I class myself as a pantser/plotter hybrid. Sometimes, the plotting is thick and I go for it with this massive plan in mind, other times I write so far off the margin that finding my way back to the plot is a mission in itself.
Part of that is due to there always being a number of epiphanies whenever I write. My stories seem to like surprising me. I accepted this long ago. In Pain and Blood is no exception.
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| Drawn by Adrianna Macierzyńska |
But no one has revealed as much about themselves as Tracker…
So far, he was taken from his mother as a babe (standard fare for this realm, it seems), trained hard as a wee lad with only his birthdate for a name and a tattoo of what weapon he was most proficient in, tortured both physically and mentally, forced to kill the people he loved when he was 15 and, when he finally became a fully-fledged hound and gained his name, he spends his days hunting people who tend to just want to be free with their families…
Safe to say, he’s not had it easy.
He’s also pansexual, this I sort of knew, and is adamant that he doesn’t get jealous, although I think he’s lying to himself there. And he revealed himself to be polyamorous… In the third-to-last chapter, no less. That was sort of… well… I wouldn’t say it was unexpected. That he was shoved in a pit with his three lovers and expected to kill or be killed shocked me more than ‘hey there once was four of us all in one mutually-loving group’.
Amongst other things… he’s afraid of tunnels (recently discovered why), has elegant handwriting (compared to Dylan, at least), and is completely unaware that he, or any other elf, will purr when content, which I guess means he doesn’t recall ever being content since infanthood… Let that one sink in.
Aldrea Alien 
I sort of hoped he would, considering his role in the story. Now if I could just get Authril anywhere near the same depth…That very question is the reason I discovered he doesn't get jealous. I mean there's only Authril by that stage and they weren't involved when they got it on with Tracker's associate. He doesn't consider either as enough of a threat when it comes to garnering Dylan's attention. Although he does get annoyed at Authril's views on magic. Girl's screwing a spellster and expects him to keep himself non-magical for her peace of mind.The boy gets hella possessive though. Of course, having people threaten to kill the one you love will do that to you. You know, I wondered what you were up to with Cameron. I thought you couldn't be setting him up for a mayfly romance. Nice to know I was right.
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It sounds like Tracker is developing into a deep character.
No large epiphanies here. I figured out that Cameron's mother came over with the humans when they landed on Chikara, and that's how she got around the masking seal that kept Chikara hidden from the rest of the world. She doesn't make an appearance in book 2, but it does complicate Cameron's life when he discovers he was born out of wedlock and his mother wasn't human. Especially when he discovers he has a sister who gives him two options: learn to control his power or she'll rip his heart out. And it's not playful teasing either, as she's killed many of their half-siblings that way.
So with Tracker not being jealous, is he not jealous of Dylan's many encounters?
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Cameron and Jebaliah could have a Happily Forever After. Unfortunately, book 3 gets a little dark…
I think I'd get annoyed at Authril's views too.
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What is it with book three? Your bk3 is dark, my bk3 is dark…
To be fair, she comes prepackaged with the mindset that spellsters in the army are weapons, there only to be wielded at command. She's wary of him from the get go, but he sort of wriggles beneath her skin.
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