Saturday, December 28, 2019

#112 Inside the Emotion of Fiction "TILL DARKNESS COMES" by Sandra De Helen


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****Sandra De Helen’s Till Darkness Comes is #112 in the never-ending series called INSIDE THE EMOTION OF FICTION where the Chris Rice Cooper Blog (CRC) focuses on one specific excerpt from a fiction genre and how that fiction writer wrote that specific excerpt.  All INSIDE THE EMOTION OF FICTION links are at the end of this piece. 

Has this been published? And it is totally fine if the answer is no.   If yes, what publisher and what publication date? Yes, McCorkle Ink (self-published), November 2015.

What is the date you began writing this piece of fiction and the date when you completely finished the piece of fiction? I wrote it for NaNoWriMo November 2012. I “won” the month, and had a sufficient number of words, but it was a hot mess. In January 2016, I undertook the editing of it, which took me many months. Then it had to be copy edited, proofread, and formatted. So, November 2016 it was published.

Where did you do most of your writing for this fiction work?  And please describe in detail.  I did most of this work at my dining room table.

What were your writing habits while writing this work- did you drink something as you wrote, listen to music, write in pen and paper, directly on laptop; specific time of day? I wrote directly on laptop, from morning till late afternoon. Sometimes I listened to music, for specific moods.

What excerpt of the book was the most emotional for you to write? This excerpt can be as short or as long as you prefer.

The hotel room smelled of roses. The lights were soft, almost pink. Beth's skin glowed. The temperature was just right, the carpet was so thick she couldn't wait to take off her heels and sink into it with bare feet. Josh removed his shoes and socks too, and they ran around the room on the carpet, then jumped on the bed several times, falling down laughing.
"Roll over, I'll undo your dress."
She did. Then she stood before him in her ivory lace corset and silk half slip that matched her wedding gown.
"God, you're gorgeous! I could eat you up with a spoon!"
Beth laughed, and reached for him. She began to unbutton his shirt.
"No. No, I want to eat you with a spoon. Leave my clothes alone. We got a spoon in here? Lay down on the bed."
"No, Josh. I don't want you to do anything weird. Let's make love. It's our honeymoon. Let me ..."
"No! I said. You're mine now, Beth. I married you, I own you. You're my wife. Didn't you hear the preacher? Man and wife. I'm the man, you're the wife. You do what I say. I say you lay down and I do what I want. I want to get a spoon and stick it in you. I might want to eat a piece of you. See if you taste as good as you look."
"No. You're acting crazy." Beth moved away from the bed to get her overnight bag and change into a tee shirt and jeans she had brought for the next day. Josh jumped off the bed, grabbed her from behind, swung her around and slapped her face with an open hand. Hard. Beth nearly fell to her knees.
"Don't ever call me crazy. I am not crazy. I am the man. You got that?" She nodded. "All right then, let me hear you say it."
"You're the man. You're not crazy."
"That's right. Now get your clothes off and lay on the bed."
Beth did as she was told. Josh walked around the room opening drawers and doors until he found the coffeemaker and utensils. Then he undressed, returned to the bed with a plastic spoon, yanked open Bess's legs, stuck a spoon inside her vagina, twisted it around and pulled it out. He repeated this several times until he pulled it out streaked with blood. Then he raped her.

Why is this excerpt so emotional for you to write?  Because it is based on a similar scene that actually happened to me in the first days after my own marriage at 15. 

And can you describe your own emotional experience of writing this specific scene/excerpt? I felt the old feelings of fear and danger, my throat tightened, my body tried to make itself smaller, my mouth dried up.

Were there any deletions from this excerpt that you can share with us? No. I don’t do it that way. I do it all on computer and I don’t save the old drafts.

Other works you have published? I have a female Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson series: The Hounding is the first; The Illustrious Client is the second in the series.


