Behind the Scenes of
1. Shakespeare's Daughter
Dear Louise,
Here are my comments on your review.
Ch. 1: I almost put this scene in the prologue, but then decided that the story was going to be short enough without taking more away from the central core. It originally only had 4 chapters. My daughter is the reason it got Chapter 5! I try very hard to have at least one Control room scene per story, even though most of my plots take place elsewhere. I want to remind everyone (including me!) that this is like an episode from the series, not something altogether different. So glad you caught that hint about Straker never getting in a fuss! *giggle* As I’ve told you numerous times; in my own way, I love to torment him too!
David Gray is an actual extra character from the show. I found him at the About SHADO archive and used him. I really wanted there to be lots of mystery in this story, not just with the girl. So Gray worked fine for my purposes there.
One of my favorite lines in the story is Alec’s final comment in this scene. One of those "Ba-dum-BAH!" moments.
By now, you probably know that I love the movies. When I really enjoy a movie, I buy the special edition, so that I can watch all the behind-the-scenes footage. I can honestly say that UFO was the reason I fell in love with movies being made. It just fired all my brain cells when I watched the show! And I have always felt that not enough was done to exploit the possibilities of the studio, although Mindbender came close!
Straker is a man that is forced by necessity to be extremely self-controlled. From the few glimpses of him before command that we get in the series, it’s obvious that he’s really a spontaneous, fun guy with a great sense of humor! So I not only love to pair him with a woman who will bring those elements back out of him (as you did with Rachel), but I also love to shake him out of his control – however momentarily. Go ahead. Tell me I’m mean to The Man! *grin*
Years ago, when I began the Conover Saga, I glossed over this kind of scene (where he's being propositioned by an actress.) I mentioned them happening occasionally, but always off-screen, so to speak. Well, I absolutely had to do it – at least once! – so that I could watch him handle the situation. *sigh* He really has no idea of his appeal, does he?
Ch. 2: This scene has been in my mind for over ten years! I never quite knew when I was going to get to use it, but I knew that sooner or later, it would find its place. You may have noticed that every actress I used in this scene (other than Carol Reed, who is an actress I made up for the Conover Saga) actually played in a Shakespearean movie.
I almost did the scene with the solicitors, but then decided that it would be an indulgence on my part. We already knew from his ‘razor-thin smile’ that he was going to tear into them.
I was a little worried about the scene where he meets Reva. He’s so harsh to her that I was concerned that the reader wouldn’t understand her attraction for him. But he’s definitely in Commander mode here, trying to figure out what’s going on. Did you catch his comment to himself that he certainly had ‘no intention of exploring [the situation] further’? Then he follows that by wondering why she was denying that it happened. Men!
I was very happy with how the description of when Reva sees Gray behind Straker turned out. It was hard to keep it subtle and not give it all away.
Ch. 3: I don’t use Paul very much in my interactions with the Commander, because he really doesn’t get him at all and that’s no fun (unless I’m trying to make fun of Paul!) I much prefer Alec. Old friends can say things that no one else can. And they had a great dynamic in the show. I think that’s one of the things that made me love Deborah’s Star Trek / UFO crossover so much. She got the dynamic between Kirk, Spock, and Bones so well. You could hear them speaking the lines! That’s what I strive for in my stories, that level of believability. You do it well, too, in your stories – although you don’t have those scenes often enough to suit me!
Ch. 4: It takes a lot for Straker to lay down his principles, so I wasn’t sure that this first scene was understandable. But reading it over later, it seemed to work. At least for me; and since my beta tester didn’t veto it, it must have worked for her as well. My great love scene did get vetoed, so I’ll just have to use it in another story. Maybe in a romp, like my Anny story! But the current version of the scene is truer to Reva’s character.
The conversation on the patio made me grin when I wrote it. He’s so serious!!! It’s good to know he hasn’t completely forgotten how to play! *grin*
I was afraid at first that the flashback scene would break the flow of the surrounding scene too much; but as I was writing it, it just seemed to fit into place as if I knew what I was doing! I love when that happens!
Most of my work experience has been in libraries of one sort or another. I love books! So I stole this concept from a Star Trek:TOS episode and ran with it. I thought it would be funny to make Shakespeare something mundane (like a librarian) who lives out his fantasies in the plays he writes, then disperses them throughout the galaxy. It was fun! I’m sure you caught the reference to Shakespeare in Klingon. I have the Klingon Hamlet. It’s great!
Two things. Lucky Starr is a character from Isaac Asimov’s stories. He wrote an entire series of young men’s sci-fi novels in the early fifties about a boy who becomes a spaceman, etc. I had to transpose the publication dates of the stories back a few years to fit this story, but no one who didn’t research Asimov would catch it. The other thing is Chandra’s name. It means ‘moon,’ but that’s not why I used it. I took it from 2010. Dr. Chandra is the programmer who created HAL 9000. I loved his character, so I stole his name for my story.
Ch.5: Yeah, I always like to contrast his two offices. There’s the facade, then there’s the real thing! The Control room scene was shorter than I wanted, but it just ended that way before I was through writing about it. *sigh* But I have no complaints. It was fun to leave Alec confused!
Epilogue: I didn’t want any warning that this would happen. I wanted it to be sudden, so that the reader all of a sudden realizes what Chandra’s doing. My daughter mistakenly believed that he had sent her there to save his son. But in the sequel it will be obvious that the thought never crossed his mind. Can't wait for the next story? Neither can I!
