Bolt From the Blue

Rewrite

2010-09-15T17:18:00.000-07:00

I've been a bit scarce on FP as of late . . . alas, I know book two needs to be written!!! And I really want to finish writing it. I'm just trying to figure out how to proceed because, well, I'm currently re-writing the first book. And if I like it enough, I may consider going the publishing route. I'm changing a lot a lot of things in the book. And right now I have two tracks for the two books. One track would be the original sequel of Bolt (which would be posted online) but I have a very different idea for how I want the sequel of the rewrite to be. Basically, as I'm rewriting, I'm trying to figure out whether or not I want to write two versions of the second book as well. The thing that tells me to "do it!" is all of the amazing people who have supported my writing. I'd like to give you at least the second book, if not also the third planned book (I'm considering just changing the end of the second book though . . . that'll probably be the easiest).

Anyways, my Bolt rewrite is my first EVER! And so far, I've had a pretty flippin' awesome time writing it. I really want to show what I have to the world because already I think that the writing style is more mature, the characters are developed better, and there are some cool new ploty-twists that are fun.

Cassandra

Chapter 22 SneakPeek

2009-07-27T20:54:00.000-07:00

An Excerpt from the 22nd Chapter of Bolt from the Blue:

I was at my locker, grabbing my books after last period when I saw Kevin. It seemed as if we had been missing each other a lot lately. “Hey!” I walked over to where he was sitting. “How are . . .” my words trailed off when I saw his red eyes. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, uh, it’s nothing.” He jumped to his feet, pulled his backpack over his shoulder, and attempted to walk away.

“It doesn’t look like nothing,” I said, blocking his path. “Is it A.J. and the guys again?”

“No,” he laughed harshly. “God no! Do you think those nincompoops have the power to upset me? It’s nothing, really.”

“I just want to help,” I said.

“There’s nothing you can do to help, so just back off!”

“Oh,” I said, turned off by his attitude, I turned to leave.

“No, don’t,” he said, grabbing my arm. “It’s just that a year ago today my mother lost her battle with cancer.”

“She . . .”

“Died, yeah.” He gave a wry smile, releasing my arm to run it through his hair. “She used to teach English in that classroom there.” He pointed towards the door he had been sitting beside.

“I’m sorry, Kevin.” I placed what I hoped was a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“I always found that to be a weird phrase . . . sorry . . . as if it were somehow your fault.” Kevin shook his head. “It’s been a year, but I still feel as if I watched her take her last breath yesterday. It was so hard watching her waste away in that hospital. I would visit her everyday—she always seemed smaller and frailer—she could barely turn the pages as she read to me—and then she was gone.”

My mind had forgotten how to form words. How did one reply to that. I had always been bad at being comforting. “Would you like to go do something?” I finally blurted, not even caring about band practice. It wasn’t like I was going to join anyways. “Maybe grab a bite to eat, get your mind off of things.”

“Nah,” he shook his head. “Thanks for the offer, but I don’t need a pity date.”

“It’s not a pity—”

“Really, Adaline. I have to get to football practice anyways.”

“I could wait—”

“Then I have my work internship. But thanks for listening.” He squeezed my shoulder before walking away.

Chapter 18 Sneak Peek

2009-07-13T18:07:00.000-07:00

So I about threw out another Kelsey passage. I think I may have an unnatural obsession with her character. LOL. She def my favorite minor character, that's for sure. I'm already in the working for conjuring up a special somebody for her in book two. (But you didn't hear that from me *cough*)

So, instead, I shall give THIS sneaky-peeky!

--

“Still want to find out some things about Mr. Mendez.” He didn’t even have to ask the question. “We’re going to have to go through your father’s papers. We need to see what he’s been doing.”

“You mean like trespass?”

“Addie!” he hissed. “I don’t know if you realize this, but you’re in your own home.”

“Yes, but his office is like his private dominion.”

“And we’re going to have to take a look at his private dominion if you want to find anything out about this Mendez bloke.” But still I hesitated at the door. “I never took you to be a coward.”

“I’m not a coward!” I pushed him aside and pushed open my father’s office door. Too late, I realized that I had played right into his hands. My temper flared even more, but I shoved it down as I went over to my father’s desk. I should get a medal for self-control.

“So what is it we’re looking for?”

