S.E.’s Comments (group member since Jan 16, 2013)

S.E.’s comments from the S. E. Lund - Author group.

Just 21 years old and seriously conflicted by her attraction to both Michel and Julien, Eve is often very frustrating to the twins and to readers! Vent your frustration here.

Talk about the older brother and what you think of him. Is he really a bad boy?

What do you love / hate / think about Michel?

Wendy wrote: "Yes, one of Eve's struggles to me (perhaps the major one) is about faith in anything other than what she can see, touch and prove rather than just faith in a particular religious path."

She wants to trust and she wants to believe and that is part of her attraction to Michel. As much as she claims faith is not for her, she longs for it and to be able to trust. She longs to be free of doubt and to not always feel as if she has to be strong, which is part of her attraction to submission to a greater power - religious or a man. She is conflicted plain and simple. She becomes less conflicted as the series concludes.

Yes and it's one I struggle with. Born and raised Catholic but my father left the church after he married over many issues and although he semi-raised us in a religious way he was more intellectually driven towards issues of faith. Made us kids question everything and always support our arguments. told me i had to read Plato and Aristotle before I could join any religion.

So I had the start of a Catholic up ringing, then a challenge to it and then a break from it entirely. He pushed science but kept his belief in a deity. My mother? Total atheist full stop. I am not religious although I love to study religion. I am spiritual and try to keep an open mind about things so I am not an atheist. Whatever is behind all this, if anything is, is far beyond our comprehension but science and religion both try to nonetheless.

Eve lost faith due to her traumatic loss of her mother at a crucial time in her development and it prevents her from trusting anyone. She clings to science as a way to find something solid to trust. Other people such as Terri and Dylan don't have as hard a time as she does and of course, Michel desperately wants her to find faith due to his background while Julien just wants her. Full stop.

Thanks so much for sharing your "playlists" for the book! I love finding new music and am an omnivore when it comes to music - I love all genres! I will listen to all the pieces with great interest!

Wendy wrote: "I find I'm much more Team Julien this time around. I feel the appeal of Michel but it seems to me that Julien offers an opportunity of an equal relationship. The relationship with Michel feels mo..."

Thanks for your feedback Wendy - I will maybe tweak the book a bit to include a bit more info - a line or two because a few readers have commented on that.

In a nutshell, the SCU is a police investigative unit under the Council that looks into possible vampire murders / murders by vampires that are not sanctioned - I.E. approved under the treaty of Clairveaux. So they take jurisdiction when there is a murder that looks like it is part of the vampire world. Both Michel and Julien have been involved with it but Julien as an undercover operative and Michel as an investigator and representative of the vampire side of the Council. Julien was recently involved in a black op that went bad and his fellow black ops were killed and so he was in semi-hiding when Eve resurfaces. So they both work for it but in different guises and roles. The SCU is also involved in trying to find links to Blackstone and the plot to attack humanity and bring about Dominion.

Hope that helps! As I say, I will revise the book to clarify. I tend to not want to overdo the backstory but under doing it is bad as well so thanks!

Wendy wrote: "Hi all - some books just live with you long after you've read them don't they? Having read all three I had to immediately start to re-read them but this time slowly so that I don't miss so many th..."

That's music to my ears, Wendy! Please share you list and links when you have them compiled!

❃ Brandy ❃ wrote: "Oh! The movie looks soooooo good. I had no idea they were going to make another one. I am super excited!"

It is going to be epic. Zach Snyder, director of Watchmen, which I loved, and Christopher Nolan as Producer, who directed The Dark Knight trio which I was absolutely GAGA over... HOLY COW with Russell Crowe as SM's father.

❃ Brandy ❃ wrote: "I also noticed that [spoilers removed]. Is there something to that?"

As a reader, I would suggest that he has touch telepathy and knows she's not ready. He is, but she isn't. And as the author, I would agree with that assessment. ;)

❃ Brandy ❃ wrote: "Hmm... Now I've got yo go find a video of it so I know what you're talking about. I love SM!"

I posted the two trailers in our video page so just click on the link on the upper right hand side of the page.

I actually get shivers and tear up when I watch it. Seriously!

❃ Brandy ❃ wrote: "Right, I completely understand how Eve's life experiences have had an impact on how she's dealt with the twins. In A, she was also dealing with the [spoilers removed] I expect her to cry & be emo..."

Great feedback Brandy -- thanks, lots to think about as the author. She does give in to some things and not to others. She chooses her battles but not necessarily the battles we think she should choose.

She gives in to sex, but not to having others take control over her, even when it's logical. Yet, the idea of losing control appeals to her, which is why she is attracted to submission. She's fighting her own deeper desire and giving in to the surface level desire. She's a mix of conflicting emotions. Despite the fact that you have read two books, the time elapsed has been only a very short time. In that short time, she's been bombarded with new things, facts, people, ideas, emotions, threats, choices, temptations.

