A lot of comments I'm getting about book 2 tend to regret the lack of Apogee. Even at the end, where she appears, it's just for a glimpse. I'm glad for that, you guys liked her as much as I did to write, but her absence in book 2 was deliberate. I wanted Dale to go on a journey of self-discovery and to realize that she's only one of the rewards from crossing the finish line.
I know the relationship and his/her feelings are idealized, in a world that isn't. In a way, it rather doesn't match, but that's sort of what we go through when we meet someone, or am I wrong? We're taught through BS movies and TV that love is some holy concept when in truth it's much grittier (and screamier), and so much better than that crap.
So a large part of book three is crossing that gap, from what we idealize, what we envision out of a relationship, and the harsh realities of one. I don't know about you guys, but that was a huge learning experience for me, and I think it will be for Dale. He's kind of a man-child that never had to grow up. Now he wants to but doesn't know how. I can relate from personal experience, and I know a lot of guys do too. It's sort of the Tyler Durden syndrome - we're men who don't know how to be men. Most of us just pretend and get by.
As far as Apogee, I realize now that what I intended was good, but not having her made the book worse. She's really shining in book three, and appears from the first couple of pages and throughout. Writing them falling in love was pretty easy and a lot of fun, writing how they get to like each other, to know each other, is turning out to be quite difficult, and the greatest time I've had thus far as a writer.
Oh, and getting into the Apogee mythos is turning out a lot of really cool and fun characters. Think about it, a girl like her's been in the business awhile, and in that time, she's made some enemies...and I bet some of those were stuck on Utopia when Zundergrub let the whole lot loose.
