I goofed off for most of the day, aside from lurking on forums or listening to music, I didn't do any focused reading, editing, or writing. That is, until half an hour before midnight, when I was staring at my background. I didn't feel like getting into either of the two books I'm reading. (Even though both have had good writing so far. Just wasn't in the mood) It occurred to me that I already knew the way out of my middle of the story woes with Changeling, and so I figured that I'd tried to get a few more pages down.

I finished up one chapter, and then I wrote another. The story will be getting back on track to the actual scam soon, but now with this side trip to meet Tommy's cousins and his great-great- great-aunt, (I think that's something like fifteen times removed, by I'll spare you) I understand how VERY complicated the storyline will eventually become for the shapeshifters.

For one thing, they all have two fully functional personalities, so that means writing two people who may, or may not be similar to each other. Tommy/Lana is pretty consistent through both personalities, but Jenny/Marcus is a character with a lot of contrasts. By day, Marcus has been a reclusive gaming nerd and a half-assed mage. Jenny has been a goth-clubbing social butterfly who adores the opportunity to know lots of people. During transformation, both personalities, "pass each other" in a mental corridor, an internally imagined safe place where the two sides read each other. So, what one personality knows, so does the other as soon as they change places.

Of these two sides, one of the personalities is known as the biological personality, and it's the one that the shapeshifter was born as. The other personality is considered the lesser half, and yet, it also has a soul of its own. This can make for a complicated situation in shapeshifter mating habits, because when a shapeshifter takes a companion, part of the mating act is the metaphysical merging of their souls. After that point, there is no way for a couple to separate, and no amount of distance can keep them from out of their companion's thoughts. in most shapeshifter couples, it is possible temporarily sever the connection by having one partner swap genders.

In theory, what is supposed to happen is that a couple clicks, and they mate through their dominant personas before shifting genders to merge the souls of their lesser halves. However, there is the possibility for a shapeshifter to become involved in a permanent love triangle, which sets this initial plot up as an erotic UF, easy.

So, here at chapter 12, the triangle is set now, with (don't hate me for making this ridiculously complicated) Marcus/Jenny, Tommy/Lana, and Kevin/Laura. So, all I have to do is figure out how to get through the scam without being too slow or dull, even if the real story is the constant visits of Jenny's suitors. Yeah, that's the joke. Both the guys want Jenny. But Tommy is soul bound to Jenny, while Kevin is soul bound to Marcus. (Told you it was complicated)

Why is this important? Okay, while Marcus has taken over control of the body, he can't hear the thoughts of Tommy. If Tommy wants to keep himself hidden from Jenny, he has to change into Lana. Now add in Kevin and Laura, and what I have is a complex trio of bodies who carry six linked personalities between them. They ought to be able to carry at least two books on their own before I merge them back into the main story line as bit characters again.

This is the part of my experiment that sometimes worries me. I worry that people might get into one set of stories, and not like the others. Or, in a worst-case scanario, they read something in one genre and don't like it, and they avoid all my other stuff, assuming it's all the same. And really, how do I help try to distinguish "No, this is Urban Fantasy, with erotica elements, while the main series is dark fanstasy with strong horror and mild UF elements." Oh sure, that's as clear as mud.

But, I am having fun writing this stuff, because it's a great way to keep everything from getting too forumlaic. Just as folks are getting used to a pattern in a trilogy, I'm going to "flip the script" and try something new.

This is of course assuming that I ever get more than twenty readers. =^P

Okay, I'm babbling, and I need to get to sleep.

Later...