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Exit Unicorns Chapters 15 and 16

Question for Cindy: When did you know "this is a story and I have to write it in a book"?

Answer: I jotted away at this story in various incarnations for YEARS, but it was about eleven years ago when my dad asked me to write him a story as a Christmas present that I realized I really needed to start putting these bits and pieces together and see if I couldn't write a proper novel with them. The piece I wrote my dad landed me an agent, but it never did make its way into EU. It took place on Christmas Eve on the frosty roof of a church and was between Father Terry and Jamie. Father Terry related the history of Brendan Riordan (Casey and Pat's grandda') and Peg McBride- someday those characters will have their own novel.


Chapter 15 -Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" and Chapter 16 - "Under Ben Bulben"




I did not know what Ben Bulben meant on my first read so I googled and learned that it is a large rock formation (formed in the Ice Age) in County Sligo and has many Celtic legends tied to it. Yeats also wrote poetry about BenBulben.


Discussion Questions

1. What major emotion did the story, or character when he/she said or did something, evoke in you as a reader (or author) as you read (or wrote) these two chapters?

2. Symbols intensify meaning. Can you identify any in the book so far: people, actions or objects that stand for something greater than themselves?

• OK, maybe this is a little out there *g*, but the 8 fingered fish has got me wondering. I'm thinking it would look a bit like Ichthyostega, a prehistoric animal that had limb-like fins that allowed it to live between two worlds, the water and land. This must be important! All the characters seem to be living in two worlds - Pamela is an American who has left behind a safe/secure life in the States to cohabit with Republican Irish boys (one she desperately loves), exposing herself to all kinds of trouble. Casey is taking up the reins in the 'family business', but his heart wants to keep Pamela safe in the little house by the sea with the white picket fence - conflicted for sure. And then there's Jamie - the successful, very wealthy business man with his own underground affairs on the side, as well as all the contrary feelings towards love. He's certainly uncomfortable living in his own skin, at least as far being loved/giving love is concerned. Going long>>>>> -- Denise, 22:24:34 07/06/09 Mon
  • What a brilliant assessment you make here, Denise! (NT) -- Elaine, 06:23:41 07/07/09 Tue
  • This is great, Denise! And thanks for posting the picture. I read this chapter last night and enjoyed re-reading about Harry. I also loved that Casey was protecting this creature from publicity - being the fore-creature to our human existence in his mind was enough. (NT) -- Lil, 09:33:43 07/07/09 Tue
  • I think it has significance if you feel that it does. Which is to say, as a writer you let go of ownership to a certain extent when people read your work and bring their own perceptions and experiences to the work- after all that's the joy of reading, and why books are so much richer an experience than television. We interact on several levels while reading, creating a very personal world with the characters and settings. That being said, I play over and over on the idea of edge places- things that are neither here nor there, creatures that might be real or might not- areas of the world where it seems anything might be possible, good or bad, as though such places are an actual rip in the fabric of reality, and of course reality itself>>> -- celtgirl, 15:35:41 07/07/09 Tue
    • Have you ever felt you're in one of those edge places when you're away from the ocean? To me, all the edge places I can think of are on the ocean -- not a lake or a river, not in the mountains although they are breathtaking and majestic. The places I've been which come to mind include the west coast of Ireland, the east coast of Newfoundland, the west coast of Vancouver Island and Santorini (one of the Greek islands). In all of those places, I've felt a sense of history, of lives lived and somehow imprinted on the very earth and yet they hold infinite promise as well, as there's no land to be seen or reached by boat for thousands of miles if you head in the right direction. (NT) -- Carla, 18:53:13 07/07/09 Tue
      • If you ever saw Loch Ness, you'd understand how all kinds of strange stories arise from it. That is the blackest water I've ever seen in my life. Spooky. (NT) -- E, 21:02:26 07/07/09 Tue
        • I've been to Loch Ness and I think because I was there during the day, it was sunny, there were lots of tourists about it didn't feel so mystical to me. Growing up on the edge of the North Atlantic, I'm used to looking down into water so dark and cold you can't see anything below the surface, which does, I agree, lead to that sense that there are things down there we as humans could never understand or even imagine. (NT) -- Carla, 05:54:53 07/08/09 Wed
          • You were lucky - it's not usually sunny there! To me, if I can't see my hand when I dip it in the water, it's scary. I also agree about the ocean, especially if one cannot see land and the skies aren't so clear. Yikes, talk about frightening. (NT) -- E, 07:11:21 07/08/09 Wed
            • I don't think of the ocean (or most bodies of water) so much as frightening as something you need to be very respectful and mindful of, never take it for granted, never trust it fully and never turn your back. Although I suppose most people would fear something they regarded in such ways. I, however, love the ocean and can watch it in all its moods; I particularly like to watch storms on the ocean, that kind of power is awe-inspiring to me. Unlike, Pamela, however, I have no urge to actually go INTO the ocean during a storm :) (NT) -- Carla, 13:58:48 07/08/09 Wed
              • Many times I've been out fishing on a big lake, far from land, and when I look down to where the line meets the water, I often think of what might be lurking down there, just waiting to appear. My idea of perfection would be to live on a boat, named The Answer. (NT) -- E, 15:11:56 07/08/09 Wed
              • (Btw, I stole that name from the old TV show, Harry O, with David Janssen - anybody remember him? That was the name of his boat.) (NT) -- E, 15:16:17 07/08/09 Wed
      • I have felt it away from the ocean, definitely. Usually it's at the edge of two different elements, admittedly, but I've felt it in other places too- where strange energy lingers etc, we have a spot like that here in Quesnel- where you feel like you could step out of this world into a far darker one, I don't go there because I hate the way I feel there. Sometimes even a building can feel that way, depending on its history. (NT) -- celtgirl, 22:40:04 07/07/09 Tue
    • I know you are drawn to the magical and mystical, and I really didn't think you placed that 8 fingered fish in the story for the reasons I proposed, but I let my imagination run away with the idea and had fun with it. Hey, maybe subconsciously that was your reasoning! (NT) -- Denise, 18:58:16 07/07/09 Tue
      • I was agreeing with you, Denise- it is a creature of two worlds, its fossilized footprints here in this one, but its life long gone in another. (NT) -- celtgirl, 22:43:33 07/07/09 Tue

