MARCH 2024
Cover Mania
I'm getting way ahead of myself, but creating book covers often lends itself to inspiration in my writing. Here's what I have so far for the upcoming Limb of Iniquity.
As per my usual notation, storyline, estimated release date and book cover design for Limb of Iniquity may be subject to change.
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Posted by Deidre Dalton on Sunday, 31st March 2024
Character Study
I took an unplanned six-month sabbatical from October 2023 onward. It proved to be a much-needed respite, a recharging of mental and physical batteries, if you will. I also had a few medical issues, which are currently being treated successfully. Not having to report to a day job certainly aided in my collective healing. I was able to read quite a bit, and happily caught-up on several favorite TV programs.
Unfortunately, I also fell behind on all of my writing projects during the half-year sabbatical, including Limb Iniquity. That's not to say I didn't think about the story and how I envisioned it unfolding, I just didn't do any actual writing for several months. I'm now in the midst of re-writing the opening of the novel to take it in a new direction, as evidenced by my current word counts.
I'm fleshing out a few new characters at this point in terms of the storyline. One of the more interesting characters thus far has proven to be Quinton "Quint" Cabot, who is best friend to the protagonist (and relative bad seed), Alexandra St. John Cimarelli.
Alex and Quint work as
chemical engineers for renowned fashionista
Suki
Sutton Shimada. The duo create perfumes and body washes for Suki, which
are wildly successful. The perfumes include Calamity Untamed (wildflowers
in a black-pink bottle), Calico Breeze (coconut and vanilla in
beige packaging), Nocturnal Lunacy (sage and sea salt mixed with
patchouli, blue-green packaging with black lettering), Onyx Jade (black
violets in a black/emerald bottle with gold lettering), Purrvessence (cream
and sugar cookie scent for children, brass/white packaging), and Waterfall
Bay (lemon and lime scents mixed with wild cherries and rum, dark red
and deep yellow packaging).
Eventually, Quint and Alex also develop a line of natural soaps and body splashes: Almond Cream, Cherry Dreamscape, Cinnamon Sticks, Earthy Musk, Mint Reflections, Poppy & Pears and Vanilla Pearl.
Before I began writing Limb Iniquity, I had no knowledge about the chemical composition of perfumes. My research has led me to various sources, including "The Chemistry of Fragrances: From Perfumer to Consumer" by Charles S. Sell, among many others. The research is ongoing and quite interesting, I'm happy to say.
Quint is the only child of Adam Cabot and Lacey Astor Cabot. He lives with his parents in a brownstone on the Upper East Side in New York City. He attended New York University, where he received a BA in chemical engineering. He began working for Suki as a perfumer shortly afterward, not meeting Alexandra St. John Cimarelli until she joined the design firm in 2018.
Quinton is tall and slender, with dark hair, dark brown eyes and full, sensuous lips. His nose is slightly large, with a mole under his right nostril. He can often be seen to wear eyeglasses, which he later switches over to contact lenses. As he matured, he grew neatly-clipped facial hair. Note: Quinton Cabot's looks were based on actor Adam Driver. The images are providing inspiration to me during the current writing process. They represent fictional characterizations, or rather the "outer shell" of each character, but are not indicative of true personality traits of actual people.
To read more about characters and their sometimes famous physical interpretations, click here.
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Posted by Deidre Dalton on Friday, 29th March 2024