“I don’t know,” I muttered as I looked down at my father’s desk. I was surprised to see it so cluttered. I had always taken him to be a very neat man. I felt an unexpected tug of sadness. I really knew so little about him. “This was your idea.”

“Have you really done no investigating?”

“I fight crimes. I don’t attempt to solve them.”

“And you’re supposed to be everybody’s hero . . .” Not anymore though . . . I tried to ignore the pain that was pressing on all sides of my body. The greatest hero had fallen. “Look for a letter or a document marked private. See if he had a key. Perhaps there’s a safe in here where your father keeps all of his important documents.”

I highly doubted it. But then again . . . what did I know about my father? I ignored the mess that covered his desk and instead opened up his front drawer. He’s going to find out that I went through his things. I just knew it. Flyboy was already riffling through all of the papers that were sprawled across the desk. Apparently, he had no qualms with going through other people’s stuff.

“Stop hesitating, you certainly didn’t have a problem trying to get into my drawers,” he said. His phrasing made me blush slightly, even though I realized he was talking about the night I tried to break into his own desk. I looked down at the drawer I had opened. It was full of letters. I had hit the jackpot.

I quickly glanced at the return addresses on a few of them. My grandmother. My dad’s best friend from college, Larry. My uncle Thomas who had yet to grow up . . . currently I believed he was in Kansas City. Bentley . . . Bentley?! What could my father possibly have to say to Bentley?

I dropped all of the other letters in my hand and pulled the letter out of the already ripped envelope. “Find something interesting?” Flyboy asked as he laid the pages he was perusing aside.

I ignored him, focusing on the letter.

Dear Charles,

Thank you for writing about your concerns for Adaline. You are correct in assuming that I have been maintaining contact with her since the move. This adjustment has not been easy on her. After all, The City life is all she has ever known. However, I believe that she is beginning to embrace her life in Shelton a bit too much. From what I can perceive from our phone conversations, she has been spending time with questionable characters. Your daughter is a good lass, but she is overly naïve as well. Take special care to keep watch over her. Her friends, which have been influencing her, may be part of the motives behind her rebellious nature as of late. While it is normal for teenagers to experiment and try new things, I believe it’s safe to say that both of us want to keep our Adaline out of harm’s way. Cutting back on hours at work and spending time at home may be one way to help bring Adaline back from this dangerous road she has been traveling down since arriving in Shelton.

Regards,

Bentley

I didn’t know which was more of a shock. The fact that my father actually noticed me enough to care about my well-being to write about it to Bentley or the fact that Bentley would tell my father such outrageous lies.

I knew which one hurt the most.

Wooooo . . . . Chapter Eighteen RULES!!!! lol. Sorry. We're looking at a major story about Volt on the Sunday paper, a sophomore butting into a certain superhero's life, AND a major secret revealed!!!!

FIN

2009-07-09T20:37:00.000-07:00

So . . . I just finished the first draft of Bolt from the Blue. (Insert crazy SHRIEKING!) In case you wanted the final count on the first draft, it's: 369 pages, 142,030 words, and 39 chapters. Exciting, I know. There are a few scenes I need to go back and expand. And also some details about characters that manifested in the later chapters that I'd like to go back and add to earlier chapters. But for all intents and purposes, I am ready to get started on the second book. (Name is still TBD, but when I figure it out, I shall be sure to tell you.)

*SHRIEKS AGAIN*

Um. I'll probably post the next chapter in celebration.

Nights!

(Or as Flyboy would say: "Goodnight, goodnight. Parting is such sweet sorrow.")

Sneak Peek at Chapter 14

2009-07-05T22:52:00.000-07:00

Adaline gets relationship advice from Kelsey . . . and crashes into somebody's car.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

“This guy has been constantly hitting on me since the moment we met and I just don’t know what to do about it. I think he’s trying to lead me on, but that sad thing is that I’m letting him. I mean earlier this morning, we almost—” I faltered, turning red.

“Had sex?” Kelsey inserted, which only caused me to heat up even more.

“No! Kissed.” She scoffed and I shot her another withering glare.

“My advice to you is to get it over with and kiss him. If he’s leading you on, then you’ll know. I mean isn’t there some song about knowing a guy is in love in his kiss or something? Of course . . . that song was written before guys learned that they could screw any girl they wanted to with a well-placed word, so who knows if your guy loves you or is just looking to get some.”

