Cast Commentary #7

Kimbar: Okay ladies, so in this episode we get to see a LOT of Arianna.

Skye: The diving episode!

Rowan: Yes.

Neale: Right. The episode where Noel threw Tal under the bus and made her lose Arianna. Hmm.

Rowan: And also the episode where Rei goes to Kennedy's office and finds Lia working for Kennedy.

Noel: Yes, I did get to throw Tal under the boat, so to speak, didn't I?

Kimbar: Yes! I have to admit, I have never had much interest in diving, but in the space of this one episode I suddenly gained the urge to dive, lost it in fear of dying, and then regained it again.

Noel: LOL!

Skye: This ep also saw a bunch of us writing scenes last minute, yes?

Neale: =P

Noel: An enormous amount of research for 2000 words.

Rowan: I can only imagine Noel. When I reread it I was like impressed all over again.

Rowan: I know. I'm afraid I'll blow my eardrums out of my ears.

Noel: Arianna is not very careful with herself, is she LOL!

Skye: That's kind of an understatement, Noel (Arianna not being careful with herself.)

Noel: And everyone wound up coming in at the 11th hour to write rescue scenes, right?

Kimbar: One of the interesting things I thought about that scene was just that - that so many authors got to work together on one thing. Everyone pulled together for it.

Rowan: That's right!

Rowan: That was actually really cool.

Noel: Yeah, great point. That really showed that we can really rally behind one character.

Noel: I loved that. We should do that more.

Kimbar: What was it like for you all to do that? How much coordination did it take?

Skye: I seriously felt like Jennifer had called in the rescue party for real. Like "You have 24 hours to find Arianna! Go!"

Skye: It would be really interesting to live-write something, I think.

Neale: : D

Rowan: I so agree, Skye.

Noel: I can imagine Jennifer on a rock, pointing out to sea: Rowan! Neale! Skye! Go!

Rowan: Yeah. That sounds about right.

Kimbar: I would watch that marathon

Rowan: Neale, go left, Rowan, center, Skye take the right

Neale: She said "do it." And we did : D

Noel: LOL!

Kimbar: Did you guys have to get together and have a chat about it?

Rowan: I don't think so.

Rowan: Did we?

Skye: I didn't. I got the message at work and holed up at a nearby cybercafe to eat a sandwich while I busted out my scene. I think a lot of the meshing and fact-tweaking was on Jennifer's end.

Rowan: So true.

Kimbar: Did it pop up suddenly or was this the plan all along?

Noel: That sounds like our courageous editor! : D

Rowan: No, the episode came in short, I think.

Neale: Very suddenly - definitely not planned.

Skye: It popped up suddenly for me. Just an email saying "We need Rei to take her boat out to find Arianna. Also have her think a few things about outing. I need it ASAP." (which in Jennifer speak means "two hours ago.")

Kimbar: When you first heard the news, was it exciting or harrowing? Were there any worries about having the time to write it out last minute like that?

Skye: I loved it. I work best under pressure.

Rowan: It was fun.

Neale: It made me a little nervous : /

Rowan: I am not sure that I work best under pressure, but I felt like I could do this. It was clear and concise.

Noel: I think the rescue scenes were needed very badly because the diving sequence came in *way* over word count and it needed to be broken up by other scenes Sorry everyone!

Rowan: Bad Noel.

Neale: You're in big trouble, Noel.

Noel: *hanging my head*

Kimbar: I feel like the whole thing worked out REALLY well.

Skye: Don't be sorry, Noel. Wasn't the diving scene voted the favorite scene of the series by the authors?

Noel: It was. Thanks : )

Rowan: Oh, I agree.

Rowan: Plus, come on, that much research... you want to make it worth the reader's time. Make it real.

Noel: Yes, Rowan, exactly, right?

Noel: What fish? What currents? What gear? How does it look, feel? You know?

Rowan: If it had been my scene, I would definitely have done the same thing.

Noel: Thank you, Rowan!

Rowan: = )

Kimbar: We also learn what the phone call that Arianna received - we get the actual message itself. Minus some words.

Noel: Yes. The broken, static-shot phone call.

