Goodies General Notes and Table of Contents (read this first!)

Chapter Three

Trivia that really isn't all that interesting (but you get what you pay for):

• Wool Coat's name came from the fact that I have a friend who had just bought a wool coat.
• Eric drives a Chevy Prizm because I drove a Chevy Prizm. It's name was Beverly, and I sold it when it lost its compressor, radiator and condensor all in two months.
• I used to date a girl who lived in the neighborhood where Wool Coat lives. She liked N*Sync a lot. I was always really fascinated by the alleys in that neighborhood. I like alleys, and there are plenty of them in this book (and in The Counterfeit).

In my first book, On Second Thought, I would never described anyone physically. Clara, the female lead, was occassionally described as "pretty" and it was mentioned once that she had dark hair and fair skin. That was it. Consequently, in this book I was trying much harder to get some good description in. I'm quite pleased with this chapter in that sense. There's a lot of good, tangible imagery of that little room in the basement, of how they're both dressed, and both their injuries. I think it works particularly well for this scene--it's kind of a claustrophobic scene, and the extra detail gives the reader a better view of the inside of that room.

The description of Eric's mission apartment is based on my own experiences. Missionaries would always leave stuff in the closets or cupboards. I acquired a lot of stuff over those two years--and left a lot of stuff behind. In my first apartment, for example, I found a plate that was the most fantastic plate I'd ever eaten off of. I took it with me on every transfer, and ate virtually every single meal off of it. When I went home, I left it there. (Other things I gained: an enormous box of colored pencils, a great trenchcoat, and a big pink quilt.)

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