Isabelle Drake's Blog, page 7
January 6, 2023
how wine solves problems & the new release, book 3 in the Tribe of the Undead series📇
hit here for the January newsletter
Last spring and over the early part of the summer, I wrote the third book in my Tribe of the Undead series. The task was both exciting and intimidating. I've never written a book 3 before. (!!) I wanted to produce a story that would satisfy readers, of course. The story needed to continue on from the end of book 2, of course. The story needed to be similar in tone and vibe to books 1 and 2 but also different. Some of what I wanted to accomplish with the first 2 books had already been achieved. One of the main character's story had concluded yet the other main character's story had not. This sounds simple now, but it took me a while to 'get' that.
In the beginning of the project, I did what I usually do, simply started writing. I created a new main character and wrote several chapters. Then, also as usual, I got stuck. This is where I understood that writing a 3rd book in a series, while challenging, also has perks. Many elements and characters had already been created. One Friday night, I poured myself some wine, set aside my writerly thoughts, and I reread books 1 and 2. I noted what made me excited and what made me curious. I used the answers as inspiration. You can see some of my notes in the photo below. Ultimately, I considered what needed to happen to complete that unfinished story. Writing the end was exciting. I achieved my goal! It was bittersweet though, because I love this world and characters. Book 4? Oh... Maybe.
December 13, 2022
December 2, 2022
November 30, 2022
scary Christmas pinups...
Fairly sure these twins are discussing what to do with Santa's face.
November 25, 2022
the end is here, Disciple of the Undead, book 3 of Tribe of the Undead
Tribe of the Undead
Excerpt from Chapter Two:
Nidhi set down her bag, forced her hands to stay loose by her sides, then in a lame attempt to look casual, leaned against the door. When the other girl’s intense gaze became too much, she turned her own to the window. The storm had softened to a drizzle, but the clouds were so thick the sky was a haze. “The lady is bound to pop back in here. She must’ve had a reason for texting me.”
“I texted you.” Mattie held Hume’s phone in her long, pale fingers. “Don’t look so surprised, baby.” She shimmied, making her huge breasts jiggle beneath the tight white t-shirt, then mimicked a body check. “It was a simple matter of bumping into her in the hall and snatching her phone out of her bag. That woman should get her shit together. She runs part of this very serious newspaper. People depend on her.” She opened her palm, and the phone fell. The device landed near the edge of the desk, teetered, then dropped to the floor with a soft thud. “I must say, you look awkwardly sweet all wet like you are.”
Nidhi waved one hand toward the door. “Want to get out of here? Go someplace?”
“I like it here. Don’t you?”
Now the rain had completely stopped, the sky was still with a greenish hue. Bleak clouds hung high in the sky, a thick band of foreboding.
Mattie made a deliberate display of uncrossing her legs, then recrossing them, the flex of her muscles and the roll of her hips an intimidating seduction. “This desk is solid. I like that. A solid desk that can take a beating is important.” She swung her leg, kicking one of the legs with the heel of her boot. “We’d expect this sort of high-quality furnishing from Hume, right?”“I guess so,” she replied, even though she had no idea what Mattie was getting at.
“Well, baby?” She planted her hands behind herself, arching her back, shoving her tits upward. There was no denying the message. The girl wanted what she wanted, and she wanted it right then. Right there.
Even if Hume was gone, there was the janitorial staff.
Maybe she was overthinking this. The possible presence of other people was part of the excitement. Right? It could be, anyway, if she let herself feel it.
“I thought you were adventurous.” Mattie shoved herself forward, sat up straight and looked at the door. “Am I going to be disappointed?”
Get your copy and read the rest...of Disciple of the Undead.
November 22, 2022
November 21, 2022
USING CREATIVE WRITING THEORY TO INFORM THE NARRATIVE STRUCTURE IN THE FILM JAWS
Here we are in the middle of the summer: barbeques, day trips, family trips, and hopefully-some extra time for reading. This summer, I'm rereading Servant of the Undead and Mistress of the Undead, the first 2 books in my Tribe of the Undead dark, erotic horror/urban fantasy series. Why am I rereading my own stuff? I'm working on book 3 in the series, Disciple of the Undead. Wow are these books dark! The last fiction book I wrote was the very fun, upbeat and romantic, Not Home for the Holidays. Writing something so different is both challenging and fun. One piece of writer advice that is out in the world is that authors should stick to one genre so that readers will know what to expect from you and your work. Since you're reading this newsletter, you already know I don't follow that advice. My fiction falls in several genres. I also write academic articles and chapters and non-fiction books.
In July 2019, I attended the Popular Culture Association's Research Institute at Bowling Green State University. I attended to do research for my book chapter, Gothic Girls Gone Wild. By research I mean reading stack after stack of Archie comics. It was fun, but also tough because there was a point when I was sitting in front those stacks of comics wondering what the heck I was going to 'say' about them. I'm happy to say I eventually did figure that out and that chapter is off and on its way to publication. Stay tuned for that.
While I was there, I found out about another call for papers, one on the film Jaws. I liked the movies Jaws, I'd seen the actual fake shark when I went to Hollywood, and hey, I'm always willing to add to my already overflowing to do list. I watched the movie and was instantly stuck by the idea of narratives and how each of the main characters has a shark narrative. I did some research on transmediation (one media to another) and evaluated the three narratives: Hooper and Quint, and the main character Brody.