She's struggling just to stay above the water, trying to figure out what the truth is and who to trust, let alone make the wise choice. And neither brother is being entirely truthful with her... for their own reasons, which they feel are justified.

Michelle (Angelique Beau Pre) wrote: "Wait, is Henry Cavill going to be Superman?! Not sure how I feel about that. Huge Christopher Reeve fan here! Loved him as Superman. (ETA: Ok, I know there have been others since CR and I guess it'..."

Oh, Michelle, it is going to be soooo good! The trailer gives me shivers and makes my eyes tear up. The music, the scenes... (such as sap) I posted the video in our video file if people want to watch. Totally OT but I think it will be so good. I loved Christopher Reeve as well but Cavill looks like he is going to play this darker and I love it.

❃ Brandy ❃ wrote: "I will also make a comment that I was on the fence between M & J in D, but was really leaning more towards M since I didn't know J all that well. After reading A, I am now leaning even further tow..."

LOL! Yeah, these brothers... R sees more of Julien. Some people are won over to Team Julien because of R. That's all I will say. ;)

I may be biased but I love them both no matter what they do. I feel that both brothers are betraying their own kind to prevent Dominion, helping humans, they have many battle scars themselves, and do their best not to be corrupted by the power they have, but are fallible.

Sometimes, circumstance makes being good and doing the right thing exceptionally hard or impossible and sometimes, people have to choose between the lesser of two evils.

I don't like heroes who are too perfect. I prefer anti-heroes. I like fallible characters who fight their flaws but don't always succeed.

❃ Brandy ❃ wrote: "Yes! Henry Cavill! He plays a roll in one of my favorite movies, The Count of Monte Cristo. I never knew his name. He had a baby face too, at the time, but he's all gown up & sexy now. I like ..."

He's going to be so great in SM! I can't wait. The trailer for SM reminded me of Tree of Life. I almost cried when SM went straight up into the sky. I am such a geek about superheroes.

I have to admit he would be a good CG...

Cherish wrote: "Well, next time you're in Vic, let me know. I'd love to get together with you. I have a feeling we'd have lots to chat about :) "

I would love to! I think so as well. :)

Paris (kerbytejas) wrote: "what is sponge toffee?"

It's spun caramelized sugar that is like a crunchy hard sponge of sugary goodness. You can see a recipe for it here. It's SOOOO good...

❃ Brandy ❃ wrote: "Sorry, it's taken me so long to reply. I've been at a hockey game this evening, so I wasn't able to type as easily.

The Epilogue was awesome! It really restored some of my faith in Eve... [spo..."

YAY!

PHEWWWW!!!

Yeah, I wanted something of a bit more settled ending to Book 2. Book 3 is similar. Just a hint of Book 4.

Eve does fight back eventually, more and more each book. I really struggled with how strong she would be portrayed in the early stages. I don't want her to be totally weak, but she is just not a kickass woman -- yet. She is a 21 year old who had a very sheltered life and mixed with that, very painful experiences, was essentially orphaned and trying to get through her week without self-harm, trying to use her mission to follow her mother's path as a way to keep on going despite it all. She's dragged into this secret world of vampires, is faced with these two beautiful brother vampires who both want her, and she's put in immediate danger. Most of us would be quivering masses of jelly at that point! She fights in her own way. She resists some things, gives in on others.

Cherish wrote: "Similarly, I'm on a thread about Diana Gabalon's "Outlander" and, omg, the thrashing she's taking for a specific, historically appropriate, wife beating, you'd think she was killing kittens! Sure, it was unpleasant, but the woman had done something that endangered everyone and, if she'd been a man, she would have been thrashed or even killed for it. People are clearly very sensitized to male/female "violence", even if it's consensual. As a therapist, I get it, but it makes it a touchy subject for authors to play with, that's for sure. ."

There is very little tolerance for M->F 'violence' even when consensual because people think it should never be consensual. That we all should want vanilla sex and not want otherwise. But I think that our minds are so complex, our libidos so "polymorphous perverse" as Freud called it, our ability to fetishize and fantasize and turn one thing into another - be creative, IOW - is so expansive that it's impossible for me to imagine that there would be no people with kinks. And as humans are so diverse, that those kinks would vary in intensity. I find it fascinating!

Cherish wrote: "Ah, well, I understand that. I live on Vancouver Island, surrounded by ocean and covered in rain forest. We have an enormous artistic community, here. I suppose that's one reason why :)

I love Vancouver and Victoria. Would love to spend more time there. If I stay in Canada I would settle either in Toronto (son loves the city and was born there) or Vancouver area.