third person, it frequently switches between protagonists. It would be unfair to Jace to give Butterfli all the credit (though I'm sure he'd accept it, the dear), so I had to think of a better "unisex" title. OUR CARAMEL SEA caught my attention, painting a lovely picture of the ocean at sunset. P.S. Until I've finished writing the book, the title (and all content therein) is liable to change.)

Butterfli was without surname. That day, looking for a phone number off the Ward phone list, I got the idea to read the surnames in case one stuck out. Gilley did. So Buttefli Gilley became. I was much appeased.

Jace's character has strayed only little from the dream. I really didn't get to know him in the dream, so I better discovered his personality as time went on. I realized that he's a rather extraordinary individual. In fact, he's evolving into a dream boy. Just read the book; you'll see. In the beginning, Jace had charcoal, shaggy hair, and chocolate brown eyes.

And then I met someone, a very special someone (and a real someone), who I just HAD to incorporate into my book. Ashtin Cappelen, my adoring and absurdly handsome boyfriend, has similar looks, though the most amazing aquamarine eyes I've ever seen. From the moment I met him I was in love with his unusual name ("It's perfect for a character!" I had thought), and therefore Jace became a Cappelen. Many traits about Jace come from Ashtin, including his Italian nationality, the way he smirks, his laugh (you can't hear it when you read, but I can), and his unfailing ability to make Butterfli blush. In comparison, Butterfli is much like myself, excluding her looks. Her shyness, many of her insecurities, her frustrations... In a round-about-way, her life reflects my own home-schooling experience. (I only wish I lived in a beach town.)

However, Jace and Butterfli are Jace and Butterfli; individual people with their own personalities. They were real beings in my mind long before Ashtin and I interferred, and will always have their own personas. We just coincidently have many things in common.

In truth, Jace and Butterfli's relationship is based off my relationship with Ashtin. Like I said before, Butterfli's life loosely reflects my own. OUR CARAMEL SEA is bursting with inside jokes, really. I believe, though, that if ever things were to sour between those who share the inside jokes with me, OUR CARAMEL SEA is still original enough for me not to ever hate it. I hope. (Laughs.)

Initially, Butterfli was telekinetic and telepathic while Jace could glimpse the future and see auras. That bothered me, however. Why did Butterfli get the coolest powers? Plus, telepathy and seeing auras was too similar. I wasn't sure how to differentiate the two. So eventually I evened the odds and made Butterfli solely telekinetic (more interesting to display when her power finally revealed itself) and Jace solely telepathic.

Then I thought, "Where should she live?" I glanced at my boogie board, which I had purchased at a small swim shop in Seaside Park, NJ, last year. I am in love with Seaside Park. It's cute, and a step away (literally) from the shore, the Atlantic ocean. I know what the water's like (at least in June), how you can walk out a good distance before you can no longer touch, how it feels to have the waves crash down on you, how the sand feels (soft, white, fine), and how the tiny stones feel as they grind into your knees once the waves break and drop you on your boogie board. I also know what the boardwalk is like (how they have a booth where you can sign up to win a sportscar (the sportscar is right there for the staring)). How the theme park lights up at night. The portrait cartoonist who can draw your likeness in five minutes. How ridiculous it is to find a parking spot. It's a lovely place! And it will work perfectly for OUR CARAMEL SEA. Don't get me wrong, I'll probably get very nostalgic writing it. I already am....

Because I had awoken from my dream before it ended, I only knew the beginning of the story. I knew who Jace and Butterfli were, their abilities, and how they fell desperately in love. But what about the conflict? After all the giddiness and blissful romance, what tragic event would occur that would re-grab the reader's interest, mix up the story a little bit? I weighed my options.

1) Jace and Butterfli meet a clan of "super-humans," like themselves, teenagers who have been scorned and rejected for their abilities, cast out from society and labled as "freaks," or just individuals trying to come to terms with themselves and discover who they really are. Jace and Butterfli would join with them until they discover the majority of their new "friends" are bitter toward the world and are planning mass destruction on New York City---a rerun of September Eleventh, 2009, but much worse. With only the good-hearted super-humans to aid them, Jace and Butterfli would have to thrwart the evil super-humans' plan before it was too late.

Good story material, I'll admit, but disturbingly cliche. Like, seriously? Who didn't see that coming? So after giving it some thought, I decided to go with option number two.

2) Simply put, the book would be about the every day lives of Butterfli Gilley and Jace Cappelen, ordinary teenagers with extraordinary abilities. Ever since I was little (and even now), I fantasised about having secret super powers, telekinesis and telepathy in particular. OUR CARAMEL SEA plays off that, showing what I imagine it might actually be like for an ordinary person, in our world today, to have these abilities. No overused frills or predictable embellishments. Just two teenagers with dysfunctional lives and silly insecurities that meet and fall in love---a safe haven from the storms that crash around them.

I feared that maybe the simplicity of the plot would be boring, but I'm pleased with how it's turning out. The conflict of the story won't be huge and whole world-changing like Option 1, instead it will be whole-world-changing to Butterfli and Jace at a personal level. No spoilers here, though. ;)

Nevertheless, the writing process---from beginning to end---is like crazy inspiration time. Who knows what will happen/change/get deleted?

I have written a few scenes from the book---events/conversations that kept nagging at me to write them---but again, who knows if they will even fit into the final story? Only time will tell...

I even have a title for the second book, but no story. Ha! So we'll see where that goes.

Until then, bon voyage!