My chapter, "Struggling Against the Tide: Narrative Structure and the Human Connection in Jaws," examines the narrative structure, the character's journey, and the postmodern era of the 1970's. A couple sections are below. In true academic style, I use big hefty paragraphs to explain and prove. To establish and support. If churning through all that is...well...not your thing, skip to the final line of each paragraph. Then, check out that video, it contains the famous scene in which Hooper and Quint bond together and we, the audience, see Brody pushed out.
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Excerpt From My Chapter:
"Struggling Against the Tide: Narrative Structure and the Human Connection in Jaws"
Hooper and Quint, the two halves of Brody’s whole, are opposites of each other in all regards with one exception—their personal relationship to sharks. Both Brody and Quint have self-defining shark narratives. Hooper’s shark story is revealed at the Brody’s dinner table when Ellen, Brody’s wife, awkwardly says to the just arrived Hooper she’s been told he’s “in sharks.” He confirms that he loves sharks then relates a childhood experience in which a baby thresher shark wrecked the boat he’d been in. He swam to shore and watched the fish finish destroying his boat (0.41.43–0.42.26). This story explains his very personal and emotional connection to sharks. Quint’s story comes later, at night, while the three of them are aboard the Orca, preparing to face the shark. The captain tells of his time aboard the USS Indianapolis and how, after their ship was hit by a Japanese sub, sharks devoured many of his shipmates (1.29.28–1.33.15). This famous monologue, another product of the script collaboration as the scene was initially created by Sackler, then expanded by John Milius, only to be later condensed by Quint actor Robert Shaw, explains Quint’s relationship to sharks. As the two men bond over their harrowing experiences, Brody stays physically away from them, showing that he doesn’t share the experience or have a personal defining story to offer. Brody is pushed out of their converging narrative. In this way, Brody’s internal conflict is externalized. The union of Quint and Hooper adds tension as it highlights Brody’s aloneness. This isolation is emphasized through character wardrobe. On the day when they battle the shark, Quint and Brody both wear light shirts. Brody wears black. He is a man alone, on a personal journey, and not yet whole.
An individual narrative is self-defining and reflective. It comes from within. A self-centered, self-created narrative can be powerful. An introspective, self-defining, self-centered narrative juxtaposed against a master narrative that seeks to control and silence is formidable. Formidable enough to be the big story Spielberg sought to create. Jaws is the story of a man battling the collective status-quo, expressed through the master narrative, resolving his own inner conflicts, action vs. intellect and past vs. future, and gaining his new identity, his own reflective self-defining narrative. At the start of the screenplay, Brody is new to the island of Amity and has no experience with sharks. To make his situation worse, due to a near-drowning experience, he is terrified of the water. This childhood trauma holds him tightly in the past; he is anxious to build his future. He strives to make a difference in his new town and knows it is his responsibility to protect the people of his community, yet he also wants to be accepted by the locals. He’s an insecure outsider, unsure of how he fits into the tight knit, traditional, tourist town, a town that embodies mainstream American culture and all its desired trappings. Going against the leaders could mean losing everything—including those all-America ideals. After his own son suffers the consequences of his inaction, he is propelled into his future. The final scene of the film shows someone very different from the one who struggles to answer the right phone in his own home. It shows a man who has faced death from a shark and survived, a confident man who has just delivered safety to the community that opposed him. Jaws is the story of a man gaining his story.
November 11, 2022
country girls in a farm field, holidays on the way, and a Thanksgiving margarita🌾
Hit here for the November newsletter.
A couple weekends ago, my friends invited me over, just to hang out and maybe have some wine. I arrived, with no makeup, hair not done, and a hoodie. It was a gorgeous fall day... They asked if I wanted to join them outside to snap a few photos; I declined, saying I'd been at my desk all day and didn't feel "picture-y." Well, you can see that attitude didn't last long. We stayed outside until the sun went down and our teeth were chatting from the cool night air. We plan to do it again after the first big snowfall, so stand by. Hopefully, those photos will show up here in a couple months.My book of the month is a Christmas story, but do not worry. I'm not rushing through autumn. I just want ya'll to be ready when the holiday mood strikes.
I plan to spend November getting in a couple more long walks, joining in on the National Novel Writing Month excitement, and trying out some new baking recipes. I hope you all have some festive plans for the month. Come find me on the socials so I can follow you back and see what you're up to. I'm easy to find, just look for @isabelledrake!
November 6, 2022
Disciple of the Undead, Book 3, Tribe of the Undead
The city of Boston has a new infection, the Tribexx fandom. Tribexxers imitate the perverted and cruel lifestyle of the Tribe of the Undead, the mythical sex-cult zombies that capture humans to use as sexual servants. Its all fun and games, they say, because no one actually gets hurt. Reluctant rich kid, Nidhi Bansal, made some mistakes. Now out of rehab and in a prestigious graduate program, she’s walking the straight and narrow path to a respectable professorship. Hooking up with a tantalizingly dangerous girl who seems to have two things Nidhi wants—sexual adventure and inside information—rapidly goes from difficult to dreadful. Nidhi’s research and relationship drive her deep into Boston’s most deviant crowd, a group of elites who do not want to be disturbed.
In a city that thrives on wealth and power, everything is up for grabs.
DISCIPLE OF THE UNDEAD, can be read as a stand alone, but if you haven't read books 1 & 2, why not start from the beginning?
