Blackberry Coven Notes
As I started working on the sequel to Blackberry Coven, I started to delve further into the backstory of where the Vampire Virus came from and also the whole culture and society of the Werewolves, which I only barely touched on in the first novel. So, what I have here are my plot notes, back story notes, and the nitty gritty Mythology/Science Fiction details about the different supernatural beings in the Blackberry universe. I am looking for thoughtful feedback from anyone who is interested in sharing: your (critical) impressions of the first novel (particularly in relation to the 1st person present tense narration and the accuracy of depicting the inner workings of the male mind - you know, since I happen to be female), any apparent plot holes in the upcoming sequel, changing to multiple 1st person narrators instead of just the one, and any other holes or problems or contradictions you happen to find. All feedback will be greatly appreciated!
Betrayal of the Hunted (tentative title)
Basic Plot Ideas:
- Vampire hunter comes to Blackberry and sucks at her job. She gets caught and becomes friends with the Coven.
- Melissa comes back and takes over Jason's werewolf pack and threatens to attack Blackberry Coven.
- Daniel tries to make a deal with Ivan while Genevieve tries to attack Melissa.
- Everyone gets captured because of the betrayal of one of their own.
- Everyone is rescued by someone unexpected.
Blackberry Universe Back Story Notes
These are stories that I want to write out and somehow insert into my story. I'm toying with the idea of writing an omniscient Prequel that would include each character's story told from that character's perspective (possibly called "Between the Bites"). On the other hand, I could just write each of these as standalones. Most of these are just here because I think they would be interesting to write and/or read. I'm not quite sure exactly how this is going to work yet, but these are the stories I'm interested in telling eventually, somehow:
- Tessa's version of Blackberry Coven (when she was changed, her side of the relationship with Daniel, being captured by Melissa when she was human, and the attack where Daniel's dad became a vampire, also the scene where they find his dad under the car and Dan runs off and Tessa and Eric run after him)
- Eric's past (his life at the New York Colony, his father's death, his first impressions of Jonathan, the move to Maryland, his friendship with Bea that led to his move to Blackberry)
- Jason's past (his life with the Maryland pack, the social innerworkings of the werewolf world, his relationship with Bea, the events that lead to him being exiled from the pack and his move to Blackberry)
- Bea's life (her family before meeting Eric and Jason, how becoming a werewolf destroyed her relationship with her family, her friendship with Tessa, what life is like for her with Jason after the events of Blackberry Coven and Betrayal of the Hunted)
- Jonathan's story (his life with his wife before becoming a vampire, how he lost his mind for a few weeks when he was first changed, how Genevieve found him and took care of him, how he decided to redefine his identity and moved to Blackberry, his encounter with Kevin, his version of the events of Blackberry Coven and Betrayal of the Hunted)
- Bruce Lowe's story (maybe just one chapter where Daniel's father talks about his late wife and how proud he is of his son...?)
- Genevieve's story (where vampires came from, what happened when the Omnipotent Queen appeared, how Genevieve survived for so many centuries, her side of Blackberry Coven and Betrayal of the Hunted, her philosophical take on life and death)
- Ivan's story (where werewolves came from, how Ivan was born and raised, why he is the way he is, why he wants what he wants, his fear of death, his love of power, his subconscious desire for inner peace and fulfillment)
- Melissa's story (her childhood, the night she was changed, the first few months when she adapted to being a vampire at boarding school, her side of Blackberry Coven, meeting with the crazy old ancient vampire in Maryland Colony, her side of Betrayal of the Hunted)
- Kevin Mace (where he came from, how he got mixed up with Ivan, why he is what he is and does what he does - maybe only one chapter?)
Blackberry Universe Mythologies
Elementals
- First instance of mythical reality – called gods/goddesses in ancient Greece and Rome, also known as heroes (Heracles, Jason, etc.)
- Born with extra chromosome pair that enables the ability to manipulate the basic energies of matter.
- Eight Basic Energies (most common to least common, grouped also according to category – green, blue, purple, and red):
- Mineral (dirt, rocks, sand, diamonds, gems, and all other nonliving organic material)
- Vegetable (all plants, including mosses, ferns, trees, fungi, etc.)
- Animal (all animals, from the smallest amoeba to the biggest whale)
- Water of the Earth (all oceans, lakes, rivers, etc.)
- Water of the Sky (clouds, storms, humidity, any water that is not on the ground, etc.)
- Wind (wind, air, air pressure, etc.)
- Fire (warmth, heat, fire, temperature (suck all the heat out) etc.)
- Electricity (life, energy, pain, electricity, etc.)