Anything you would like to add? I also write poetry. My first collection [Desire Returns for a Visit] was published last November by Launch Point Press (a lesbian indie publisher), and my second will be out this November. Launch Point contracted with me to publish at least eight collections of my poetry.

Sandra de Helen, author of the Shirley Combs/Dr. Mary Watson series and the lesbian thriller Till Darkness Comes is a produced playwright, as well as a poet. Her full-length play A Missouri Cycle garnered her a residency for fall of 2017 at Firefly Farms; her play A Grave Situation was produced in 2017 by Athena Cats as part of their theatre festival in Santa Monica. Something's Got to Give was produced in Oregon in 2015 as part of the 365 Women A Year Playwriting Project. Singer Clashes with Cougar was produced in New York in July, 2014 by{Your Name Here} A Queer Theatre Company. Her poetry collections are published or forthcoming from Launch Point Press. Samples of her work are available at her website
http://sandradehelen.com


INSIDE THE EMOTION OF FICTION links

001   11 15 2018 Nathaniel Kaine’s
Thriller Novel
John Hunter – The Veteran

002   11 18 2018 Ed Protzzel’s
Futuristic/Mystery/Thriller
The Antiquities Dealer 

003   11 23 2018 Janice Seagraves’s
Science Fiction Romance
Exodus Arcon

004   11 29 2018 Christian Fennell’s
Literary Fiction Novel
The Fiddler in the Night

005  12 02 2018 Jessica Mathews’s
Adult Paranormal Romance
Death Adjacent

006  12 04 2018 Robin Jansen’s
Literary Fiction Novel
Ruby the Indomitable

007  12 12 2018  Adair Valerez’s
Literary Fiction Novel
Scrim

008  12 17 218 Kit Frazier’s
Mystery Novel
Dead Copy

009 12 21 2019 Robert Craven’s
Noir/Spy Novel
The Road of a Thousand Tigers

010 01 13 2019 Kristine Goodfellow’s
Contemporary Romantic Fiction
The Other Twin

011 01 17 2019 Nancy J Cohen’s
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012 01 20 2019 Charles Salzberg’s
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013 01 23 2019 Alexis Fancher’s
Flash Fiction
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014 01 27 2019 Brian L Tucker’s
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021 02 27 2019 Marlon L Fick’s
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023 03 06 2019 Samuel Snoek-Brown’s
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024 03 08 2019 Marlin Barton’s
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025 03 18 2019 Laura Hunter’s
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026 03 21 2019 Maggie Rivers’s
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027  03 25 2019 Faith Gibson’s
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028 03 27 2019 Valerie Nieman’s
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029 04 04 2019 Betty Bolte’s
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030 04 05 2019  Marianne Maili’s
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031 04 10 2019 Gregory Erich Phillips’s
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032 04 15 2019 Jason Ament’s
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033 04 24 2019 Stephen P. Keirnan’s
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034 05 01 2019 George Kramer’s
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035 05 05 2019 Erika Sams’s
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036 05 07 2019 Mark Wisniewski’s
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037 05 08 2019 Marci Baun’s
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040 05 14 2019 Gytha Lodge’s
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042 05 20 2019 Annie Seaton’s
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047 06 07 2019 Philip Shirley’s
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048 06 08 2019 Bonnie Kistler’s
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#062 07 12 2918 Vic Sizemore’s
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071 08 11 2019 Sara Dahmen’s
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072  08 19 2019 Carolyn Breckinridge’s
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073 08 21 2019 Alison Ragsdale’s
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074  08 22 2019 Lee Matthew Goldberg’s
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#087 10 11 2019 Karen Odden’s
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#89 10 17 2019 Sherry Harris’s
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#105 12 07 2019 Mike Burrell’s
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#110 12 19 2019 Laura Bickle’s
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#111 12 27 2019 Brian Pinkerton’s
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#112  12 28 2019 Sandra de Helen’s
Lesbian Thriller
“TILL DARKNESS COMES”