Hi all,

So I'm continuing to have seizures on a weekly basis if not multiple times a week which is pretty exhausting and leaves my brain scrambled for a couple of days.  Thus, writing has been near impossible.  I'm going to give it another couple of weeks to see if things get better.  If not, I will probably put the newsletter on hiatus for a while until the doctors can figure out what's going on.

What energy I do have will, I hope, go into writing "The Advocate" which is part three of the trilogy I was working on.  I do have some concerns now about not being able to finish that before Christmas which would put the annual Christmas story in a difficult spot.  Worst case scenario, I guess I could just do a story outline of "The Advocate," proceed with the Christmas story, and then write "The Advocate" proper in early 2023.  The whole seizure thing just really threw a wrench in my plans.

Anyway, this one is short and basically just Part 2 of JABB 630 which I'd had to cut short.

God bless,
Jenni



Decompressing with Some Story Q and A, Part II

How do you decide which current events to touch on and which not to?

Unfortunately, the most honest answer is it depends on what my emotional bandwidth and free time is at the relevant time.  There are so many things I've wanted to write about and just couldn't because, at the time they were happening, I was either sick or swamped with work or just too overwhelmed.  And I'd rather not touch on an issue/event than do so in a sloppy way.  I do also consider whether I have anything to contribute in a meaningful way.

How do you account for Ed falling so quickly for Steve?  It's taken other angels a much longer time.

I think there are a lot of factors... including me just wanting to do something different.  Every other angel and human romantic pairing has been a slow burn.  I love that.  But it gets redundant.  It was fun to write something that burned quickly but steadily.  As for the justification within the story, I think it just comes down to personalities and social realities.  I think Steve and Ed are both a bit more impulsive than Andrew and JenniAnn are.  There are also differences in age and gender.  Ed and Steve appeared to be the same age and gender when they met.  Andrew looked to be around 20 years older than JenniAnn when they met and, obviously, they are not the same gender.  Social realities demanded Andrew and JenniAnn go more slowly (although, admittedly, they moved slow even when everything was kosher).  I also think the two couple's social circles played a big part in how they interacted with each other.  After the initial concern about Ed being a demon, all of Steve's friends got over what concerns they had.  And no one else had feelings for Ed.  Meanwhile, JenniAnn was just one of many young women crushing on Andrew.  And her family had concerns.

I also think Ed was just plain closer to humans.  Andrew obviously loved and cared for humans but up until coming to Asteriana, he would come in, do his thing, help some people, and move on.  Meanwhile, Ed was in the same general location for hundreds of years and really involved in the day-to-day lives of his people.  He was literally a womb to tomb presence.  So I think it just makes sense that he would more naturally slide into a relationship with a human... especially when said human was very encouraging of that.

But, more than anything, I think people fall in love in different ways.  While Steve and Ed maybe didn't experience love at first sight, it was definitely butterflies at first sight which moved quickly into love.  Andrew felt only friend/brotherly love for JenniAnn who, to be honest, I don't even think was in love with Andrew at first.  I think she was in love with the idea of him and didn't actually start seeing him as himself and feeling for him as himself until she was in college.

How old is Andrew, physically, at this point?

Yes, I'm asking myself this because I honestly forgot.  He is two days shy of turning 44.  Given the chaos of the past year, I assume he will be celebrating quietly at home with JenniAnn and their children and grandchildren.  Maybe they'll have a celebratory bonfire with the Friends next weekend.

So how does Andrew really feel about having a couple of reformed demons around?

When he's conscious, he's fine.  Joshua signed off on both Crowley and Ed being around.  Andrew trusts him above all and, thus, trusts Crowley and Ed.  Plus, they're pretty darn nice.  But I also wouldn't be surprised if he has the occasional nightmare about it all being an act.  I mean I know I've had nightmares about people I know doing awful things even though, in waking life, I know and love them and would certainly never expect that sort of behavior.  And I think when those people were formerly demons... one's unconscious might play more tricks.  But Andrew knows not to hold his nightmares against either Crowley or Ed.  And maybe it helps that while Eben's only an occasional presence, he's had access to Dyeland for a few years now and never done anything untoward since returning to God's side. 



This newsletter is dedicated to John Dye for still being an encouragement to me even when things are a little wonky.

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