Tag: Phantom of the Opera

Writing Wednesday: The Grand Escalier

On By cherylmahoneyIn Writing3 Comments

Faithful readers may have noticed that content has been sparse around here lately, though at least I’ve managed to keep the Friday feature going with some regularity.  Life is good and no one should worry, but life is also busy. In the last two months (and a bit) I got married and bought a new house, so life is still very much in transition.  My new favorite phrase has become “it’s a process.”

Since long-form book reviews have not quite worked their way back into my schedule, I’ve been thinking about some other features to explore.  Today launches one of them–Writing Wednesdays, because even though I’m not blogging I’m still doing pretty well keeping on my fiction writing.  So why not tell you some about it?  I’m not sure if this will be a weekly or semiregular feature but…it’s a process!

Right now (and for the last couple of months) I’ve been working on final (?) revisions to what turned out to be Book One of my Phantom of the Opera Trilogy.  I’ve been properly working on this (at intervals) since 2013, and the roots of the story go back almost ten years before that.  So it’s very exciting to be getting close to a final version of…well, a third of the story at least! Continue reading “Writing Wednesday: The Grand Escalier” →

Fiction…Monday: Christmas at the Opera Garnier (Part Two)

On By cherylmahoneyIn Fiction Friday1 Comment

Happy holidays!  Today I’m continuing my Christmas excerpt from my Phantom of the Opera trilogy.  Read Part One here, for the preceding scene and a little more context.  Most of this excerpt is from Meg Giry’s point of view, though the last bit shifts to Erik’s (otherwise called the Phantom) point of view.

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Early Saturday morning I showed up to meet Erik with a basketful of garlands in my arms.  At Christmas the Opera Garnier became a whirl of garlands and trees and explosions of giggles among the ballet girls as they planned gifts or discussed hopes.  Not to mention Christmas music everywhere, as we practiced for a series of special performances around the holiday.

It was Christmas everywhere at the Opera, except belowground.

“What is that?” Erik asked warily, eying my basket as though something might jump out at him.

“Decorations,” I said, moving over to the wall of masks in the prop room.

“Where are you planning to decorate?” he asked, no less wary as he triggered the secret door.

“I was just thinking…it would be awfully nice…”

“I don’t decorate,” he said abruptly, but I was getting good at hearing the nuances in his abruptness and this one was more of a ‘go cautiously’ than ‘back away’ abruptness.

Not that I went very cautiously anyway.  “But you could.  And it’s so gloomy with no decorations!”

“It is not,” he protested.  “And I like gloom.”

I heaved a sigh.  “Well, I guess.  I can leave these here, I suppose…”

“What were you planning to do anyway, hang wreaths on my gargoyles?” he asked, and this time it was an ‘I’m pretending I don’t like this, but keep talking’ abruptness.

“Of course not, they have too much dignity for that.  I just wanted to put some garlands on your piano and mantelpiece.”

“All right, fine, give me that,” he said, pulled the basket of garlands away from me, and stalked off through the tunnel. Continue reading “Fiction…Monday: Christmas at the Opera Garnier (Part Two)” →

Fiction Friday: Christmas at the Opera Garnier (Part One)

On By cherylmahoneyIn Fiction Friday1 Comment

It’s been a long time, but I’ve posted excerpt before from my reimagining of The Phantom of the Opera…which I finished the first draft of for 2016’s NaNoWriMo.  It also turned out to be a trilogy (!) but that’s a long story.  Today I thought I’d excerpt a seasonally appropriate scene from the middle of the second book.  We’re well after Leroux’s (and Webber’s) story, and the Phantom (otherwise known as Erik) and Meg Giry, ballet dancer, have cautiously formed a friendship.

Not without occasional confusing moments…

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It had been a long time since Erik had spoken with the Daroga.  A kind of coolness had grown up between them in recent months.  The obvious, blatant betrayal of bringing Raoul below the Opera at just the wrong moment had been something they could get past.  The Daroga’s ongoing caution that maybe it wasn’t the wisest idea in the world to carry on a friendship with Meg Giry had created a more serious awkwardness.  Not an actual hostility.  Half the time Erik agreed with him—more at the beginning, less recently, but still, he could see his point.  And that might have made it worse, because it wasn’t a point he wanted reminding of.

So they had spoken only occasionally recently, both keeping rather more to themselves, though Erik still saw the Daroga about the Opera now and again, usually the single dark face somewhere in the back of the crowd.  Finally, near the beginning of December, he had a problem of sufficient gravity that it drove him to seek the Daroga out—not as a good source of aid, but as the only one available.

He arrived at the Daroga’s small apartment in the early twilight, was invited in courteously and with less surprise evident than was probably present.  They passed a few moments in small talk, sitting in the Daroga’s parlor, before the inevitable question arose.  “So tell me, to what do I owe the honor of this most unusual visit?”

Erik hesitated, tapping his fingers against his knee.  “I need your advice about something.”  He took a deep breath.  “I don’t know what to do about Christmas.” Continue reading “Fiction Friday: Christmas at the Opera Garnier (Part One)” →

Fiction Friday: Mothers, Daughters and Phantoms

On By cherylmahoneyIn Fiction Friday2 Comments

I haven’t done a Fiction Friday in a while, and I thought it might be fun to share a scene from the Phantom of the Opera retelling I’m in the process of revising.  I brought this scene into my writing group recently, so why not here too?  This is well after the Phantom plotline that everyone knows; my heroine, Meg Giry, has become friends with the Phantom, and this scene follows directly after her first trip below the Opera to see where he lives…and now she has to explain that to her mother!

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I stayed longer than I meant to.  How could I possibly not stay longer than I meant to in the Phantom’s apartments?  When I finally mentioned leaving, he was perfectly courteous about guiding me back up into the daylight—though if it hadn’t been August, with its long days, there would have been scant daylight left.

I was late getting home.  Mother was in the kitchen, preparing supper, which was at least better than if she had met me at the door.  But she did say almost immediately, “I expected you sooner than this.  Something come up at the Opera?”

“No, not really,” I said, and tried to brush past her to my own room.

But maybe I spoke too fast, or my eyes were too bright or my cheeks too pink.  Something made her turn away from the stove, and study me with eyes narrowed and expression thoughtful.  “Are you sure nothing happened?” Continue reading “Fiction Friday: Mothers, Daughters and Phantoms” →

Happy Halloween – and on to the Writing!

On By cherylmahoneyIn NaNoWriMo1 Comment

Halloween almost entirely snuck up on me this year, and if I didn’t happen to have a collection of masks, I wouldn’t have anything to wear to my office Halloween party today.  I’ve been rather more focused on tomorrow–November 1st, and the beginning of National Novel Writing Month, known to its friends as NaNoWriMo.

This will be my fifth year of NaNoWriMo, when lots of writers all over the world set themselves a goal to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November.  I’ve hit my word count each year (with some variations in what exactly I’ve been working on), and two of my published novels began as NaNo projects.

Mostly, I’ve started a new novel each NaNo, written the bulk of it in November and finished in December.  This year I have different plans.  Continue reading “Happy Halloween – and on to the Writing!” →