Daily Archives: May 22, 2020

The Blasphemer Series

DELETED SCENES FROM THE BLASPHEMER SERIES: MAXWELL DEMON PART 2

Throughout the writing process, Maxwell Demon underwent many changes. I’ve shared that when I was back writing it I was just about finished and deleted the entire last chapter and part of the chapter before that one because it simply didn’t feel right. Along with this over time I have shared other things that have changed. This is part two of the two part post sharing some of these differences.

Some changes happened during professionally editing forever being lost for a great story and some never made it past the drafting phase. For readers, you may recognize names or scenes, but remember them differently or names being completely different from the version you read. Things change a lot during the writing process.

I hope you enjoy!

Deleted Scenes

In the book, the published work, there is a scene that’s dramatic of Adele being shown her past through what Maxwell had seen, but this scene was originally written earlier in the manuscript and took place in the backroom of the bar she was working and where Maxwell found her. It was so traumatic to her to be shown so much history, lives, and things that a human’s mind is not complex enough to understand it caused her nose to bleed.

Another scene that not only didn’t make it, but altered an entire character was one that involved Yeqon. He’s a manipulative character, but I couldn’t help but rewrite him as compassionate as well. A scene that got deleted was that of him battling Maxwell on the road. The final product as Kokabiel doing this, this is what felt right instead of Yeqon. Yeqon’s influence over others led, in the original scene, him glamouring other demons, not his own minions, to do things against their will.

Removed completely was Maxwell finding Adele in Hollywood, she originally had an apartment down the street from a bar she worked at. After the nosebleed and her sharing that she had felt followed with Maxwell he escorts her home so that she can gather things before they start traveling toward The Bishop’s home. Upon arriving at her apartment, Adele finds the door ajar, and her apartment is how she left it except a wooden box holding something very special to her was taken. Also upon entering,

Maxwell sees for a moment, Adele doesn’t see this, a shadowy demonic creature jumping out of the window. Adele shuts this window believing that she had forgotten it to close it before she left for work earlier in the evening.

Though I liked this scene, writing it was smooth, it began leading myself and characters into a direction plot-wise I hadn’t prepared for. I have planned on in future works that involve Adele talking about her apartment, but in this book I didn’t want it and it gave her a softer feeling that I felt was better after she had relaxed. It didn’t make sense to me to have her soft then hard after a life of running from demons that she had always felt there. I wanted her more experienced when he met her as well. Plus, I found the final product of them meeting more in balance than the scene that was originally written.

Fun Facts

Adele’s original name was Eliza.

Gabriel wasn’t originally planned to be in the series.

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The Blasphemer Series

Deleted Scenes From The Blasphemer Series: Maxwell Demon Part 1

Throughout the writing process, Maxwell Demon underwent many changes. I’ve shared that when I was back writing it I was just about finished and deleted the entire last chapter and part of the chapter before that one because it simply didn’t feel right. Along with this over time I have shared other things that have changed. This is part one of a two part post sharing some of these differences.

Some changes happened during professionally editing forever being lost for a great story and some never made it past the drafting phase. For readers, you may recognize names or scenes, but remember them differently or names being completely different from the version you read. Things change a lot during the writing process.

I hope you enjoy!

Maxwell Demon Introduction

I had originally posted this in the group Bachman’s Blasphemers, the fan group created for fans and others that would like to stay up-to-date more regularly than the author page and the series page for the books, but for whatever reason Facebook glitched and wouldn’t allow it to be posted. I took that as an opportunity to post it on the website in a more expanded version. I always love, as a reader, hearing about an author’s process in creating a book I enjoyed or even details behind the stories that didn’t make the cut into what got published. I’m not the only one, I’m sure, so here are some behind-the-scenes and spoilers from the book, The Blasphemer Series: Maxwell Demon.

Original Beginning

The original beginning of Maxwell Demon was much different than what made the final cut and went into publication.

Raw Excerpt

Visions of wisped crimson hair across pale naked shoulders quickly burn into flames of the swords that clashed, the magic that spilled over across the field of Heaven, and blood poured like rain upon the Earth in those days. The Clash of Angels was and is still the most epic of battles. No amount of bodies upon the Earth’s soil can compare to the magnitude of loss that occurred during that great battle. Maxwell, alongside Lucifer and many others, were chained and cast from Heaven into a special pit far from the wonderful grace that is Heaven and God.