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• I truly enjoyed the scene with Jamie and Lucien going toe to toe in the drawing room. Jamie has the most brilliant mind and his points and counterpoints were so perfect. I wonder, as we get later in the chapter the Duke suggests that Jamie was drinking apple juice, but Pamela seems to be concerned about him and the "strains of the evening." Is this all an act for all of their benefit (to include Pamela)? Is he really "breaking" or is he using that as a tool to read the others? He seems similar to Lymond here (that's a compliment *g*) in which I find myself wondering what is real and what is a ruse. (NT) -- Lil, 13:46:01 07/07/09 Tue
  • He's smokescreening them all at this point, to see what he can suss out if they believe his guards are down. He also likes to play, especially if the stakes are high. (NT) -- celtgirl, 15:20:44 07/07/09 Tue
  • Jamie really made me wonder what was going on as well Lil. Cindy's writing here was intellectually stimulating for me. I started thinking about the politics, how should he play people, what move should he make next and where so and so fits in to a plan. I felt like I was getting into the story pages with the characters and experiencing things along with them. That's usually when I lose track of time and space around me and then all of a sudden a sound hits my ear and I'm 'aware' again and it's 3am! (NT) -- Tracy (), 17:52:57 07/07/09 Tue

  ---

• I thought it was interesting that both the Duke and Jamie know who Pamela is and her father was; it made me wonder just what he was besides an Irish-American businessman. (NT) -- Carla, 18:55:19 07/07/09 Tue

  ---

• Cindy At what point in the story does he recognize Pamela for who she really is? I don't imagine it was instantaneous considering his state at their first meeting on the day of his dad's funeral, but considering how sharp he is, I think it musn't have been much later. I also wonder how much Yevgena knew about the dark haired gypsy girl. (NT) -- Denise, 19:02:10 07/07/09 Tue
  • This is Jamie, he knew who she was from the moment she danced out in front of him- and even knew it when he asked her to take him to bed- he was drunk though, which caused him to be a wee bit reckless. As he tells the Duke he figures if she wants to tell him she will, and if she doesn't she likely has reasons for it. (NT) -- celtgirl, 22:42:21 07/07/09 Tue
    • There is the irony that she's waiting for him to recognize her and he's waiting for her to tell him who she is; given their natures it's a wonder the topic ever comes up. (NT) -- Carla, 05:58:25 07/08/09 Wed

  ---

• I rambled, so I've put my answer on the symbolism inside >>> -- Carla, 20:21:43 07/07/09 Tue
  • Absolutely wonderfully expressed Carla. I'm saving that. (NT) -- Tracy, 07:29:51 07/08/09 Wed