Auras and genetics. Sure, they go together. (read-along to cp 22 inclusive)

So, I’m cruising right up to the end of GBU. Honestly, I’m trying to stretch this out until next Monday when we do another flash-give away, but I know once I start reading tonight, I’m going to finish it. I stopped after chapter 22 last night, right after she used the ley line in Trent’s office to find Dan’s body, joined apart by Al and left in Trent’s stables.

I liked the scene in Trent’s office when she first intentionally used a ley line charm for the first time. Trent was fascinating to watch, and I truly think he was afraid of her at this point. I’d forgotten she forced him to shake her hand, and the attraction was there, even then.

And then there were the auras. I don’t do a lot with the aura colors in the books intentionally, mostly because I think a lot of harm can be done when people start sticking labels on people, and yet, I did try to make some kind of correlation between personalities/morals/histories with the aura colors simply to add another layer of world building onto the Hollows.

I don’t like the idea that seeing someone’s aura gives you an accurate idea of their morals. It doesn’t. What I’ve tried to do is make it more of a record of a person’s history, both their actions and what they suffered, good and bad. And in turn, that might give you an idea of what their morals and future choices might be, but one not any more accurate than simply knowing a person well would.

And so I’ve tried to make red an indication of tragedy. Orange can mean danger–as in they can cause danger, and gold is an indication of high self esteem. (Pride, perhaps, but not ego?) Green is good or bad depending upon the shade. Purple has always meant ego to me, and black is an indication of smut. Sparkles, which don’t come into play until the last couple of books, mean at this point, a higher purpose or goal. Ivy has them. So does Trent. Rachel doesn’t.

But I think one of my favorite parts of this section is Rachel finally putting together what Trent, Quen, and Jonathan are. As the author, I’d known since book one, and I couldn’t sit on it any more. It was either an elf, or he was a dragon, but I’d already done shape-shifting dragons, (FIRST TRUTH) so elves it was.

Also, GBU is still on sale in most US markets as an e-book: [e-book markets]