Maxwell remembered it well, the great battle and striking down his friends that had turned to the foe. As time passed, the irony of magical immortal energy beings trying to kill each other grew within him. He damned God, he damned others, but eventually he damned himself. He wasn’t alone, there were many other Fallen Angels, but he wasn’t like many of them that twisted and contorted into evil, horrible, and vile creatures punishing humankind. He and a small group took to a lighter pace of life, those like him chose to live amongst the humans they once stood up for and lost the grace of God for.

Keeping a journal, he logged every thought to pass the time. He knew he wasn’t like everyone else and he knew he was solitary in his existence amongst humankind. It was depressing to see once magnificent creatures, humans, turn against one another living with their emotions running amok and living for devious means. Greed, wrath, vanity, gluttony, and the rest were all human made creations and not of God themselves.

Night after night his heavy boots stomped the streets of New York, Tokyo, London, Paris, but he found a home in the City of Angels, another irony that wasn’t lost on him. Night after night he found himself reflecting upon his memories of better times and her, Lilith. Sitting upon the middle of the H on the Hollywood sign, his head tilted back and his eyes shut, it was exhausting prancing around the world using his energy to mask his demonic form.

“You’re thinking of her again, aren’t you Maxziel.” A low voice interrupted his rest from a black hovering mist. As the darkened mist moved closer it transformed into a human wearing a long black trench coat, jeans, boots, and a white shirt mirroring Max’s own apparel. “I’ve lost count on how long it has been, but you eventually have got to stop thinking about her. No one has heard from her in countless centuries. She just stopped existing. If she had changed planes of existence we would’ve heard something.” The man then kicked Maxwell’s boot to get his attention.

Max’s eyes finally opened and stared across from him at the other Fallen Angel, “She couldn’t have just stopped existing, that’s now it works. Perhaps her soul went elsewhere? Azriel, she’s in the world, I just don’t know where. She can’t just be simply lost to time and space. God doesn’t do that, they don’t work that way.”

The scene continued into him finding Adele, but I removed all this and started over, this isn’t unheard of for me to do. What I had written didn’t feel right and I had shelved the entire project until I decided to start over. I do like how this scene showed a love/hate of the Fallen Angels, but I didn’t like how Azriel wasn’t more aggressive. I saw him as a forceful type of being, an in your face ‘admit it’ type.

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Recommendations

2020 Book Review: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Set in the 17th century this is an interesting tale. I’m a fan of reading history and historical pieces. This story, as far as I know, is purely fiction set at a time when being a good Puritan was important. Hester, the main character, is labeled with the letter ‘a’ for adultery to tell the those that come in contact with her she is a sinner and what ‘type of person she is’. She gives birth to a baby and refuses to explain who the father is. She could’ve easily lied many times to easy the prejudices and hatred she was facing saying that the father was her husband’s, but she didn’t. She didn’t bow to the pressure of the colony she lived within.

Many times throughout it I fully expected this to turn into a Satanic witch twist as that was commonplace of the period and wasn’t let down, there are characters referred to being associated with the devil or an associate of the devil, but it isn’t the main character.

I came into this book with a lot of judgement. I knew many had read it in high school, but I don’t remember ever being forced to. I can easily see this being one of those books for many where they have to eat it in smaller portions. It can even be considered ‘dry’ at moments. It’s well written and interesting, at least for me, when I got going.

I admit this isn’t a newer read for me, I read this book many years ago, but it left enough of an impression for me to want to review it now. I can see the parallels of the story to how people are treated even today when they’re judged by family and friends for being ‘sinful’, though the letter isn’t literary it’s still there, labels can hurt and in this story you can see the progress of such an event.

I felt for the main character on multiple occasions. There are hypocrites throughout the story, especially who turns out to be the father of the baby. This goes hand-in-hand with how people treat others and why they do what they do, it’s for selfish reasons. Poor Hester’s baby, it didn’t ask for any of this to happen.

This review is a part of my 2020 yearlong self-challenge to read and review. I have reread some books for the purpose of reviewing them on my website whereas I have read others for the first time. Check out Book Reviews and Recommendations to find other book reviews, book recommendations, and more information about the books I’m reading, have read, or are sharing.

Have you read this book? What were your thoughts? Do you agree with me? Do you disagree? Let’s have a conversation about it.