Ooooh, I have questions. Big fat questions that demand answering . . . if you could be so kind.

1) How did you choose the character names? The Tristan/Emily Isolde thing is a very neat piece of handiwork and some of what compelled that is obvious. But what about James? Eminently English, yes, but is there something more compelling that? Is there a biblical element to Mary's name? I can see some parallels between her story and Mary Magdalene's, but there was also some "Mary as redeemer" work going on in the last chapter. (Mary as a Christ-figure? *puzzled*) Okay, next question . . .

2) What authors/works would you say most influenced your writing/story? What areas of mythology do you draw from the most? Are there any authors/works/sources that you purposefully avoid? You were all over the mythological landscape in the last chapter, and the treasure hunt for references was a ton of fun. If you had to make an "If you like DP, you might also like . . ." list, a la Amazon.com, what would be on it?

3) Who is that copy editor that keeps flaking out on you and leaving you high and dry? The bitch! (Okay, just kidding. I'm so sorry my computer keeps dying and real life keeps intruding.)

4) How do you (Danielle and Sara) overcome being separated by such a large distance? Do you IM a lot or have you perfected psychic communication? Or is it more like MST3K, and you're actually trapped in space, while a weird-ass "scientist" sends you missions?

5) Who gives you the most trouble while simming? The characterization in the story leads me to Mary, but there is a certain twinkle in Tristan's eye at times, and I think Andy must be a drama queen. ("I will not cooperate until all the brown M&Ms are removed from my dressing room and replaced with green ones. And I said Evian spring water, not Dasani! I want to talk to my agent. Now." Then Chris comes along and pulls down Andy's pants and everyone has a giggle.)

6) How do you group the characters together in your mind? There are a lot of, um, entangling alliances that can make sorting them difficult. Who do you have marked as a loner? Who needs people? The story obviously revolves around Mary, James, Emily, and Tristan, but how do you sort the others? What relationships are more important--those between lovers or those between friends or between family members? There seems to be a definite preference to the family-you-choose, rather than the family-you're-born-with in your writing--see the relationships between Emily and her parents and between Mary and her parents, and contrast those to the relationships within the main quartet of characters.

7) What's up between Markus and Abigail? Is he still experiencing culture shock when it comes to the paranormal, despite have a voudon priestess for a grandmother and two vampires as best friends? Or does his troubled past compel him to wash his hands of things and let fate take its course?

8) Is Abigail a voudon priestess or a voodoo queen or is she just some general practitioner of the dark arts? Why no sacrifices of black roosters? Ever tempted to have her make a voodoo doll of Andy and poke it mercilessly with pins?

There are a ton more things I'd like to know, but most of it is story-related, rather than process-related (like the last two questions are.) I'll be patient and wait for it to be revealed in regularly scheduled broadcasting.

P.S. I've read the latest installment and will make an exceedingly gushing comment on it as soon as I get my notes together and have a little free time to harness my Zen. But, way to go, ladies! The return of Dr. Sutherland is much appreciated.

Ha ha! Yes! One writer at a time, I am slowly turning tide away from abuse of the English language. My teachers would be so proud.