“Cut it with the sex references please,” I begged. I mean, she was only fifteen after all. She couldn’t even drive. But then again . . . neither could I. I hated being on this stupid bus. “Besides, it’s more complicated then whether or not to kiss him. I don’t even know the guy.”

“You mean, because you just met him? It’s Josh isn’t it? That guy is head-over-heels for you. Don’t worry. Besides, the two of you look so cute together.”

“It’s not Josh. And you better not tell anybody I’ve been talking to you about this either.”

“So you have two guys then?” She asked.

“No. I have no guys.”

“And what do you mean you don’t know this guy?”

“I mean, I literally don’t know him. I don’t even know his name.” I figured it’d be a bit too obvious if I told her I’ve never seen his face either. As it was, I didn’t know why I was pouring my heart out to this girl, other than the fact that all these emotions were boiling inside of me and I had to let it out somehow.

“Ooo, kinky. How’d you meet?”

Now that one would be really hard to explain. “It doesn’t really matter. Look, just forget I said anything. There is so many details that I can’t even begin to explain and considering you just told me that a kiss will prove that he either doesn’t love me or that he’s trying to—” How sad was it that I couldn’t even form the words. “I believe it’s safe to say that I should stay as far away from him as possible.”

“As if!” She scoffed. “You’re young. You’re free. These are the best days of your life. Don’t waste them away be letting hot, mysterious men disappear—he is hot right?” I nodded my head. I wasn’t positive of course, but he had a nice voice, great hands, and the most intoxicating smell. That alone spelled gorgeous to me. “It’s like all those stupid romance movies where two people fall in love but they don’t do anything about it. Then they find each other like ten years later and realize it’s too late. Or maybe it’s not too late, but still, they wasted ten of their most primeval years being apart.”

“I don’t think that primeval was the word you were looking for.”

“Whatever. The point is, Addie—”

“Don’t call me that!” I interrupted.

“Why not??”

“Because he calls me that.” I couldn’t believe I just admitted that out loud. “Besides.” I tacked on. “I hate nicknames.”

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

Hope you enjoyed your sneak peek. Thanks so much for stopping by my site!!

Cassandra

Nominations, Sequels, and What's To Come

2009-07-05T18:27:00.000-07:00

I wanted to start off by giving a shout-out to RYTwinDemon for nominating me for the Supernatural Story Awards. I've been nominated for: Best Romance, Funniest Characters, Best Plot, and Most Memorable Characters. (Whoa! That's a lot!) THANK YOU so much for your nomination. It really means a lot. I know there's a forum for their site on FictionPress and they may have a website too. I'll do some snooping later and find out. And I'll be sure to add the link on the right hand column when I do, so that you can see the other stories that have been nominated!

Also, I'm still about five chapters or so out from Bolt from the Blue. I know exactly what's going to happen. All I have to do is write it. And boy, these last few chapters have a few of the hardest passages to write. (When I get that far in posting, you'll see why!) I don't really want to give anything away or even much of a hint but when I first started writing this story, I didn't know it'd be this hard to keep the ending the way I first envisioned it. Kind of makes me emotional.

*clears throat*

Soo . . . on the bright side, a plot is finally coming together for the second book. And I even have a pretty good inkling of what I want to do with the third. Now I just need to come up with a catchy title. The second book will probably cover a much greater time span The majority of the first book is covered in one month. I want the second book to cover up until a week or two before Adaline's high school graduation.

That's all for this update! If you're hanging around, reading this, I'd love for you to drop a comment. Nothing fancy, it can just be a: "I'm here!" Just so I know if this is something that actually interests people. (Never fear! I won't stop just because 'not enough people' are reading the blog. It only takes one interested person. =) )

Well, that's all I have for today. If you want, tell me what kind of things you'd like to see on here. I do eventually want to write out character profiles. Although for some people it may be more difficult than others to write. I mean, saying too much could give away things that are important for plot development. It may end up being mini-profiles before I finish Bolt from the Blue. And extensive ones, with *spoiler* alerts once the first book is finished.

Now I really AM done!

Celebrity Takes of Bolt from the Blue Characters

2009-07-04T22:02:00.000-07:00

It's what we all love to know: Celebrity photos!!! I'm not the best at this game . . . and I love some of my choices more than others. However, I did want to give you an idea of how I see some of my characters. I don't look so much at hair or eye color, although some are similar. Rather, I look at faces and how they have previously acted.

