Time Bomb Director's Commentary: the omissions
SPOILERS! For the books at least through "Proven Guilty" (Book #8), and explanations as to why.
So, what did I leave out? And why did I set it in 2004?
1. Harry's roommate at this point in time, his half-brother Thomas the psychic vampire. Could you see River trusting anyone hanging out with Thomas? Could you see her trying to stake him? Yeah, me too. I adore Thomas. He really would've messed up this story. He's off shagging one of his semi-girlfriends for the day. Having this story only take one day helps a lot.
2. Harry's left hand has third-degree painful burns, and he has a difficult time moving it. Not relevant, really, although if I'd left it in, it would've made his fight with the glow-vines even more believable. Still, I didn't need to make River even *more* upset on Harry's behalf, so while his hand is burned, I decided not to get into it.
3. The current ongoing war with the vampire Red Court. It's been going on for three or four books at this point, and it's still going on as of the latest book. However, they're not jumping Harry in this story, so we'll just let it go.
4. In "Proven Guilty", Harry takes on an apprentice. So I set this story before he takes up with Molly, since there are problems with her presence that apply to Thomas as well; River's reaction to her would've complicated this whole mess anyway.
5. Leanansidhe is currently... A big block of ice. Harry doesn't find this out 'til "Proven Guilty", but evidently she's been 'on ice' for a while by the time that book rolls around. Therefore Lea becomes Mab, and the story continues forward.
6. By the end of "Proven Guilty"... Murphy is no longer in charge of Special Investigations, and has been busted down from Lieutenant to Sergeant. I needed her in charge of the investigation though, so this is set prior to that.
7. At this point, Harry has a squatter in his brain, a Xerox of a fallen angel trying to make him go Dark Side. Lasciel (Lash) is mostly under Harry's subconscious lock-and-key, although River may have seen traces of her presence there. But again, she would have complicated this story beyond belief, so I'm putting her down as one more reason for River to freak out, but not something she knew about for sure.
There, all accounted for. If I'd rewritten this story even more, I might have directly addressed some of this, but since Harry's continuity is very tricky and changes from book to book, and I didn't want to spoil it for those not caught up, I decided just not to include things that would have been problematic in any event.
So, what did I leave out? And why did I set it in 2004?
1. Harry's roommate at this point in time, his half-brother Thomas the psychic vampire. Could you see River trusting anyone hanging out with Thomas? Could you see her trying to stake him? Yeah, me too. I adore Thomas. He really would've messed up this story. He's off shagging one of his semi-girlfriends for the day. Having this story only take one day helps a lot.
2. Harry's left hand has third-degree painful burns, and he has a difficult time moving it. Not relevant, really, although if I'd left it in, it would've made his fight with the glow-vines even more believable. Still, I didn't need to make River even *more* upset on Harry's behalf, so while his hand is burned, I decided not to get into it.
3. The current ongoing war with the vampire Red Court. It's been going on for three or four books at this point, and it's still going on as of the latest book. However, they're not jumping Harry in this story, so we'll just let it go.
4. In "Proven Guilty", Harry takes on an apprentice. So I set this story before he takes up with Molly, since there are problems with her presence that apply to Thomas as well; River's reaction to her would've complicated this whole mess anyway.
5. Leanansidhe is currently... A big block of ice. Harry doesn't find this out 'til "Proven Guilty", but evidently she's been 'on ice' for a while by the time that book rolls around. Therefore Lea becomes Mab, and the story continues forward.
6. By the end of "Proven Guilty"... Murphy is no longer in charge of Special Investigations, and has been busted down from Lieutenant to Sergeant. I needed her in charge of the investigation though, so this is set prior to that.
7. At this point, Harry has a squatter in his brain, a Xerox of a fallen angel trying to make him go Dark Side. Lasciel (Lash) is mostly under Harry's subconscious lock-and-key, although River may have seen traces of her presence there. But again, she would have complicated this story beyond belief, so I'm putting her down as one more reason for River to freak out, but not something she knew about for sure.
There, all accounted for. If I'd rewritten this story even more, I might have directly addressed some of this, but since Harry's continuity is very tricky and changes from book to book, and I didn't want to spoil it for those not caught up, I decided just not to include things that would have been problematic in any event.