- The manipulation abilities are found usually in small doses with someone having a “green thumb” or being a “really good swimmer” or “really good with fire” or a “really good sailor”, but there are more powerful combinations, which are most commonly labeled as:
- Earth (Any combination of Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal)
- Water (Water of the Earth and Water of the Sky)
- Air (Water of the Sky and Wind)
- Fire (Fire and Electricity)
- Metal (Electricity and Mineral)
- Any combination of two or more elemental abilities is possible, though rare.There are some combinations which will cancel each other out unless the bearer of the abilities learns to master them carefully.Usually, these powers never manifest themselves and so the bearer never even knows of their existence:
- Mineral and Wind
- Fire and either/both of the Waters
- Alternatively, some combinations will lead to more powerful abilities.In these ability combinations, the gaining element becomes the dominant element and the strengthening element may either manifest only in small amounts, or may not be apparent at all.The cycle of this relationship goes like this:
- Water of the Sky becomes water of the Earth
- Water of the Earth strengthens Vegetable
- Vegetable strengthens Animal
- Animal strengthens Mineral
- Mineral strengthens Wind
- Wind strengthens Fire
- Fire becomes Electricity
- Electricity strengthens Water of the Sky
- At first, all the elementals lived among regular humans, and when a few of them created Unicorns, Dragons, Phoenixes, and other mythical creatures, there was so much chaos and destruction, that the human race neared extinction.Then The Omnipotent Queen appeared, who could use all eight abilities and she put an end to the destruction and despair and killed off all the other elementals she could find.Supposedly, because of her mastery of the elements, she never actually died, but passes her own spirit around from place to place, still searching for wayward Elementals who do not hide themselves well.Supposedly, she is a guardian of human civilization and will always come to cleanse the human realm when the supernatural becomes too prevalent.
Werewolves
- Pureblood Werewolves
- Started when wolf fell in love with maiden and made a baby
- Handed down genetically (hierarchy of breed)
- Passed on purely by genetics alone
- Can transform at any whim (also triggered by heightened emotions)
- Viral Werewolves
- Started when an aquatic viral strain mutated along with wolfsbane for life on land
- Virus settles in bones and is secreted into all bodily fluids
- Viral infection peaks every full-moon (virus still has attachment to the moon's gravity, based on its history coming from the ocean)
- Werewolves can have any kind of elemental abilities as well as being werewolves. Also, in both types of werewolves, the Alpha is the one in charge and must be followed. The Alpha chooses a successor, or if the Alpha is killed, the killer becomes the next Alpha. This is a social tradition and contract that is very rarely broken.
Vampires
- Pureblood Vampires
- Started when man found silver rose and thought it was magic (took it to a local witch and asked her what its properties could be)and would make (Genevieve) fall in love with him forever. He crushed it into a powder and gave it to her in a drink and she became a vampire and bit him, but did not drain him. It turns out that the Vampire Virus had infected the Rose.
- They began the vampire race, but after having her first child and craving that child's blood, Genevieve decides to prey on animals and her husband drinks their child's blood and turns the child into a vampire while Genevieve runs off and finds Ivan and then comes home and stays with her husband until he dies.
- All pureblood vampires stem from this beginning. Genevieve was (is)the first.
- Viral Vampires
- Regular Viral Vampires
- Appear when a vampire bites a human
- Have a parasite that lines the stomach so they can only digest blood. Also secreted in all bodily fluids. Also adapts to each individual vampire so that each person has their own individual strain of the virus.
- "Venom" tastes like metallic citrus
- Can have bat-like wings and fly
- No fangs
- Don’t turn into dust in the sunlight
- Are extremely light sensitive – headaches, etc.
- Not necessarily pale
- Prefer human blood to animal blood, but can survive on animal blood
- Have black blood
- Age and die normally
- Are stronger than average, but bodies are still fleshy and susceptible to physical attacks
- Better sense of smell than humans, but not impossibly amazing
- Night vision that allows them to see outlines and shapes more clearly than in daylight (see with darkness rather than with light?)
- Immortal Viral Vampires
- Immortal vampires can be cooked from the inside out if left in sunlight because of the way the virus reacts to it
- Appear when a vampire drinks every last drop of another vampire’s blood (the drinking vampire becomes the immortal, and the food-vampire dies)
- Note:If the vampire fails to drink every last drop of blood, they both die
- Note:If a regular vampire drinks the blood of an immortal vampire, the regular vampire becomes an immortal vampire and the immortal vampire dies
- Have silver blood
- Wings are larger, very pale, and have a lace-like or web-like appearance
- No fangs
- Not necessarily pale
- Can only process blood into their bodies – prefer vampire blood to human blood, and cannot be sustained by animal blood, but can survive without vampire blood
- Stop aging as soon as they are bitten
- Stronger than regular vampires, but bodies are still flesh
- Have incredible rejuvenation properties and cannot die by any means other than the blood or venom of another immortal vampire
- Can only die from drinking the blood of another immortal vampire or from being bitten by another immortal vampire
- Extremely acute sense of smell and night vision
- Vampires can have elemental abilities.
So, what do you think? Criticisms? Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Ideas? Tweakings?
Email this story 
Print Story 
Add to reading list