Love,
Denise
Here are my comments on your review.
Ch. 1: I almost put this scene in the prologue, but then decided that the story was going to be short enough without taking more away from the central core. It originally only had 4 chapters. My daughter is the reason it got Chapter 5! I try very hard to have at least one Control room scene per story, even though most of my plots take place elsewhere. I want to remind everyone (including me!) that this is like an episode from the series, not something altogether different. So glad you caught that hint about Straker never getting in a fuss! *giggle* As I’ve told you numerous times; in my own way, I love to torment him too!
David Gray is an actual extra character from the show. I found him at the About SHADO archive and used him. I really wanted there to be lots of mystery in this story, not just with the girl. So Gray worked fine for my purposes there.
One of my favorite lines in the story is Alec’s final comment in this scene. One of those "Ba-dum-BAH!" moments.
By now, you probably know that I love the movies. When I really enjoy a movie, I buy the special edition, so that I can watch all the behind-the-scenes footage. I can honestly say that UFO was the reason I fell in love with movies being made. It just fired all my brain cells when I watched the show! And I have always felt that not enough was done to exploit the possibilities of the studio, although Mindbender came close!
Straker is a man that is forced by necessity to be extremely self-controlled. From the few glimpses of him before command that we get in the series, it’s obvious that he’s really a spontaneous, fun guy with a great sense of humor! So I not only love to pair him with a woman who will bring those elements back out of him (as you did with Rachel), but I also love to shake him out of his control – however momentarily. Go ahead. Tell me I’m mean to The Man! *grin*
Years ago, when I began the Conover Saga, I glossed over this kind of scene (where he's being propositioned by an actress.) I mentioned them happening occasionally, but always off-screen, so to speak. Well, I absolutely had to do it – at least once! – so that I could watch him handle the situation. *sigh* He really has no idea of his appeal, does he?
Ch. 2: This scene has been in my mind for over ten years! I never quite knew when I was going to get to use it, but I knew that sooner or later, it would find its place. You may have noticed that every actress I used in this scene (other than Carol Reed, who is an actress I made up for the Conover Saga) actually played in a Shakespearean movie.
I almost did the scene with the solicitors, but then decided that it would be an indulgence on my part. We already knew from his ‘razor-thin smile’ that he was going to tear into them.
I was a little worried about the scene where he meets Reva. He’s so harsh to her that I was concerned that the reader wouldn’t understand her attraction for him. But he’s definitely in Commander mode here, trying to figure out what’s going on. Did you catch his comment to himself that he certainly had ‘no intention of exploring [the situation] further’? Then he follows that by wondering why she was denying that it happened. Men!
I was very happy with how the description of when Reva sees Gray behind Straker turned out. It was hard to keep it subtle and not give it all away.
Ch. 3: I don’t use Paul very much in my interactions with the Commander, because he really doesn’t get him at all and that’s no fun (unless I’m trying to make fun of Paul!) I much prefer Alec. Old friends can say things that no one else can. And they had a great dynamic in the show. I think that’s one of the things that made me love Deborah’s Star Trek / UFO crossover so much. She got the dynamic between Kirk, Spock, and Bones so well. You could hear them speaking the lines! That’s what I strive for in my stories, that level of believability. You do it well, too, in your stories – although you don’t have those scenes often enough to suit me!
Ch. 4: It takes a lot for Straker to lay down his principles, so I wasn’t sure that this first scene was understandable. But reading it over later, it seemed to work. At least for me; and since my beta tester didn’t veto it, it must have worked for her as well. My great love scene did get vetoed, so I’ll just have to use it in another story. Maybe in a romp, like my Anny story! But the current version of the scene is truer to Reva’s character.
The conversation on the patio made me grin when I wrote it. He’s so serious!!! It’s good to know he hasn’t completely forgotten how to play! *grin*
I was afraid at first that the flashback scene would break the flow of the surrounding scene too much; but as I was writing it, it just seemed to fit into place as if I knew what I was doing! I love when that happens!
Most of my work experience has been in libraries of one sort or another. I love books! So I stole this concept from a Star Trek:TOS episode and ran with it. I thought it would be funny to make Shakespeare something mundane (like a librarian) who lives out his fantasies in the plays he writes, then disperses them throughout the galaxy. It was fun! I’m sure you caught the reference to Shakespeare in Klingon. I have the Klingon Hamlet. It’s great!
Two things. Lucky Starr is a character from Isaac Asimov’s stories. He wrote an entire series of young men’s sci-fi novels in the early fifties about a boy who becomes a spaceman, etc. I had to transpose the publication dates of the stories back a few years to fit this story, but no one who didn’t research Asimov would catch it. The other thing is Chandra’s name. It means ‘moon,’ but that’s not why I used it. I took it from 2010. Dr. Chandra is the programmer who created HAL 9000. I loved his character, so I stole his name for my story.
Ch.5: Yeah, I always like to contrast his two offices. There’s the facade, then there’s the real thing! The Control room scene was shorter than I wanted, but it just ended that way before I was through writing about it. *sigh* But I have no complaints. It was fun to leave Alec confused!
Epilogue: I didn’t want any warning that this would happen. I wanted it to be sudden, so that the reader all of a sudden realizes what Chandra’s doing. My daughter mistakenly believed that he had sent her there to save his son. But in the sequel it will be obvious that the thought never crossed his mind. Can't wait for the next story? Neither can I!
Love,
Denise