PLEASE NOTE:
As you now know, this story contains many clues and hints. Because of that, I am asking that anyone who leaves comments or feedback about it in a public forum, please use spoiler tags, even if you are not directly quoting any lines or referring to any specific passages, for anything that might in any way reveal Raven's Hollow secrets. This is *especially* true for any comments that would compare this story to The Sixth Sense movie. (Um, not that I mean to imply that it is in any way on par with that excellent movie!) I simply don't want anyone accidentally spoiled before they have a chance to read. Thanks very much!
As you now know, this story contains many clues and hints. Because of that, I am asking that anyone who leaves comments or feedback about it in a public forum, please use spoiler tags, even if you are not directly quoting any lines or referring to any specific passages, for anything that might in any way reveal Raven's Hollow secrets. This is *especially* true for any comments that would compare this story to The Sixth Sense movie. (Um, not that I mean to imply that it is in any way on par with that excellent movie!) I simply don't want anyone accidentally spoiled before they have a chance to read. Thanks very much!
Minutiae:
First, again, many thanks to JJsGirl and GenE for volunteering to read this for me to let me know if it made sense to sane people, and not just me.
Musical credit to Midnight Syndicate and their Halloween Music Collection, for both the opening sequence, and closing theme. Additionally to The Ronettes, and Be My Baby. Sound effects and all music were purchased through Amazon. If for some reason you always wanted a raven crying or bells chiming, let me know and I can send you the links.
This is dedicated to the readers and writers posting to the JixeWriMo 2014 daily prompt thread. Because distractions lead to all sorts of unexpected stories! It's hard to believe (at least for me), but all this grew out of the simple prompt, "minute." (H/T GenE.) When an idea gets in your head and won't let go, there's not much else you can do but write it down and set it free.
I started with "minute." I immediately thought of Linkin Park's Minutes to Midnight. That was followed by "countdown to midnight." But I didn't want to do a story about New Year's Eve, so I wondered if I could have a countdown to midnight that was about something else entirely. At this point, I was still thinking about writing a small snippet or possibly something for A Simple Kind of Fear, and I'd settled on a countdown to "the witching hour" - in this case being the generally accepted interpretation of midnight, and not the Roman Catholic 3:00 am. Then I remembered that I'd already done something like that in ASKOF, for the Season 1 Ghost in the Graveyard episode. Still, I liked the general idea, so I thought I'd write something short and post it here at The Reluctant Monkey under The Stand Alones. Having chosen this vague ghost story background scenario, I looked to Midnight Syndicate for further inspiration. The 6th song on their Halloween release is called, "Raven's Hollow."
And somehow, that was all it took. As soon as I saw that name, I knew I had my story. It took maybe ten minutes from the time I read the minute prompt to the time I opened Word and started typing. Three days later, I was done. I simply could not work on anything else until I got it all out there. It went far beyond a quick, short story, but it was begging to be told. I don't know if I'll ever detour into this totally new universe again, but I'm not discounting it entirely.
If you saw a resemblance to Whispering Witch, that was deliberate. I'm the odd one out. Whispering Witch is my favorite Trixie book. Pretty sure I'm the only one to say that! Also, there're a few small tributes to some other faves of mine. Trixie calling Richard "Venkman" is, of course, a reference to Ghostbusters. Lucille Moran (or Lucy Moran, if you will) is a nod to Twin Peaks.
So there you have it. Raven's Hollow. Brought to you by the word "minute." Thanks for coming along for the ride.
First, again, many thanks to JJsGirl and GenE for volunteering to read this for me to let me know if it made sense to sane people, and not just me.
Musical credit to Midnight Syndicate and their Halloween Music Collection, for both the opening sequence, and closing theme. Additionally to The Ronettes, and Be My Baby. Sound effects and all music were purchased through Amazon. If for some reason you always wanted a raven crying or bells chiming, let me know and I can send you the links.
This is dedicated to the readers and writers posting to the JixeWriMo 2014 daily prompt thread. Because distractions lead to all sorts of unexpected stories! It's hard to believe (at least for me), but all this grew out of the simple prompt, "minute." (H/T GenE.) When an idea gets in your head and won't let go, there's not much else you can do but write it down and set it free.
I started with "minute." I immediately thought of Linkin Park's Minutes to Midnight. That was followed by "countdown to midnight." But I didn't want to do a story about New Year's Eve, so I wondered if I could have a countdown to midnight that was about something else entirely. At this point, I was still thinking about writing a small snippet or possibly something for A Simple Kind of Fear, and I'd settled on a countdown to "the witching hour" - in this case being the generally accepted interpretation of midnight, and not the Roman Catholic 3:00 am. Then I remembered that I'd already done something like that in ASKOF, for the Season 1 Ghost in the Graveyard episode. Still, I liked the general idea, so I thought I'd write something short and post it here at The Reluctant Monkey under The Stand Alones. Having chosen this vague ghost story background scenario, I looked to Midnight Syndicate for further inspiration. The 6th song on their Halloween release is called, "Raven's Hollow."
And somehow, that was all it took. As soon as I saw that name, I knew I had my story. It took maybe ten minutes from the time I read the minute prompt to the time I opened Word and started typing. Three days later, I was done. I simply could not work on anything else until I got it all out there. It went far beyond a quick, short story, but it was begging to be told. I don't know if I'll ever detour into this totally new universe again, but I'm not discounting it entirely.
If you saw a resemblance to Whispering Witch, that was deliberate. I'm the odd one out. Whispering Witch is my favorite Trixie book. Pretty sure I'm the only one to say that! Also, there're a few small tributes to some other faves of mine. Trixie calling Richard "Venkman" is, of course, a reference to Ghostbusters. Lucille Moran (or Lucy Moran, if you will) is a nod to Twin Peaks.
So there you have it. Raven's Hollow. Brought to you by the word "minute." Thanks for coming along for the ride.
