Q&A with Kari Gregg discussion

Talk, ask questions about and/or discuss the Easter eggs hidden inside IO. (Yes, there are Easter eggs. No, I'm not talking about no bunny.)

;D

Since this is my newest release...If anybody wants to pick up the ball and run with it, okey dokey, but a couple questions to kick around if anyone has a mind to.

Can Gabriel tell Cal no? Or must he be trained to deny/refuse him?

Who is most flawed -- Gabriel or Cal?

Which character would you like to see most in a sequel? (Vera important, actually, being that I haven't decided how I want to go with this or even if I will go with a sequel yet.)

On a WTF scale of 1-10, how baffled were you by the contradictory elements (Easter eggs) nested in IO? AKA - did the subtext slay you? Feel free to kick my ass for being a sly, manipulative storyteller here, LOL.

Otherwise...Whatever floats your boat about IO. I'm easy.

It signaled to other shifters that Gabriel was mating to a shifter, even though he was still very human at that point and therefore, very vulnerable to predation.

You called the limits discussion just fine, Virginia. That's exactly what I meant for you to take away from that. Cal didn't need to identify Gabriel's limits -- Gabriel needed to recognize his limits and also learn that he can't lie or hide from Cal. Cal was basically pressuring Gabriel to set aside his newly submissive nature (no matter how intense it was) and accept that he does still have limits and that having limits is okay. He needed Gabriel to trust him with that.

Basically, the only way Cal can keep Gabriel as his mate (Gabriel bonding with him) is by drawing Gabriel out from that overwhelmingly submissive mindset that Gabriel's changing body has temporarily sucked him into. The limits discussion was just one of the ways Cal tried to court Gabriel to him and win his trust.

Jake is young in this book and very immature. Not that any of my characters are ever perfect, LOL, but I think he has a lot of growing to do yet. ;-)

This is a cool thread thanks.

I already plan to reread the book since I read it so quickly to see what would happen I am sure I missed some subtext. But reading this wonderful book book twice will be no hardship.

I think The change has taken Gabriel so far into That submissive part of himself that Cal will have to encourage to stand Up for himself when he should. Gabriel is To submissive.

Its hard to determine who is more flawed Because Gabriel is broken at the beginning of the story so to say he is flawed wouldn't be fair. AS for Cal I can"t really say I don't Know if I read It to fast or if there just was not enough of Cal to decide.

For Me this book was a 10 when I started reading it with Cal hunting down poor Gabriel I was wonder WTF was a doing reading this. I read dubcon but noncon is something I dont read and I thought in the beginning thats what I had gotten myself Into. It started out so dark But as the story progressed it changed my view of Cal and his actions. Your subtext did "SLAY" me. While I almost stopped reading and in the beginning regretted Buying the book by the end I wanted More.

Who would I want to see more Of I have to say Gabriel and cal I would love to see how he is now that he has his Backbone back. I want to see him being the omega and interacting with the pack. I would also love to see more Burke and cal.

I have this really bad habit of stories starting out very...um...brutal? LOL, okay, not always. Sometimes it's only uncomfortable and vaguely unsettling. ;-p But I like to think those characters and their stories redeem themselves (albeit not perfectly re the characters) by The End.

You're right about Gabriel's broken-ness, though. But in his own way, Cal is reeling from what is happening and struggling to deal with this too. He makes some pretty serious mistakes, but...Gabriel's not the only one nature dumped a whole truckload of whoremones into. You just can't see him struggling with that inside this story because this story is all from Gabriel's POV & that notion would never enter his dazed and bewildered head.

If I do a sequel, I'm leaning toward Burke, but with Cal as the pack's alpha and Gabriel as pack omega...As disruptive to the pack dynamic as mating can be, there's no way Cal & Gabriel wouldn't be involved in a significant role. Still thinking on it, though. I haven't ruled Cal & Gabriel as the primary heroes out. Or I could go with someone entirely new. *shrug* The kernel of the story, I've got. How it fits, though? No.

I like Burke. I want to see more of Burke. I still wanna kick Cal's ass. I'm obsessive about verbal communication. I'm not a freaking mind reader. I like logic and rational thought. If Cal had explained to Gab about the issues he could run into instead of fumbling along, it would have worked better for me. But I guess that would be telling rather than showing. I don't care because I still want to kick Cal's fucking ass. This is because of course, I empathize with Gab.

I still thought it was odd for Gab to be upset about the chip. That's one of those things I found to be super hot. As I mentioned in my review, I have no issues if my DH said, "I need to keep track of you. We are getting a chip placed into you." I'd shrug and go, okay, how much will it cost?