Some of the actresses/actors that I picked are from their younger days, so bear with me, okay?! I suppose I'm getting to that age when I need to find all the young stars, but they all seem like they're from Disney, wouldn't ya know?! LOL. Without further ado:

Adaline Sparks: I see her as a younger Rachael Leigh Cook. With blue hair and green eyes. (And in case you didn't know, Adaline is a natural blonde.) Why RLC, you may ask me?! Because even though she acts tough, the fact still remains that Adaline looks cute. I don't know about you, but I would never have guessed that "cute little Addie" (never call her that to her face!) would be a crime-fighting machine:

(For your viewing pleasure, I have also added the first girl I envisioned as Adaline. I have no clue who she is and I'm pretty sure that I photoshopped her hair color, but I am forever grateful.)

Up next, we have Joshie boy. I had one view of him when I first started the book. But I think I found somebody who fits him better. (Shout out to Music.Junkie4 for our talks on Supernatural and the beautiful JENSEN ACKLES!) Josh Watson has brown hair and blue eyes, in case you forgot.

And now, our very dear water boy, Kevin Brenton. He has brown hair and gray eyes. And who other to play him but General Hospital star (don't mock me, I just watched it for one summer and happened to fall in love with Spinelli's character!) Bradford Anderson.

Next is our like favorite sophomore. (Who IS played by a Disney star, but I wouldn't have it any other way.) Kelsey West has blond hair and brown eyes and looks an awful lot like: Emily Osment.

I made Sophy Peterson to be the most pretty but natural girl in the story. So she has to be played by somebody with natural perfection. Naturally. ^_^ As much as I can't stand Lana on Smallville, I have loved Kristin Kruek since I first saw her in that one rendition of Snow White. Ergo, Sophy is the epitome Kristin.

Blake Pierce has that "tough" rebel guy look going for him, so we're going to bring back my favorite tough rebel guy (you know, before he became a nurse in Heroes), Milo Ventimiglia. Blake has brown eyes and black hair.

And now for his girlfriend the "lovely" Kathryn Florence. Another Heroes character, also before she played in Heroes. This is a la Drive Me Crazy Days. Ali Lauter with shorter hair.

Josh's best friend, Dustin Sullivan, also plays quite attractive character. Channing Tatum. Only, you know, with blonde hair, not brown.

Next up is Josh's cousin, the wanna be British, cheerleading superstar, Michelle. Although she's not a mean girl, she's played by one! Rachel McAdams.

And now for A.J. Hughes. I've never seen this guy play anybody BUT jerks. And I, so endearingly, call this actor monkey-face. I don't care if you find him attractive, since his days on O.C., every time I see him, I say MONKEY-FACE. Cam Gigandet:

Finally! I wanted to finish off the Band with the drummer: Bobby Hall, and the bass player, his twin brother: Greg. At first, I made them identical twins. But when the gorgeous Jared Leto wouldn't leave my head for Greg (does anybody else love MSCL??), I knew I just had to make his brother, Shannon, Bobby. And so . . . take about a decade off this pic and make Bobby bald and you have the rest of The Band.

Bolt from the Blue Playlist

2009-07-03T19:19:00.000-07:00

On the right sidebar is the list of my first playlist for Bolt from the Blue. There are 25 songs . . . in no particular order (that would be far to complicated for me! lol.) I tried to get a variety of different songs, but I won't be offended if you choose to mock my tastes. ^_^

*Coming Soon*

Celebrity photos of some of the characters!!

Like a Bolt from the Blue, you stumbled onto this Site

2009-07-03T13:04:00.000-07:00

So . . . I made this Blog on a whim. And am still not quite sure how it is all going to work out. What I do know is that I want a place for any fans (it feels weird for me to say fans . . .) of Bolt from the Blue to have a place to talk about what's going on or any speculations one may have.

I may post spoilers or teasers on here, as well, who knows!

I will definitely be using this place to be posting pictures of each of the characters and perhaps more in depth character profiles of some of the main characters.

Who knows?!?!

If you so happened to stumble upon this site and have no clue what it's about, check out this link:

http://www.fictionpress.com/s/2549003/1/Bolt_from_the_Blue