Edelweiss; Dark Science, part one: the Bits that didn't make the Book

The Edelweiss bin... a free photo the photographer gave me...

SPOILER ALERT

So I am currently huddled up on my sofa choked with the cold and unable to think straight. I have so many blog posts that I want to get through, but this is about all I feel up to today. I will get back to normal thought processes soon I promise... nobody needs to switch me off and back on again.

Anyway, I wrote Edelweiss so many times that there are all sorts of things I had to cut out from the novel. The end product had so much squashed into it that I wanted to expand that I often get confused over which parts made it and which didn't, and then I need to go back and check. So let's start...

...One of the most minor changes I made was in the names. Stephen Lawrence was originally named Paul Thomas Damas but I stole his last name for another character and re-thought. He just seemed more like a Stephen than a Paul; and definitely a Stephen with a 'PH'. Imagine how different it would have read if Stephen wasn't Stephen? That change still torments me sometimes. Should he have been Paul? I guess now we will never know...

Poor Samuel and Isabel were always going to die. It was set in stone the moment I started writing. I rewrote that first scene so many times I lost count but they always died. Abigail always got lost in the woods and the Shadow Man always paid a visit. I struggled to get the words he says when he first appears correct but finally settled on something suitably creepy. He was always going to be the main bad guy, I just never expected he would be so much fun to write.

A Map of the Islands, by Kirsty Anderson, Illustrator

The next big change was in fleeing for Ronton Bay. The first time around I had them on horseback but I had so many problems getting the timing to line up. If they were on horseback George Dickson would have caught them without argument. I appeased the timeline by having Greer sneak away to catch Stephen in the night only to disguise Abigail as a boy and take refuge in Oran Grime's inn.On the rewrite I considered it would be much easier if they just took a rowing boat. It was a lot less complicated and saved time - but we missed out on Oran Grimes, whose character I adored. You will find his name dotted throughout the series because I couldn't bare to part with him completely.

Anyway, after they reached Ronton took so much working out. I originally had the hunters chase them down only to be massacred by the man with no name. Then I had Echan hunt them back to Catherine to save their lives for later. Poor Illion initially died in the woods - but even then, the assassin placed his sword into his hands after the deed was done. It was Siara witnessing this event that sent her to find Stephen in the first draft. All this changed because I initially wrote Siara as Greer's role then hated her guts. I couldn't give Abigail a co-parent that I hated so I had to invent a new character. Thus Greer was born and Siara got relegated to traitor status...

Asa was always a destination. Where Asa lived changed a fair amount. Porta was convenient because it was right next to Estora and I knew they would have to go there at some point. I also knew I could get away with the 'alpine' feel better in the islands than I would on a continent and keeping them in the islands was a good way to keep Echan and Talphibious on the periphery.

the cover image we settled on

The next part I really wish I hadn't changed was the first time Liandor met the group. In the first draft he successfully saved Abigail's life only for Greer to come bounding from the undergrowth and tear his throat out. Again, Liandor was pretty cool to write and that saved his life. It also prevented a war with the druids which was the opposite of where I wanted to go. Liandor turned into her best friend instead and, in my opinion, the poor wood elf would be better off dead than seeking Abigail as a love interest.

Earlier drafts didn't have blood magic, nor did they have Cobol, who I find exceptional and love to write scenes for. In the first draft the whole group plus Liandor went to Estora by invitation. Lorne didn't exist yet and Aaron was a lot nastier than Marcus was. Abigail always found out the truth in the end and fed him the serum - but it was a lot more convoluted to get there. Besides anything else Amber, Cobol and the others weren't even conceptualised yet and the whole last third of the book was messy and stressful.

 Introducing the use of Blood Magic and the whole "Abigail on the bucket" scene was a happy accident that happened after windows 10 swallowed earlier drafts. It meant that I was able to get her to Estora without anyone else being in danger for at least a few days. Realistically, without Cobol they would have died as soon as they set foot on the island. Cobol gave me an in to get her back out, a little smarter than she was when she went in there.

The last major change I made was in the way the war started. Originally it spilled from the Temple and chased them off the island but that didn't flow well. It meant I was starting something at the end of the book and it was unsettling. Granted you wanted to know what happened next but it wasn't a satisfying ending. Instead, I cut it to Abigail and the all-important healing potions and added Aaron's warning. The reader knows he's serious but naturally she hates his guts by this point... sort of. I do so love the complexity of their relationship.

Anyway. I need to wrap myself in a duvet and a housecoat and drink hot lemon and honey. I hope you have enjoyed this little glimpse into how editing changes storylines over time - and into how windows have swallowed more creativity than a good book burning - but that's a subject for another time.