Noel: That's what leads her to the Cove. To Mariel Cove.

Neale: I love that convention.

Neale: I plan on using it in Season Two, in at least two scenes.

Noel: It's a great convention, Neale, well worth using : )

Noel: Me, too, Neale. I always have.

Noel: The half-heard conversation.

Noel: Like Tal and Arianna in the last episode.

Noel: The mishearing or misunderstanding of something to dramatic effect.

Kimbar: I love the way you reference it - great in movies, frustrating in real life.

Noel: Thank you, Kimbar.

Kimbar: It breaks the fourth wall and gives a nod to the readers, I feel.

Noel: I try to break the fourth wall when I can with a little wink and nudge.

Neale: Definitely.

Noel: LOL!

Neale: LOL!

Rowan: Noel, I just use a sledgehammer. It's much easier.

Noel: LOL, Rowan!

Kimbar: It comes across really well here, I feel. It could have been cliche otherwise, but the way you do it makes it fit well.

Noel: The most fun with the phone call...

Noel: Was figuring out how Arianna would figure out where it had come from.

Noel: All the cruise lines and locations were real.

Noel: I wanted to root Arianna's investigation in reality as much as possible.

Neale: Absolutely. I always like it better when people don't make up their own alternate history, in fiction.

Rowan: I agree, Neale.

Neale: Unless... it's alternate history fiction. LOL

Neale: Alternate universe. That sort of thing.

Noel: Exactly, Neale.

Noel: Unless you're writing alt history, then do your damn research, right?

Neale: Yes.

Rowan: Right.

Kimbar: There's a great deal of research in Mariel Cove.

Neale: I have researched the most random and obscure things.

Rowan: That's why I became a writer.

Noel: After doing the research for the fish in the cove, I wanted to dive it. Then I found out there would probably be GPO and I changed my mind : )

Neale: But I'd rather spend the time to research instead of sounding stupid.

Neale: And ignorant.

Rowan: The research. That's one of my favorite parts.

Noel: So true!

Skye: That's what impressed me the most about your scenes in this episode (and the whole series, really) Noel: you make potentially convoluted plot lines totally believable. Because fact really is stranger than fiction and these things do happen... but so many other books/movies etc have so little truth to them that they seem farfetched. I find it very inspiring, to be honest.

Noel: Thank you, Skye. I really work hard on my scenes.

Kimbar: I have one specific question, though, that moves us away from Arianna. It's something I'm fascinated by...

Noel: Go for it, Kimbar!

Kimbar: Moving back to Tal, when she has her tarot reading - how much research went into the creation of the reading?

Neale: Um...

Neale: A LOT.

Neale: : D

Neale: I have a basic idea of what I want the reading to say.

Neale: But then I have to hunt down the cards that could possibly say those things.

Kimbar: Did you have to learn how to do tarot or do you already know how to use it?

Neale: : D

Neale: I've done tarot before.

Neale: And oracle decks, too.

Neale: So that part was easy : )

Kimbar: I've done rune readings and I have both a tarot deck and a rune set, but the thought of creating a reading that would work the way it does...it's so daunting. How long did it take you to decide? Did you go through a few card options before coming on the one you ended up using?

Neale: I'm a big believer in using tarot not so much as a "spiritual" or "fortune-telling" tool, but as a psycological one.

Kimbar: I'm the same way.

Neale: I wrote Madison having this belief too, even though she is Wiccan.

Rowan: I think that approach makes a lot of sense.

Kimbar: I loved that you included that in there, by the way.

Neale: So I let Madison give Tal the meanings of the cards, but let Tal put them together on her own.

Neale: That let me be able to find cards that meant "mother" or "brown-haired" or... whatever I needed it to be, and use those.

Neale: It lets the reading be a little more open to interpretation.

Neale: I would search for a card meaning - mother - and then choose the best one, that would fit in with the other cards and the overall message of the reading.

Rowan: And I loved the *pause* where Madison gets what she's just said.

Kimbar: This episode was a big step for Tal - she finally comes to terms with something and then puts herself on the line. After losing Arianna, so she's got to already be feeling a bit on the vulnerable side.

