AUTHOR’S NOTES
Komm Zu Mir...
This is a line taken from a song called ‘Wish’ which can be found on the soundtrack to Lola Rennt (Run Lola Run). It’s an awesome piece if I do say so myself, half in German and half in English (I included some of the lyrics in the beginning of the book). Komm Zu Mir means ‘Come To Me’. I thought it fitting for this story.
The random quotes at the beginnings of the chapters...
If music is food for the soul, the people who feed it to me are Elton John, David Bowie, Moby, The Talking Heads, No Doubt, The Beatles, and various J-Pop artists/ broadway singers. Music serves as inspiration to me, and adds color to anything. I just thought I’d share some of my favorite lines with all you happy people.
Muzak...
Yeah, yeah, I know, nobody likes elevator music. But Gateau is kind of a dork (and I mean that in the best possible way), and know you what they say; “Simple things please simple people”. Gateau is a funny character to work with. On the outside, he’s a big ‘tough guy’ with a softer side that acts as a weakness. It’s fun to add little ‘quirks’ to charas who would otherwise be kind of... dull? For example, the paintings and the soap operas. Would you really expect a big jock-looking dude to have even quasi-artistic tendencies and a liking for overly sappy sagas on the telly? It just makes it interesting, and hints toward the fact that there is more to Gateau than initially assessed. Which brings me to Marron...
Marron...
I wanted to make Marron out to be a cute little femme, but not the stereotypical, fluttery tomgirl, with a lispy falsetto voice, who carries a purse and paints his nails. Marron has long hair and a beautiful visage, but he’s shy and conservative and has a deep voice. He’s smart, polite, and a bit of a stoic. He likes to keep to himself most of the time. He doesn’t do a great deal of cross-dressing. Just enough to look ‘different’. Marron is sensitive, but emotionally closeted, and very reluctant to show his true colors. He puts on a mask of indifference to hide his flaws and troubles. I wrote in the part about Danish to add some ‘darkness’ to Marron’s supposedly perfect world, you know, to make his life less simple and beautiful than it seems. I love being surprised by dark twists to characters who seem like total ‘good guys’. Imperfection is a wonderful thing. Marron Glace in a nutshell: On the outside, he’s an unobtrusive, well-brought up young man who’s just a little shy. On the inside, his heart is wailing and crying tears of blood.
Benny and Joon...
It’s one of my favorite movies ever. I adore Johnny Depp. This film features a mentally ill young woman, Joon, who finds friendship (and love) in a humble misfit named Sam. If you enjoy sweet, humourous and ‘quirky’ love stories (NOT chick-flicks, mind you!) with a bit of a dramatic edge, please do make a point of seeing this movie. It’s a real darling.
Zoloft...
I think that sadness truly is a fodder for love. Look at it this way... Two people, who have seen the ugly face of that bitchdom that we call Life, and who have no one else in the world except eachother, are going to seek comfort in one another. Once they make the connection, the feelings can only grow deeper. When you feel like the world is against you, the bonds between you and the one or two friends you have grow TIGHT. Believe me, I know...
Danish...
Yes, Marron’s been in love before, foo’! So has Gateau, even though I failed to mention any of his past romances. Woe is me. Oh well. Anyhoo, I wrote this in as another reason as to why Marron is reluctant to ‘be with Gateau’; He’s scared to death of the possibility of a second heartbreak.
The pineapple magnet...
Yes, there is a bit of an explaination behind this. Tales of this genre involving male/male relationships of the more ‘steamy’ variety are often referred to as ‘citrus’ stories. The note from Gateau asking Marron to meet him on the roof is held by this magnet, thus the magnet serves as a little ‘hint’ as to what’s to come (the dawn of Gateau’s and Marron’s romance). And I’m partial to pinapple ^_^
The Roof Scene...
I worked like a bitch on this part (five days dedicated to this bit alone), because it really is the heart of the story. Everything beforehand creates momentum to what happens here, and everything following sort of acts as an afterglow. I also have a passion for unusual settings, and rather than having our cute little gay boys caught in the rain, taking refuge in a metro station, or at the edge of a cliff during a beeeeyoootiful sunset, or something cliche like that, I wanted to try something different. I hope you liked reading this scene as much as I liked writing it, because I believe that it is the best part of the whole froopin’ story.
