My Novel's Journey: Found--One Supervillian Plot

As you know, I've been searching for a supervillian plot for Gapman, as my original idea didn't seem big enough for the book. Like so many things, I mull over stuff until I go nuts, give up, watch TV and get a perfect inspiration!

This time, it was the 2012 movie commercial that did it. What could be bigger than bringing about the end of the world?

Of course, I already did that during Live and Let Fly, so I needed a new twist. For a long time, I played with the Mayan calendar/2012 idea, but I've discarded it for a few reasons:

--I already did Ragnorak in Live and Let Fly, so a legendary end-of-the-world is redundant.

--I didn't want to get into the tangled research I'd feel obligated to do to get this right. I looked at a few websites, and was amazed at the depth of thought people have given this, along with tying in all kinds of other end-of-world prophesies. I wish I could say these people have too much time on their hands, but since the world will end in 2012, I don’t see how that's the case.

--It really doesn't tie into Faerie, and the other subplots I've been developing: the Mundane's re-emerging distrust of the Faerie, especially the Faerie Church; the fact that Satan is trying to bend the rules by establishing a beachhead of Faerie evil in Los Lagos; the mysterious murders of Gap scientists and mages (which I plan to develop fully in Damsels and Knights); the appearance of the unique magic/chemical drug, Puck.

--It ties my universe to a specific date, which I've been avoiding.

--I can do funnier than a defective Mayan calendar.

So, the current Supervillian plot is:

--Author predicted that the opening of the Gap would herald the end of our worlds.

--20 years later, this STILL HAS NOT HAPPENED

--Frustrated author (who is published by a vanity press posing as traditional and has sold a whopping 24 books) is trying again--this time asserting the weather experiment will destroy our ecosystem

--As the world's biggest publicity stunt, is drilling into the poles, where he will pour the frozen ice into the molten core of the earth, stopping the magnetic field, creating a steam cloud that will envelop the earth, yadda-yadda. That way, he gets to have big "I Told You So!" and sell his latest book, a guide to living in the ruined Earth. (need a cathy title).

--He's using magic in his factory to combine titanium with Faerimet. The byproduct happens to be Puck. Yes, people are snorting industrial waste. Is it really that different from real life?

As a side plot, someone's going to ambush Vern and do something nasty to him that won't really show itself until the next DragonEye, PI book. BWAHAHAHA! If you read carefully, you'll see Vern's changing just a bit. At least, if I write it well, you will.

I have to admit though: right now the changes to Discovery are taking up my imagination, so Gapman is moving much slower than expected. That's fine, though--no one's accepted Live and Let Fly yet, so I have time.

My Novel's Journey: Gapman! Seeking Supervilian Plot

I'm working a novel again. This one is Gapman, a super-hero spoof. Once again, I'm flying seat-of-the-pants, with some rough ideas and a whole lot of fun scenes to drive the way.

This time, I'm still in search of the perfect Supervillian plot. I know it needs to involve the designer drug called Puck. I have one idea: get the elves high on Puck so they'll agree to sign life insurance policies and make the villain a fortune in commissions. However, exactly how he plans on doing that, I'm not sure yet. And the more I think logically about it, the more holes I see. So if anyone has ideas, I'm glad to listen. I discarded the politician trying to get the elves high to sign a treaty with the US (mainly because they were taking so long.)

Friday, I thought about bringing the plot closer to home: a more personal attack on Vern and Grace, and Gapman will get to help them out. It would also have a very nice foreshadowing into the next book I want to write, Damsels and Knights, which is a spin-off trilogy involving Los Lagos Police Captain Santry and a griffin-turned human, Veronica Bates. I'm wondering if it's too heavy for the spoofing, though.
In the meantime, I'm having a great time developing the Gapman character, Ronnie Engleson. He's a real sweetie, but, as my friend Devon Ellington put it "reverts to being 11 at the slightest provocation." He lives with his mom so that they can afford a nice house up in the mountains, bikes and runs (though he has a bit of a pudge), and works as the entertainment reporter for the Los Lagos Gazette. Of course, getting superpowers was a childhood dream, so he's determined to use them for good--yet in his zeal, he's causing a lot of problems, too.

I'm playing with alternating between him and Vern--first, with them living their own lives and dealing with their own problems, then working together as Vern takes him as his Padawan (at Grace's behest.)

Here's a brief introduction to Ronnie.

My name is Ronald Engleson. I prefer to be called Ron, but people have called me Ronnie since Kindergarten. Mom's always called me Ronnie, of course, but that's her prerogative. I had a brief time in college when I was Ron, but that ended when I returned to Los Lagos and started working for the Gazzette. Guess that's the problem when your mom used to date the editor-in-chief; Richard Redfeathers still thinks I'm ten years old.

Otherwise, I like the job. I've done a little of everything. Started in the Classified, but now I'm the entertainment writer. You know, movie reviews, features on the local thespians. Bet you anything, my articles get stuck into scrapbooks more than any other writer's on the paper. Yet even though my byline reads "Ron Engleson," people still call me "Ronnie." I try not to let it bother me.

Word count: 5,719