Neale: This was definitely a big step for Tal, Kimbar.

Neale: A push in the right direction, I hope : )

Noel: I won't make friends by saying this, but I have honestly never enjoyed "Wiccan" characters in fiction. But Neale, you make me *almost* like Madison and all the metaphysical stuff -- tarot, circles -- is written very, very well.

Neale: Thanks

Neale: That's a pretty big compliment from you, Noel.

Neale: Some of it was research, some of it was real-life experience, some was other fiction I've read.

Noel: : )

Kimbar: I think so.

Kimbar: So, we're almost out of time, but let's talk for a few minutes about the Kennedy/Lia/Rei triangle.

Kimbar: We got to see Kennedy get the ball rolling on that in this episode.

Skye: Kennedy got to be a total jerk, yeah. LOL.

Noel: The Lia sandwich. Poor Lia, stuck in the middle of a war.

Rowan: Yes. The Kennedy we love to hate.

Neale: Nope. I just love her : D

Rowan: Was that fun, Skye? To write both of those characters in that scene?

Skye: I like writing scenes where Kennedy and Rei get to spar, but I admit this was a hard one for me to write. I think it's the most manipulative we've seen Kennedy to date. Very calculated.

Rowan: (You are so twisted, Neale)

Noel: All three characters! Chef Skye : )

Kimbar: And very on the ball, right after temporarily losing her girlfriend.

Skye: LOL, hopefully the sandwich was as spicy as it was sharp and bitter : )

Noel: Higher stakes.

Kimbar: "Slightly derailed, but things are back in place now. Time to continue with the plans."

Skye: I knew I had to keep emotions high, not just to keep the stakes high but because I needed to keep Lia in a place of being constantly off balance and confused for her to realistically make some of the decisions she did. I needed things to happen quickly until Kennedy could really get her hooked.

Neale: You executed that very nicely : ) It can be tricky, getting the supporting characters to realistically do what you want.

Noel: Well done.

Kimbar: I think you did a great job.

Kimbar: Is there anything else anybody would like to touch on before we end this?

Skye: Thank you all

Noel: We're into the final stretch of Season 1 now. Action is picking up.

Noel: I *love* these last few episodes.

Noel: I think we all found our voices and were really running with the plots.

Kimbar: So do I. I can't wait to talk about them. Some really exciting things happen.

Skye: I totally agree. These last few episodes are really amazing.

Skye: I want to just put it out there that my Emery scene was one of my favorites to write ever, even if it wasn't super important. It holds a special place in my heart.

Kimbar: What did you like most about it Skye?

Neale: I really liked it too, Skye : )

Rowan: Skye, I felt the same way about the scene with Mina and Tatiana.

Rowan: I loved writing it, even though it was a smaller moment in the action of the episode.

Noel: The smaller moments make the series so real!

Neale: Rowan, I loved when they were talking about the paint brush flower story

Neale: It's one of Dani's favorites.

Rowan: Thanks. I love writing Mina. She is a treasure.

Rowan: Oh, really? How cool!

Neale: She's very sweet.

Skye: I just love Emery. Writing her past and about her as a child (as well as writing Vikki, who was based on a really amazing woman I met just before starting to write erotica) hit on some personal things for me and, because she doesn't get a lot of air time, I treasured the moments I had with her. Also I imagine young Emery is exactly how my future kiddos will be so it made me smile.

Skye: It's not something I really need to discuss. I just wanted to point out that I loved it : )

Kimbar: I think it really makes a scene pop to have such passion about what they're writing; I was curious what you liked most about it because it lets me and anybody reading this see the scene through your eyes. That's what this cast commentary is all about, after all - seeing Mariel Cove through the eyes of the authors.

Kimbar: Ladies, this has been a fantastic chat, as always. I have loved getting to talk with you, and I can't wait until next week!

Neale: Me, too : )

Skye: It was fun! Thanks!

Rowan: It's nice to see you all.

Noel: Thank you again, Kimbar. And it was wonderful to chat live with everyone.

Kimbar: And now I'm going to a tea party with a Sasquatch. You're all invited!