Are you in a book club?Are you in a book club? If so, that's really cool, because reading rocks! I just wanted to mention that AFTERLIFE could make a great selection for your group--and you can download a FREE Discussion Guide here. To the right, you can see the members of The Ladies Guilty Pleasures Book Club, on the evening they invited me to chat and answer questions. We had a wonderful time! |
|
AFTERLIFE Playlist
Writers need inspiration. Lots of it. In my playlist, you'll hear a small collection of the music I listened to while writing AFTERLIFE--songs by Coldplay, Moby, and Jars of Clay. Even though the main character in the book, Chaz Domingue, loved jazz and played a mean saxophone, I chose a different style of music to get in the mood. Listen to the music HERE.
AFTERLIFE Slang
Babysitter: Highly skilled individual who guards Newbies during their first week
Backatown: Section of New Orleans, from North Claiborne Avenue to the Mississippi River
BP collar: Child safeguard device, protects children from being kidnapped
Bruh: Common way to address men
Cell: Small school with 5 to 20 children in attendance, similar to one-room schools in 1800s
City of the Dead: Last historic, above-ground cemetery in New Orleans
Clone: Custom-designed body made from owner’s original DNA
Death cert: Death certificate, proves that the person will not resurrect, necessary document for having a child
Download: The process of transferring soul, life force and memories during resurrection process
F’true: New Orleans slang that means “for true” or a statement of truth
Flying horses: Merry-go-round
Fresh Start: The world-wide monopoly that owns the rights to resurrection; company is owned by the Domingue family
Gen-spike/spike: Highly addictive drug that causes genetic restructuring
Gris-gris: A voodoo spell
Gutter punks: Gang members in the Ninth Ward
Gutterspeak: A NOLA dialect, born in the blue collar district of the Ninth Ward
Huck-a-bucks: Frozen Kool-Aid, served in a Dixie cup
Implant: Resurrection chip
Jive-sweet: Inexpensive, legal drug; often chewed like tobacco, it stains the teeth
Les enfants sans sourire: French term that means “children of no joy/smiles,” refers to Stringers who have jumped so many times they have lost their entire family
Liquid Light: Malleable, gum-like weapon that ignites when thrown, resulting in an electrical current that wraps around victim and renders them temporarily helpless
Marker: Small tracking chip that can be inserted beneath the skin
Master Keys: Five pre-programmed commands hardwired into every Newbie at start-up
Mugs: Slang for police officers
Newbie: Person in the first week of resurrection
Nine-Timer: Person who chooses resurrection over death
Nine-Timer Scenario: Apocalyptic event where thousands of Stringers die at the same time
One-Timer: Person who chooses to live only one life, foregoing resurrection
Resurrect: To jump from one body to the next at the point of death
Sous-terrain société: Organization that helps you design your own family through social networking
Stringer: Person who resurrects, usually multiple times
The Ideal Plan: Government-enforced plan wherein all children must decide whether or not they will choose resurrection
The Grid: A three-dimensional, virtual reality version of the Internet
TRS: Federally approved operation that temporarily reverses sterilization
Underground Circus: Black-market organization that both kidnaps children and then provides their use to the highest bidders
Verse: Smart phone that is implanted in the ear
VR: Virtual reality
VR suit: Full-body suit worn when traveling from one place to another while using VR
Where Y’at: Familiar greeting, similar to “how are you?”
AFTERLIFE, the movie (I wish!)
If AFTERLIFE was a movie and I was the casting director, here are the actors I would cast in the leading roles.