Duct tape and Dental floss?!...
::shrugs:: I thought it was creative, as morbid as that sounds.
In Marron’s speech...
He states that “when you live in a cookie cutter world, being different is a sin”. This is a quote borrowed from ‘Wierd’ by Hanson. I don’t really like a lot of their music, but I am partial to the lyrics of some of their songs. This is a fabulous quote anyway, and it is oh so true. “When you wish upon a star, it makes no difference who you are” is sung by Jiminy Cricket in Walt Disney’s Pinnochio. Another great line. I love Disney movies.
Adore Jewelry and Diamond Center...
Yes, this is a real place. In fact, it’s where my mum works. It’s a beautiful store with an absolutely gorgeous 6-foot crystal chandelier. The Iranian brothers, Michael and BJ, are real too, and... Well, I can’t speak for Michael, but that BJ is SCARY. ‘Nuff said.
Perfect opposites...
I truly believe that the yin and yang rule everything in this and any of the three thousand worlds. I also love the rule of opposites attracting. Think of it like a jigsaw puzzle; pieces with opposite edges connect. Gateau and Marron are so cute together because they are so different. Watching them work out their differences and show their true colors is just so endearing. What can I say? I love quirky romance. Call me a fluff-ball goth. I’m a walking talking paradox, aren’t I?
Abercrombie and Fitch...
Their clothes defile my eyeballs, and they do child labor. If you care about poor little children in third world countries, boycott Abercrombie and Fitch. Gap too, which sucks, because that means I can’t buy anymore Docs (Gap recently bought out Doc Martins >.<) Anyway, Abercrombie and Fitch is over-hyped, and over priced. Eighty bucks for freaking CARGO PANTS, sheesh!
Chocolate’s sad little rant...
She says, “Make me feel as though I’m a silly toy, a pet he can pick up and then drop like a newborn girraffe.” Unlike most of the wierdles that show up in my work, there is actually a bit of trivia behind this comment; Giraffes give birth standing up, and their babies fall six feet to the ground! Yowsa.
On Uniterian Universalism...
What can I say? I love this religion. It’s so diverse and non-imposing, it can hardly be considered a religion at all. It’s also the only place I can see as a possibility for gay marriage. Catholic and Christian churches won’t do it for obvious reasons. Plus, it’s the only religion I have somewhat reasonable knowledge about (I’m a bit of a Uniterian Universalist myself). And yes, I did make up the reverend’s speech. Hey, I haven’t been on this earth very long, and I have no clue how gay marriages work, so I had to do the best I could. Please don’t hurt me!
So, is Carrot a changed man?...
Not really... You can’t change your perpesctive that quickly. Especially if you have a stubborn personality like Carrot’s. He’s still a buggering homophobe, but less so, seeing as homosexuality is a part of his life now. Marron is his brother after all, and nothing can change that. He’ll never stop being Marron’s brother, and he’ll never stop loving Marron for that reason, if for none other.
Wacky...
I hate this word with a passion. There are few words that are so excrutiatingly stupid. Along with ‘Robes’, ‘Wacky’ is the ultimate piss-Fala-off word. It’s a terrible word, I’m sorry! Wacky! Arrrrgh!
The ending...
I didn’t have any cliffhanger intentions. You know very well what is going to happen next (and if you don’t, you are a sad sack of shit). I wanted an ending that wasn’t really an ending at all. I don’t really like bada-bing bada-boom endings, where it’s like, “you heard the story and now it’s over so you can forget it”. In movies, and books alike, I like the story to stick with me, and if it ends with a classic “and they lived happily ever after” kind of thing, I tend to drop it and move onto the next thing. Have you ever seen the Matrix? That movie has one of the most excellent endings I have ever seen. I don’t know wether to classify the last part of Komm Zu Mir as a happy ending or not. I think it’s more of a “All that needed to be said was said,” finale. After all, “There are no happy endings... Because nothing ends.” (Smendrik... ‘The Last Unicorn’)
On to Part Four
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