Tag Archives: Alessandra Diepara

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First Sketch of the Burnt Ones from Souls Triumphant

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This is my first sketch of the Burnt Ones, Ned’s army of evil doers.  Without revealing too much, they are much more than they seem at first glance.  Oddly enough, they always have a bit of a burnt smell to them as well.  

They have a grudge against Joseph Zadkiel, one he doesn’t remember.  Nonetheless, they will have their revenge as their master, Ned, has his way with Joe’s love, Alessandra.  You can find out what happens in my novel Souls Triumphant.  

These characters and sketches were originally conceived for a short story back in my creative writing class at Illinois State University.  The above notes are from the 1998 journal I used in the class to flesh out ideas.

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The REAL Poem From Souls Triumphant

Long ago, when I was an idealistic college student at Illinois State University, I studied at a coffee shop in downtown (now called uptown) Normal.  That coffee shop was the inspiration for Illumination, Joe’s favorite coffee shop in my novel Souls Triumphant.  There is a scene in the novel where Joe sits in Illumination and jots down a poem on a scrap of napkin which he later gives to his only love, Alessandra. 

The funny thing is, I wrote the very poem used in the novel long before I ever had the notion of writing a novel.  Nor do I believe I had anyone specific in mind when I wrote it.  However, when inspiration struck, I grabbed a napkin and scribbled it down.  It seemed an appropriate poem when I needed Joe to write one himself. 

I still have the actual scrap of napkin I wrote the poem on to this day, and, believing someone may find it interesting, I’ve provided a scanned image of it.  The poem in the image must have been written sometime between 1995 and 1997. 

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