The problem with logical and rational is...Gabriel isn't. Not at story's start, not for a long, long time. His thoughts and emotions are all over the map. His body is changing. The cocktail of hormones and whatnot that drive our instincts and impulses are fluctuating wildly inside him. He can't think. He's at war with himself and he simply incapable of processing anything on a calm, cool, rational level.

Re the chip...Gabriel was upset because, regardless of what Cal told him, Gabriel believed Cal wanted it because Gabriel had failed him. He'd run away. No matter what Cal said, Gabriel filtered it only through that I've failed him lens.

This is what I mean about him not being rational. ;-)

Kari wrote: "The problem with logical and rational is...Gabriel isn't. Not at story's start, not for a long, long time. His thoughts and emotions are all over the map. His body is changing. The cocktail of horm..."

Yeah, and I still want to slap both of them upside the head. Irrational people hurt my head. I no likie. I like Data and Spock for a reason. HAH.

♆ Bookaddict wrote: "Kari wrote: "The problem with logical and rational is...Gabriel isn't. Not at story's start, not for a long, long time. His thoughts and emotions are all over the map. His body is changing. The coc..."

LOL! ;D

Why did you choose to tell both "I,Omega" and "Spoils of War" in 1st person point view?

Personally, I think a sequel about Cal and Gabe, but from Cal's pov might be interesting. I agree with whoever it was that said there is still more of a story to tell with these two. Maybe one more, and then you could move on to other characters for a third or fourth book.

I don't know, I think I either know too much about BDSM or have read too many books (though my list is kinda short) but I completely understood why Cal made Gabe tell him his safeword and his list of things he wouldn't do or didn't like. It made perfect sense to me, and, it made me feel better about Cal, because it also meant Cal was listening to Gabe, even though he didn't have to. He was helping Gabe help himself, but he was also showing Gabe that he wouldn't take advantage of him just because he could.

Aside from Gabe, Burke was my favorite character, I think. I liked the way he interacted/reacted to Gabe toward the end. So I'd like to see him in a sequel, definitely, either as a main character or a secondary.

Mickie wrote: "Why did you choose to tell both "I,Omega" and "Spoils of War" in 1st person point view?"

I should note that IO started in 1st, then was rewritten in limited 3rd on the suggestion of my editor. Who was right. It worked better with a more observational groove to it. Just a tiny step back. Limited 3rd, I think, preserves some of that intimacy, but also allows a clearer sense of Cal to emerge.

Anyway, why 1st? I wanted to be as deeply inside those characters heads as I could get (and get you, the reader). I wanted the reader to feel what they felt, physically, emotionally. I wanted to think Micah's thoughts. When Micah burned his mouth? I wanted you to identify with it so deeply, you felt the sting too, right along with his cavernously empty stomach still rumbling.

It really boils down to intimacy. I wanted that deep, deep sense of intimacy with Micah and Gabriel both. But for IO, the story really was much improved by switching over to 3rd. For that story, moving from 1st to 3rd was very much like focusing a lens. It brought things into sharper focus.

Jordan wrote: "Personally, I think a sequel about Cal and Gabe, but from Cal's pov might be interesting. I agree with whoever it was that said there is still more of a story to tell with these two. Maybe one more..."

Cal's POV...Hm. Intriguing. Will have to think on it. ;D

I think it would be a great way to wrap up their story before moving on to that of another character. And, now that we've seen him from Gabe's pov, it would be awesome to see what's "really" going on in his head when he thinks about Gabe.

Kari wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Personally, I think a sequel about Cal and Gabe, but from Cal's pov might be interesting. I agree with whoever it was that said there is still more of a story to tell with these two...."

It would be interesting to see Cal's point of view. I still want to kick him in the ass.

My rule of thumb is always to write the scene from the POV of the character who has the most to lose. Somewhat disingenuous here because, although you don't see it clearly, Cal has every bit as much to lose as Gabriel does if their mating fails. From this point forward? The push-pull in their relationship, I think, would be shared equally, but I do see external conflict -- this pack's interaction with other packs -- as weighing most heavily on Cal and acting on him more than Gabriel. Cal's insecurities, I think, would be brought more fully forward.

Intriguing to think about, anyway. LOL

It's one of the things that bugs me when reading a series, I almost expect the second book to feature the same two main characters, and then I'm disappointed if they're not there or are only in the background. I think it comes from reading lots of YA and children's lit where an entire series will focus on the same characters for 20 or more books, or the entire trilogy.

As for the pov, switching back and forth could be interesting too! Actually, I could really go for any pov you want. I just want more! lol. Though I still think Cal's would be interesting, no matter which way you put it.

I read this book twice, back-to-back, because the first time I just read it way too fast. I could appreciate the little things much more the 2nd time through.

Interesting to see your take on things here, Kari, as well as everyone else's ideas. I would be trilled with more from Cal and Gabriel with or without adding Burke (though I did like him for cuddling his omega).